please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Just posted this comment on an another site ..thought I'd repost and update it.
louisedun1 ...I'm sorry.. I heard good things about you... however the it was to little to late...
AnnaBanya ...is that the Anna I know and love?
lad_newton ... A continental restaurant has opened up on the site. As such, it is open only to diners. 'That Says It All' A great site for a pub... and its now a restaurant! It's Monday night in October and its shut...nuff said...
I was a regular in the Duke from 1988 till 2004. From 1988 till circa 1994 it was a fantastic pub. It had a great community spirit and everyone was made to feel welcome. It was an �old school� boozer with a pool table, dart board and jukebox. The rot set in when Grand Met Leisure(Chef & Brewer), who owned the Duke, sold all of their pubs to Scottish and Newcastle. Prior to the Scottish and Newcastle buy out, the Dukes managers were on �Barrelage� the more beer they sold the more money they earned. The food (although it wasn�t to Gordon Ramsey standard...far from it) was also an added bonus to the manager. From 1993 to 2004 the Duke had 15 managers and a various drug related problems..., this is never a good omen for a public house and it spelt the death nell to a once up and coming north London pub. Add to this the changing face of London...and its gentrification and the writing was on the wall for the Duke!
It�s a classic example of what happens when a large brewery takes over a pub and listens to accountants and not its patrons.
A big shout goes out to;
Jane Simonds and her family, Ex Duke manager.
Tony (stop emptying the ashtray on the floor!)
Tom and Mary, Ex Duke managers.
Doom and Gloom, Ex Duke managers.
Norman, we loved you man.
Simon the green grocer. One of the nicest human beings I ever met.
Sue the dog...still walking.
Old John...
Big John...
Big John�s dad...
Craig...
Curtis and Gemma... were you just a dream!
Danny boy...
Sandra...beautiful mentor!
And all the rest of the wonderful personalities I met over the years!
PS
In the 80's The Bud was ice cold and imported. In the 90's the Molsen was cheap and chilled. A good pint of IPA,London Pride etc does not make a good pub ..... a great comunity makes a good pub!
Rack em up, I'm on reds
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A continental restaurant has opened up on the site. As such, it is open only to diners.
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This is sad, and represents a loss of amenity to the immediate neighbourhood. Up until the early 1990s this was a good community pub. Successive failed attempts to revive it following a miserable period of mis-management in the late 1990s have seen more clentele desert the Duke for the Dartmouth, Lord Palmerston and the Bull.
R I P
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Sign up on the boards today announcing the opening of a Greek restaurant on the site in spring 2009
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*********** C L O S E D *********
Unsure if the pub is being refurbished or if a chage-of-use is on the way. Will report further when more details known.
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The pub has just changed management but remains otherwise unaltered. The live jazz sessions, temporarily suspended, are due to resume from around 13/01/2008. Greene King IPA is available, and it is hoped (by the pub) that Fuller's London Pride will return soon.
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Jazz very good, Holly Roberts on piano (from Wenlock). We could do with an upgrade of the real ale - how about a beer from any of the breweries listed below:
Dark Star (HopHead would be ideal!!)
Crouch Vale
Harveys
Grand Union
Mighty Oak
Hopback
Milton
Castle Rock
Nottingham
Woodfordes
Pictish
Phoenix
Kelham Island
Good choice there - at least one must be on the wholesalers' list!
I commend the new management and what they have done so far - excellent. I live round the corner from this pub and would visit regularly if there were one or two interesting real ales on. (I regularly visit the Wenlock for Holly's Saturday gigs and the range of beers, for example).
Keep up the good work.
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Wow! What a difference. The jazz night was fantastic and the owner has some pair of lungs! I had a couple of pints of Greene King IPA and it was in marvellous condition. The place was nice inside, although, I hear it is scheduled for a major renovation. The clientele were friendly and the jazz was outstanding. Keep up the good work. The new management has made this pub is a really great addition to the neighborhood. Can't wait to go back.
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This used to be a great pub in the 90s. I spent the majority of my formative years inside it.
The less said about the madness that was the Platinum Bar the better I think.
Have been back in recently now that it is The Duke again and sure enough there were two of my old friends in there. The pool table is back in its rightful position too. Having said that, there is something missing, perhaps its Norman.
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Fantastic in summer daytime, could be fantastic all the time if someone put an effort in.
anonymous - 18 Oct 2004 15:55 |
have just eaten in the reverted-to Duke of St Albans pub. Don't ask for wine because in its second week after opening there was only one and three quarter bottles of white and only one glass of red left in the building. Only one chili special left (at the bargain price of �1.50 admittedly that's a reason to go there) however the people next to us looked like they really had had a chilli "special" and the bar man was slightly confused that four of us wanted two bottles of wine rather than two glasses of unstained lip-stick wine glasses. don't ask for a salad beacause it will cost extra (and then never come even when you forgo the expense) and if you wanted anything to dress your non-existent salad and average chips with you may get a dribble out of the practically empty oil and vinegar carousel. Don't bother to ask for a refil beacause it will come back with about a centimetre more in the bottles....... ummm.... shame about the fact that this has been a reversion to its historical name after a rather unsuccessfully un-platinum moment...
juno - 18 Nov 2003 00:52 |
I visited the pub last night for a pint. The Greene King IPA was in excellent condition, but was the only real beer on. Food is now served lunchtimes and evenings. Free jukebox on Friday nights, and live music on Saturday nights.
The pub has been transformed into something more traditional with carpet on the floor and comfortable chairs and tables. The manager seems friendly, and I am sure I will visit again, having avoided the place somewhat during the "Platinum" era.
Well done, and I have upped my rating of the place having been in.
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The Duke of St,Albans re-opens as a pub on the 1.11.03 it has been closed for one week. The original pub appears on the cover of the Gospel Oak 1912 - Old Ordnance Survey Map, it was bombed in the 2nd.WW and rebuilt along with St.Albans Villas between 1953 and 1955, it was run by Watney, Coome Reid, before being taken over by Chef & Brewer about 18 years ago, it is now owned by Scottish & Newcastle with new tennants running it. "GOOD LUCK TO THEM"
A Neighbour - 1 Nov 2003 13:05 |
Further to the entry posted on 20th October, I can confirm the following welcome news.
The Platinum Bar will close for a fortnight from 26/10/2003 to be converted into what is hoped will be a friendly local under its original name, the Duke of St Albans.
Reverting to its original title has been hailed locally as "a victory for history, continuity and common sense".
I personally know that the pub's name Duke of St Albans existed since 1973 but cannot vouch for previous dates unless I hear different, that is!
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Don't know anything about it, but an acquaintance of mine says that his mother was born above it when it was called The Duke Of St Albans. This would be going back to 1902. Was there a Duke Of St Albans on this site back then and if so, would it have been the Highgate Duke Of St Albans that he was referring to? I should be grateful if anybody knows.
Lonely Wanderer - 20 Oct 2003 16:49 |
Pub used to be called the Duke of St Albans; was run by Chef & Brewer. There is still real ale here despite modernisation, but I feel the atmosphere is not quite what it was in the mid-nineties.
The pub is, however, handy for Hampstead Heath and the 214 or C2 bus routes. However, if I was on the northbound 214 bus looking for a pub then I'd go up the hill for the Flask.
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