The Duke and Duchess

With an evening in the City ahead I was looking for somewhere local to meet my friend. We started off in the Carter Rooms in Carter Lane which was buzzy and good fun although the waiting staff were having extreme difficulty understanding what we were saying (how can you not know what a Margarita is in a cocktail bar?) or delivering drinks to our table in a reasonable time frame.

Having had one drink after a long day at the office we were hungry. And sometimes only chips will do. Well, we were seduced into The Duke and Duchess on the basis of chips and fish finger sandwiches (£5.50) even though the menu offered other standard pub fare such as crispy pork belly bun and fries (£5.50), macaroni cheese and salad (£6), ploughman’s platter including a scotch egg (£9.50), fisherman’s pie (£9.50), sausage and mash (£8.50) and the staples of steaks (£12.50), burgers (£9.50) and fish and chips (£9.50).

It’s a large open bar area and whilst it was doing a good trade there were one or two tables free. Most people, like us, appeared to have come straight from work and many were in groups although there were a few couples – both mixed and single sex.

The waiter was friendly and just a bit too quick to come over and ask us about drinks. He was happy to disappear for a while as we took in the meals menu, the bar snacks menu (as well as sandwiches and fries there were nachos, cocktail sausages, calamari, spring rolls, satay skewers and Asian Platter (£10.50) as well as Antipasto Board (£10.95)), the cocktail menu (which included some draught beers) and the wine and champagne list.

We each selected a glass of wine – I opted for a large Long Beach Chenin Blanc (£5.50) and my colleague the Rosso della Venezie IGT Brume di Monte (£5). And we managed to wait about five minutes before ordering the inevitable fish finger sandwiches. I was a bit concerned that my card was taken in order for a tab to be set up – other places usually provide you with a safer way to do this.

Anyway, there was a good portion of crispy, light fries that had already been salted. My companion felt that the fish goujons were a little tasteless (he suspected it was Pollack) although wrapped in an enormous wedge of French bread I was just happy to have my forbidden carbs.

It was a pleasant enough bar but two things stood out for me. The first was the journey down to the loos – the floor has this lovely mosaic tiling and the décor makes you feel like you are in a spa. There’s also a large, really soulful portrait of the young Princess Diana above the staircase. The other noteworthy thing was the music.

It was like being transported back to my youth – there was “Fantasy” by Earth Wind & Fire, “Funkin’ for Jamaica”, “Last night a DJ saved my life”, “Brick House” and even Michael Jackson’s “Rock with me”. There were numerous others and it was fun to remember the life events of those care free young days. With our bellies full and a smile on our faces we went in search of other bars.

Dion champagne bar in St Paul’s Churchyard was heaving and the music was really loud so we trotted on to One New Change and had a glass of bubbly at the Searcy’s Champagne Bar on the upper level.

Nice way to round off drinks and fish finger supper in the City.

The Duke and Duchess

Food Served

Big Screen TV

Disabled Facilities

Children Welcome

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Live Music Played

Private Area

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