I popped into the Princess Alice at the end of a long week performing my civic duty.

No, I don’t mean reviewing SE London boozers, I’m talking about an unwanted spell of jury service at Woolwich Crown Court across the road.

Located in Thamesmead opposite the court and the neighbouring top security Belmarsh prison - perhaps ironically on Battery Way - it is safe to assume some real wrong ‘uns have propped up the Princess Alice’s bar over the years.

And that’s just the lawyers and judges.

My mood when I entered this pub/carvery wasn’t the best, admittedly.

Nothing to do with the boozer, which was actually quite busy for a Friday teatime, but more down to the endless waiting around in the jury room while M’lud heard endless legal arguments from counsel.

I’m not allowed to go into details about the case I ended up hearing but it was a real life tale of doom, gloom and misery.

In fact, it was so depressing I began watching EastEnders again for the first time in years just to try and cheer myself up a bit.

Anyway, back to the boozer.

I wanted a pint of Becks but annoyingly it was off so I had to settle for Carling instead, not my favourite but I didn’t fancy the Stella.

The food was alright, nothing spectacular but passable pub fare.

I was tempted by the roast but settled on the Fish and Chips in the end, which at £3.99 was cheap and cheerful even if a bit bland.

All of the food on offer was very competitively priced and the Princess Alice can’t be faulted for value, with my pint costing less than three quid.

There were quite a few families in having meals, while the boozers were all sat around the other side where the bar and pool table is.

I didn’t get the sense there was much character here but the staff seemed friendly and don’t be put off by the prison because everyone seemed really relaxed, although admittedly I didn’t exactly hang around long because I had a train to catch.

I departed full up and in a slightly better mood at least.

If you are ever in the area and fancy a competitively priced feed and drink then this place will do the job.

 

 

 

The Princess Alice, Battery Road, Thamesmead

How it rated:

Decor ** Bland

Atmosphere *** No menace despite the location

Staff *** Friendly and helpful when explaining how the carvery works

Drink ** Only two lagers on tap with the Becks down

Food *** Decent   

Price **** Excellent value for money