Duke of Argyll — Restaurant in London

My fiancé and I visited the pub on the 26th of October 2024, around 7 PM. We liked the atmosphere, and despite it being overcrowded on the ground floor, we decided to go upstairs. On the first floor, we met a staff member who was working at the bar, and we mentioned that we wanted to have dinner and not just drinks. From the very beginning, the staff member wasn't welcoming at all. She offered us a table for two, with one chair and one small stool. When we asked if we could change the stool for a chair (there were plenty of free chairs around), she rudely said no and insisted that there were no other chairs available, even though we could see others.

We explained that the stool was not comfortable, and since we wanted to have dinner, we would have to sit on it for more than an hour. It seemed like she wasn't in the right mood. After a couple of minutes, we asked if we could change the table, as two tables were available. She said that we couldn't because she was keeping those tables in case a bigger group came in, adding an eye roll.

We accepted the fact that she didn't want to change the chair and we accepted her refusal to change the table, but we could not accept her attitude. Not willing to have a friendly discussion, she rushed us and cut us off, rolling her eyes as if we were taking up her time. We left immediately because we didn’t want to be served by staff who seemed like they didn’t enjoy their jobs in hospitality, despite our desire to try the pub's menu and enjoy...

Realistic 1800's pub with realistic 1800's attitudes. Lesbophobic/misogynistic/transphobic assistant manager of a pub in Soho. Visit many other gay friendly pubs around.

When having a conversation about coming out the assistant manager who is still speaking much louder than us he gets barstaff to tell us to be quiet. He had no problem when we were talking about other issues.

Then staff constantly tell us to be quiet, even though men on other side of room are constantly louder and I can hear every word they say from the other sideeee (Adele)

When we complained we realise the assistant manager is the one who complained when we talked about lesbian issues.

The assistant manager dismisses our complaints and talks to us in a misogynistic and rude manner telling us to 'Be quiet' 'Sit Down' 'Turn around' 'Go away' and gaslighted us, when he quite clearly heard we were nowhere as loud as the men on another table or him but obviously it was to defend his misogynistic lesbophobic transphobic attitude.

Yorkshire born and bred, it's such a shame he is assistant manager of what otherwise would be a decent Yorkshire pub.

Also, 2 men pushed infront of my girlfriend ordering drinks and staff saw her waiting...

The Duke of Argyll is a Samuel Smith pub smack dab in the middle of Soho. As Josy A says, it's cheap as chips! And I mean proper cheap with a double vodka soda being a few pennies shy of a fiver and pints to be have for less than £3. Now that's a brilliant value proposition.

It's not a massive space but with a handful of booths and tables and enough standing room for 20-30 people it's large enough. It feels quite cosy and provides and excellent respite from the cold weather. The bar staff are efficient and make it a point to welcome you in and trade a bit of banter while they fill your order. It's a much better experience than the sullen ones who try to pull pints as fast as possible resulting in a beer that's mostly foam and little substance.

They have some pretty standard cheap pub grub on offer but I can't comment as we'd just finished stuffing ourselves with ramen. Still, if you are looking for a place to start a night out, the D of A ticks all the right boxes. Line your stomach, down a couple of drinks,...