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Detail Pages
Duke of Devonshire, Eastbourne
Eastbourne
BN21 3NU
Pub Type
Oak Tree (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
David Walton left this review about Duke of Devonshire
Visited 16/05/26
Three handpumps providing old Rosie, Harveys Best and Doom Bar. Keg offering of Asahi, Peroni, Madri, Camden Hells, Neck Oil, BrewDog Punk IPA, John Smiths, dark fruits SB, Carling, Guinness, Alpacalypse, Mahou, San Miguel, Inch's.
Large corner located venue, L shaped with the bar counter following the inside shape of the venue. There is some outside seating at the front sides of the venue. Corner entrance, with a lino tile skirt around the bar counter and then a mixture of bare boarded and carpeted. Immediately to the right of the entrance there is a seating area with regular tables and chairs and a high leather banquette facing the side street windows than a slightly raised area with regular tables and then a line of tall tables down the middle with a series of fabric banquettes before another slightly raised area with regular tables and chairs in the rear part of that side plus some leather banquettes serving regular tables along the side walls. To the left of the entrance is a plusher seating area, wood panelling on the walls with an ornate wooden fire grate clearly not in use, and leather bucket armchairs with a dark blue leather corner fitted banquette. There are plenty of screens in the venue and the emphasis here is clearly on sport. Lighting was pleasant and a very low background pop soundtrack. Not going to set the world alight as a destination for cask lovers, but nice and airy venue to catch a game.
On 19th May 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1770 recommendations about 1743 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Duke of Devonshire
Near to what passes as a shopping centre in Eastbourne this one is handy if your other half insists on exploring The Beacon Shopping centre close by. My visit was on a mid Saturday afternoon and a fairly mixed mature crowd in. But I am not surprised by the review below that this place turns into a youngsters loud barn of an evening, it kind of had that vibe about it.
All tables with a laminated card of mainly deep fried delights and standard draught drinks offers ala Wetherspoons approach and I also was surprised to find three working hand pumps. However as below one was badged with Harveys Sussex Best and then the other two with Doombar clips, the original round one and the newer square one with the pointed top edge. This double badging with different Doombar clips infuriates me and I cannot help but poke it..
“Ah dear bar person, have you got two different types of Doombar available then ?, Eeeer not sure I will have to go and ask.. No don’t bother I’ll have the Harveys”, and also surprisingly it wasn’t half bad. I took it to one of the better features of the pub , which was the outside seating facing the pedestrianised Terminus Road, which catches the afternoon sun.
On 11th July 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2351 recommendations about 2197 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Duke of Devonshire
Very loud, student-type pub later on a Friday evening, although it might be quite different earlier in the day / week? Anyway, it has a partly opened-out, L-shaped layout under a high ceiling. For what I could see in the gloom, it appeared to have a mix of semi-traditional and semi-modern features, and some outside seating is also available on one side of this corner building. A slight surprise is that it has three handpumps on the counter and a bigger surprise is that two of these were actually working; furthermore one of these produced a very respectable pint of Harvey's (£3.95), with Doom Bar available on the other.
On 20th April 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 9165 recommendations about 9165 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about Duke of Devonshire
The wife and I visited here for a beer and some lunch last Thursday afternoon as I hadn’t been in since the name change from BN21 to The Duke of Devonshire which happened some time ago. There has been some change as the nauseating self promotion on the plasma screens has gone and muted rolling news with subtitles is now shown and the R&B has been replaced by inoffensive chart hits, during the daytime anyway. The cheap drinks and food are still present with Wetherspoonesque promotions available, but this pub reminds more of the Barracuda chain and after much hunting through the menus and signs I found no mention of the owners, which I feel may be wholly intentional. The ale choice may lead one to believe that this is a Greene King pub as IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Marstons EPA were available alongside Harveys Best and Pride, but who knows. I do know that the Guinness was very good and fantastically cheap at £2.75 a pint, but the service left a lot to be desired and my burger was well done to say the least and the cheese was missing from my wife’s jacket potato topped with cheese, but this was quickly rectified without fuss. I suppose that one gets what one pays for!
There are some café style tables out the front and this place is known locally as ‘that pub with the chairs on the high street’. Children are only permitted if dining with an adult.
I suppose that this pub has changed for the better and less than £3 for any pint can’t be scoffed at, but I think that there are better pubs in the area where the extra silver coinage is worth every penny.
Also, the pool table has been removed.
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12th August 2008
The BN21 is a big cavernous L-shaped pub that has a pool table, sells cheap lager and plays modern dance/R&B music. The barmaid that served me was very polite and there is some outside seating on the high street. I think that the psychedelic displays and self advertising on the screens hanging from the ceiling may be going a little too far.
Not really my scene, but I don't see anything wrong with the place if you like these sorts of pubs.
On 7th December 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 6674 recommendations about 6636 pubs]