London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Canonbury and Barnsbury
Dukes Brew and Que, London N1
Brewpub, bar (Independent, small group)
33 Downham Road N1 5AA
T 020 3006 0795 w www.dukesjoint.com f Dukes-Brew-Que tw dukesjoint
Open 1600 (1000 Sat-Sun)-2300 (2330 Thu-Sat). Children welcome until 2000.
Cask beer 6 (Beavertown, Redemption, Oakham, unusual often local guests), Other beer 5 keg, 30+ bottles, Also 1 real cider, tequilas and tequila cocktails, some specialist spirits
Food US-style barbecues and burgers, Outdoor Tables on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Beer matching dinners.
London gained yet another new brewery in February 2012 when the owners of the American-themed Off Broadway cocktail bar in Broadway Market, also noted for its beer range, launched this equally transatlantic brewpub and barbecue joint in the shell of the Duke of York in De Beauvoir Town, an area of distinctive 1820s development east of Kingsland Road and north of the Regent’s Canal. As the exposed brick and girders visible in the bar area attest, the place had been completely stripped and was due to be redeveloped as flats, and the side bar and the open kitchen with its adjacent brewery have all been built from scratch. A good two thirds of the floor area, presided over rather curiously by an installation involving an old pram and a doll, is dedicated to dining – yet so rapid has been the venture’s success that you’ll likely need to book ahead if you want to eat.
Drinkers, however, are always welcome at the cheerful bar. Up to six cask beers include at least one house brew (under the name Beavertown); the remainder usually come from local breweries, with various Redemption beers on regularly and others from Dark Star and East London, though Oakham JHB is a near-regular thanks to public demand. Mainstream and big brewery beers are avoided across the board – expect to see the likes of Paulaner helles, Meantime London Lager and Camden Ink on the keg taps in preference to Guinness or Stella, alongside Thornbridge Chiron, Schneider Weisse or something from BrewDog. Bottles cover several bases, with London’s Kernel and Redchurch alongside some less familiar imports – Bear Republic from the USA or the Troubadour beers brewed at Proef in Belgium.
Top quality is assured by bar and cellar manager and beer expert Hannah, formerly of Fuller’s pub the Ship in Soho (p109). “I’m OCD about cellar hygiene,” she tells me. “I can’t sleep if I know the pipes haven’t been cleaned.” Let’s wish her pleasant dreams.
Overground Haggerston Cycling LCN+ 8 10, Regents Canal towpath Walking Jubilee Greenway
Leave a Reply