please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Another from my camera book. A locals pub selling a decent pint if Spitfire. TVs showing football.
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Lovely little 'local' pub. Nice staff, good beer and good food. There are not many better pubs within the SW1 area.
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This place hasn't been mucked about with very much interior-wise (although clearly it was one two bars from the architect's drawings on the wall in a frame). The Shep's ales were well-kept and the place was welcoming enough but a bit of a Sloaney clientele.
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Nice to find a decent pub in this exclusive part of London, and on Saturday evenings neither too quiet nor too loud A good port of call between Sloane Square and Victoria.
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Can�t go far wrong with one of the capital�s Shepherd Neame pubs and this one is a cut above the norm, with a guest beer available and an enviable setting in one of London�s wealthiest streets. Within 3-4 mins' walk of Sloane Square tube station, it also makes a good meeting point for a tour around the other pubs in the area. Thus I only stayed for one but could have happily lingered into the evening
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Popped in here for the first time in many years yesterday, and found it to be as I remembered - in other words a sound Shepherd Neame hostelry, which offers most things to most types of pubgoer, albeit perhaps not really excelling in any one of those aspects.
There is a broad range of 4 Sheps' cask ales on offer here, which included the rather unusual Amber Ale - possibly an unsuitable choice of name for what is billed as a "winter warmer", but all the same a tasty brew and a pleasant alternative to the more conventional triptych of Best, Spitfire and Master Brew.
Food was being served from 6PM onwards, and although seemed to take a while to arrive, I noticed that the diversity and quality of the dishes appeared to be healthy. Whilst nowhere in this district can be regarded as 'cheap', I suspect that one will find rather more competitive value in the Duke than in many of the other nearby pubs, wine bars or restaurants.
The interior of the Duke is classically traditional; very Victorian in style with solid dark wood panelling and a muted decor. This seems to suit the age and type of the building in which it is set - that is a Victorian corner local pub conspicuous by its immediate neighbours for being mostly grandiose Georgian villas - and there is a kind of sturdiness to the place.
Like many London pubs it is hard to pinpoint an exact ambience or type of punter as there is a random mix of folk in attendance, although inevitably when one looks more closely it is accented towards the well-heeled and wealthy, even if not all wear their money on their sleeves as it were. It is, I'd suggest, civilised without being snooty.
All in all then, a worthwhile stop-off in Belgravia perhaps en route to other places, and against the general London pub backdrop this one has a greater ability to shine than many below-par counterparts.
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Great pub. Great beers and a lovely landlord. Food is okay too. Pop in often just to catch up on the cricket scores.
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Decent London pub. Good beer, good food (aiming for the "big plateful" effect rather than delicacy but hey, I'm not that dainty myself!), nice staff. Bit cramped inside, especially if you end up on the side of the bar where the door to the gents is. Not special but a decent enough option.
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Very nice, comfy pub where the beer is good, and it's very handy for pre-show drinks prior to a show at the Cadogan Hall. I recommend it highly. Yes, it does get busy, but then that testifies to how good it is!
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Great place away from the lets be seen crowd, does get very busy and a little snug but good beer compensates, just behind sloane sq stn.
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Came here after visting the fine Fox and Hounds just down the road and was impressed by my first visit. It has the same qualities as the F&H being unpretentious and the Master Brew was on top form. Sky sports on the telly too.
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Nice but extremely busy Belgravia corner pub. We vistied here on a sunny Saturday afternoon and there were plenty of people spilling out onto the pavements. However, there was still a table available for us inside. Service was swift and there is the usual range of Shepherd Neame Ales, including Spitfire and Master Brew Bitter. Sky Sports was being shown on a couple of TVs inside. Handy for Victoria coach station.
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Dependable pub now run by younger gent who was a local. I liked the old irish landlord, but little has changed. Service good, Shepherds Neame beer excellently kept and a good pint of orangeboom lager. Locals have a distinct whiff of public school and the ladies are pretty sloaney, but what can you expect from this area of London! The walk to the pub reveals where the money is in this country...
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I liked this Pub, its a nice backstreet boozer, pretty friendly, good pint of Spitfire and the Football was on the TV without dominating the place.
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I good friend originally introduced me to the Duke back in 1984, while my wife & I were visiting during our honeymoon. We came back again in 2008 (24 years later) for a visit but this time with our daughter. She loved the place as well. Our little group sat in a warm corner booth, had a great dinner, watched some cricket and had plenty of pints over many good toasts throughout the evening. Now back in the states we only have our pictures to remember this bit of heaven. Cheers!
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It's a nice place this - God knows where the punters turn up from - they're not fat Arabs or louche Russian oligarchs so I assume they don't live local.
It's a bit hard to understand how places like this keep going but they do and we're all the better for it.
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excellent pub when run by irish john for some 16 years but now can have very variable service and queues.landlord is king here and can often refuse requests to change the channels on the tv.Very small cramped bar and the tiniest toilet in the world,however many love this quaint place.Was very smoky inside and it remains to be seen how the ban will affect it long term
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Busy, friendly, well kept beer - just what a back(ish)street local should be.
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A splendid boozeria .. no music just the sound of happy chatter from the varied locals - some aimiable older locals, some studenty sloaney college types, and some tourists (some of whom studied the blackboard menu as if it was the Rosetta stone, then ordered what seemed to be six pints of water) .. An old fashioned un-gastrified interior, the place feels authentic and real ... winsome barmaids who flutter around efficiently and seem keen to please .. an excellent pint of Spitfire too ... great place
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Nice old fashioned convivial sort of place. Friendly and enthusiastic bar staff and one or two charmingly ditzy. The clientele seemed mostly well-heeled which is hardly surprising 100 yards from Sloane Square. As for the presence of that social stereotype, yes, there were a few sloaney types in attendance but they seemed harmless enough and one or two certainly brightened the place up. Good beer too.
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Had the Master Brew which was OK. Pretty crowded on a Thursday evening with no chance of getting a table. But the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful; the cheese and pickle sandwich and a few chips was good enough to fill a hole at �3.95 a throw. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area, but there are a number of exceptional pubs within a 5 or 10 minute walk from here.
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Fairly ok pub with a nice atmosphere, in Posh land.
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Can get a little cramped but well worth a visit. Decent food when we were there.
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went in last nite for first time in a couple or three years,this is a staple boozer,doesnt change through the ages.It has a tremendous old skool atmosphere,does tend to fill up with young sloanes who loudly take over the area but this is to be expected within gagging distance of sloane square.
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I worked here for a short time back in 1999 and it was one of the best pubs in London. The locals were friendly and the beer was top notch. John and his wife were great people and I wish them the best.
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Seems that John Bond (the landlord), has moved to pastures new (Plough in Sheen?).
Great memories of this pub, can't see it being the same without him.
Haven't been back for a couple of years, so I'd love to know what it's like.
And yes - Eustace, no-one cares about your name-dropping/delusions of grandeur. Get a life.
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An excellent place, with a most friendly staff, and good beer. Since returning to Canada, it's one of the places I miss the most.
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Excuse my ignorance, but who are Eloise Anson, Iain Russell, Billy van Cutsem, Ed Sackville or Will Buckhurst and why; why on God's sweet earth should I, or anyone else, care about their supposed patronage of this otherwise very good pub? The very idea of "blue-chip socialising" here is about as appealing as week-old porridge and despite delusions of grandeur, Tatler is the intellectual equivalent of Heat magazine. For those put off by Tatler's description of the Duke's clintele, fear not, as this is a great, unpretentious little place.
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High praise for the Duke in the February �06 Tatler:
�For blue-chip socializing, one need look no further than the Duke of Wellington, affectionately known as the Duke of Boots, on Eaton Terrace. Eloise Anson heads there for a pre-party snifter, and Iain Russell and Billy van Cutsem can be spotted being chucked out at half-seven; landlord John Bond was a guest at Ben and Kate Goldsmith�s wedding. �I�ve been going there since I was 10,� says Ed Sackville, self-confessed joint-patriarch with bro Will Buckhurst. �It�s the only truly great pub.��
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Nice traditional Sheps pub in Belgravia - well worth seeking out
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We visited the Duke of Wellington pub during a recent visit to London, based on the recommendation of one of the posters on this site. We found it to be a lovely place, and look forward to returning. One of the best features? The couple at the table next to us had their labrador retriever, Snoopy, at the table with them!
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This is a lovely pub with a great atmosphere. Came here after being at the dreadful Fox and Hounds. The staff are friendly and the beer is nice. At least your made to feel welcome here. We shall return to fill our jugs of ale.
anonymous - 25 Aug 2005 14:47 |
I love this place! I'm a Yank who occasionally comes to London. I usually stay in the area of Victoria Station. I was last at the Duke of Wellington in May 2005 and visited every evening I was in town. The beer is great. The staff is friendly. John is a great guy. Very personable. I didn't have any food during this trip but I have previously. It was good. It can get crowded and a little smoky but I never thought it was overly offensive. There isn't much when you're sitting outside but it's nice when the weather is good. I'd love to have a neighborhood pub like this at home in the U.S. Well, maybe not. I'd probably spend too much time there.
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Fourth pub on our crawl and we needed decent beer. We found it. Lovely large pub but with a cozy atmosphere. The landlord has been here for eons and is always good humoured.The beer was lovely.Lots of seating outside. We stayed for an extra pint then moved on.
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I have been goinf to the duke for many years, it is a lovely pub in the summer and good in the winter as long as it doesn't get busy. Poor air conditioning makes for a very smoky atmosphere in the winter. Food is of reasonable quality for what you pay.
James - 19 Feb 2004 21:46 |
excellent pub. great when it's cold and wet outside, and you can just hibernate in the warm of this great pub getting slowly drunk on good Kent beer. Quite an odd mix of locals, office workers and tourists who made a wrong turn. Friendly nonetheless.
Duncan - 23 Dec 2003 09:48 |
Very much a locals pub but visitors will be made to feel welcome.
Jeff - 11 Oct 2003 21:02 |
Lovely pub. Always busy at lunchtimes and during the evening, and (apart from Fox and Hounds) is without doubt the best pub within the vicinity.
An extremely well kept cellar of all Shepherd Neame ales, excellent food and well trained staff. Actually, this pub has more staff than pubs twice it's size.
Manager for 15 years is a great character called John - very charismatic and charming.
9/10
anthony2 - 11 Sep 2003 13:23 |
A good alternative to the over-rated environment and poorly kept beer of the Sundial about 150 yards away.
Nice chips too :)
mike - 8 Aug 2003 14:12 |
nice pub, good beer, very sunny
Mark Lester - 8 Aug 2003 14:11 |
