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The Devonshire, W1

17-19 Denman Street
W1
W1D 7HW

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Devonshire

Absolutely rammed on a wet Thursday evening in the post-work rush, so it was difficult to get a full impression of the reinvigorated former Devonshire Arms. However, it is still very much a proper pub, despite the background of the new owners and their upmarket restaurant elsewhere in the angled corner building. Landlord and Hophead (£6.20) from two of the three handpumps I could see, with Cheshire Cat from Weetwood annoying off without the clip being turned. However, it might have been on from what appeared to be a duplicated selection on the other bank on the Saloon Bar side.

On 25th February 2024 - rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]

Will Larter left this review about The Devonshire

A remarkable recovery for this former pub, now a pub again and presented very nicely. The main bar room as large, with the bar counter in two sections. There's extended booth seating with glazed screens, a separate restaurant and the toilets are downstairs. (There's a lift for those who are unable to manage the stairs.) Beers available for my visit were Timothy Taylor Landlord and Weetwood Cheshire Cat, the latter having rarity value to go with its NBSS 3, making it a good buy at £5.00/pint.

Date of visit: 9th January 2024

On 25th February 2024 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3745 recommendations about 3482 pubs]

Steve of N21 left this review about The Devonshire

The Devonshire Arms is back, although this new incarnation has dropped the Arms from the original name, and it is now just The Devonshire. As detailed below this former Taylor Walker pub was lost to the ghastly Jamie Oliver Jamie's Italian restaurant chain (I will leave you to enter your own punctuation to that sentence) for several years but has now re-opened at the beginning of November as a pub / restaurant. It is a collaboration between two well-known London pub and restaurant owners in Oisin Rogers, (formerly of the Guinea Grill in Mayfair) and Charlie Carroll (founder of the Flat Iron in Covent Garden). And they have Ashley Palmer-Watts, the former chef and no2 to Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck in Bray running the restaurant sections.
So, you would well be forgiven for expecting a modern food led gastro pub, but as the lads below describe, and I was pleasantly surprised to find, when dragged along here by a foodie mate, was a proper London boozer (well, on the ground floor at least). I thought they have done a very good job putting a pub back into this space and the faux Victorian interior with its burgundy Anaglypta ceiling, comfortable red padded booth seating with its glass snob screens, as described below by Tris, and the two-part mahogany bar that looks like it’s always been there, all look the part. And indeed there are no TV screens or gaming machines anywhere.
Although you are able to order bar snacks in the pub section, the main food action takes place on the floors above with a wood ember grill room on the first floor and an a la carte restaurant on the second floor. We sneaked up to take a look at the restaurant sections only to find said Mr Palmer-Watts doing front of house on this particular evening who, sensing my mate’s excitement and commitment to make a booking for a subsequent evening, gave us a guided tour of the two floors and the elegance and attention to detail from the ground floor have been continued up here. Although when looking at the price point of a lot of the dishes and the wine on the menu, I won’t be in tow for the return visit to these floors.
Back to the pub section and the bar supports three hand pumps on each bar section which were dispensing the same run of the mill line up described below. The Landlord was fine, but my Wandel was tired and lifeless. However, like all Mr Rogers former and current London pubs the star attraction is the Guinness, and many more pints were coming out of the Guinness taps than being poured from the ale pumps. And the bar-flys on the stalls blocking the ale pumps on the first bar section testified that it was served properly and in very good condition.
I agree with Tris that one thing they couldn’t get right, or fix, were the acoustics and when full, as it was on this evening, its extremely loud in the bar area. But that’s a small quibble and although yes I also agree there are still better original pubs close by, its just good to have an old pub rise from the ashes this close to Piccadilly.

On 13th December 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]

Tris C left this review about The Devonshire

Now disarmed, this pub dates back to the late 18th century, to be rebuilt in 1898, spending 2012 to 2023 as part of Jamie Oliver’s pukka restaurant empire, known as CoqBull (cock and bull?).
I came here once before in the late ‘80s and discovered Old Peculiar, so can’t recall it. Summed up well by Moby a few hours ago, there’s now a faux Victorian interior, part boarded, part carpeted, with some booth-style seating, burgundy Anaglypta ceiling, traditional furniture and period-style tasselled wall sconces; there’s a restaurant upstairs and of note was the absence of electronic entertainment, which is a bonus in my book. Customers were mainly suited office workers, contributing to quite some cacophony due to poor acoustics.
A rather unimaginative Groundhog Day cask lineup presented Pride, Wandle and Landlord at an expensive £3.10 a half and decent, served by an attentive barmaid who retrieved my glass to give an unprompted top-up.
Acoustics and prices aside, this isn’t a bad place, certainly better than your average Soho cocktail bar-cum-pub, but I’d prefer the Old Coffee House, Lyric or Ship.

On 21st November 2023 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]

Moby Duck left this review about The Devonshire

A decent looking but food led pub, nicely turned out inside with a nod to its Victorian past but all a little too prim and proper to feel authentic.The cask beer offering was London Pride, Wandle and Landlord, all a bit run of the mill.

On 21st November 2023 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Roger Button left this review about Devonshire Arms

This small Soho pub near Piccadilly Circus is one of numerous Taylor Walker branded pubs in the area belonging to the Punch PubCo. I’ll openly admit that I find Taylor Walker (and Punch) pubs more than little dull, functional and in the West End, not much more than an interpretation of a traditional pub steered toward the tourist trade. That said, the Devonshire is a little cosier than some thanks to its small interior and, on my visit, friendlier than average West End bar service.

First established in 1793, it was, according to the blurb outside, one of the few buildings left standing in the area after WW2. The single room ground floor is much of a muchness for the West End with bare floors (tiled around the bar area), paneled windows, high tables and chairs and no real focal point of interest. Bland music acted as little more than a backdrop. Upstairs is a dining room that was apparently once a regular hang out for gangland bosses.

There is what I would describe as a tourist choice of beers and food, the 4 ales being very formulaic (London Pride, Old Speckled Hen, Youngs London Gold and Spitfire) and nothing you coudn’t find elsewhere within a hundred yard radius (and even then it will probably be another Taylor Walker pub). On the plus side the prices are a bit more realistic than some West End pubs with my London Gold costing £3.25. Quality was fine also. Main courses on the menu were around £7-9 with a few specials on a blackboard displayed in the corner.

There isn’t really much here to either attract or deter any potential customers and it probably suffers for being in the heart of the West End among dozens of similarly pitched pubs. If it were in a less concentrated area and had a more adventurous beer policy it would certainly have more appeal than it does.

On 5th October 2011 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Steve C left this review about Devonshire Arms

I had a suspiciously quickly poured pint of Pride in here which tasted distinctly odd. I challenged the barmaid as to whether she had topped up a pint that was sitting behind the bar and she said that she had before going and topping up the already brimming pint – a bit of a language barrier there. I decided to drink at the side of the bar and noticed another half full pint glass sitting in a drip tray and a couple of empty trays, one of which was Pride. I'm no Poirot, but I saw enough to warrant myself leaving my beer and the pub never to return again.

On 1st September 2009 - rating: 1
[User has posted 5249 recommendations about 5217 pubs]