Duke of Cambridge, Battersea, SW11

Been a mixed bag so far in trying to tie up unvisited SW11 venue - won’t be achieved today will require a later in the week attendance to sweep up some venues on here that don’t open start of the week. This place jostles with the ex JDW venue on Falcon Rd for the best venue so far. A high bar I hear you say! It remains a Youngs pub, well described physically by Tris and Rex below. Indeed only change I could see was there has been another change of colour scheme. The seating area out the front was again popular to get a dose of CO with your quaff and dried roasted (head rather than nuts). The aspect that marked it up a bit for me was the 100% utilisation of the albeit small array of hand pumps. The choices were Original (obviously), Hophead and something called Brown Dog Riot from Sambrook’s. Given almost everyone around here seems to own a mutt (or is that t he other way around) it is probably a social statement on the area and indeed South London generally, only difference being SW are small and cute where as SE would generally eat you alive. The keg choices weren’t particularly exciting, FreeDamm, Neck Oil, Peroni, Hepcat, Estrella, Camden Hells, Asahi, Guinness, Aspall and Pravda. Another large pub where I had the inside to myself a bit before 6pm. Not sure why all the lighting was on though, probably habit as effing bright in here absent the electric lighting. Music was cool to combat the temperatures outside, a couple from the Doors during my necking of my pint of Hophead. After the former Duke of Battersea I need another place to continue the quaffing.

Basic high ceilinged interior.3 Youngs beers on plus Dartmoor-ipa. which was decent but not an ipa to me.Good ouside area at the front.Noisy quiz on Wednesdays.

This pub has clearly been subjected to an aggressive Young’s makeover. It’s now opened up into one large room, with sofas and low tables in abundance, tall chunky tables and tall stools all along the right side of the room, tub armchairs, and just two or three normal tables and chairs tucked away here and there. That’s for drinkers anyway – at the back on the right there is an area where all tables are set for diners, and even a separate small room with one largish dining table that is advertised as being available for private hire. The walls are painted a variety of mainly pastel shades, but with some grey and dull purple, with the ceiling painted the same dull purple. A chandelier provides lighting at the front of the room, with some spotlights illuminating the area to the left and rear of the bar counter. As the pub is laid back from the road, there’s space for a handful of tables outside in front of the pub. But the ale choice is good by Young’s standards, with Young’s Special, Bitter, Bombardier, Sambrook’s Wandle, and Bath Gem available. The Gem was £3.50 a pint, which is what you expect to have to pay in this sort of pub. There were daily printed menus on the tables. Obviously the food’s not cheap – as an example the steak and ale pie is £11.10. This is no longer the traditional pub that it once must have been. But if you like these madeover, upwardly mobile pubs then you’ll like this one.

Duke of Cambridge page at the Youngs site - www.youngs.co.uk

Duke of Cambridge page at the Youngs site - www.youngs.co.uk