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David Sexton's rating
Duke of Wellington is W1's best secret
By
David Sexton
28 Nov 2007
The gastropubs march on. The Duke of Wellington in Crawford Street, Marylebone, used to be a curiosity, bedecked with all kinds of Wellington memorabilia, appreciated as a local although even its regulars admitted it needed a big clean-up.
In the past few months, it's been made over by the owners of The Brown Dog in Barnes. The main bar is now spaciously arranged, with a rich dark-red ceiling, grey-green paintwork, chandeliers, wooden floors, tables and chairs, candles, lilies, gilt mirrors ... The service is exceptionally friendly and charming, and a lot of customers are women together.
Upstairs, there's a lovely small dining room, seating just 25, with nice linen, candlelight, a working fireplace, and, as an ironic nod to the past, on the walls, framed letters written by the duke but newly computer-printed. Being in a place like this, very carefully designed but on a domestic scale, is so much more pleasing and soothing than the marble halls of any grand hotel or over-designed bar.
The food up and down is much the same, with a few fancier items only available in the dining room. The cooking, by Fred Smith, who has worked previously at Ransomes Dock and Galvin Bistro De Luxe, is very French and remarkably good for the modest prices: well-sourced, very professionally prepared. In some ways, it's like a dreamy French bistro, of the kind now almost impossible to find there any more.
A crab bisque at £6 was just delicious, full of shellfish flavour without being overpowering. Much is made of the pig here. On a previous visit, slow-cooked pig cheeks were succulent and rich; trotters appear on toast with fried quail's eggs and tomato sauce. Pork rillette was a not-so-fatty paté, served with mustard and gherkins and great crusty bread, for £6.50. What more do you need, if you're at all hungry?
A 28-day aged Longhorn beef sirloin steak might be served with mustard and tarragon butter and chips, for £17.50 downstairs, or with bone marrow, cepes and Alsace bacon, pommes mousseline and green beans, for £19.75, a top whack here, upstairs. But great wild boar sausages with mash are £9.50, and wine is fairly priced, with an excellent Primitivo at £15.75 a bottle. The first time I visited it the Duke of Wellington became a favourite. The only reason it doesn't seem to have been much noticed yet must be that most people who have discovered it hope to keep it to themselves.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (16)
Went for sunday lunch 11/04/10 booked online communication was excellent, with a courtesy call on the day to ensure all was going to plan. On arrival the pub was packed with every available seat taken so we sat outside and enjoyed fine beers as we waited for our guests. The staff were obviously flat out busy but were composed and friendly. We ate in the upstairs restaurant with fine white tablecloths, excellent wines well priced, excellent service and the food WELL!!! I had the pork our guests the sirloin and all I can say is it was truly one of the best meals of my life, well done the Duke, fantastic food, reasonably priced, lovely atmosphere, can I eat here every day! thanks to all the staff for a perfect day.
- Russell Connett, London, England, 17/04/2010 15:45
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I had a very, very burnt steak here - I asked for it to be redone and was told "no, it's supposed to be like that". The steak was billed as chargrilled but it was a bitter piece of charcoal - literally a mouthful of crunchy, bitter black stuff which was absolutely inedible unless you enjoy eating coal. TI could have cut off all the surface area and just eaten the middle which was cooked ok but this just tells me that the grill was far too hot. I do know how to cook a steak myself and I was very surprised at the attitude of the staff who seemed to want the bolshy chef to win out over the customer who politely asked for a non-burnt steak. Very odd way to treat paying guests. They didn't charge me for the steak but also refused to serve me the meal I wanted. A shame as I have had an excellent meal here before (a steak in fact).
- Louise T, London, 06/04/2010 10:51
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I am the owner of the Duke of Wellington and would like to reply, politely to Ian's Woollen's comments. We take all our customers requirements extremely seriously and try to accommodate them as best we can, but we do rely on customers to read the menu, particularly if they have any particular allergies. I appreciate you mentioned to a member of staff at the beginning of your meal that you were intolerant to prawns. Any customers verbal requirements are relayed to the kitchen who do their very best to ensure that these requirements are met. You were given a menu on which it was clearly stated exactly what you were ordering. We stand corrected over the fact that you were then not then ask you if you were quite sure you could have what you ordered, and also to the fact that your verbal requirement was lost amongst the many, many covers that the kitchen met that evening. The fact was that you were in a hurry and did not read the menu. Our experience is that customers who have allergies read through menus with a fine tooth comb. When you complained at the end of your meal you went on to elaborate by saying you could not eat any seafood. A member of staff then asked you if it that was the case, then was it wise to order cod with a shrimp sauce, full details of which were on the menu that you were given. I am sorry you had a bad experience at the Duke and yes I do give a toss.
- Julie, London, 26/02/2010 23:03
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I was late for a meal with friends and quickly spotted what I wanted - Cod. Unfortunately, I read no further. I did carefully explain to the waiter that I had a prawn alergy and that nothing cooked near a prawn should be in the food. Alas, there was 'brown shrimp' in the accompanying stew, and yes it was written in the menu! However, the waiter gave the cook my message and the owner/manager overheard him doing so. Still, I got the shrimp. Ok, I know it is not a prawn, but c'mon?
When it came to explaining the problem to the owner/manager he said I should have read the menu more carefully and cod is also 'seafood' anyway so why did I order Cod? No sympathy there then.
Would I ever eat there again? No, I wouldn't and I doubt any of my friends or my friends friends would either. Will the management care - based on my experience, they would'nt give a toss!
- Ian Woollen, Edinburgh Scotland, 21/02/2010 22:22
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This was quite possibly one of the worst restaurant experiences I have had in my life. Upon entry the staff were polite but that's as far as my compliments will reach.
I ordered a starter of Moules Marinere of which were completely undercooked and stringy. Seeing as you can generally get a bad batch of mussels I just left them to the side without complaining. Then I ordered a chicken kiev that after one bite noticed a hair embedded within the breast. My friend ordered a main of plaice which was in honesty huge although only partially cooked which is obviously far from ideal.
Words of wisdom.. don't go if you're paid to.
- Louise Emmerson, London, 12/02/2010 16:06
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On my first visit, I couldn't believe what looked like a tatty old pub on the outside could be so warm and welcoming. The staff are all friendly and helpful, and the food is fantastic. I have tried scallops which I'd never had before, and they were beautiful, and the steak I had was cooked to perfection. The food is well presented and modern, without being over the top - I hate menus where I don't understand most of what's on offer!
I hear there is a new Head Chef - one Mr Smith has been swapped for another Mr Smith, previously 2nd chef, and equally skilled in the kitchen.
Keep up the good work.
- Carol Smith, St Ives, Cambs, 16/09/2009 21:06
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We stayed around the corner from the Duke Of Wellington for the last fortnight of an 8 week trip around the UK and France. Loved the place.
Good food, good beer, good company, excellent service.
After a day's walking around London it was a joy to sit down outside, read the papers and knock off a couple of pints.
Various frineds and family memebers who met us there for lunch or dinner also liked the pub. There's some excellent eating estrablishments around Marylebone, but when as good as this is 20 yards from your front door, you don't need to go far.
- Rob Emanuel, Blackheath, NSW, Australia, 16/06/2009 04:15
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All things change and nothing is immutable. I am saddened to see, however, that the Wellington is no longer the Dickensian nook I remember it to be from my visit there in 1993. Like a faithful old hound it might have been a bit on the shabby side in its later years but as the first London Pub I visited on my first visit to London and the United Kingdom, the Wellington has an affectionate place in my heart and memories. I took a salted beef Wellington sandwich with horseradish sauce, garnished with gherkins and was wont to have pints of Dry Blackthorn cider there.
- David A. Malone, Somerset, Massachusetts, United States, 10/10/2008 13:41
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Look: in 20 years time it will be turned into something else and everyone will moan about how decent neighbourhood restaurants (which it deserves to become) are being ripped up to make way for whatever the retail trend du jour is. It is highly unlikely the the old Wellington was stuffed to the brim with knick-knacks and sticky carpet and £2.50 Foster's Super Cold since the day it opened, don't you think? And what goes around comes around - no doubt there will be a surge back to 'traditional neighbourhood pubs' in a few years... in the meantime, the 'old' welly was hardly a national monument, there are (still) far better traditional boozers in the area.
- Matt, London, 18/07/2008 12:06
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I must admit to being slightly bemused by the rave reviews for the revamped pub. The locals have all but moved out of this place which I think neither gives the impression of being a welcoming pub or a casual dining restaurant- especially given the prices. On squeezing past tightly packed tables you are automatically assumed to be eating and get presented with a menu very quickly. My only meal here was a lamb dish where the meat had been carved off the bone and piled in a small heap alongside a tomato based mixed vegetable dish. The lamb was curling at the edges as it had clearly started to dry; quite strange and frankly perhaps better cooked and consumed at home, leaving the meat on the bone! My colleagues steak looked fine presented with just fries, looked simply overpriced.
This gastro pub trend is simply a way of charging full restaurant prices in a much cheaper setting; i.e. making the most money for the owner. Since Marylebone has an abundance of better eateries I'll be leaving the newcomers to drink and eat in ignorant bliss.
- Steve, Marylebone, 06/03/2008 16:00
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I visited the pub a few weeks ago, as my grandparents used to own it in the early 50s, and is also where my mother was born. It was intriguing as I have only ever heard about it and found it really welcoming. My mum found it quite emotional as she hasn't been there since her early teens, and says that it hasn't changed. The leather boothes are still there in the resterant upstairs and the toilets as well downstairs, but the atmosphere is only one to imagine as how it used to be. I heard a story about a man that tried to steel from the pub (when my grandparents owned it), but didn't get very far as my nan knocked him out with an iron bar! Don't ever change the pub as it's a part of history, my family's history.
- Christie Kennedy-Carrington, Evesham, Worcs, England, 18/12/2007 14:20
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The traditional pub, three cheers for the curled up sandwich and luke warm steak pie. Just what we want.
- Al Stuart, Ealing, 10/12/2007 19:30
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I wish restaurateurs would open up restaurants in empty shops rather than ruining traditional pubs. In it's old guise this place had real character and was a place for everyone - now its virtually identical in look an execution to numerous other gastropubs. The march of predictable, safe uniformity continues unabated and not even Marylebone is safe. This is virtually a restaurant now - coming here for a drink is an awkward experience and the food, although good, can be found at this level of quality in scores of other places.
"W1's best secret"? I can think of 4 or 5 alternatives, thanks.
- Luke, London, W1, 02/12/2007 19:21
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I have been to the Duke of Wellington several times now and find it a culinary joy. I couldn't agree with David and Ben more in that the staff are friendly, the drinks go down well, and the food is delicious. The atmosphere is very relaxed and I have overheard, on more than one occasion, punters of the former establishment commenting on how good the changes have been and how comfortable they feel. I think they've taken an "old man's" pub and created a new "superbreed" of gastropub. Don't be surprised to find this happening more and more as the Duke of Wellington has raised the bar.
- Kate, London, 29/11/2007 15:39
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Used to be one of my local haunts when it was a traditional pub. I often pass it and wince at the poseurs that have taken it over, none of whom I recognise, probably not locals, but obviously more money than sense looking at the prices.
Alas, yet another example of how to effectively destroy a traditional English pub.
- Steve, Marylebone, 29/11/2007 10:02
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I have to agree with the reviewer's sentiments on this fantastic new opening.
I've visited several times now and have found each trip as enjoyable as the last.
The food is cooked with authority and care, whilst the menu boasts dishes that are all too often hard to come by not only in London but in the UK as a whole.
Isle of White fresh Crab on toast is fantastic whilst the Game Pie served last weekend was bordering on historic.
The Duke is rather tricky to find but it's a welcome respite from the nearby crowds of Oxford Street and Marble Arch - on each and every occasion the staff make you feel relaxed, happy and comfortable - the only problem is leaving...!
- Ben Saxon, London, 28/11/2007 17:25
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