Street View - click to see the area around the Devonshire (ex-Duke of Devonshire)
The Young's makeover juggernaut rolls into Balham and this is the result. Not too long ago the Duke of Devonshire was a large, adept community boozer: one that could with equal conviction play host to older locals in the front bar and a younger crowd in the back. Now, it's something different - yet rather familiar if you've been to any of the many new-look Young's pubs which are sprouting up across London. The Devonshire's now a more sedate, respectable drinking hole, with traces of the old pub wiped away as succinctly as its former name - so farewell to the TV and the games machines; hello to an open plan kitchen and a Botticelli reproduction). One standfast from the old regime: they still serve you a decent pint of Young's. It's the sort of place that's perfect for aspirational, gentrified Balham - but it's one that's hard to get overly excited about, and it's no longer a pub.
reviewed: 28/07/2009
pub features:(click on an icon to see an explanation)