The Duke of Devonshire, Balham [Closed] - pub details
Closed
Address: 39, Balham High Road, London, SW12 9AN [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 1699) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Balham (0.3 miles), Clapham South (0.4 miles), Tooting Bec (0.9 miles)
Balham (0.3 miles), Wandsworth Common (0.7 miles), Streatham Hill (1.2 miles)
Brewery: Young's
Pub facilities/features:
- Fruit machines, Quiz machines (itbox)
- Food served, Sunday roast, Real ale, Cocktails
- Outside seating, Late licence (open until 2am Friday and Saturday), Wireless internet access (provided by The Cloud)
> Current user rating: 6.0/10 (rated by 59 users)
> Hotels nearby: Search
> Local guide: London pub guide
other pubs nearby:
Devonshire, Balham (0.0 miles), Clarence, Balham (0.0 miles), Jackdaw and Rook, Balham (0.1 miles), Grove, Balham (0.1 miles), Dish Dash, Balham (0.2 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of the Duke of Devonshire, Balham
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 96 shown - see all reviews
| what a shame. what were they thinking of when they came up with this re-design of a classic London pub. bristolbeerboy - 9 Apr 2008 15:18 |
| I popped in here last night. I used to like this place, it was a nice pub. It's now been done up and "Balham-ised." Balham is fast becoming an extension to Clapham and attracting all the trendies who spend spend spend on their credit cards. Looking at the wine list, there was hardly a bottle under £20. Needless to say, we walked straight out as soon as we had walked in. Shame theadz01 - 9 Apr 2008 10:21 |
| p.s. Is there anyway that this site can split off the scores this pub used to have from the ones it gets now? I have a feeling that it's currently reasonably high scores are left over from before the refurb and so are artificially high. Plus I really would like to see if a pub can manage to score lower than the Moon Under the Water...maybe thats what Young's were aiming for? theoneandonlyjoe - 7 Apr 2008 13:57 |
| Oh and by the way, I too am not a 50 year old cask ale drinker. I'm 30 and spent many happy years in my twenties drinking in the Duke. My complaints are not that of a stuffy out of touch old man. They are the opinions of someone with taste and respect for what had been there for a long time before. mannion - 14 Mar 2008 13:18 |
| Noodle65 I think you should step inside and have a look. I too thought that the Duke could do with a little re-furb. I thought the old carpet was a bit nasty, the large area at the back could've had some more comfortable furniture to lounge in on a sunday afternoon, the toilets could've been improved and a better food menu would've been nice. It's true that the competition from newer pubs like The Clarence and The Bowls club, as well as the newish licencing laws which keep them open late, have meant that The Duke has struggled since it's hey day when it was packed every weekend with crowds drinking and dancing till late. But what they've done to it surely isn't the answer. The general decor didn't need changing. The low tables with candles were really nice and in keeping with the atmosphere. The pictures on the wall interesting and unintrusive. The new high tables and upright stools and booths are ugly, uncomfortable and make the place look smaller and more cluttered. They'll never get back the crowds that used to dance there as there's no room to dance anywhere now. The art on the walls, the ridiculous lamp shades and the bizzare food serving chandeliers look like a designer with no taste and no idea of what the pub should be. Why on earth strip away the greenery from Balham's only large green garden? Why create a restaurant (with prices to match) when Balham is already blessed with many good restaurants. Gastro pubs are great but a gastro pub should offer good food at reasonable prices served in pub surroundings. Not overblown service and prices and the segregation of the drinkers from the eaters. That's the key to their success. I'm sorry to go on about it, but I had high hopes for the re-furb thinking that one of Balham's finest pubs may return to it's former glory but instead I feel it's been laid to rest and replaced with something ugly, vulgar and embarrassing. I just hope that one day it will be stripped back and reborn. mannion - 14 Mar 2008 13:03 |
see more reviews |
