With Alice in Wonderland touches completing this already stunningly presented pub, The Prince Alfred seals the deal with a great choice of drink and exquisite food.

The Venue
A stunning use of space with some beautiful design touches is just the start of the story surrounding the Prince Alfred. A dashing dining room - once a pool hall - is lit by a large vintage skylight with walls covered in a gigantic sepia photographic print of the nearby canal side. This airy space is filled with classic furniture in dark wood with some variety thrown in to please the eye.

However, the mesmerising part of the Prince Alfred is the pub area, divided into four smaller rooms by lavish wooden partitions with beautiful period carvings and frosted glass visible both inside and on the big curved windows looking out onto the street. Each semi-private room shares a portion of the bar and has access to the outside via a dedicated door, although you might find it more entertaining to crouch through the tiny dwarf doors leading from one room to another: the fantastic Alice In Wonderland effect is bound to create a long lasting memory. Final touches include a beautiful stucco ceiling, painted tiles and a working fireplace.

The Atmosphere
Mingling with a polite, precise and smiley staff, you will meet a crowd comprising couples and groups of professionals of all ages. Those sitting down for dinner don’t take the occasion too seriously since the gathering at the Prince Alfred is happily informal. There is even less stiffness around the bar, where wine and beer flow together with pleasant conversation. The pub is so nicely relaxed that people tend to be a bit too loud: the natural acoustic of the room may be part of the problem but a few decibels are easily excusable here, especially once your mouthwatering starter has been served.

The Food
The glory of the Prince Alfred is enough to make the trip worth it, but what makes the experience even more memorable is the exquisite food. The menu is contemporary British: imagine stilton and bacon parcels, parfait of foie gras with mango chutney, and twice cooked crispy pork belly. All of the ingredients are well sourced and fresh. Recommended are the chunks of fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (£2.50): the tomato focaccia is sinfully oily and the brown pumpernickel is moist, warm and soft. Within the starters, priced at £5-£9, begin with the perfect roast vegetable soup of ideal thickness consisting of simple ingredients prepared by a knowledgeable hand. The home cured salmon, instead, will satisfy larger appetites: often a meagre portion, at the Prince Alfred this dish is generous with its portion of fresh, good quality salmon, covered in dill and accompanied by new potato salad, cucumber, coriander and chilli salsa.

The mains (priced at £10-£16) include grilled brill sole, roast breast of partridge, chicken ham and leek pie and other pub classics reworked to appeal to the most exigent palate. The pan fried fillet of sea bass is not only rather large but, fusing contemporary and rustic traditions, is also served on a perfect wedding of butternut squash and spring cabbage seasoned with a flavourful saffron sauce able to bring the cabbage and squash mix to life. For rice lovers, the wild mushroom risotto is, for once, a satisfactory option: rather than being stodgy and sticky, here the rice is light - cooked to perfection - and has a large percentage of nicely soft wild mushrooms in it.

The desserts (£5-£7) are the only minor letdown: the apple crumble is made with grated apples – a nice twist on the classic chunks - but is served almost cold and appears slightly undercooked. The chocolate cheesecake, however, is dominated by the taste of cocoa rather than chocolate, which is a good thing.

The Drink
The assumption that all large chain pubs are banal and boring is wrong; the Prince Alfred is a Youngs venue but is an exceptional pub in all aspects. They specialise in Youngs beers but cater to the refined taste of the upmarket clientele with a good list of wines and a few cocktails.

Starting with traditional ale and bitter, the bar serves draught Leffe, Peroni, Pilsner, Erdinger, Kronenbourg and the Youngs family on tap (£2.95-£4.15). They also have a good choice of bottled beer in the form of Becks, Corona, Youngs Bitter, Bitburger, Youngs Double Chocolate and Youngs Kew (£2.80-£3.35). Checking out what’s on offer is slightly difficult since the taps are spread between the private rooms surrounding the bar, but there is a handy list written on a mirror at the back in case you are lost.

If you feel like a cocktail, you can pick from a handful of classic mixes (£6.50) including Vanilla Sky and Caipiroska. If you’re dining, however, you should dip into the wine cellars, able to provide a selection of over twenty whites (£15.50-£47 per bottle) and fifteen reds (£15.50-£37). Within the reds, you can pick from the organic Cotes Du Rhone Chapoutier and Chateau Haut Maillet Savior Bordeaux; within the whites, the unusual and well priced Verdicchio Dei Castelli De Jesi Classico Albiano is worth a try. A couple of roses, a few ports, decadent dessert wines (£22.50-£29.50) and seven bottles of bubbly (well priced in the £23-£50 range) complete the exhaustive list.

The Last Word
After your first visit you will be asking each other what you liked the most: the gorgeous decor of the pub? The exquisite food? The great service? More likely, the fun tiny doors around the bar.

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