The Duchess, Stamford Brook, W6

A large bare boarded and high ceilinged interior, modern furniture in the form of plenty of sofas and armchairs, but enough of the traditional variety for me to find somewhere suitable to sit too. A few bits of decor have appeared, old food and drink adverts, flowers in vases on the window cills and a large chalkboard at the front lists the beers. Two large rooms essentially, the front area semi-divided from the rear which is where the bar is situated. Six handpumps plus ten casks on stillage as well as a good number of ciders in boxes. A clear locAle policy is evident with a number of beers from Ascot, Windsor & Eton, Rebellion and Twickenham. Reasonably priced food available, printed single sheet menus were on the tables, and pies are a speciality as they are in The Bree Louise. There were also bottled beer menus on the tables running to quite a list with plenty from Belgium. A good venture and worthy of support, hopefully the through traffic will be sufficient to sustain the ale range. Family friendly, there were a few kids in on Saturday late afternoon. Unfortunately the acoustics in these bare boarded, high ceilinged places are such that their presence was all too obvious. There is a TV but this was off while low key background music played.

Normally when you walk into a pub and see no handpumps on the bar it’s a matter for concern – but not here, as I swiftly saw some eight ales on gravity dispense behind the bar, as well as some ciders. Maybe there were others I didn’t see to make up the sixteen advertised in the London Drinker, or maybe there’s a plan to fit some handpumps. Whatever, eight ales is good enough for me. The Rebellion Dr Bob I had was excellent. And I was asked if I had a CAMRA card, and thus got a discount (just like at its sister pub, the Bree Louise). All the ales seemed to be £3.50 a pint, or £3 with a CAMRA card, and were advertised on a blackboard near the front door. Food was available when I visited at Saturday lunchtime – main course were between £8 - £12, and sandwiches about £3.50 or £5 with a few chips. The cheese and pickle sandwich I had was OK, but came toasted which I don’t think works too well with pickle, but tasty enough nonetheless. The service was very friendly. The pub itself is a thoroughly modern affair, with sofas and armchairs all over the place; minimalist decor; plenty of open space between the tables; cream painted walls; and a small table with various leaflets on it. There’s a small courtyard garden at the back. To be honest these minimalist, sofa rich, modern looking pubs are not really my favourites, but I’m sure many appreciate them, and this one definitely deserves extra marks for the ale choice. I would definitely visit again.

Newly opened real ale mecca, from the team behind The Bree Louise, Euston. Eight hand pumps are promised at the bar, in addition to nine casks on gravity dispense, plus ten ciders. The pub plans to have a six barrel capacity brewhouse up and running by January 2012. Sounds very promising.