Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Poll for date of Halifax crawl. with ROBCamra
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Duke of Wellington, Norwich
Norwich
NR3 1EG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Old Boots left this review about The Duke of Wellington
Appropriately located in Waterloo Road, it’s very deceptive, looking like an ordinary community pub, I expected three or four beers but was faced with a blackboard listing 15 beers although I think only 9 were available. They claim up to 32 cask on gravity serve. Seven were numbered and I think they prefer you to order by numbers, the beers are kept in a cold room in the servery. The other two beers were marked HP which I found out meant “hand pump”, the two pumps being in a rear room, the other casks are gravity served in the cold room. The pub is on a corner site with a bar down each roadside face, the rear room also has a couple of snugs leading off it. Both bars have low T-bars of course. Tasteful decor in cream above the dado, taupe wallpaper below, the woodwork in black or brown. A collection of brewery mirrors adorns some walls. Mostly furnished with tables and chairs with the odd armchair, sofa and pew.
On 21st April 2024
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Duke of Wellington
Another great Norwich pub with a great selection of real ales on handpump and direct from the barrels in the glazed tap room behind the main counter. Larger than it initially appears inside, with further seating around the back. We found a good range of beers from Wolf - including Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (a Norfolk dark mild, £1.85, half) - and Oakham, as well as others from the region and further away. Also notable for the Iron Duke sign above the main entrance and the homemade pies. First revisit for 15 years, but I shouldn't really leave it so long next time.
On 13th May 2023
- rating: 9
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Steve of N21 left this review about The Duke of Wellington
It’s quite amazing how many good traditional ale pubs there are in the NR3 postcode and this is one of the best, and well worth a visit, especially as the relatively nearby Fat Cat Brewery tap makes an excellent double.
A bit of a tardis pub internally the trick with this one is not to be fooled by just the couple of hand pumps on the bar but to spot the beer board on one of the far walls which details the array of ales available on stillage in a glass walled room behind the serving area.
I agree with the others below that there was a pleasant friendly atmosphere here and the homemade pies available were top notch indeed. All in all a very pleasant pub visit.
On 28th April 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Steve C left this review about The Duke of Wellington
The Duke of Wellington, according to the hanging pub sign, or Iron Duke, according to a tiled sign above the entrance, is a welcoming corner pub. On entry I made a beeline for the U-shaped bar counter on the right-hand wall where I found two hand pumps. Umming and ahing over the choice the friendly barmaid let on that there were many cask ales on stillage in the centre of the bar and I was directed back around to the front of the bar counter to view the extensive list of mainly Wolf and Oakham Brewery ales. Available were Wolf Brewery’s Golden Jackal, Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, Edith Cavell, Wolf Ale and Lupus Lupus alongside Oakham’s JHB, Bishop’s Farewell, Citra and Green Devil. Also available were Ampersand’s The Cap Bitter, Mr Winter’s Fusioneer, Hop Back’s Summer Lightening (haven’t seen this for an age), Nene Valley’s Table Stout and Three Blind Mice Brewery’s Juice Rocket. All would be considered local ales, except the Hop Back from Wilts. Craft keg was also available, as were warm pies from a container on the bar. Those that partook in a bit of pie eating are still raving about them to this day.
The blue and red square carpeted pub has seating along the front windows and up the windowed left hand side where a partition wall, mounted with an old wagon wheel, separates the bar seating from open plan seating at the rear. There are no televisions, but there was some low background music playing. There was a good local crowd in during our recent early Friday afternoon visit. I think some were bemused by the sudden onset of our group as we wandered wide eyed around the pub whilst taking notes and pictures, but there was a good atmosphere. This is certainly somewhere I’d return to without hesitation.
On 28th April 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5243 recommendations about 5211 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Duke of Wellington
A backstreet corner pub, dating from the 1930s, a shop conversion in 1937 giving us the Iron Duke, later D o W.
The locals were more tattooed than the Norwich’s heavily average, some regarding us with a barely concealed soupçon of suspicion.
My half of Wolf’s Lupus Lupus was my drink of the day and the cheapest at just £1.95.
On 17th April 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Duke of Wellington
A plain looking exterior,the interior is rather old school with a tardis feel. There is a tiny room at one end called Kay's Snug,but around the otherside there is a raised area and then a section for live music.Flatscreens complete the scene in what is a real boozer,lively without being rough.As you enter the servery is infront of you and L shaped with an array of handpumps but consult the extensive beer list on the wall as most ale is fetched from a stillage room behind glass panels behind the bar.
On my visit there were 15 ale choices of Wolf Wolf Ale,Sly Wolf,Edith Cavell,and Golden Jackal,Mr Winters Fusioneers MILD,Ampersand Tap Bitter,Oakham JHB,Citra,Green Devil IPA and Bishops Farewell (NBSS 3.5) ,Nene Valley Table Stout,Three Blind Mice Juice Rocket and Hopback Summer Lightening.
Thats a significant range of styles and strengths and the other crawlers were all happy with conditioning quality ,the 2023 GBG listing fully deserved.The pies got positive reviews too.
One not to miss,a very impressive real ale venue.
On 16th April 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Duke of Wellington
A pleasantly laid-back pub with a good atmosphere. Although a radio station was playing in the background, we were greeted by the gentle hum of conversation and it just felt right. A glass stillage room behind the bar housed a goodly selection of beer with about 10 ales on, many from the partnered Wolf brewery but including some good guests. Also worth a mention: the homemade bar pies were very well received.
On 16th April 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Duke of Wellington
Fairly plan and drab interior but a fab newly-done beer garden with plenty of hanging baskets which is where we parked ourselves. 5x Wolf beers on from a cool room behind the bar which is quite a comedown from the selection mentioned pre-COVID; whether this is temporary or permanent I couldn’t say. Anyhow, my Sheeps Clothing Mild was in decent nick (NBSS 3.5) served-up by a friendly barmaid (a Norwich speciality). Apparently you can order your takeaway here and the pub will supply plates and cutlery. Decent enough for one, though I wasn’t tempted for a second.
Visited early August.
On 12th September 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Duke of Wellington
On a late night visit I found the pub to be well attended but managed to find a small table in a corner of the long roomed pub, there were plenty of beers on that I failed to note at this stage of the day but enjoyed my Wolf Lupus Lupus and quite enjoyed the pub.
On 18th July 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Duke of Wellington
The Duke of Wellington was another Norwich pub that I decided to give another try, having last been here over 10 years ago and rating it as decidedly average. However, I was really impressed this time around.
There's a blackboard listing the full selection near the entrance and the bar area has now been split to create one point where you order and another where you collect your drinks. The barmaid was friendly and showed us the trapdoor which leads to an air raid shelter at the rear. Beyond that are the toilets and an outdoor area.
7 of the real ales were from Wolf - Edith Cavell, Moonlight, Golden Jackal, Battle of Britain, Lupus Lupus, Wolf Ale & Wolf In Sheep's Clothing. Oakham Bishop's Farewell is another regular ale. They also had Citra. 3 other guests were Dark Star Hophead, Nene Valley Manhattan Project & Three Blind Mice Milk Worm. In addition, there were 4 ciders - Broadoak Moonshine & Moonshine Rum & Raisin, Abrahall's Slack Alice & Colcombe House The Rhooberry.
Possibly the best pub we visited in Norwich yesterday.
On 18th September 2020
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]