Duke of Sussex

The Duke of Sussex is near Acton Green, and has a Victorian era dining room and a pleasant garden with outside seating in good weather. It offers a mix of Spanish dishes and pub staples like fish and chips from its tiny kitchen. They manage to make their own bread here despite the extremely limited space, which is a nice touch, and the bread itself has good texture (13/20).

Prawns chilli, garlic and tomato bread (£7.50) featured accurately cooked prawns, though disentangling hot prawns from their shell is a task best done if you happen to have asbestos fingers. The cooking juices were rich and enjoyable, the garlic bread fine (12/20). Tortilla (£6.25) was a classic Spanish omelette, the potato layers thin and the texture reasonable. It was not quite up there with Nestor in San Sebastian but was just fine (12/20).

Sea bass (£13) came with saffron potatoes, piquillo peppers and olives. The fish was accurately cooked, the potatoes a tad under-done but the peppers pleasant (11/20). Seafood paella (£14.50) is one of the signature dishes here and this one was a good example, served in an iron frying pan and with the rice having nicely absorbed the cooking juices, the prawns and mussels carefully cooked (13/20). A green salad was just lettuce, which seemed a bit lazy, though it was fresh enough (11/20).

Service was friendly and the bill came to £29 with just water to drink, plus coffee. The Duke of Sussex is not going to change your culinary perspective but it is a capable gastropub serving food that is significantly better than pretty much anywhere in its category in the local area.

Further reviews: 26th Oct 2020 | 20th Aug 2015 | 06th Nov 2014 | 08th May 2014