Peterborough – Sir Henry Royce

The pub’s grand name and the modern frontage, if you ignore the smashed glass on the internal door, give a positive first impression. It’s actually though a Stonegate pub and it looks to be in competition with the Wetherspoons which is located over the road.

The beer selection is a bit lacking in excitement for me, with the only vaguely dark option being the Abbot Ale. One thing that it’s hard to complain about is the price, with half a pint costing just £1.25.

It’s a large and comfortable pub which was surprisingly busy, so they’re clearly doing something right. The food options are pretty similar to Wetherspoons and I noticed that they were serving a decent amount of food, so again, something is being done right.

An interesting table number, painted on to a 2 pence coin.

My half pint of Abbot and it tasted fine, well-kept and at the appropriate temperature. The service in the pub was friendly and engaging, with the staff looking like they actually cared for the customer experience. This seems to be standard for Stonegate, they do employ some good people. There are a lot of television screens around the pub, so for those people who like to watch sports, they’re certainly well catered for.

Overall, it’s not going to win the CAMRA branch pub of the year, but it’s affordable, sufficiently clean and the service was friendly. But some more interesting real ales would perhaps be to their benefit…..