Princess Louise

What a cool little place! It’s a Sam Smith bar (everything served is/​are Sam Smith products and as an American, this is a very interesting concept). They’ve got Irish-​style snugs which just adds to the old-​world feel of things. Make sure to look up at the ceiling and the time-​worn wood throughout. Beautiful and unique.

I find myself in this London pub, quite frequently. This time, I was sorting it out with my co-​workers.
I don’t know if its the traditional décor, or the cubbyholes that separate groups, or the Bitter cask ales, or the talented barmaids, or the loads of local-​after-​work peeps, or the lamb kidney and onions /​steak and kidney pie /​giant fassh n chaaps, that I love about this spot.
Nah, I know.
It’s everything I mentioned, dumb dumb.

Centrally located along from Holborn tube station, this is a classic example of traditional pub Victorian architecture and interior design in all it’s glory! In my humble view, this must rank as one of London’s finest pubs! Ornate is an understatement! There are numerous examples of fine glass etching, beautiful wood panelling, and a feature clock. The bar itself is a wonderful combination of wood and glass. Being a Sam Smith’s pub ensures the popularity of the Princess Louise, and the punters can enjoy several real ales in very grand surroundings.
The Princess Louise stands comparison with the finest Edinburgh Victorian pubs I have also viewed on this site and should not be missed!

Nice place with great selection of beers and reasonable prices. Food is not always available, though.

If you like Samuel Smiths’ beers then this is probably the best one in London when you combine décor, selection and price. The nooks are great if you get one and you can tell they really take care of the place. One big minus is the toilets. At the left side of the bar, the toilets are in the basement and when drinking near the back of the bar, you can smell the urine odor coming up from the basement. Disgusting. They need to clean the WC once in a while.

Fun friendly service. Drinks made in house. Impressive considering this includes beers and all manner of spirits. A nice introduction to my first pint pulled in the UK. Feels like somewhere I would stop by casually if I lived nearby.

I have a very love/​hate relationship with this pub.
A lot of my male friends love it here so we visit quite a lot. The pub has lots of quirky little rooms and lots of ornate decoration which I love. I’ve been on a rainy autumnal afternoon and sat in one of the front ground floor rooms with plenty of space and had an absolutely great time.
The downside is the busyness on a weekday evening. It’s almost impossible to get served in under 10 mins on a Friday eve, and walking through the pub in the narrow corridors to get to the tiny loo becomes a real challenge when you have hoards of people to contend with.
We also had an issue last time with the upstairs bar — we were told that the round tables were for drinking and oblong tables were for dining, so we settled at the bar to wait for a drinking table to become free. After about 5 mins the barman told us we could sit at one of the oblong tables as long as we moved if someone wanted to eat, which was great. However, about 30 seconds after sitting down we were asked to stand up as another member of barstaff had said that wasn’t OK. So we returned to the bar. The barman then told us we could sit at the table again if we ordered some side dishes. So we returned to the table, and we ordered 2 portions of chips & a plate of nachos between 4. The same barman then returned to say we in fact had to order 1 main dish each in order to stay sitting down. It had got a bit ridiculous by this point and after a little rant (from me) we were allowed to stay sitting with our side dishes. In the hour we were sitting at the table no one came to eat and there were 4 tables free, so the whole thing was a lot of stress for nothing. What a massive faff for a couple of Friday night beers!
A nice pub, but they need to sort out the policy upstairs and have all staff on the same page.

Came here with friends to take pictures of the lovely façade, but unfortunately it was scaffolding all round. Oh well. Went inside to drown my sorrow in a pint while admiring the even more lovely interiors — all victorian tiles, etched mirrors and mosaic windows; a beauty — and only then realized they only served Sam Smiths.
One of my friends who doesn’t like beer wanted a pear cider, but they only have the traditional apple. Fair enough, but that’s something her fellow cider lovers should be aware of. I ordered lager, then ale and both were watery and tasteless. I’ve had much better from small village breweries. Clientele mostly young/​trendy apparently didn’t mind as the place was packed. They do serve food, but it was the weekend therefore I couldn’t sample.
All in all a gorgeous visual experience and many people do like the beer (to each their own, I suppose), but I don’t think I would go back there to drink.

I went there with some co-​workers the weekend ago. I really enjoyed the casual ambiance and the seats by the bar. The bartender was really nice to us and even made a few men-​humour jokes. The beer was pleasing good and got our approval, and after all the drinking, I could say I enjoyed the men’s toilet too as it is very well decorated.
The pub is not very spacious, so this isn’t the place to bring your large group of friends.
Princess Louise also offers a lunch menu, which I didn’t had the chance to try, but it looked tempting and great to me.

Great pub. The atmosphere and decorations are wonderful. The bar has beautiful etched glass everywhere and the dining room upstairs is very comfortable. My wife and I had lunch here today and were thoroughly pleased. We both had draught beers and I had a chicken and ham pie with chips. These might have been the best chips I’ve had in London. They leave the potato skins on the chips here and that’s an awesome thing in my book. I would definitely recommend the Princess Louise.

Met my cousin for a quick drink. What a wonderfully quirky pub.
The downstairs set up is an odd maze, we went upstairs to an open area with comfortable chairs, tables and a bar.
My American friend found it to be very nice. You can tell how nice a pub is when you feel at home straight away!
Of course my cousin and I talked away! I had the raspberry beer, delicious!
If you are in the area, do yourself a favour and stop by this pub!

Beautiful, beautiful pub with ornate tiling, lots of wood and plenty of nooks and crannies to bunker down for a pint or two.
Best for smaller groups. Heads up that they’re not open into the wee hours, but this is a great afternoon or really evening pub.
The men’s toilet is also apparently one of the ‘must visit toilets in London’, but really seemed to just be a lot of tiles…

This is a striking pub run by Sam Smiths. This used to mean cheap beer but now that is only true if you are careful about what you choose. The Victorian interior was refurbished extensively a few years ago and is beautiful, you can argue about whether this makes it old or just pretend-​old.
At the end of the day though, the beer is still cheap if you care enough to be picky, the staff when I have been there have been great, the separation into booths is great for groups of friends and the surroundings add real atmosphere. You can have a great night here. My main gripe would be that they don’t serve food at the weekends.

The Princess Louise is viewed by some as one of London’s pub institutions, but I beg to differ. Yes, it’s ornate, sure, it has claims of being relatively old (1872 but actually it was refitted in 2006!), but really, it differs very little from other Sam Smith pubs: the Windsor Castle near Westminster Cathedral, for example, has had exactly the same glass and wood interior installed. And anyway, all that matters for little in my view because:
THE BEER IS TERRIBLE.
That’s right. I realise I am in a small minority here given how much love this place has attracted on Unilocal.But how can it be denied? Years ago Sam Smiths beer seemed daringly cheap and of acceptable quality. Back then, I’d have declared myself a fan. But now, compared to pretty much any ale from one of the multitudes of small UK brewers as found say at any of the Craft Beer Company’s pubs? Sam Smith’s standard bitter is beyond awful. It tastes of nothing. It makes Tetleys Bitter seem complex. Ditto their stout. Ditto their lager. Their wheat beer is better, but it’s considerably more expensive too, comfortably putting it into the price range of established Bavarian brewers like Schneider Weisse. My favourite Sam Smiths beer, and thus go-​to whenever I find myself stuck in a Sam Smiths bar, is their Organic Chocolate Stout, which it must be said is one of the few stouts that does taste genuinely chocolatety. But it costs £5.50! At that price there are again plenty of other, better stouts to be found at places like the Craft Beer Company, Holborn Whippet or any of the other increasingly craft beer-​orientated pubs in London.
Look, I dig my history too, but there is no shortage of interesting old pubs in London. Pubs that have a better claim to fame of boasting original features from the times of yore, but also far superior beer. Try the 500 year old George and Dragon in Acton for starters, now featuring a micro brewery, enabling you to experience the best of both worlds! Fullers have custody of some older pubs in the east, whilst the 300 year history of the King George in Southwark and even the Greene King beer (not something I’d usually recommend, but in this case.) again trump that of the Princess Louise.
London has thousands of years of history to be enjoyed and an excellent breadth and quality of beer to be savoured. Just not at the Princess Louise.

Beautiful bar, nice bartenders great prices on Sam smith beers. Really doesn’t get any better than this pub wise.
They have an upstairs that I did not get a chance to see but it gets real busy real quick.

I’ve been here twice and think it thoroughly deserves its popularity.
The pub is laid out Victorian style so with compartments that give onto the central bar. This gives it a great little vibe and keeps quite a big pub intimate.
The bar tenders are generally really friendly and the drinks are mega cheap (for London).
You’ll struggle to find a seat at peak times after work but it’s worth hovering and jumping on one as it comes up.
It was like £3.00 for a vodka tonic and I think about the same for a pint.

This bar is a must visit if you’re vacationing and want something to talk about when you fly home. This Victorian style pub sets itself apart from all other standard pubs with it’s hand crafted wood dividers which provides a sense of privacy while still being able to order drinks from the bartender.
Décor is old world charm with pristine hand crafted furnishings. Great selection of craft beers and brewery is just outside of London. This is definitely one of my top 3 pubs in London. Prices were reasonable, clean and bar keep was friendly.

What a lovely little find!
Delightful décor. Wondered about the history of this pub.
I love the layout and that you can have your own little space and feel like you have your own personal bar man. (Except when he ignores you for 15 mins!). Service a unique range of alcohol. Not your usual brands.
Cannot believe I’ve been in the area for years and did not know about this pub.
No music no TV just forced to enjoy each other’s company.
Bar staff very friendly also. I want to come back!

Being in London for the first time, this pub lived up to what expected my pub experience to be like. Great beer options, scenic setting, nice bartenders, and friendly patrons.
We went early, so didn’t hit any major crowds, which allowed us to enjoy the beautiful bar. It has various partitions made of molded wood and stained glass windows creating like 6 mini bars in one. Amazing.
Great beer options as well. I enjoyed various beer styles in this single bar
I would definitely return.

Wow! Yes, I am a tourist and yes I enjoy genuine British pubs! Princess Louise knocked me off my feet! Oh, how I love the interior of this pub! Gold, wood and mirrors! Sounds tacky but here it’s not!
I love the little private rooms you sit in around the bar. You can then just order where you sit. Perfect!
Pints for around £3. I could wish for a bit better (wider) selection of draught, though.
We were here the hour before closing time on a Wednesday and it was perfect — not crowded at all.

Faire un saut dans le temps
Si vous voulez faire un saut dans le temps et voir comment pouvaient être les pubs au XIXeme princess Louise vous comblera. L’endroit est magnifique le bar distribue différentes petites alvéoles où vous pouvez déguster votre bière (c’est comme des compartiments de 2 – 3 mètres) si vous préférez au fond vous pourrez vous installer autour des tables avec un décor mural en faïence. Un décor qui vaut le coup. Un personnel parfois un peu rude.

Nothing more to say then: GO DRINK BEER !