Princess Louise Historic London Pub
I came across the Princess Louise pub, which is situated in the Holborn area of London, by chance on Saturday evening. I was intending on going to finally visit “Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese”, but I thought it wouldn’t do any harm to stop inside this fine looking boozer for a swift pint. It sure was a cool looking London pub from the outside and it didn’t disappoint inside either.
On first entering the Princess Louise it is all a bit confusing, the problem is all the different doors. There are two doors on the street leading inside the place, which isn’t problem. In I goes, I don’t know how many different doors I opened up, which all led into small little snug like bars. I thought WTF, just give me nice roomy bar, all those small snug bars were full of couples who were out for a relaxing drink together, and I sure as hell didn’t want to feel like an intruder.
I eventually found what I was looking for, it was the last door I had left to try and I was ready to leave the place. I was getting dizzy from opening all those fucking doors. But when I finally got a pint of lager, or I should Alpine Lager to be precise, which isn’t quite in the same league as Carling, Fosters, Kronenbourg Heineken and many of the other better known lagers, but it is cheap and drinkable.
The Princess Louise is a Sam Smiths pub and they only sell their own branded drinks. I had never been in one of there pubs in my life before, until Saturday when I visited two, they also own the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese as well, which I went too later on.
On entering the Princess Louise you are taking a step back in time and entering the Victorian era. There is most definitely an authentic old fashioned theme in this pub. From what I can gather the place has been restored over the years, as opposed to being a made to just look old, like so many other places.
In my younger days I must admit I use to avoid and hate places like the Princess Louise. They were for old men. How the times have changed and I aint even old. I find such pubs great for a relaxing drink or two. But places like the Princess Louise would be so much better if they had a juke box, but I suppose the lack of music is what makes such places appealing for some people.
The Princess Louise was built in 1872 and named in honour of Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter Princess Louise. And you have to give a huge amount of credit to the skill of those Victorian craftsman. The whole place oozes quality, form the beautiful ceiling, the antique lamps to the wonderful tiles on the walls and the stunning glass work. Even the toilets in this pub are a work of art.
There seemed to be good mix of people in the various parts of this Victorian gem of pub, including plenty of couples, a few small groups of students in for the cheap drink and a few people in escaping the wife for a few hours. The surprising thing was there didn’t seem to any grumpy old men at all in the place.
I was tempted to have another pint, but there was a woman sitting in my eye line who was going for the builders bum look and it wasn’t a pretty sight. As hard as I tried to avoid staring, her pale huge white ass kept looking me straight in the face. That was the sign that I better get on my way to the “Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese”.
The Princess Louise is a cool London pub and I will return again at some point, but the next time I will take my African Princess with me so I can find a nice wee nook to chill out in.
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Sounds like a great pub.