Mad Squirrel St Albans

Featured reviews

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  Matthew Revell-Gordon

  ·1 month ago

  “I ordered a pint of their larger. I was told that the barrel was just being changed so I waited a few minutes. There was a 1/3 pint sitting on the drainer, from the end of the barrel when the last person ordered. I was stunned and horrified when the bar staff topped up the 1/3 and tried to serve that as my pint. I objected to being served wastage, and two of them argued that it “had only been there a minute”, as if this was perfectly normal practice. It had been sitting there since before I walked in, so for all I know it was completely warm and flat. They did change it when I insisted and gave the subpar pint to some other unlucky punter who’d ordered from upstairs. There was another 1/3 pint of the Budweiser sitting there too so apparently this is standard practice here. At almost £7 a pint, it’s an insult and a red flag, a mark of a poorly managed establishment. I won’t be spending money here again! [update] The response is absolutely comical. The 1/3 pint was sitting on the drainer BEFORE I approached the bar and ordered. It was not in the line, it was the dregs of a barrel in a glass, exposed to the elements for an unknown length of time. The only thing the staff “explained” (as above) was that they thought it had “only been there a minute” - but I had no way of knowing that, good practice would be to throw it away. Also, the pint I rejected was NOT “chucked” at all (also above) - it was taken upstairs to some other unsuspecting punter. The response is complete lies and nonsense. It is not normal, it is not good practice, it is not in any way acceptable. I was at the St Albans Beer Festival today and asked over a dozen servers and patrons if they’d accept this and the answer was unanimously- NO!”

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  Dave Gurr

  ·1 month ago

  “Great location, great beers and other drinks. But "service with a snarl". Ordered a beer and a vodka and tonic - bar hand poured the almost the whole tonic in without checking. Asked her to remake it, and she handed me a fresh vodka but with the almost empty tonic can. Asked for a fresh tonic can and got it handed to me with a 1000 yard stare and no apology. Hopefully it's a one off, cos otherwise this is a little gem of a place!”

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  Emma F

  ·3 months ago

  “Great craft beer taproom with a smallish beer garden terrace overlooking the cathedral. Playing sports on the TV but at a volume you can enjoy or ignore at your leisure. Food menu not tried but looked (and smelled) delicious. Good house cider on tap. Ignore the entrance in the shopping arcade and head down the steps (labelled ‘to the cathedral’) and enter from the terrace on Waxhouse Gate”

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  Liam Hyland-Knight

  ·4 months ago

  “Fantastic pub/brewery with a magnificent selection of beers and cocktails along with many other drinks. Food smelled amazing but we did not have any this time round. Very reasonable considering it is a proper craft beer place. Love it here.”

• D

  David Pearce

  ·5 months ago

  “Thank you to John and the team who hosted our 50th Birthday celebration in the upstairs function room. We had a fantastic party, very well looked after by the whole team; especially when we had a few unexpected “well-oiled” guests try to join in! The beers are always great and food is of the same excellent quality. They were really helpful when loading in and out our party props and dj equipment etc via the back door to ‘hidden’ courtyard car park. Would definitely recommend anyone to have their party here! Only recommendation for improvement is with the lighting; too bright and some low hanging ‘clangers’ 🫣”

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  Paul Morris

  ·6 months ago

  “An extensive array of craft beer taps, mostly Mad Squirrel beers, plus a few guest beers. Quite a large place spread over two floors. Unfortunately a little soulless when I visited on a cold, windy day, with not too many customers. But I can imagine it is buzzing when full. They also have a decent outside seating area. Very convenient for visiting the cathedral too.”

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  Ami Foweraker

  ·10 months ago

  “We hosted our Christmas Party in the upstairs room for a second year running and couldn't recommend this more. The staff were great in the run up to the event and on the night - everyone commented how good the service was. We ordered pizza which came out buffet style and was delicious despite the large quantity. Thank you for making our event such a success!”

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  Misty Hammond

  ·1 year ago

  “It's taken me this long to review this place because I was holding out hope for the food. With the launch of the new menu, really happy to give this place its deserved 5*. Love the staff, love booking random events here (staff are ALWAYS helpful and friendly), love the love music nights, the beer, the vibe, and the location next to the cathedral is stellar. And now the food is fab too, we had a great burger and chicken wings here tonight. Really chuffed, one of my favourite places to have a great pint with friends in St Albans.”

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  Louisa Bower

  ·1 year ago

  “Fab tap bar had a really nice evening trying out some of the beers, enjoyed a nice pizza and topped off with some live music. Only problem was the toilets being filthy but there was a party on upstairs so I am sure they aren't usually that bad (I hope). Will definitely be going back.”

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  UK Photo Journey

  ·7 years ago

  “Beautiful place for drinks. Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff, nice service, outdoor seating and have plenty of their own brewery drinks variety. More cans & bottles in fridge. They used the space very nicely. Two storey building have big enough space for private parties. Recommend”