This is a traditional pub on Windmill Street, a stone’s throw from one of its fellow Samuel Smith pub partners, yet it still keeps a semblance of individuality.

The Venue
The Duke of Argyll tries its best to buck the trends of the many other Samuel Smith pubs and succeeds with a more relaxed approach than the traditional decor usually preferred by the brewery.

The bar is long and stretches across the back of the square pub. The wooden floors of the pit are home to high stalls, tables and cramped columns for upright drinking. The areas by the windows provide the most attractive places to sit. The simple step up onto the carpeted platform is like coming in from the cold. Here, people can relax in the comfort of real chairs that stretch around the windows in small clusters. The ceiling sports a miniature impression of an opera house and its regalia is matched by the thick glossy paint that smothers the walls around it. The lower walls are covered in fairly respectable wallpaper that again shows a clear break from the Samuel Smith norm.

The Atmosphere
The Duke of Argyll is just on the edge of Brewer Street and it attracts any and every one of the huge spectrum of characters that inhabit the backstreets of Soho. There’s no seediness, just a sense of the young and old pulling together in the right direction: the stiff upper lips survey the room over the rim and through the fumes of sherry; greebos and greasers slam cards down on lager soaked surfaces; and suits still try to stand out with loud braggadocios conversations that just drift off on a wind of yawns. Smiles are planted upwards on the whole and there’s a friendly feel to the place; be afraid neither to stand in plain sight in the pit, nor sidle to a corner for more intimate enjoyment.

The Drink
When you’ve been to one of these pubs you’ve been to them all. The lager is the usual Alpine or higher premium pure brewed lager. There is also the own brand stout that is a fair competitor but yet no Guinness. The soft drinks are cheap, as are the spirits and pretty much everything else. A round for four will usually leave change for £10.

The Last Word
The Duke of Argyll is a refreshing environment to enjoy your Alpine or Taddy. It’s a Samuel Smith with a little oomph.

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