The Duke of Kent, Ealing

Expansive Garden Escape for Families

Duke of Kent in Ealing is one of those establishments that epitomizes the complex juxtaposition of quintessential British charm and metropolitan grit. Pulling up to its stately façade, you're greeted by a solid structure humming with the applause of patrons and tinged with the faint aroma of well-aged ale. Step inside, however, and immediately feel transported to the kind of rustic relaxation you'd expect in a George Orwell novel—but not without its own spot of modernity, thanks to a socio-politically satirical-themed décor. It's clear this public house takes pride in heritage while trying not to take itself too seriously, proffering comedy as subtle as a deliberate linguistic gaffe.

The pub’s grand selling points are its expansive beer garden—a veritable haven for sun-chasing Londoners and even green-fingered little humans—and an unashamed devotion to what feels like indulgent over-pricing. One can imagine Jane Austen herself finding "eight quid-and-a-florin" for a pint a bit much, especially while trying to wrestle with half the city's pollen population on a summer afternoon out back. Still, it's a place that warms the cockles, serving comforting roasts to chase off the Sunday scrooge and well-battered haddock left to leggard on anyone's plate but the most ambitious of diners. The service, wildly inconsistent, hovers between smiles as genuine as those from Christmas crackers and more elaborate performances of disengagement seen only at amateur dramatics rehearsals. Nevertheless, it's a gathering space with atmosphere aplenty—best savored among friends who, like yourself, are just as interested in commenting on life's fleeting absurdities one pint—and reported lost order of chips—at a time. — Penelope Savory