The Alma

The Alma is a perfect pub to while away a wintery weekend. The warm fires, comfy seating and cool decor make for a great atmosphere, which is also helped by friendly and knowledgable staff. The star of the show however is the food.

Their Sunday roast is amongst the best I have found in London - and there's some stiff competition for that title! They also do fantastic burgers and some really tasty deserts. Everything is clearly home-made from high quality ingredients, cooked really well and comes in generously filling servings.

We spent just over £50 on lunch for 2, with deserts and a bottle of wine - not the cheapest for pub food, but you definitely get what you pay for and this was worth every penny.

This is one of the best places for food and drink in crystal palace. I ate there the other day and the food was  high restaurant standard. The interior looks good without being too try-hard and the service is friendly. Would highly recommend!

This is my favourite pub in Crystal Palace. I never frequented the establishment prior to the new ownership so I can’t comment on the change but what I’ve found is a top notch drinking spot. In my experience the staff are always friendly and inviting. I love the decor – pared back cool without trying too hard. I’m a red wine drinker and the Chianti is always a winner, which they decant into a carafe for a nice touch. The food is gastro but reasonably priced with a couple of good options for vegetarians. The last time I was there I had the steak, which was cooked to perfection. The ambience is warm and relaxed and if I remember rightly, they play some good tunes in the background.

The beer is always good, cheap Guinness, obviously clean their lines regularly. Often Guinness can have a metallic taste but never at the Alma. Bar staff are chatty and easy on the eye. Live music, good DJs and homemade stone baked pizza proper italian style. The Alma has recently had a makeover at looks great for it.

If you've got a picture of Optimus Prime on the side of your pub, you're alright in my book :)

The Alma is a very nice little pub on church road in the heart of Crystal Palace. This boozer was our starting and finishing point for this weekends "London Classic" bike ride and was the perfect venue for drinking beers in the sunshine after the race.

We didn't try the food, but the beer selection was solid and the staff were very nice. What makes this place special though is the outdoor area. Enough space to seat at least 50, the Alma is a perfect pub for catching some rays on a warm sunday afternoon (i'm told they do barbecues too!)

I'll definitely be back.

A bit like that US tv series cheers, where everyone seems to know each other. Family friendly and free pool on a Monday.

This pub more than any other has put effort in to start new things and support community projects.
They have introduced the farmers market in the beer garden, host art exhibitions, charity events and now show free movies on a Sunday night.

It's the best music venue in Crystal Palace with live music every week from kids starting out through to seasoned professionals.

Only negative is that they run out of their guest ales too quickly!

Clearly a lot going on at this place & it seems well routed in the local community - as well as the ongoing market mentioned in the previous review there seems to be a good commitment to live music (the Bank Holiday saw the car park play host to a festival of 12+ bands for £5) as well as a desire to see the Crystal Palace re-built.

Always good to see a pool table with enough space round it to allow those tricky shots to be played & really the only mark in the minus column here was the largely generic selection of beers/ciders on offer. A better range of whiskies available than a number of bars I’ve visited recently though.

For me the Alma always lost out to the White Hart across the road, just becasue it was too smoky, the beer wasn’t as good and inside was a little bit dingy.

But then the amoking ban happened and some new management took it over, the Alma’s undergone a bit of a transformation.

They’ve had a few barbecues up there recently and this weekend there’s an outdoor market in the car park area which actually looks pretty good.

Worth trying out, and if you don’t like it then the White Hart is only ten yards away!