The Devereux

Food: ⁴⁄₅
Drinks: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ³⁄₅
Overall: 3.33÷5
Came here with my tour group, so my experience may have been very different from a typical visit here. This is a nice place to hang out with a really pretty room upstairs you can reserve for events (the room where we ate).
Their fish and chips were good! Not too much oil and the perfect amount of crispiness.
Drinks were pretty average though, but this was probably because we were on tour, and we probably got the cheapest things they had.
Service here was okay, but could’ve been better. They weren’t particularly cordial, and two of the ladies actually refused to give us the local beer (even though it was technically included in the group dinner). We worked it out eventually, but I didn’t think there should’ve been hostility about it in the first place.

The pub us tucked away in the narrow streets between the north embankment and Chancery Lane. Its the usual pub with the usual pub food … nothing bad and nothing superb … and I would not have travelled so far off my usual route if they wouldn’t have offered an lecture in the upstairs area. The lecture in itself costs £3 and the don’t mind if you eat and drink throughout it.

The best part of going here was the walk. Temple area makes me feel that every building has something terribly important happening inside. I even had the same impression when I reached the Deveraux. I was disappointed.
It was around Halloween and although the pub has quite nice furnishings, the staff had decided to destroy it all with the tackiest fake spider web that a small budget could buy. And so, the pubs best asset was instantly ruined.
The food was distinctly average. And it took 50 minutes to arrive. I asked the bar staff if it was coming and they didn’t seem to know what was going on. They weren’t particularly apologetic, and didn’t try to fix the situation at all. There was no explanation when it did finally come down.
That said, there are worse pubs for drink. the beer was well kept and well priced, and as I’ve mentioned it would look good at any other time of the year other than halloween.
It would be great for an after-​work drink, and it’s alleyway separation makes it slightly less packed than some of the strand alternatives.
But I’m still sore about that food. I really like food.

Cozy old pub with a big upstairs room for special events (which was why I attended). The staff was nice though drink prices were inconsistent.
Lovely crisps but apps seemed small.

Tucked away down an alley, but the upstairs room is very spacious and great to hire for functions. They also serve some very nice pub food.

3 stars minus a half. Why no halves, Unilocal?
This is a nice little pub hidden in the little warren of alleys across from the Royal Courts of Justice. If you’re looking for a place with ready seating after work and on the hunt for solicitors/​misc. suits, Devereux is the place to go.
If you’re NOT looking for indifferent, bordering on useless staff and standing only outdoors space, then the Devereux should not be on your list.
How can I give this place a 3 minus half, you ask? Well, working on the Strand means you struggle for a pub that isn’t overspilling onto the street with either gawking tourists or loudly talking suits. At the moment, it’s an office fave and it’s done well by us. We get there at about 5:15pm and we’re usually the first to arrive. We grab one of the several large tables and settle in for chatting without shouting.
The only pitfall is the staff… Order a bottle of chilled white wine and you practically have to beg for an ice bucket (this has happened on more than one occasion). And wait for it. Don’t know why they never think of it themselves!
It’s really almost comical how unfriendly they have been so far. I’ve had one of the barkeeps stare at me blankly for about a minute when I tried good humoured cheer as I gave our rather large order. Also, don’t plan on having a coffee here (in case you don’t drink) – they say no. Thought most places had instant coffee at least, especially when they serve food. So, weird.
Bottom line, I’ll probably end up here often after work, but if our party is small enough to squeeze into one of the booths at the Lyceum on the Strand – we’ll head there instead.
Devereux is a pinch hitter.