Prince Albert Hotel

It’s funny how when you don’t go to a part of a city for a while you end up forgetting what is there. I remember doing some work experience down here but had completely forgotten that there was a pub across the road, that is until the internet reminded me about it. I think I have been here a couple of times in the distant past, but I don’t remember all that much about it. Anyway, when I was down in Adelaide I decided to go and check it out and I have to say that I quite liked it. It is one of the quiet, out of the way pubs where you don’t have to worry about huge crowds. The bartender was also pretty cool as there was a beer on tap that I hadn’t seen before and he was nice enough to give me a taste test. Definitely a pub I’d visit again.

⁷⁄₁₀ stars (starting my own rating scale, lol!)
I guess I should write up a more update review for than the ones already on Unilocal since it is strolling distance from my office and I attend PD seminars/​talks at the function room upstairs regularly, so I am familiar with the food, service and ambiance.
On Mondays and Tuesdays, which is when I usually attend the seminars, I notice that there are also lots of smaller groups having meetings, and I can certainly see the appeal of this place — it’s cosy, friendly, and not sleazy or dingy. Sure the function rooms probably needs a bit of spruce up, but I think I can look pass that. The low noise level makes this a suitable place for small group meetings.
The bar staff are mostly youthful, friendly and hardworking. There are good deals with the happy hour $ 4 @4pm $ 5 @5pm, then $ 6 @6pm, Mon-​Fri. There is a good selection of reasonably priced meals, my fav being the crispy salmon, the S&P squid and haloumi salad. The wine is is mostly local, a more interesting selection if you are in a group then you can order the wines by the bottle.
There is a separate area towards the back for the bistro patrons. I’ve been there for dinner once on a Friday with the kids and this place gets packed! The kids’ meals were generous and a-​ok as far as basic kids pub meals go. One particular staff went out of his way to assist me, seeing that I was dining on my own with the toddlers.
So overall, I think it’s a cosy spot if you are on this quiet side of town or needed a meeting place earlier in the week with a small group. The function rooms while not very flashy (but it’s free function hire!) and have what you need to conduct presentations. Heaps of street parking.

From the outside, The Prince Albert Hotel is a gorgeous pub. It looks cosy and charming, but that’s where my love for this pub ends.
My first and last experience with the Prince Albert Hotel was for a friends 30^th birthday event and from the get-​go, hearing how difficult and rude some of the staff were to deal with (giving my friend the run-​around, losing all the details for her event etc.), I didn’t have high hopes for the place. They sure lived up to my already low expectations!
Firstly, the staff were pretty unfriendly. Couldn’t crack a smile and clearly demonstrated how much they really didn’t want to be there (I work in retail, and it doesn’t take much effort to ‘fake it’, so they must all be extremely lazy). Secondly, the food, arancini balls, spring rolls, salt & pepper squid and lamb koftas were terrible. I have never tasted food that made it so obvious that the chefs just didn’t give a crap about flavour. The number of left-​over platters filled with these tasteless morsels should give them a pretty good hint to pick up their game.
My friend chose the Prince Albert for her 30^th because it was a significantly cheaper venue than a number of other city options. You get what you pay for I guess.
The positive? The spirits were significantly boozy which I like! Maybe they do this to make up for the horrible food…
2 stars.

Tuesday nights for $ 5 schnitzels. Seriously good value is you are partial to a schnity. Chicken or beef, chips and gravy $ 1 extra each.
If you are looking for a vegetarian alternative there few. There was a burger, salad and mushroom risotto.
The meals don’t set the world alight and they are not pushing the boundaries of pub food menus, but if you’re after a cheap meal, good selection of bottled and tap beers, as well as a decent wine list definitely give the PA a go.
The hot tip is the upstairs seating on the balcony, great view of the street for some people watching!

The gentle reader will forgive a world-​weary review for engaging in an old and obvious joke. This hotel has one very unfortunate name. (If you don’t know why, Google it. Just don’t do an image-​search.)
I like to fill my days of the week with certain venues. Some places are good some days and terrible other days. The Prince Albert has the benefit of being generally fairly good every day, but if I’m looking to head to a place on a Tuesday, this is where I go. And that’s because of the five dollar schnitzels. They’re not the best or biggest schnitzels you’ll ever have, but for the price of a Big Mac, it’s quite good (and has the added benefit of not being a Big Mac). But this is a lunch destination for me. Having said that, the place is fairly relaxed past sundown. The bar looks great and is a decent enough place to hang out.
But, like I said: if you’re hungry and it’s a Tuesday, try the schnitzel. For ten dollars, you can have a meal and a pint. It’s a struggling student’s A-​grade lunch.

The Prince Albert hotel is a friendly and peaceable Pub situated to the West of Whitmore Square on Wright St.
Often quiet, it is suited to casual beers, or a pub meal. The menu is certainly not exotic, but the food is good enough, and reasonably priced.
There are some good specials, $ 5 Schnitzels on Tuesdays, $ 10 T-​bones on Thursdays and $ 5 Pints of Pale every day.
There is low key live music on Friday Nights and a good outdoor seating area out the front on Wright street.
There is a bit of art hanging on the walls of the dining room at present, not a huge fan of most of it (in my humble opinion), however I did quite fancy the mixed media piece entitled «Selves Contained» pictured above.
A word of caution, if quiet, the Prince Albert tends to close early, especially so on a Sunday. It has, on occasion, required a change of dinner plans, however, with Gouger St so close by it has been of little concern really.