please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A real mucky pub under constant threat from the developers. At least it's got character - much better than those plastic pubs all around it. Tucked away from the crowds. Good real ale to be had - long may it continue.
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This is a real hidden gem of a pub. No-nonsense atmosphere, friendly staff. Under threat from developers - let's hope it never changes.
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Sounds a nice place with some amiable, enlightened customers too, judging by the comments.
I'll drop in if passing: nice to know I won't mistakenly be stumbling into some UKIP enclave of a hole, apparently.
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Pub is great fun which is added to by the East European staff (the Italian girl called Sylvia is my favourite) all of whom are charming and always have a smile. Add to this that there is always a Cask Ale on (some times two) and it becomes a real London Boozer.
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not a bad pub,will use again when in the area
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I have visited this pub several times in recent weeks as there are some fascinating and highly articulate russian staff working behind the bar and they are fascinating to talk to. However I witnessed the landlord shouting at them on more than one occassion and I was disgusted. What kind of man shouts at a woman? The man is clearly a bully and is unfit for the role of landlord if he cannot understand that such behaviour is unprofessional and unacceptable. Good quality, educated, charming staff should be valued. Whoever owns the pub should take the initiative here and have a serious word and give this scruffy and shabby looking man a formal warning- either to clean up his appearance and aggressive behaviour immediately- or face dismissal. I feel the landlor should be ofthe same professional and smiling disposition as the wonderful bar staff.
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Decent back street pub, enjoyed my pint too.
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I try to speak of pubs as I find them - after a long day of walking, I needed a decent pint, after a disappointing experience nearby. This place fitted the bill - a choice of two reasonable cask ales, served in a friendly manner. Many visitors are more interested in service and choice than environment - so, is shabbiness a hanging offence? Well-worn is a term I'd prefer to use.
Plus, breaking almost all stereotypes, a black lady ordering a pint of cask! How cool is that?
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Unreconstructed old boozer. Shabby (but not chic) yet look beyond the careworn furniture and ripped carpet; everything is very shipshape behind the bar. Well kept Pride (declined to try the Greene King IPA). Rather liked it. Pint & a paper...not with a date, mind!
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It's ironic that the toilets in this pub are so well furnished and inviting, because the rest of the place is like a nasty khazi. A dingy, dreary, humourless place, it's quite possible an abandoned abattoir would have a cheerier atmosphere. At least the dismal ambience makes sense when you encounter the landlord. Shabby in appearance, he's even shabbier in his treatment of customers, and he was needlessly rude to my friend and I. I suspect he may be alumnus of the Alf Garnett School of Charm. This sour, passive-aggressive man clearly takes no pride in his establishment so perhaps he should retire and allow this back-street boozer to fall into the hands of management that's capable of welcoming new customers instead of sneering and treating them like a nuisance.
Other than that it's too pokey and has an appalling choice of ales. The only redeeming feature is the (I assume) freshly refurbished toilets, which are completely incongruent with the Duke of Wellington's overall grimness. All in all it's like a little bit of the Black Death stuck around in London and transformed into pub form. Avoid.
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Very local-esque bar - friendly staff, but I am not a fan of the sports tvs in every corner............but nice enough for a quiet drink.
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droped in on a wednesday night, very quiet, choice of 3 ales, the green king at 2.50 - lowest price i ve seen for ages. lots of space for standing, tucked 100 metres from spitalfields. vincent the manager is a chiry east ender, bar staff are female non brits. decor is shabby.
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Small pub on a corner of an estate with the city 500 yards away.
Lit up from the outside it looks like a charmer but inside it's dreary: two darts board - one with an electronic scoreboard - TV's in the top corners - had stade-side racing on one and Davis Cup tennis on the other. Asked for a Pride which was unavailable, IPA also unavailable so it was a Guinness - 3 quid. East European bar girls were miserable.
Landlord made an appearance to change the Pride. Body weight symptomatic of a lifetime's booze and fags (nothing wrong with that).
Only people in was a faceless, grey city couple throwing arrows.
Smoking garden to one side.
All said, I couldn't see the charm here but might try it again.
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Like the Old Kings Head the other side of Bishopsgate this is an old style pub that is not flash in any way but an enjoyable place to drink. Although it's close to Commercial Rd it is still quite hidden away and the street it is on has quite a few derelict buildings that look ready to be knocked down.
Quiet and comfortable and any pub that still has a dart board is to be commended.
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I had some London Pride here � it was OK and at �2.60 a pint pretty reasonably priced. There was large plasma screen TV on showing Sky Sports, but it was muted. There were two dartboards being used in the main bar when I was in at Wednesday lunchtime � by what was apparently a group of office workers enjoying a long lunch. I very much doubt whether this pub gets much passing trade tucked away, as it is, on a side street off Commercial Road, but is a pretty decent backstreet pub.
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9 of us dropped in here last night for a swift couple on our way to Brick Lane for a rubi. Bit of a culture shock after the high d�cor of the Bishopgate pubs. The Duke of Wellington is a basic back street boozer where the d�cor continues to wear out as in the report a year ago. There are two bar areas one main one with a big flat screen tele and a smaller one to the side. Both are equipped with dart boards and the only people in last night seemed to be involved in a couple of darts league games. In saying that the IPA and London Pride were perfectly fine. And the high point was that the game in the main bar had just finished and a buffet of sandwiches, sausages and chips appeared in quantity far too great for the participating players to make a dent in. And sensing us drooling over the chips we were invited to help them out by the home captain. So any pub where we achieve free scoff achieves an extra point.
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Great little pub, Vinnie behind the bar is a legend. My favourite boozer near the City!
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Whilst working on the area on and off last year I used the Duke for a couple occasionally. Quite quiet early eve. Smaller bar to the side where the main sport watching telly is, is quite packed, but main bar is spread out. Good pint of London Pride, served by some pretty barmaids. Gently worn out feel to decor, none the worse for that mind. Good old style local in amongst much change to the area.
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when louis was there it was a fantastic pub but unfortunatley a bunch of idiots were left in charge after that. one lunch time the was no beer so i got offered beer from a can i couldn't believe it.
glad to hear it's been bought by someone else now it's a shame they have a lot of hard work to get customers back there now
anonymous - 30 Dec 2005 12:39 |
Basic but bar manager Dave is a diamond. Certainly a world away from the Ten Bells nightmare.
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