Part of The Culpeper pub group alongside The Culpeper, The Buxton and The Green in Clerkenwell, the Duke of Cambridge certainly has a solid pedigree. The location isn’t bad either - take a short stroll down towards the Regent’s Canal from Angel’s Upper Street and you can’t miss the Duke’s navy blue awnings, wooden benches and hanging baskets on the corner of Danbury Street.
Inside, the Duke of Cambridge has all the trappings of a great gastropub - a fantastic selection of beers, organic wines and cocktails; we went with the latter and enjoyed a good negroni in the warmth of the summer evening.
The Duke proudly asserts that it was Britain’s first organic pub and it’s clear that there remains a focus on fresh, seasonal produce and transparent sourcing. It has a fantastic reputation for honest British cooking, though some visitors might find that falls rather on the rustic side. An opening salvo of small plates - brown crab on toast with Sriracha, langoustines with aioli, and globe artichoke with mustard dressing - arrived literally as described; the brown crab was on a piece of toast, with a little squirt of Sriracha; langoustines arrived cold and in shells, and the artichoke was cut in half with choke removed. Simple food like this leaves few hiding places, and though nice, they were somewhat lacklustre.
The same can be said of a main dish of lamb, frijoles and tomato salsa, which was capably cooked, but felt like an assemblage that was exactly the sum of its parts.
A Black Forest gateaux deconstruction of roasted cherries, chocolate brownie and clotted cream was a bright spot, but this all felt like a meal that was lacking a bit of direction. Still, the restaurant was buzzing with diners and drinkers, and service was friendly too. We suspect this may have been an off night for the venerable pub, fingers crossed for normal service to resume shortly.