The Duke, Deptford, SE8

Official site of the Duke, contains menu and wine list - www.thedukedeptford.com

The Duke is a little isolated midway between Deptford and Greenwich and there isn’t any real reason to go out of the way to visit it. To be honest you won’t miss much. Many pubs in the area have fallen to the demolition ball so the fact that it is still around is I suppose one bonus point. In the past it was well known a local music pub (Squeeze and Dire Straits have both played here in the beginnings) but was until recently a fairly run down boozer of no great merits. It has now undergone a modern makeover and is now a trendy, contemporary pub/bar/kitchen of no great merits. The interior is quite spacious and split into front and rear sections with the main bar at the front displaying the now pre-requisite sofa section and rear section comprising mainly of old dining tables. There is a minimalist feel to the place with some modern artwork, bare black floorboards, plain walls and ceilings and it comes over as a pretty faceless and bland place to spend an evening. Upstairs is a small terrace with views across a piece of wasteground a few rooftops, OK for a quick puff but not really somewhere to gaze at the stars with your loved one. There were 3 hand pumps with London Pride, Landlord and 1 unused. The Landlord was good quality but an outrageous £3.40 (and this was before the recent VAT increases). The food was a mix of pub grub and more adventurous (if a little pretentious for the area) dishes with main courses around £8-12. The vegetarian choices did seem to be more interesting and numerous than normal pub offerings. Just who would be drawn to the place or who it is aimed at isn’t really clear but on my visit the place seemed to be like a meeting place for local foreign communities with groups bellowing across the pub in a multitude of languages at each other and I can’t say I felt particularly comfortable. If nothing else, the place acts as a half way stop between Deptford and Greenwich but personally, I’d probably just keep walking.

Official site of the Duke, contains menu and wine list - www.thedukedeptford.com

Randomness Guide to London - Duke entry

Randomness Guide to London - Duke entry