The Princess Victoria packs some history. It was one of the first London 'gin palaces', built in 1829 when Victoria was still a princess. It's changed hands many times over the years. Richard Branson was briefly the gaffer in the 1980s, when Phil Collins filmed several music videos inside (and, we hear, once got beaten up).
A spell as a local's Irish pub, followed by a turn as a handsome gastropub never quite cracked the place, and the Victoria closed down in mid-2017. It seemed that London had lost another of its classic pubs. Fortunately, it's now been recalled to life by the Three Cheers Pub Co., who have a strong track record with plus-sized drinking establishments.
And the Princess Victoria is a big place. A stately island bar — newly illuminated to impressive effect — is offset with wood-paneled walls, wood block flooring and a gorgeous rounded skylight. It's so spacious, in fact, that the Victoria has long been a firm favourite with families — plenty of kids running about and pushchairs in corners, even on our Monday night visit. If you want to escape it all, there's a diminutive beer garden through the back of the restaurant area, or the front terrace facing the main road.
The wine list is impressive, running to something like 20 bottles each of red and white. Alas, the beer-lover isn't quite so blessed, with uninteresting bevvies on tap, but a bit more choice by the bottle.
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Last updated November 2017.