The backstreets of Rathbone Street have a quintessential London feel to them and as you push further west away from Oxford Street the air gets cleaner and the beer tastes better, at least in the Duke of York it does.

The Venue
If you dig out the foundations of the Duke of York and set it down in another part of town the tired interior wouldn’t cope against competition of any kind. The egg yolk orange lights would flicker and die and the pumps would bubble out the death glug as they lost the energy to pump. In its sunny location on Rathbone Street though, the venue seems to suck life from the surrounding streets and remain somewhat appealing, although to the conscious mind it isn’t clear how.

The carpet is of the flowery pub red splatter, stools are uncomfortably pushed up to ridiculously small ledges and the large bar swallows far too much valuable room that could have housed more tables. The alley outside is the key reason to visit as the small street fills up in summer and times are good.

The Atmosphere
Due to the fact that people rarely explore north of Oxford Street, the Duke of York remains something of a secret and the crowd is mostly made up of tired looking men, fixed with suits, swamped by oversized coats. In addition to the somewhat grey office crowd, there are also other business sectors present from hairdressers to the very different beauty therapists that reside in the immediately adjacent shops. There is nothing exotic or unruly about the venue and it doesn’t seem (at least until the Summer Alleyway Drinking Club starts up) that the bubble tilts either way on the spirit level of wild.

The Drink
The big bar isn’t just here to monopolise space, it is filled with a good selection of beers and ales. The Duke of York houses Becks Vier, Fosters, Kronenbourg, Green King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and a guest like Flanker’s Tackle for all the rugby heads out there. Wine is served in small and large glasses or in the bottle itself for those looking to bump up those units.

The Last Word
The Duke of York finds solace in the nooks off of Rathbone Street and it’s Seasonal Affective Disorder passes come the summer months.

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