My Boyfriend and I were walking through the Annex and stumbled upon The Duke of York, we both like pub food and thought we would give it a shot.
When walking in the layout is slightly confusing because there is a hostess station but no one manning it. There was a sign saying to seat yourself, I am personally not a fan of this style but went with it.
The menus were simple to follow and seem to be updated regularly as they are simply reinforced paper. There were a few things on the menu that looked quite tasty, but we stuck with traditional fare. I had a steak Caesar salad and my boyfriend had the fish and chips. While the salad was good, the fish and chips were excellent! You could tell it wasn't cheap or frozen fish. The batter held up well and was consistent. The fries, while not being fresh cut, were still tasty. They do have a decent assortment of beers available which my boyfriend and I both took advantage of and found a few craft brews we like.
The over all atmosphere was dark but cozy. We went for lunch and chose seats at the back of the restaurant. The large window helps to bring in a lot of natural light which helps to offset the dark wood and dark fabrics. There is a large patio behind the restaurant which we will come back to sample once the weather warms up.
We have gone back twice since then, sampling the chicken fingers, steak dinner, and the Yorkshire pudding burger. All of which were excellent. The service is a little on the slow side but the food can be worth the wait!