Duchess Of Kent

Another gastro ‘swing and a miss’ in the barnsbury neighborhood.
First off, if you come here, keep it simple — shoot for old pub favorites or just some ale. The staff are pretty nice and rather competent which is lovely.
However…the wife chose more aggressively with a bacon, avocado and chicken sandwich. This gem came with three pieces of gristly chicken, no bacon and on bread that was stale. IMHO — just say you don’t have the ingredients, apologize and ask that they choose something else. This thing was a mess which kind of p*sses you off when you’ve paid nearly 8 quid for it.
The Albion and the draper’s arms seem to have the strangle hold on local gastro pub quality. Really unfortunate especially with the Duchess of Kent as the location is so great.

UPDATE: went for dinner last month and the sea bass was TO DIE FOR.
Best scotch egg on the planet. Respectable house red, quaint setting, lovely chaps at the bar.
Kitchen is down 3 – 6 but I’ll def be back for dinner, the blackface lamb leg sounds amazing!

I’ve visited this pub on and off for years and as others have said it’s very hit and miss. Since its recent refurbishment the pub décor itself is much more light and airy and the toilets renewed offer a huge improvement. We arrived for Sunday lunch and given the small table by the dirty fireplace with cobwebs, but with its low comfy chairs.
At the table my companion was seated while I was left standing behind the waitress who didn’t seem to care whether I stood there and started talking to my partner. (I watched this happen again to several others who arrived in pairs) I had to literally shoehorn myself in to my seat around her and missed her introduction due to this rude approach.
I ordered a soda water with crushed lemon and it arrives with sliced lemon vaguely floating on the surface… I knew then she had not been listening.
I have a glass of average wine of Italian origin at a shocking price of £8.50 a glass-​it arrives watery and tasteless. there are no measures on the glass so one is not sure if you have received the right amount.
The lunch was better, a half roast chicken with a small portion of side vegetables (literally 4 tiny halves with not much flavour and pretty hard to eat, and by contrast a soggy roasted medley of parsnips and carrots. It was ok not really wow but ok… my dinner partner enjoyed the pork belly which came with a salad which was for me an odd combination.
Indeed on many visits we have been met with surly staff and friendly staff but that’s the point it’s really not consistent.
As we left a waiter spotted a chip on the floor and just stepped over it… I just wonder what their training department set up is like as I feel like they need some direction. This could be a great place to eat and socialise but the staff need help with the fundamentals such as the welcome and the smile! And how about thank you for visiting us? As a consultant training director I would do it for half price to improve things in here!

This is a great local pub to gather for drinks and dinner. The staff are very nice and accommodating. I’ve been here a number of times and each one a positive experience. The food is great, the space is nice and clean. They recently did a refurbishment and I was just a bit sad to see the beautiful old bar be replaced by a new one but it’s pretty too… just lacks the same character.
Neighbourhood locals love this place and so do I. This American Southerner in London loves the Duchess of Kent, y’all. See you there for a drink or more!

Good hearty local pub. They serve teas, beers; full bar and fairly clean. Nice & comforting environment.

Last weekend I came here and spent a lovely late-​afternoon with my good friend from uni here: seated in two comfy armchairs right in front of the fireplace, this was the perfect place for an in-​depth conversation about the meaning of life. Well, that and the bottle of red wine also helped to get to the bottom of this highly philosophical question.
To be honest, I cannot say much else about this pub — we didn’t have food or much interaction with the staff, but it was very busy and so it seems to me that I’m not the only one enjoying the warm & cozy atmosphere of this pub. (In fact, it seemed to be popular for food, as all tables for reserved for later this evening.)

One of my local pubs and a favourite.
Duchess of Kent is a friendly place and has a warm, homely feel and friendly punters to match. The staff are great and it serves a decent selection of beers at reasonable prices. Cornish Coaster, Youngs, Doombar and a good wine list too.
They have music which is low enough so you can chat.
It’s off the main drag in Islington so has more of a relaxed neighbourhood crowd (apart from Arsenal game days when it gets super busy).
If you want to eat, they have a dining section at the rear of the pub which is cosy and inviting and a refreshing change from the standard gastro pub look. The food is OK, in fact quite average but not special: homestyle cooking plus a reasonable burger and fish and chips too and a range of puds but really average I have to say but at least the service and ambience are very good. They are doing a retro food and sounds night on Tuesdays in November which we will have to try. The staff serving are just great.

Friendly local, good food, good drink, but mainly a sweet place to hang about and take a time out. We are new to the area and have been embraced by staff and regulars, which we appreciate greatly!

Used to be a real villains pub called the fox and fiddle so a great improvement. Top class beers and wines. Food can be a bit hit and miss and too much focus on dinner service with seating always reserved to put drinkers off and not enough pub attitude but Jacky Bassett gives it the thumbs up.

After my initial bad impression that this was very much a gastro pub, I was subsequently only impressed.
The Mad Goose ale (from Purity, named after the vicious geese that patrol the brewerycheaper than guard dogs) was really good. So good I had to have a second pintjust to make sure it really was that nice. you understand. The guy that came out to collect the glasses also asked how the ale was, a nice bit of customer interaction that should not be underestimated.
There are some nice big tables outdoors for better weather. I didn’t see too much of the interior, but it looked a little food orientated towards the back. I did see some nice comfy looking sofas too, mind you.

Pleasant gastro-​pub, with everything the hyphenated term implies: good ‘British menu’ food, pricey, ‘on trend’ décor a nice relaxed vibe on a Sunday afternoon, with tables on the pavement if the sun bothers to turn up.
If you like a decent bloody mary, order one somewhere else. Perhaps it was just an off day, but limp celery in a concoction that tasted of pure horseradish has cost them a star or two.

Lovely pub. Great atmosphere. nice staff and wide selection of nice lagers, ales and wines (haven’t tried and wine)
Being a bit out of the way is GOOD, it means its generally quieter than others in this area.
Free WI-​FI so a great place to do a bit of Sunday afternoon work
Food is good, on the more expensive side of pub food. deffo gastro pub food.

Nice food, great cozy atmosphere with soft chairs and fireplace. On several occasions, the kitchen has been closed so that we could not eat, but when it is, it’s definitely worth a try.

Great pub for drinking (not too busy post Arsenal matches) and food is OK. Staff very friendly and location quite quiet.
Good bitter and decent wine list make this a drinking pub, although there is a wide food menu. I find the food to be a bit variable and not very cheap.
Worth going along to check it out, though.

This is pretty much a standard gastro-​pub, perfectly nice but not very exciting. Food is good but pricey and drinks are fairly moderate pub prices. The clientele are mostly local, professional pre-​parent couples and groups. There’s a good quiz which my parents feel as happy at as me and my friends and which is fun and not too hard.