Duke Of Wellington - Hackney

I had a very disappointing experience at lunch today. We ordered the roast lunch and were disappointed to find that the vegetables were overcooked and lacking any greens. The Yorkshire pudding was burnt and the crackling was extremely tough. The sticky toffee pudding we ordered seemed more like a sundae than an actual pudding. To make matters worse, we were overcharged when it came time to pay. Overall, it was a terrible experience and we will not be returning to this restaurant.

We waited a long time to be served and were completely ignored. When we finally received our beer, it was mediocre at best. This pub is not worth visiting.

I’ve been to the duke of wellington a few times. To eat, to watch football, generally thought it a nice place. This evening thought it the best option in Dalston to watch the Sheffield United v Manchester United football match with a few nice beers off the board. You come to expect as an estranged northerner watching football in London that not too many people are keen on Manchester United. For the away games you don’t have tickets for you select the “nicer pubs”, perhaps those you have to pay £6.50 for an ipa to avoid the football animosity. Alas, this evening, there were a remarkable number of folks from Sheffield in a Dalston bar. Taking great satisfaction in a result that clearly means a great deal to their football season. To be expected. What isn’t expected is that after an evening of paying £20 for three pints, the delightful bartender (bearded, long hair, admittedly hadn’t served me through the rest of the evening) sending me, a respectful patron, on my way with a lovely sarcastic comment about enjoying the rest of my evening. From customers you obviously take this, from staff it isn’t acceptable. Whether you advertise as a football bar or not, it is pretty important for all staff to refrain from being rude to their customers. Pretty unimpressed. A review that isn’t going to make any difference I don’t think, but if you don’t call things out nothing changes. Pretty decent beer mind.

Some time ago, I had the pan-fried skate at this restaurant, which had recently won the Gastro Pub of the Year award. It was expertly cooked to a beautiful crispiness, and I have yet to find anything comparable elsewhere. Unfortunately, the chef has since changed and I can't guarantee that the same level of quality is maintained today.

Waited ages to get served, a guy got served before me jumping in front of the queue. Although I mentioned this to the bartender he seem not to care much, ended up going elsewhere.