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Detail Pages
The Duchess, Stamford Brook, W6
Stamford Brook
W6
W6 0XF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
Rebuilt in 1928, this was originally the Queen of England and acquired its current name in 2011, presumably to honour Kate Middleclass. This is quite a large pub painted and furnished in a very contemporary style with an eau de Nil colour scheme; in all it's a bit stark. Music played at a reasonable level so as not to compete for attention with the commentary coming from the TV showing the footie. On our arrival, there was no-one at the bar. This was because the barman was relaxing in the garden. Can’t say I blame his as there were only about four male customers of a certain age in on our arrival at 7.30 pm on a fine Saturday evening, two glumly watching the TV; it seems our experience was similar to that of Johns B and G.
Ales: two unused pumps thereafter the unholy alliance of Doom and Pride at £2.25 a half.
We found this place to be a bit lacklustre and the awful ale choice didn’t help. We passed the pub again at 10.30 after leaving the vastly superior Tabard a few yards from here and there were now just two customers in; how sad.
Rated 3.5.
On 17th September 2018
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
Update - October 2015
This pub has changed hands since my previous visit in October 2011 - original review below
It is now owned by The Bermondsey Pub Co who, according to their website have 6 pubs up and down the country. Their website says that their pubs are " the place for groups of friends, couples and singles to meet, relax, and enjoy each others company in a friendly and vibrant atmosphere whenever it suits them"
My visit yesterday evening - after SWFC's visit to QPR - found the pub virtually deserted. A group of three left shortly after I arrived, leaving just me and a bored looking barman, who, although it was only 10.15pm, had already started to spray and wipe down all the tables.
I'm not familiar with any of the other Bermondsey Pub Co outlets, but real ale would evidently appear not to be a main focus and just London Pride and GK IPA were available on my visit. The 4 other pumps were unclipped and there was nothing to indicate that any other beers were coming on soon. Needless to say, there's no on site brewery, which, when the pub was under the same ownership as The Bree Louise, was intended. For the record, the London Pride was £ 4 and was OK.
I didn't see anything at all that makes me want to come here again. Marked down from 7 to a 5
ORIGINAL REVIEW - OCTOBER 2011
A full page advertisement in the latest London Drinker mentioning “16 hand pumped and gravity poured real ales and 11 cask ciders changing daily” encouraged me to seek out The Duchess of Cambridge recently one evening. It occupies a prominent position on the corner of a roundabout in a residential area of W6.
I never visited the pub in its previous incarnations as The Queen of England and Brooks Bar, but it looks like it’s had a pretty major refit recently and, although you can’t smell the paint, it’s got that rather new, clinical, character free stripped out feel that modern pubs seem to go for nowadays. There’s 2 adjoining rooms and, with an entrance on each street, I would imagine that it was formerly a two bar pub, although sadly there’s nothing original surviving that proves or disproves this. There’s some elegant cornicing in the room on the left, but, otherwise it’s the usual featureless mixture of sofas, tables and different seating types. Old half height wood panelling has been painted a deep red colour and the walls are cream coloured. There’s a few framed Punch cartoons dotted about, but the walls do look rather bare and stark and there’s a rather cold and clinical feel to the place. At the side, through a pair of glass doors, is an outside decking area with the usual outside style seating and large tall heaters.
A blackboard just inside the main doorway lists forthcoming events. These included an official re-opening party on Friday 21 October ( some three weeks after it did actually reopen ) and Halloween between 29-31 October where face painting and pumpkin carving are promised. Whilst real ale is now clearly a major feature here, the pub is clearly not putting all its eggs in one basket ( unlike, say, The Bricklayers Arms in Putney ) and there’s a reasonably standard pub menu, TV screens for rugby and an upstairs function room ( not viewed )
The advertisement in London Drinker refers to The Bree Louise as its “sister pub” and, on my recent evening visit, I was fortunate enough to get talking to Craig Douglas, the owner of The Bree Louise and who has now bought The Duchess of Cambridge as his second pub.
Craig explained to me that an on site micro brewery is planned for the New Year, which will supply beer to both pubs.
On the real ale front, there’s no handpumps yet – Craig explained that he was still waiting for them to arrive – but there were 9 beers available from casks racked up behind the bar, which is in the room on the right. Beers on included several beers from Rebellion, two beers from Twickenham, plus DowntoN Quadhop, Adnams Broadside and Arbor Ales Beech Blonde. Craig told me that when the six handpumps are up and running, they will serve LocAle beers – Sambrooks, Redemption, Twickenham etc. As at The Bree Louise, there will be a mixture of both handpumped and gravity beers. All beers are priced at £ 3.50p / £ 3.00p , with the 50p discount available to “students, NHS, armed services and CAMRA cards”. There’s bottled beers and ciders available, the latter including Black Rat and the intriguingly named Thistly Cross Oak Whisky.
I’ve made a mental note to come back here in the New Year to check out the micro brewery
On 21st October 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
Nicely presented pub but is rarely busy.Badly situated between Shepherds bush and Chiswick.Friendly staff and a big selection of beers but quality is very variable.Doubtfull that the proposed brewery will be commissioned unless trade picks up.Nice outside area with plenty of seating.location, location, location is still what makes a lot of pubs busy.
On 8th February 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
Just a short walk up the road from Stamford Brook District line station, the Duchess of Cambridge is the sister pub to one of the capital’s best known ale houses – the Bree Louise in Euston. My visit also coincided with the Scottish beer festival mentioned below, but also with some sort of craft market which had taken over the entire left hand side of the pub, leaving only the bar area for punters to enjoy their Sunday lunches. The servery is on the rear wall and there was a mix of standard seating and sofas around tables of various sizes. The floors are bare boards whilst the walls are painted white, with a few red pillars breaking things up a bit, but on the whole it’s a bit bland – a matter not helped by the large open-plan layout. A few pump clips are starting to creep around the walls, so maybe given more time there will be more to distract the eye. There are some fairly large windows along the front wall and a skylight above the servery, but somehow the pub managed to remain gloomy throughout my stay and the mood wasn’t improved by an impossibly annoying world music soundtrack. A TV screen was showing a muted domestic rugby fixture, although no-one seemed to be paying it any attention. Menus on the tables showed that main meals clock in at around the £9 mark, with Sunday roasts closer to £11. Bar snacks included haggis fritter and battered black pudding.
Given the beer festival, the ale options were all from North of the border, with four on hand pull and six more on stilage behind the bar. Having had a few dodgy pints straight from the barrel in the Bree Louise, I opted for a hand pulled pint of Orkney Northern Lights (£3.50), which I have to say was a bit below par. Keg options included further Scottish beers from the likes of Brewdog and Black Isle. A vast list of German and Belgian bottles is detailed in the menus and I noted one hand pulled cider, a spiced cider (next to the mulled wine and DIY Bloody Mary kit) and about ten ‘bag in a box’ ciders at the end of the bar counter. There is also a long wine list and a mind blowing selection of spirits, so the place certainly can’t be faulted for not trying to cater for everyone’s tastes.
I had high hopes for this place, but left a little disappointed at the beer quality and general ambiance. Like its sister pub, I left with the impression that inconsistency is a major problem and that a repeat visit might provide entirely different results. I doubt I’ll make the trek out here again just to visit this place, but I would still give it another go if I happened to be in the area.
On 13th January 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
Somewhat off the beaten track, but this pub has now been reopened for over a year so I was interested to see how things were going (especially as there had been some reports about beer quality issues). Five of the six handpumps were on, as were eight of the nine casks on the stillages behind the bar. Quite a number of 'bag-in-a-box' ciders were also available. Excellent selection - such as Cairngorm Black Gold - at £3.50 (less 50p per pint if you have a Camra membership card). As well as the beer choice, the menu reflected the ongoing '2nd annual Scottish beer and food festival'. Two rooms, both with high ceilings, opened out to form a large space with the sparse decor and the sort of semi-modern furniture that most madeover pubs feature these days (and which can result in a lack of atmosphere if a bit quiet). Overall, with a fine pint and friendly and efficient service, I enjoyed this re-visit so lets hope they keep the standard up.
On 28th November 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
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hondo . left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
Located a short walk from stamford brook underground station. Large open plan pub that serves food. 6 real ales on hand pumps,9 on gravity and 9 ciders also on gravity. Welsh breweries featured on my visit as it coincided with England v Wales in the rugby six nations. Sister pub to The Bree Louise in Euston and i would say this is the better of the 2 pubs. Well worth a trip on the tube if your in central London.
On 15th March 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
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.
On 14th November 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
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Rex Rattus left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
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.
On 16th October 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
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aleand hearty left this review about The Duchess of Cambridge
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.
On 4th October 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 582 recommendations about 564 pubs]