The Duke, WC1

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about The Duke

This is a nice, unspoilt pub with an interesting multiple room layout in a quiet backstreet location. The corner entrance leads you into a chequer tile floored main bar with half panelled walls, neutral shaded upper sections and the servery over in the rear right corner. Some nice booths with attractive dark wood and frosted glass partitioning screens run along the front wall, whilst long tables over to the left are served by basic chairs. The bar has an attractive dark wood counter that curves elegantly to form a compact quarter-circle, with a bar back that extends on through to the right-hand room. The windows along two sides of the room, have large potted plants on their sills and the walls have been decorated with stylish old mirrors, a few promotional posters and an unused TV screen, whilst a very unusual bright red upright piano stands against the rear wall. A door to the right leads through to the dining room, which has a mirror image of the main bar’s servery, plus a series of tables and chairs, many of which are carefully partitioned from one another. All of the tables are set for diners and when I attempted to wander in for a quick snoop around, I was quickly reprimanded by a lady standing at the bar, who made it clear I wasn’t welcome in there unless I was eating. Taking the hint, I took myself down the staircase behind the bar, which leads down to a basement ‘Party Room’, which is a whole lot less exciting than it sounds. It’s a concrete floored room, albeit almost entirely covered with a huge multi-coloured rug, with three rows of tables and chairs, each bearing a lit candle. The walls are painted red and covered in old mirrors, enamel retro movie adverts and an old fashioned TV set, standing on a shelf in the rear corner. There is also what appears to be a DJ booth, suggesting the room might be available to hire for private events. The dark wood ceiling is strung with fairy lights, which helps create a pleasant, warm ambiance in what might otherwise be a bit of a grim basement space.
There were three handpulls in operation when I arrived, offering a choice between Sharps Doom Bar, Black Sheep Bitter and Exmoor Gold. A rather gruff barman served me a pint of the Gold, which was in pretty good condition and set me back £5.10. There was a good mid-week crowd, with the bar area totally full, some sort of work’s do in the Party Room and absolutely no-one in the dining room.
This place was recommended to me by fellow PuGers back in 2017, but it took me another five years to actually get around to checking the place out. I’m glad I did, as it’s a very pleasant, interesting little pub with some nice, varied seating areas, decent cask ale and a warm ambiance that can sometimes be hard to find in the city. Not really one to challenge the better known alehouses, but a good option if you’re looking for a peaceful retreat in this part of the city.

On 15^th February 2022 - rating: 7
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