Pubs are having a hard time of it. Same as it ever was? Perhaps not. This time, the forecast is stormy: the number of pubs is at a record low and six close each day. But the gloom is lifting in certain parts. The Walmer Castle opens today in Notting Hill, while in Stroud Green, former Southampton Arms man Nick Bailey is drawing a crowd at The Robin. And the restaurant opening of the winter? It could be a four-storey behemoth of a boozer, and a freehouse at that.
This is the Devonshire, which opens on Friday in the part of Soho that teeters into Piccadilly. It’s a Friday that’s been a long time coming — after nine months of tastings, two years of planning, 10 years of talking, and 20 years of kitchen connections. The place is a giant, in size and scope, and already in reputation — though this, most likely, comes from those behind it. Oisín Rogers is the former Guinea Grill publican whose usual billing is London’s most famous landlord, Charlie Carroll is the founder of Flat Iron, and Ashley Palmer-Watts made his name as head chef at Heston Blumenthal’s industry-defining Fat Duck. Carroll and Rogers have their names above the door and decorating the beer mats; Palmer-Watts was their pick of the chefs who could turn their daydreams into something to taste.
