Duke's Head, E17 3HX
- 112 Wood Street, E17 3HX (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
- noon-11pm Mon-Thu; noon-midnight Fri; 11am-11pm Sat; noon-10:30pm Sun
Pub in Walthamstow.
Note: According to Walthamstow Diary, the Duke's Head has undergone a substantial renovation since we last visited, and so some of the below may be out of date.
Walking in, you could be forgiven for thinking you'd accidentally wandered into an old-fashioned working man's club. Upholstered banquettes line the walls beneath half-frosted windows, and an expanse of wooden floor stretches out with small tables and round-backed wooden chairs arranged neatly in rows photo. Tall stools line the bar, and a small raised stage sits in one corner, with a cluster of spotlights on the ceiling nearby.
Around the corner of the bar there's a carpeted area with wood-panelled walls and a pool table taking pride of place in the centre photo. Half a dozen TVs are mounted around the place, ensuring that at least one is visible wherever you sit.
The walls are painted in shades of blue, matching the upholstery and the pool table. There are some other nice touches, too: decorative mouldings along the ceiling and on the bar back, and a cameo duke's head worked into the frosting on the windows.
A sign on the door warns that they don't accept credit and debit cards.
Kake visited on a Monday afternoon in September 2013. There were two other customers in when I arrived a little before 2pm. Music (Absolute Radio) was playing, not too loud, and the TVs were showing cycling with the sound off. The handpumps were clipped for Greene King IPA, Wychwood Hobgoblin (£1.80/half), and Sharp's Doom Bar.
Accessibility: No step to get in, and step-free to the bar, all the seating, and the toilets. The door into the cubicle in one of the ladies' toilets is very stiff (not checked the other).
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