Duke of York, SW1

Pubs around major railway termini are generally little more than places to cater for a transient customer base and therefore tend not to go to any great lengths to offer anythinmg beyond the basic necessities. The Duke of York, a couple of carriage lengths from Victoria station, falls largely into this territory, a typically bland pub with a standard pub by numbers L-shaped interior and dull beer selections. As ales go, Greene King IPA, Abbot, Speckled Hen and Youngs Ordinary don’t, for me at least, fully justify the “Purveyers of Celebrated Beers, Wines and Spirits” sign emblazoned across the front of the pub. Everything is quite ordinary and bog standard. The pub actually looks better from the outside with its traditional facade, foral displays, ornate wooden corbels and curved vindows, especially near the entrance to the upstairs restaurant. It can get heavingly busy during rush hour and pre-theatre (The Palace and Apollo Theatres are close to hand) and it should be noted that there are no TV's. Music is played at a barely audible level so you generally just get a rabble of tourist and office group voices shouting over each other which can be a bit of a din to say the least. Overall there is nothing to put one off having a quick pint although the dot matrix behind the bar warning of the theft of vauables should be taken seriously - the proximity of the station means that they probably do get more than their fair share of chancers able to make a quick getaway among the commuter crowds. It is very much a does as it says on the tin kind of place and doesn’t really fulfil its potential. It’s certainly not really somewhere worth the effort of going out of the way for.

I found the barman in here to be very friendly and I had a decent pint of Pride. Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA and Bombardier were also available alongside a premium and standard draught range. My visit was late on a Thursday night so most of the crowd were pretty plastered, but there was still a relaxed atmosphere. A German speaking woman tried to give me her purse to go up to the bar to buy a drink as she couldn’t stand up, but I politely declined the offer and disappeared to the other side of the pub. I think that the transient nature of this pub due to its location allow people to let their hair down as they’re unlikely to bump into any they meet here again. I would pop back in here again if in the area.