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Image posted by Roger Button
Submitted on Friday, 17th August 2012
With picture contributions to 1183 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (5 more images)
Detail Pages
The Duke, Erith
Northumberland Heath
Postal town: Erith
DA8 3HB
Served areas
Reviews of The Duke (Average Rating: 4½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Duke
The regular ale on here is Courage Best (£2.70 a pint), plus a guest ale at circa £3.40 a pint. When I visited on Monday afternoon the guest ale was Hopfuzz (a Kent Brewery based in Hythe) Old American Pale Ale. Seeing a pumpclip I didn't recognise (not the Courage Best!) I asked the barman (who turned out to be the Guv'nor) about it and he was so enthusiastic about his policy of having a less usually seen guest beer that I was persuaded to have a pint of it. And a great pint it was too, and not as hoppy as I expected it to be from its name. I didn't see any sign of food on Monday afternoon.
This is a pub of two halves. The room on the left is quite Spartan - bare-boarded, a couple of tall tables/tall stools as well as a couple of normal tables and chairs, and not much else worth mentioning other than an attractive brewery mirror. The windows are however an attractive feature, with their wooden pillar designed frames. The glazing's all modern stuff however. A second room is reached via an archway on the right. This room would presumably have been the saloon bar - it's carpeted, furnished with a couple of sofas and normal tables and chairs, and is another example of brewer's rustic with black painted beams on the walls and ceiling. A brick built fireplace is at the far end of the small room.
This pub has only very recently re-opened, and I really hope that their policy of a having a regularly changing real ale works for them. I appreciated the enthusiasm shown by the manager. Although the pub itself doesn't look anything very special I reckon it's worth dropping in for a pint as it might offer the best chance of getting anything a bit different in the way of a pint in the immediate neighborhood. It certainly seem to be an improvement on the incarnation encountered by the previous reviewer.
On 10th December 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Duke
The Duke of Northumberland (now truncated simply to the Duke) was built in the 1860’s when Northumberland Heath started to become more developed.
The shortened name is usually synonymous with a trendy modernized, up-market style pub however anyone expecting any degree of gastro delight and civilized charm may be in for a bit of a shock.
The interior is split into a main bar area that bends round the back of the central bar and a smaller carpeted front lounge section. The place has a general lack of aesthetic charm and offers a very functional, plain, rough and ready approach. Other than the personalized windows and an intresting brick arched fireplace in the front lounge there is little that stands out and it seems little effort has gone into making the place feel attractive or welcoming.
I was surprised to see a couple of functioning hand pumps (Doom Bar and Courage Best) but they were actually quite decent quality wise and reasonably priced. The barman was also very attentive and friendly however the general behaviour both sides of the bar was somewhat eccentric and a bit raucous that many would find offputting and a bit intimidating. Live music seems to be a mainstay although there were barely half a dozen people present on our visit and the entertainment on offer wasn’t exactly cutting edge.
The area isn’t a hotbed for pubs in the first place and the Duke, along with most of its neighbours, is really more of a pop in if passing by place than a destination.
On 16th August 2012
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
No known official website for this pub.
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Duke - whatpub.com
Erith, 1.46 miles, 28 min walk (show)
Slade Green, 1.73 miles, 33 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Car Park : No last updated 10 December 2014 by Rex Rattus
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 10 December 2014 by Rex Rattus
