Tucked away among the imposing mansions and canals around Warwick Avenue is a little slice of nineteenth-century London. No, not a workhouse filled with criminal orphans, but something much nicer than that – a Victorian pub, complete with spectacularly intricate carved woodwork and ‘snob screens’ separating the different sections of the bar. The low doorways between them are a nightmare if you've got a bad back, but perfect if you're very short and need to escape a pub bore.
It sort of helps that the Prince Alfred is a Young's pub instead of some chichi craft beer palace – it's simple, old fashioned, no nonsense. Peanuts, yup. Pint of bitter, yup. Sticky floors, yup. And all combined with the joy of watching your fellow drinkers playing a constant game of limbo.