The Duchess of Kent, Highbury, N7

A single longish room with table and chairs throughout, all menued up. Three handpumps with two clipped with London Pride the other St Austell Proper Job which I opted for at £6.55 a pint only to be disappointed with the very poor quality. Not on the revisit list.

This backstreet boozer has been given a sympathetic, modern makeover to create an inclusive feeling space which had drawn a decent Friday night crowd on my recent visit. We're presented with a bare boarded, narrow room with a small dog leg at the rear left. The servery runs down the left-hand wall close to the entrance and has a traditional wood panelled counter and a modern glazed brick bar back which mirrors the dumb waiter on the opposite wall. Lots of very comfy seating has been arranged throughout the room, mostly in the form of plush chairs and tub chairs, although a couple of luxuriously padded banquettes can also be found to the rear and right. Walls have low, dark wood panelling with plain uppers decorated with lots of old portraits, maps, photos, mirrors and other such traditional bits. A few potted plants add a bit of extra colour and a TV screen to the rear, above a fenced off fireplace, suggests sport might get an occasional airing, although pop tunes were quietly playing during this visit. Blackboards detail the availability of Sunday roasts and regular quiz nights. The bar supports a row of handpulls, which were dispensing Youngs Ordinary, St Austell Proper Job (£6.30 a pint) and Rosie's Pig Rhubarb Cider. The Proper Job was in pretty good condition and the pub was doing a very good trade, as I managed to get the last available table on an early Friday night visit. With the nearby 'Spoons taking a nosedive in recent years and the Brewhouse and Kitchen serving up ale of variable quality, I've been on the lookout for a new regular in this part of town and had hoped this place might fit the bill. As it turns out, this is a solid option which should guarantee a decent pint and lively atmosphere, but it's not exactly pushing the boat out and for me, doesn't do enough to stand out from all the other 'also rans' nearby. Date of visit - 6th September 2024

Everything in here is modern, and it all seemed a bit chintzy. The bar counter's on the left, opposite which are some standard tables with normal chairs, but with upholstered bench seating against the wall which is covered with cushions. As far as I could make out, the cushions are for decoration only, as you can't sit back on these benches. They had some of those clinic-like white tiles behind the servery, along with wine bottles on little shelves, and the floors are still bare-boarded, with the boarding having little ridges in them for some reason. I didn't see a menu, but they obviously do food as our group was asked it we were having lunch there. Perhaps had we answered in the affirmative we would have been ushered to the tables at the back, and then given menus. They did have bar snacks, such as sausage rolls under little plastic dishes on the counter. Also, they did have three real ales on though - Young's Bitter, Dorking Pilcrow, and Hamerton N1. This is a snazzy little pub that I guess might appeal to mummies who lunch. It's not much like a traditional pub now.

The Duchess of Kent is a corner pub that is in what looked like a nice leafy area if it was not winter. Once inside there is an oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,the front area is bare boarded,there is bench seating and chairs to the front,the rear area is carpeted and has normal tables and chairs. There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Twickenham Grandstand,which went down well,the other real ales were Sharps Coaster and Youngs Bitter. There was a TV showing rugby and the pub was quite busy on my late Saturday afternoon visit. I thought this was a decent pub to have a drink in. Pub visited 25/2/2017

Official site of The Duchess of Kent - www.theduchessofkent.co.uk

The first thing you notice is the awful red lettering on grey fascia - it looks like something you'd see on a live music venue. Inside, the pub seems to want to be all things to all people and is deceptively large. There's a more formal dining area to the rear but at front there's a long bar along the left side. The floor's bare boarded but the boards have these strange grooves cut into them. The pub's painted white and lighting is in abundance - some of the lights are very modern with some strange donut-shaped lamps over the bar. The end result is that the interior's a bit too bright. Music was muted and unfortunately there was a TV on the wall showing, mercifully with the sound down. There are some big cushions dotted around the place which are a bit girlie. The barman was a bit brusque. Three ales on offer: Young's Bitter, Sharp's Cornish Coaster and Redemption's Geronimo Ales at £4.00 which was fine and reasonably priced for the area. This is the only pub for a fair while so if you're in need of a drink then this place will suffice, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make a return visit.

Official site of The Duchess of Kent - www.theduchessofkent.co.uk

Corner pub comprising quite a narrow space with bar at one end and a dining area at the other. Some patio seats out front. Typical gastro-pub furniture / decor and background music, but the line of pump clips along the top of the bar back indicates a bit more interest in real ale than some Geronimo branches. On this visit, the four handpumps offered Cornish Coaster, Adnams Ghost Ship, Bombardier and Sambrooks Junction (£3.75). Overall, despite a few reservations, this is one of the better pubs in the area.

The front of this corner pub is the drinking area,with a long bench opposite the bar and a few tables and chairs by the front windows.Beyond the bar there is a gasto restaurant,although the waitress didn't mind us spilling over to this section to drink given how the "pub" section was full.There was a flat screen with the rugby on,while some trendy musak was the dominant noise in the interior. There were four handpumps dispensing CW Waggledance,UBU Purity,Adnams Broadside and Sharp's Atlantic IPA on my trip ,which were in good nick.The restaurant was popular with families,and this is where the interesting internal features are located.Not really a pub where you could enjoy an extended session,yet fine for a quick pint.

I had arranged to meet MrsB here prior to a match at the Emirates without actually doing any research or knowing much about it so it was a bit of a gamble. I was initially a bit wary once I realized I had managed to pick a Gastropub where two thirds of the pub was designated for diners but I was lucky in bagging one of the few tables in the drinking area. The décor is fairly plain and furnishings are of a laid back, loungey nature with lots of stripped back wood and trendy modern pictures. The beers were fairly expensive but of decent quality (Adnams / Pride / Doom Bar) although to be fair they charged nothing for my wife’s Soda and Lime. I would have been tempted to try something from the BBQ out the front had it not been puring with rain. I can’t say it is the sort of place I would have picked by choice for a meet up but for what it was, it was a pleasant enough hour or so with the babble of conversation fortunately drowning out much of the challenging style of music. It certainly won’t appeal to everyone but it was friendly enough, not too packed, had decent beers and ticked the boxes for what we needed at the time, That said, I doubt I would feel the need to rush back.