Princess Alice Through the Looking Glass (The Princess Alice (Plumstead))

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	The Princess Alice (Plumstead)
Date:	13/08/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: VERY cheap beer, friendly staff

Disadvantages: Appalling location, plastic pub, lots of small kids

Sometimes you visit a pub because the building is quaint, or the location is picturesque, or the pub is historic. Sometimes, you choose a pub because it's there, and it has a car park. The Princess Alice is one of the latter.

Sitting in the middle of a modern (yet somewhat rundown) shopping centre in the less than glamorous Thamesmead, the Princess Alice doesn't look promising. There are invariably folk standing outside smoking. The clientèle can best be described as mixed - it represents, to be fair, the area in which the pub sits. Because the food (a carvery) is very, very cheap, there are often lots of families with lots of kids running around.

This is a large pub, and rather 'plastic-y'. Being a modern building, it has a modern (though not nicely modern) feel - having said that, there is an attempt to pander to traditionalists, with framed pictures depicting the eponymous ship (the Princess Alice, natch). There are lots of tables, both low and high (bar stool height), and a few booths.

This so far doesn't sound a glowing endorsement, does it? Ah, there is a rub. The Princess Alice has a good choice of real ales, decently (though not splendidly) kept. When I've been there, there has been a choice of up to four ales...and they are very, very cheap. At less than £2.00 a pint for actual, named, branded ale (as opposed to that in Sam Smith's pubs), this is a bit of a find if you are in that area in need of a swift half or two. This isn't a Weatherspoons, and the beer is kept better than many of the branded pubs manage.

Although a bit raucous, I have never felt unsafe in the Princess Alice. Admittedly, I am unlikely to have anything in common with the regulars, but the staff and punters seem friendly enough.

I've not tried the food (from a self-service carvery), and I suspect it's not my cup of tea, however, the customers who were eating seemed to have large portions, and enjoying them. The food too is extremely cheap, and I can see why it's a popular dining establish amongst the families of the area.

As might be expected in a modern pub such as this, the toilets are kept reasonably clean and are of a reasonable size, but utterly unremarkable.

All in all, this isn't a great pub, but given its setting, it is a good one.

Summary: An ok pub with very cheap beer, despite its location