The Alma

Great food, odd experiences.
We have been here twice, a couple of years apart. The first time was for lunch, when i met up with a couple of friends and we all tried the burgers. I had the chicken burger, one friend had the lamb burger and another friend had the sliders (effectively one of each lamb, chicken and beef). We all concluded that we should have stuck to the traditional beef burger. Not that there was anything wrong in our slightly experimental choices, but the beef burger (or slider in fact) really was delicious.
What was a little odd about our lunchtime visit, was that we were almost alone in the pub, apart from someone drilling incessantly over the other side. They did stop after we complained (it just went on and on and on) but I thought it was really odd that would carry out construction work while there were paying customers in the pub. That lost it a couple of stars for me, as did the fact that the place was freezing!
Fast forward a couple of years and my sister and I decided to try it out for supper, Again, we were the only people in the place (7.30pm on a Wednesday). We had reserved a table, but in fact there really was no need. The table that was reserved for us was tiny and squirreled away in the back, so we asked to sit at a slightly bigger table instead, which was no problem.
We both ordered the steak and chips. the food was, again, delicious — the steak was tender and flavoursome, and the chips were lovely and crispy. Being greedy, I could have done with a few more chips, but it was a lovely meal.
What lost the stars for me was the disconcerting feeling that we were interrupting a staff gossip session. There was a chap drinking at the bar who was part of the staff, and hence it was really hard to catch anyone’s attention to get anything as they were all leaning in to chat in a group. I even tried to subtly suggest that it was inappropriate behaviour by asking questions on what we had heard — mainly complaints about their manager. They just went ahead and told me!
Perhaps this place is better when it’s busier, when there are more customers in there and the staff are slightly less informal and relaxed. I think the food should be allowed to be more of a star, and issues such as inadequate heating, the front door being left open to let in drafts and cigarette smoke and odd behaviour from staff should be sorted. Then it may well be worth 5 stars.

This is my favourite pub in Crystal Palace. I never frequented the establishment prior to the new ownership so I can’t comment on the change but what I’ve found is a top notch drinking spot. In my experience the staff are always friendly and inviting. I love the décor pared back cool without trying too hard. I’m a red wine drinker and the Chianti is always a winner, which they decant into a carafe for a nice touch. The food is gastro but reasonably priced with a couple of good options for vegetarians. The last time I was there I had the steak, which was cooked to perfection. The ambience is warm and relaxed and if I remember rightly, they play some good tunes in the background.

i am angry with the alma!!!
i came here on friday night with two friends for dinner. it was just after 7 and the place was busy with no free seats. my friend asked the bar man how likely it was for us to stay and eat for dinner and he told us that we could have a specific table once the two people occupying it had left. there were two seats at the end of their table, and i suggested to my friend that we take those and just pull up a third seat, but he felt that wouldn’t be the polite thing to do… only for two people to do JUST THAT two minutes later. the guy at the bar had at this point, sold us a £20 bottle of wine, listened to our debate on whether we should sit at the end of the table, promised us that that table was ours, and then saw the new arrivals sitting at the table which had been promised to us, and did… nothing.
i find this really poor customer service! he could quite easily have put a reserved sign down on the table, or after witnessing that we’d lost that table, another table that was soon going to be cleared, but he did nothing and i found that really frustrating. he could even just have acknowledged what had happened and apologised for it, i would have been perfectly happy with that! but nope, not one squeak. very frustrating!
in the end, we ended up squeezing round the end of a table and sharing two seats between three of us, ordering some food, and eating it in the most awkward way humanly possible. lovely.
the food is… amazing. the only reason i am giving this place 3 stars. it really is that good! i had the veggie haggis burger, which was absolutely delicious. it also came with rocket and a whole pickle so that made me super happy. the fat, thick cut chips were all cooked to perfection, so tasty. one of my friends had the regular burger. he thinks of himself as a burger expert, and he was blown away by this one, so high praise.
it’s just such a shame that the whole experience has really dampened my appreciation for the alma. i will go back and give it another shot, but really, if a place consistently gets the customer service wrong then i don’t care how good the food is, i will stop going back!
i really hope this badness is a one off!

The beer is always good, cheap Guinness, obviously clean their lines regularly. Often Guinness can have a metallic taste but never at the Alma. Bar staff are chatty and easy on the eye. Live music, good DJs and homemade stone baked pizza proper italian style. The Alma has recently had a makeover at looks great for it.

Un décor bien à l’anglaise et un cadre plutôt relax, avec de la bonne musique (ce qui reste, en soi, relatif, juste un avis personnel).

A bit like that US tv series cheers, where everyone seems to know each other. Family friendly and free pool on a Monday.
This pub more than any other has put effort in to start new things and support community projects.
They have introduced the farmers market in the beer garden, host art exhibitions, charity events and now show free movies on a Sunday night.
It’s the best music venue in Crystal Palace with live music every week from kids starting out through to seasoned professionals.
Only negative is that they run out of their guest ales too quickly!

Clearly a lot going on at this place & it seems well routed in the local community — as well as the ongoing market mentioned in the previous review there seems to be a good commitment to live music (the Bank Holiday saw the car park play host to a festival of 12+ bands for £5) as well as a desire to see the Crystal Palace re-​built.
Always good to see a pool table with enough space round it to allow those tricky shots to be played & really the only mark in the minus column here was the largely generic selection of beers/​ciders on offer. A better range of whiskies available than a number of bars I’ve visited recently though.