The Prince Albert, Royal College Street: what to order and when to go

Sunday roast, kitchen 12:00 to 19:00, around £22 according to a reviewer. Wednesday quiz at 20:00. Happy hour Monday to Thursday, 16:00 to 20:00. That is the short version of the Prince Albert, 163 Royal College Street, NW1 0SG, on the corner with Lyme Street.

What it is

A corner pub built in 1843, three storeys of London brick with a dark green tiled ground floor added in the early 1900s and light green ceramic arches round the doors and windows. The tiled fascia still carries its old brewery lettering, with a Charrington anchor symbol and an "Off Licence" sign on the Lyme Street side. It is not a listed building, but CAMRA’s Local Inventory records the interior as being of local historic interest. The leaded glass dates from a refurbishment between the wars, and London Pub Map mentions the 1930s features. Operator listed by CAMRA: Laine Pub Company.

Inside, DesignMyNight describes mismatched tables and chairs and decorative antlers, with an upstairs dining room that doubles as private hire space. The pub’s own site bills the place as a spot for beer, pub classics, live entertainment and a Sunday roast.

What to order

The Sunday roast. The pub’s roast page promises crispy roasties and a proper Sunday feast. A Tripadvisor review mentions belly pork, beef and chicken. Another reviewer put the price at £22 a roast and said no 12.5% service charge was added to their bill. Treat that as a guide rather than a menu, and check before you go.

A pint of cask. CAMRA lists a cask pump, and its page notes that cask beer has returned after a spell without it. Ask at the bar what is on rather than expecting a particular beer.

The garden. CAMRA describes a heated covered garden, and Tagvenue mentions a decked space strung with festoon lights. That makes it a reasonable bet when the weather is not.

When to go

• Sunday, 12:00 to 19:00: roast hours. Pub open 12:00 to 22:30 on the official site.
• Wednesday, 20:00: the weekly quiz, listed on the pub’s site. Open until 00:00 on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
• Monday to Thursday, 16:00 to 20:00: happy hour, according to the pub’s TikTok.
• Friday and Saturday: open 12:00 to 01:00 per the official site.

Monday and Tuesday hours are 12:00 to 23:00 on the pub’s own site, though other listings show different times, so check before a weekday dash. The site also lists free stand-up comedy, open mic nights and live entertainment, and the pub’s TikTok promotes live music and sport screenings.

Booking and prices

The site has a Book A Table page, and DesignMyNight rates it “Happily Affordable” at two pound signs and says it takes bookings. For a Sunday roast, book. The manager’s email on the site is manager@princealbert.pub, and the phone is 020 7485 0270. Current pint prices are not published in anything we can point to, so ask when you arrive.

Getting there

Camden Road Overground is about 0.09 miles away, and Tripadvisor says it is walkable from Camden Town Tube too. It sits near the Regent’s Canal, away from the weekend crush of Camden Lock.

For after: the Constitution

Walk to the Constitution, 42 St Pancras Way, NW1 0QT, a canalside pub on the Regent’s Canal. Its site describes three floors, two bars, a rooftop terrace, seasonal food and Sunday roasts. CAMRA calls it the last remaining building from old Agar Town, and Kentish Towner reports it dates from 1858 and reopened after a refit in March 2024. CAMRA’s crawl itinerary has both pubs as stops on the same Camden route, so you are following a tried path. Its site showed hours of 11:00 to 23:00, but confirm the day you go.

Details: the Prince Albert’s own site, CAMRA’s Local Inventory entry, CAMRA’s pub page and the Constitution’s site.