The Duke of Wellington

Sadly the glorious days following the Duke's opening in autumn 2008 seem over. Where as once the menu was always notable for its cut abover the average gastro inventivness (pigs head "cake", spicy tomatoes and qualis egg) and for the quality of execution of British and French classics (pork rillets, crab on toast and one of the best Sunday lunches in London), what progress there was has been in a backwards direction.

Most of the menu constants (crab bisque, sticky toffee pud) are still good but new dishes lack the full blooded whack of pleasure that I came to associate with the food here. Inventivness has taken flight or else led to dishes that just dont work.

For much the same money I would recommend Galvin Bistro De Luxe around the corner.

A little secret - the Head Chef, who was the clear talent behind the initial success, left here late 2009 to go to the Admiral Codrington in South Kensington. So now we know why....
Comment on this reader review

Foodie - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sadly, now sitting smugly on it's laurels. And let's be honest, it's not at all cheap...despite what all the press reviews say. Prices are exactly the same as a smart restaurant , and given the current food standards, it's grossly over priced.

I've eaten here several times in the past....always gone for the steak, and never disappointed. But oh, what a change !!! The meal this week was a complete disaster! Steamed prawns were a plate of cold 'straight out the fridge' tasteless red things you could find in your local supermarket. If they were steamed, it was some time ago. Next the rib-eye ordered medium rare. My wife was surprised at my struggle to cut through it. Another attempt confirmed this was a sorry piece of beef. Even the size was so much smaller than previous visits. So much so, that when I returend it to the kitchen, I quizzed if it was still the same source. I noticed the two ladies on the adjacent table had issues with their steaks too. To be fair, it was removed from the bill., but nothing was offered in it's place. I went hungry. Give it a wide berth untill they buck their ideas up and remember what originally gave them a good reputation.
Comment on this reader review

paul
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 01, 2010

The Duke of Wellington serves consistently gorgeous food. I've eaten there several times now and they always exceed expectations. Often I'll find a restaurant that makes me go WOW! now and then but still has off days but this pub never seems to go off the boil.

The service is always faultless - efficient and attentive without hovering or being smarmy like some places. Just warm friendly professionalism that makes it all seem effortless though clearly the staff all work really hard and it's been busy every time we've gone there. They seem to be comfortably confident about what they do - no fuss service and high quality food that they seem to enjoy offering - unlike some places I've been to that try to create an air of elitism to prop up mediocre food that just ends up seeming pretentious and spun.

In contrast, this place has a generous happy atmosphere built on an authentically good product and solid confidence. As well as a liking for people. The staff are quite chatty and at ease with the customers. I was introduced to this place by a friend who lives locally and I've since taken a few other friends there. On warm days it's nice to sit outside. It's in an interesting, pretty neighbourhood.

So far they've served up "the best I've ever had" on three dishes. The pumpkin soup with trompette de mort is gorgeous. Rich and creamy with lots of oomph. Today when we went for lunch I had the cottage pie with proper chunks of meat beautifully cooked in a lovely rich gravy in the right proportions. The potato topping is nicely presented and golden. It came with a simple cabbage side dish. I don't normally like cabbage but this was tasty and light and cooked just enough. A really good combination.

I had the passionfruit and raspberry sorbets for pudding which were absolutely divine. I love a good sorbet and that's usually the only reason I'll have dessert. They both had a nicely balanced texture, not too light and insubstantial and not too smooth. Amazingly strong rich flavours and lovely deep colours.

A perfect meal. All the servings are a good size - generous and well suited to the ingredients. They seem to judge the portion size well in that respect. The bread is consistently good - really tasty with a nice crunchy crust to it.

The wines are always good and they do a nice bitter shandy. And they play good music.
Comment on this reader review

Caitlin McKiernan
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, February 21, 2009