The Duke of Wellington, Aldgate

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.

13 Nov 2011 14:42