Writer Kurt Vonnegut once wrote, “We are here on earth to fart around”. The Duke of Wellington is an excellent place to do just that.

The Venue
Hackney doesn’t always seem like the greatest of places. Super-hip, yes, but not the most welcoming of London boroughs, yet inside the Victorian buildings of the past there is a warming cosiness thriving like never before. One such building is the Duke of Wellington, located on Morning Lane.

This pub has a welcoming exterior that is out of place among the intense building work going on around it. The bricks have a waxy finish to their caramel tones and the pastel green of the door gently welcomes you inward. Inside, the same shades of green cover the large bar that jumps up in front of you and the light colour adds a little countryside to the old wood of tradition. There are bar stools, intimate tables and seats next to the pool table.

The pub splits around the bar down two sides, one gaining the pool table and the other a life size statue of Johnny Cash - a definite photo opportunity. There’s a beer garden out the back that families are welcome to enjoy plus the trimmings of a dartboard and plasma screen.

The Atmosphere
Morning Lane seems to have something about it when it comes to the quality of its pubs. Fortunately it doesn’t attract the traffic of Mare Street so doesn’t have to fend off the batting of glittered eyelashes and the need for its pubs to become ‘ironic’. The Globe gets it right a little earlier on the street with its live Sunday jazz and the Duke of Wellington follows suit by diversifying with quiz nights and a free classic jukebox to add a level of quirk.

Regulars galore fill up the pub and always seem keen to command the bar stools. Football inspires good times here and the place gains a mischievous feel to it. The staff are on first name terms with most of the punters and it’s a pleasant place to while away your time.

The Food
The Duke of Wellington serves a selection of simple pub grub at good prices. Expect the usual staples of sausage and chips, fish and chips, chips and chips. You get the idea.

The Drink
The bar offers a rather bland selection of lager and inexpensive wine, which is where it falls down. A few braver choices may spice things up a bit but then the place might lose itself. As Chef Ramsay once said, “You can’t teach an old dog new fucking tricks.” And it really doesn’t need to go changing; after all, there is a good selection of average lagers including Fosters, Carlsberg, Stella and Carling.

The Last Word
The Duke of Wellington with its simple lagers but thriving atmosphere is an example of why Hackney is well known for itdus pub culture.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (1)