The Duke Of York, Acton

Oh what a night, and I'm not talking about December '63 but April 23rd, St. George's Night at the Duke of york.

When I arrived just after the start of the second half of the uninspiring footie the pub was reasonably crowded but a little muted. However, once the football was over resident MC and maestro of the Karaoke Peter White, resplendent in his white t-shirt and red shorts, began the evenings entertainment with many punters happy to get up and give us a song or two. The evening included rowsing renditions of "Jerusalem", "Land Of Hope And Glory" and other patriotic tunes more in keeping with The Last Night At The Proms than your average local. There was also free "Pie & Mash" (with gravy or liquor) to add to the Englishness of the evening. It was without doubt another triumph for new manager Petra and her fantastic team of staff.

Just to answer 'kathysbadlisp's comments in the previous posting, as far as I'm aware, the pub is licensed to midnight every night of the week (except Sundays) so you don't get thrown out at 11.45pm and I have already mentioned the planned upgrade of the toilet facilities, promised by the owner himself, in my previous posting. It is also my understanding that the pool table is out of action and will be removed to make way for the planned new ladies toilet and the dart board has not been usable for the past 2 years at least, the area now being used to store the karaoke and disco equipment used at the weekends, which begs the question, when was 'kathysbadlisp's last visit to the Duke?

25 Apr 2008 17:29

The Duke Of York, Acton

The Duke of York came under new ownership last year (2007) and under new management only 2 weeks ago. The new manager is the young but very capable former bar person Petra, who along with her team of dedicated staff, has set about giving the pub a thorough spring clean and spruce up. The pub now offers home cooked food at lunchtimes and evenings provided by the new cook Lynne, who just happens to be Petra's mother. The garden is also undergoing extensive revitalisation and provides very adequate facilities for families and for smokers during inclement weather. (Note: children are welcome up to 8pm each evening) All major sporting events are shown on the large screen TVs and entertainment is provided by Peter White's excellent Karaoke on Friday and Sunday evenings and by The Best Disco In Town on Saturdays, all of which run from 8 'til late. The pub is also scheduled to have a major refurbishment over the coming months starting with improvements to the toilet facilities in the next couple of weeks. All in all this is a much improved establishment with good facilities for all the family.

22 Apr 2008 12:09