The Duchess W6 — Restaurant in London

🚇 Stamford Brook 🍺 £6.90 Pillars Pilsner

The Duchess is located on the western edge of Hammersmith in West London. The nearest Tube station is Stamford Brook.

This pub was originally called the Queen of England and was built in 1870, the current building dates from 1928. Over the years, the pub has undergone several name changes and became The Duchess in 2018.

The Duchess is run by @truepubco ,who also operate fine establishments such as The Crown in Hackney and The Hercules on Holloway Road.

This charming, traditionally decorated two-room pub has a stylish and comfortable feel. The main bar area, located to the right, is spacious and features the servery along the back wall. The decor consists of a boarded floor, plush upholstered seating, green walls, a dartboard, and a beautifully ornate ceiling that adds real character.

The adjoining room, set aside for dining, is tastefully decorated and has ample seating, including comfortable booths. Out back, there’s a partially covered beer garden with plenty of benches, there’s also additional outdoor seating at the front of the pub to watch the world go by.

The beer line up is impressive and offers a selection of well known brands, local London brews and two cask ales. I decided on a Pillars Pilsner, my pint was excellent, price point was a tad high. The food menu is classic pub fare, fish and chips cost £18, roasts are available on a Sunday.

I arrived at 4 p.m. on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon in June. There were a few diners to the left, a friendly family group in the main bar, and a dozen or so people enjoying the sun outside. The atmosphere was chilled and relaxed, so settling in was easy. The service was outstanding—the team on duty were welcoming, friendly, and personable. It felt as if I had been drinking here for years.

The pub hosts a Pub Quiz, Live Music and also shows Live Sport.

From the interwar architecture with colourful blooms to the traditional pub surroundings and the first class service, this pub is fantastic and was an absolute joy to visit.

Follow @theduchesshammersmith for updates.

📅 21st June 2025

If you want to see all my pub reviews in one place, head to @londonpubmap on...

I had a poor experience with a friend here a couple of days ago which was a surprise after a few good visits. They solicited a review via email so although I rarely leave reviews I have one as my friend who accompanied me also had said I should.

Every pub I have been to since they reopened after lockdown requires bookings and provides table service for safety reasons, but apparently not The Duchess. There’s no way I could have known this as I’ve booked before but I was berated for booking and ultimately not ordering food, which we would have actually done after a couple of drinks if anyone came to our table before the kitchen closed. I also requested an outdoor table which, again, I have done before but I was immediately, rudely told I can’t do that. I wasn’t to know. I previously booked an outdoor table. Also, my booking was accepted and I wasn’t contacted at all about it. They proceeded to set up multiple outdoor tables for later arrivals after seating me and my friend indoors.

My friend was also chased down on arrival for heading to the toilet before joining me at the table as I told him I was already seated.

Their general attitude was unbelievably rude all evening. I didn’t have a single positive, customer orientated interaction with them all night.

I left a review to this effect and then to my surprise I received a phone call asking to discuss my review midday Sunday. I reluctantly agreed. It was hostile and aggressive and accused me of leaving a fake review, which cannot be the case as they acknowledge they know who I am despite my name not being attached to the review.

I would have expected perhaps an apology but it was in fact so much nastier than the experience of dining there that I’d put this on the list of places never to go again which is a shame because I thought I’d discovered a gem - good food, covered outdoor area, and next to a dog park for my new puppy. I’ve never received a harassing and threatening phone call after leaving a solicited review before.

I have left perhaps 5 total reviews on Google, all positive and because I was asked nicely by the provider, but this is a real weekend...

I've reviewed this pub before and gave it a better rating but tonight really missed the mark. They were very clearly understaffed, I think they weren't expecting that many people on a Monday night before New Year's Eve but the bar area was packed and quite a few small and large tables in the restaurant bit. Our waitress was clearly overwhelmed and so began a long series of "I'll be back in two minutes" at every interaction attempt. The food was mainly okay but the chicken bites were clearly frozen and a weird texture, all other starters were nice. Wouldn't recommend the tortellini dish and the chips were subpar but everything else was quite nice although the pie did feel like it was made in a factory. Usually like this place so took my family there who were visiting from France for Christmas and it was unfortunately disappointing. It won't discourage us to come back though as I'm sure it was just a fluke in staffing levels but will be more careful about ordering in the future as all dishes are not...