Pub in London W1
Devonshire
17 Denman Street, London, W1D 7HWClosest station: Piccadilly Circus, about 2 min walk4.4out of 5 on Google, from 912 ratings
Details last checked October 2024. Things may have changed since.
About Devonshire
Previously a Victorian public house and most recently a Jamie's Italian restaurant and then chicken and burger concept Coqbull, this site has now blossomed again as The Devonshire. Publican Oisín Rogers, Flat Iron founder Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts, the former Fat Duck executive chef, joined forces to open the new pub and restaurant in November 2023.
The ground-floor pub is a “relaxed, top-quality pub honouring the building’s history as an inn since 1793”. Decor is authentic pub-style, burgundy leather banquettes, wood-panels and gleaming brass. The best seats in the house are three snugs literally behind the bar, but you will have to be invited or ask permission to come across!
There is home-made bar food including bacon sandwiches, scotch eggs, sausage rolls and cheese and ham hock toasties. Drinks in this free-house of course include cask ale, up to four ales from six handpumps, but there are in addition a large number of keg fonts with a major focus on Guinness. The latter has already been described as "perfect" and in April 2024 news reports stated that the pub sold around 15 thousand pints of Guinness a week and that over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, 20 thousand pints were sold. Diageo has said that this site is now "the biggest Guinness account in the world". The story continued in August 2024 when the pub became the first in the country to sell Guinness 0.0 no-alcohol on draught. As at date of this entry the venue continues to be very popular indeed and hence often crowded.
Upstairs, there are three dining rooms with a total 150 covers and a wood-ember grill for steaks and seafood. A three-course set-price menu is on offer at both lunch and dinner featuring the likes of prawn and langoustine cocktail, steak and chips and sticky toffee pudding. The two-page wine list contains a fair selection including many bottles reasonably-priced for the area. A rooftop area is also there for sunny days.
The venue staff are stated by the owners to be women-led in order to counter the blokiness marring some other pubs.
NB the pub management requests no laptop usage or loud phone calls whilst in the pub.
Winner in the 2024 National Restaurant awards of the Gastropub of the Year and of the Opening of the Year awards.
Description from WhatPub, CAMRA’s pub guide.
Features
- Dog Friendly: In pub. Only small well-behaved dogs in restaurant.
- Live Music: Regular live Irish music and piano singalongs.
- Family Friendly: Not after 5pm in pub. Children welcome at any time in restaurant.
- Serves Food
- Serves Lunch
- Serves Dinner
- Restaurant
- Real Ale
- Disabled Access: In basement but accessible by lift
- WiFi
- Reservable
- Good for Groups
- Accepts Credit Cards
- Accepts Debit Cards
- Accepts NFC
Opening times
- Monday
- 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Tuesday
- 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Wednesday
- 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Thursday
- 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Friday
- 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Saturday
- 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Sunday
- 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
As listed in October 2024. Hours change, and bank holidays differ: check with the pub.
Good to know
- Operator
- Independent
- Price
- 2 out of 4 (Google’s price level)
Photos
Photos from Google Maps contributors, stored when the pub was last checked.
Google rating and reviews
4.4out of 5 on Google, from 912 ratings
5 out of 5Paul Brownon Google, October 2024
Delicious food. Been twice now, once for Sunday lunch, once for dinner. For dinner, we shared the scallops, ribs, pork chop, langoustine, rib eye, fries, creamed leeks and roasted carrots between three of us. Was just the right amount of food - though we did find room for the sticky toffee pudding to finish!
5 out of 5Karen Hamilton Brookeon Google, September 2024
Stunning rooftop setting with delicious delights. Superb beef cheek suet. Beautiful brawn toast. Cold cold cold Guinness. Superb sticky toffee pudding. Fabulously buzzing ambience. Special in every way including the bread and butter!
5 out of 5COYSmanSTANon Google, September 2024
Lovely restaurant above the pub - almost feels like a special secret! Food is wonderful, and also reasonably priced. The scallop is pictured first as a starter, and was a joyful culinary experience. Lamb cutlets with the special green sauce were also amazing. Finally, the bread and butter pudding was so good that I did not have time to picture it - I was simply relishing in its deliciousness. If you’re lucky enough to get a reservation, then I would highly recommend!!!!
5 out of 5Matt Owenson Google, September 2024
Perhaps we were lucky on timing but the bar was pretty quiet during the week. So we were able to get an order in quick from the really lovely staff. I really believe that the majority of ‘hyped’ up places on social media aren’t worth it but the Devonshire is definitely an exception. It was bloody excellent. It’s hard to describe but the Guinness here is genuinely very good, it could be that they really take their time to pour it correctly, it’s not a rushed experience. We picked a scotch egg from the bar menu which had a crispy coating, succulent pork interior and jammy egg middle…
5 out of 5Nico Mon Google, July 2024
I wanted to see what the hype was all about and frankly it’s 100% worth it: the food was delicious and I can’t wait to go back. Caveat: not sure I’d say it’s the best Guinness in London but it was still very good. And the food is very good for meat lovers; not many options for vegetarians and vegans. I had the scallops for starters with bacon which were an absolute treat. Their homemade complimentary bread is so tasty also; hard to resist. For main I took the Iberico pork chop which melted in my mouth and the french fries was so crispy. What a delight. Now the vibe. It’s half the reason to…
Rating and reviews are from Google Maps, as they stood in October 2024. See the latest on Google Maps.