Ye Old Fighting Cocks

I would suggest you to book for a Sunday Roast or give a call on a Sunday before show up after 1pm. The roast is okay but nothing special. The place is indeed pretty and old.

Great ambience and fabulous location. It’s Wednesday lunchtime and we have the place pretty much to ourselves. Service is friendly and authentic and the food is great. Thanks guys

Went to visit the old Verulamium Park and other nearby attractions when we stumbled upon this pub. Staff were excellent, Sunday roast was very good, and it had an old pub feel. Would definitely go back and would recommend it if you are in the area.

I see its supposed to be claiming to be oldest pub in Britain. sorry can see very little evidence :-) still its an OK pub with lots of old wood and original features but also quite a modern feel I’m places .Does food and a decent range of real ales which are OK quality.

This place looks ancient, but most certainly inviting once you open the door. The original sign that swings outside is most entirely faded and covered in moss that you would miss and therefore mistake the pub as an abandon old house. If it weren’t for the newer sign and the two cars parked out front, we may not have ventured inside. The pub is broken down into many smaller areas. The foyer is where I had a pint and my wife a pot of tea as prams (strollers) are not allowed in the main pub area for fire safety. There are large tables to the right of the foyer and to the left is the pub consisting of the counter area with chairs, a sofa and fireplace. There are maybe two or three other smaller areas, all of varying levels that make up the whole pub area, not including the foyer and table area. A fee local brews on tap and the usual popular beers as well. They have a full menu. Would love to come here again when the pub is filled but for now, I’m happy to have had a pint at the oldest, if not one of the oldest drinking establishments in the UK. The newspaper on the wall will give you the full details.

I’m sold on this place in atmosphere, alone. I’m not sure how legit its claims are as far as being the oldest pub in England (seems like there are a few that lay claim to that title), but it can’t be argued that it’s a great old historic building in a great old historic city. We were visiting family/​honeymooning from the States, and my husband had been there before on previous visits, but it was new to me.
After a quintessentially damp, chilly day of tromping around the cathedral at St. Albans, and roaming around the park at Verulamium, we were beat and in need of a place to rest our feet and relax for a few. Just as we neared the pub, a storm blew in, and we dashed to get out of the downpour. The perfect place to go at the end of a day steeped in history.
So cozy! Exactly the retreat you want in a cloudburst… dark wood, little rooms, one leading into another, low ceilings, soft lighting, great ales and ciders. We sat in a sunken area in the old round house portion of the original pub/​inn building, right along the river. The bartenders were nice, and I only wish they’d had a fire going in the fireplace, but, hey, you can’t have everything. We didn’t dine, so I can’t speak to the food, but if we get the chance to go back while we are here, I will definitely update and am saving a star for that. Lovely place, wonderful feel! There was a guy with a little dog who had also taken refuge from the storm, and I thought that was pretty cool, as s dog lover. I know that there are those who are not cool with pets in pubs, I’m just not one of them. Perhaps it’s karmic amends being made for the fact that this pub was apparently cockfighting central back in the days when that was the thing to do!

fantastic food — Sunday roast and slow cooked belly pork were superb! Yorkshire puddings were listed as a side dish for 1.50 each but on the other hand does it not show so much respect for them to be listed as a separate menu entry? it’s up to you to decide ;) ales are good, location very nice, especially in good weather.

As a local, this place has been on my to-​do for a long time. It is the oldest pub in England or so I’m told, so it’s pretty much a must visit for that reason alone. It also resembles a cool medieval hut that is octagonal in shape and its foundations date from 793! Vintage.
Any who, I finally fulfilled my mission to sample this pub as it was the venue for a friends engagement lunch. We had to book a table as it was a Saturday and we had a large group. There wasn’t loads to chose from on the menu. Food was average, mediocre at best. Had fish and chips. Fairly cheap. The bride to be’s dad didn’t get his food on time with the rest if the group. Big mistake. Huge. He complained but put it this way, if we weren’t there to celebrate his daughters engagement, angry fireworks would have lit this place up.
Décor. Alright. Low ceilings. Drab. An original bread-​oven is next to one of the fireplaces. It has a very large beer garden with different seating arrangements, as well as seats out the front. One member of staff did look like a medieval monk, so that worked.
Glad I’ve been in to eat but won’t hurry back. Plenty more pubs to try in St Albans.

Great little pub, lovely food, nice staff, great choice of beer, pub has tons of character, has a real log fire, nothing better on a cold day after a walk around the park, also it allows dogs, which I feel adds to the charm of the place, really cosy feel, probably the best pub all around St Albans in my book.

This pub is great all year around! Summer great for outdoors and space! Winter great for quizzes and the working FIRE!!! you can smell it halfway up the Abbey and it just wants to invite you in.
The staff are also great there and the bar gets wiped down regularly!!!
Only thing i dont like is the main area there is carpet on the floor just a personal hate.
But as a whole a great pub (also ask to play guess who, jenga or more)
Highly recommend.

My family and I were really eager to have lunch here, but we missed their 3:00 cutoff by about 8 minutes. So we settled for drinks instead. I’m not a beer person, but my family seemed quite pleased with the wide selection of English beers and the prices weren’t too bad either.
This pub claims to be the oldest in England, though I think a few pubs claim that title. The atmosphere here is very cool – I love the low ceilings and woodwork. Tall people may not appreciate the low ceilings as much as I did – remember to duck!
While sipping our drinks, we chose a board game from the few that they have behind the bar, settled up to the fireplace and spent a delightful afternoon. Can’t wait to be back and perhaps buy a souvenir t-​shirt!

It is considered by the Guinness Book to be the oldest pub in England, though there is some competition from other pubs. Originally, the pub was known as the ‘Round House,’ likely because of the round-​ish, octagonal structure that makes up the main section. As the sport of cock fighting gained a foothold, the pub was re-​branded as Ye Old Fighting Cocks, sometime in the 19^th century. Today, this country-​inn style pub is known locally as «The Fighters.»
It is rather small inside, so it pays to make a reservation in advance if you’re planning on going by.
This is a CAMRA pub, and has a great selection of Real Ale, and I tried 3 or 4 of them that were really nice.
The menu has a good selection tasty vegetarian options in addition to classic pub favorites.
Check out my longer review here (with pictures):

I have yet to eat here but what I can tell you is that they have an excellent selection of traditional English beers served at cellar temperature. As an American this is, of course, an acquired taste considering that initially it goes down as a glass of something that’s been sitting out for a bit too long, however, after trying it few times I’m getting the hang of it. If you are town around Christmas then certainly try the Rockin’ Rudolf.

This might be the most likely pub in St Albans for you to come to because of its disputed place in the Guinness book of records as the oldest pub in the UK. I imagine this gives many people cause to seek it out
You won’t be disappointed. I meanthere are better pubs in St Albans as this one is a little bit too expensive gastro for my tastes, but it does serve real ale and looks great inside and out (massive beer garden).
It was originally called The Roundhouse, I guess due to its octagonal shape (the Octagonal House just isn’t as catchy) but renamed a couple of hundred years ago due to the popularity of cock fighting.

Tourists love this as it claims to be one of the oldest pubs in England.
I fell out of love with this place when the accountants moved in and it lost its charming character.

Ye Old Fighting Cocks is one of the three oldest pubs in all of England, possibly the oldest depending on exactly how you define public house — it hold the Guiness World Record!
This place has everything you could possibly imagine for a classic British public house: awesome timber frame architecture, dark, dark, dark wood interior, with a fantastic full bar and plenty of hand-​pulled ales. And as if that isn’t enough, the food is fantastic. Since I was there with a big group I tried any number of dishes from beef to lamb, to sea bass, all of them delicious. To top off the meal, I had the toffee pudding — UH-​MAY-​ZING

Watch out if you have height! This place was built a while ago, when people taller than 6 feet did not exist. Aside from some low ceilings, that also means you’ll find old character awesomeness here.
The pub has a standard line of brews and good bartenders. Explore the park nearby, maybe throw a few Frisbees, and unwind with a beer here afterward.

I love this pub. I don’t even drink very much and I love it. It is old and dark with wooden tables and little pictures on the wall.
We came here after a walk in park in Saint Albans. You can tell this pub is really old. It is comfortable and not sleezy. I read Daily Mail and drank Cranberry while the girlfriend had a pint. I noticed that they also served hot mulled wine here.
I usually have itchy feet in pubs but this one was different. I loved the atmosphere so much I could have stayed all day. That is saying something.

This is a really nice old pub in St Albans. Its a bit tricky to find unless you know your way around.
The pub is apparently one of the oldest, and the beers are good.
My fiancée had a lemonade that tasted like detergent but I think that was a one-​off.

This pub has the perfect location, just across the bridge from the lake at Verulanium. It is (supposedly) the oldest pub in England, and there is a real rustic feel to it. It is a typical old English pub, and the atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming.
There are tables outside by the river to sit in the summer, which is really nice. There is a wide selection of drinks and they are pretty reasonably priced. I have not tried the food there but am told its very good.