White Hart Tap is one of my favourite pubs in St Albans. It has been a tradition of mine to have fish and chips there on a Friday evening whenever I visited England in the past. So in order to carry on with this tradition, I went there on the day I landed in the UK for good.

Since my last visit, I realised that they have renewed their brand. I think the new brand design reflects the clientele of the pub and gives the pub an updated look and feel. 

The inside of the pub does not look much  different in terms of design. Perhaps this is something they are planning on a longer term.

About the Beer

I love beer in this country. None of that gas filled, glass frozen beer stuff.  It is the real deal. They come from real kegs.

I learned that an organisation that promotes Real Ale is the reason why there are so many great ales in this country. Guess what? @Camra you got my attention and I fully support you.

The ales they carry @White Hart Tap are London Pride, Doom Bar, Landlord and Harvest Pale. They carry various types of beers. I had Doom Bar and London Pride and loved them.

As I experience more beer I will definitely write more about all them.

About the food

Fish and chips is a hot English dish, consisting of fried battered fish, and chips. This is one of Britain’s traditional pub foods.

Let’s talk about the fish and chips a bit. It’s the crowd favorite.  It’s listed under their main menu.  Check out the White Hart Tap menu here.

They are beer battered which starts the process. Their fries are hot cut and delicious. I do not like frozen, ready-made fries. I always suggest restaurant owners to go fresh. It is great to see that White Hart Tap is already doing so.   

Owner here definitely follows fresh better philosophy. Of course the side dish options are peas. You can choose mushy or garden peas. What is the difference? Well, the tradition is to with the mushy option. I love peas generally speaking. I never had mushy peas before. I am not sure if that is the texture maybe but I love it with fish and chips.

Fish was great, crisp and nicely fried. Fries were delicious and you can tell they are not frozen as mentioned earlier.

Seasoning is the key. I did not really need to add anything to the dish for seasoning which was great because I do not enjoy dishes that are under or over seasoned.

Experience

I always thought this was a great pub and since my last visit it was, once again, as good as I remember it. This pub is one of the oldest pubs around. But even in an area like St Albans where there are more pubs per square meter than anywhere else in England, this pub gets your attention.

It is cute and dog friendly. Well maintained with outside sitting area as well. The large beer garden at the back and pre-organised BBQ weekends at the rear of the Pub brings additional life to the Pub during the Spring and Summer.

The staff is very welcoming and they know the regular local people by first name, which is a nice touch.

They welcome children to the Pub however they do not provide high chairs. I would not say it is a Family-pub as such but you get the families with small children coming over for Sunday roast dinner.

In the early stages of my pub adventure, I believe this place will remain to be one of my favorites. This is information I found as just a consumer. I know the owner Andrew Meredith and I look forward to find out more about the pub itself, food, drinks and their client base. I would love Andrew to join me in this blog too.

Did you know?

• They have quiz nights on Wednesdays. Want to win some free cash? Here is your chance. You can also score free drinks as well.

• Fish and chips are usually served on Friday nights. So, try to book in advance as seats will be sold out.

The pub is located close to the St Albans City Centre with postcode AL1 1QJ. There is plenty of parking availability around the pub, if you are happy to ‘pay and display’.

Hours daily: 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Phone: +44 (0) 1727 860974

Pictures are from @WhiteHartTap St Albans

Don’t forget to add your own thoughts and please keep it classy!

If you would like to know more about me and how I help restaurants, bars, pubs, coffee shops, the contact me at Spread Consulting. I am happy to have an initial free 1-hour consultation meeting about your food business. Get in touch today.