The Devonshire Grill Room

Last Updated on June 13, 2026

Putting together a gastropub dream team in Soho – The Devonshire Pub and Grill Room

This month’s Restaurant of the Month, The Devonshire Grill Room in Soho, has been open a mere two weeks and is already pumping out good vibes and great food.  While the ground floor houses a sizeable pub which was absolutely jam-packed on a wet afternoon, upstairs is a Grill Room serving all the pub classics one could wish to find, yet cooked with the sort of flavour I wish more pub restaurants could emulate.  The Devonshire is the lovechild of well-known pub landlord, Oisin Rogers (formerly of The Guinea Grill) and the founder of Flat Iron Steak, Charlie Carroll. My own interest was piqued when I discovered who the Executive Chef would be – Ashley Palmer-Watts previously of The Fat Duck at Bray and Dinner by Heston. The kitchen will be headed up by ex-Mark Hix chef, Jamie Guy. What a team.

The Devonshire is both a pub and grill room. Does that make it a pub or a gastropub or a restaurant? I have never quite understood the difference between a pub and a gastropub except that perhaps one might not want to eat dinner in the former but would at the latter. I wonder whether the very term ‘gastropub’ is a bit of marketing semantics. What is clear from my visit to The Devonshire is that it is both a pub and a terrific restaurant. You are well advised to make a reservation for the Grill Room, but if you have neglected to do so you will no doubt be well looked after in the pub too. Judging by the fare served in the Grill Room I would not hesitate to order some pub food if I were cosily enjoying my drink downstairs where there is a separate menu. 

Some restaurant openings come and go without much fanfare and others are keenly anticipated. The Devonshire is one of the latter due to the team that has opened what they describe as their dream pub. It is no doubt also of interest to the drinking public that a really great boozer has opened in Soho. They aim to serve the best Guinness in town. The Devonshire is on the edge of Soho, a few steps away from Piccadilly Circus. 

Many years ago I drove out to Bray to celebrate my birthday with lunch at The Fat Duck. Having not grown up in the UK, I had never before eaten a suet pudding but thought I would give it a try. Those fortunate to have eaten this particular suet pudding will know what an utterly brilliant dish it was.  I bored my family senseless for months after that, recollecting the sheer beauty of this dish with its magnificent gravy that had infinite depths of flavour. Of course, it has grown in my memory ever since. When I heard about Palmer-Watts being in charge of the menu at The Devonshire, I wondered if perhaps there might be a suet pudding. Oh, happy days, there is! That alone is reason, in my book, to waste no time in going for a meal.

The Grill Room has a seriously impressive grill. I was blown away by the beauty of this beast. Cooking on fire is all the rage in London restaurants these days but The Devonshire is special in that it uses wood embers rather than charcoal. A whole wall in the Grill Room was taken up by this enormous grill with a wood-burning oven built in. We sat at the table closest to it and although it was a little warm, I was mesmerised by the constant feeding of the grill with embers from the oven.  Watching the chef working the grill was an education in cooking on fire. I could have sat there all day simply observing.  On the window sill, alongside our table, perched an axe in a log. In the corner behind our table, a large pile of chopped logs waited their turn for the oven. Had our window-side table not overlooked the queue for the matinee of Moulin Rouge – there is great people-watching from the Grill Room – I could have imagined we were in a country pub.

To reach the Grill Room one walks through the atmospheric pub and up a staircase with leather-clad bannisters. On the first floor, a long, wooden floored space with a central aisle has gorgeous, dark green sash windows overlooking the Soho street life below. Period lighting completes the look. The square tables are set with white tablecloths, and there are simple wooden chairs. Padded table coverings lie beneath the tablecloths and are part of the reason why the acoustics are so good in the room.  There was a joyful hubbub of conversation all around us but it was strikingly easy to chat to my husband without straining to hear as I often do in restaurants. When I mentioned this to the maitre d’ he revealed the table coverings that absorb sound. Brilliant. Such thoughtful attention to the comfort and pleasure of the diners.  All through the meal there were touches of old-style silverware – I particularly coveted the salt and pepper set, the tiny cream jugs and a simply beautiful soufflé dish. The menu and the styling all suggest ‘tradition’ and this is classic British food with bells on. Next time I encounter an ill-informed visitor to these shores who bemoans British cuisine, I will simply bring them to The Devonshire. Job done.

Having now eaten myself silly at The Devonshire I can only advise that you make two reservations because there is far too much on this menu to eat just one meal. The menu itself is not that large but is full of pub classics and if you are anything like me you will have difficulty deciding. The starter menu includes pea and ham soup, potted shrimp with melba toast, scallops with bacon and malt vinegar, white crab meat salad, smoked salmon with soda bread and brawn toast. Vegetarians can enjoy confit tomato tart.

Much as I love every one of those items, I simply had to order a plate of langoustines. Having seen some grilling up close, I could not let the opportunity pass. Because I also had to have the beef cheek and Guinness suet pudding for main course – and my husband fancied the beef fillet – we agreed to eschew the starter offerings and shared the langoustine main course instead. Hence we need to return on another occasion to address the starter dishes. Take a serious carnivore to The Devonshire and they will love you forever if you order the beef chop on the bone – I saw these being delivered into the refrigerated drawer below the grill. These range from 900g to a whopping 1600g.

While we waited for our food, we were offered warm bread rolls baked in a sheet pan and served with a pat of butter. My husband happily sipped a glass of Malbec. I am having a dry November but I took a look at the two-page long wine list which touched many bases with whites mainly from France but also some New World wines. There is a larger selection of reds from France, Italy, Argentina, Spain and Portugal. Some wines are served by the glass and bottles range from £28 to £195 so there is a choice for most budgets. I noticed trays of Guinness from the bar downstairs being delivered if you prefer.

The langoustines – creel-caught in Oban – were some of the finest I’ve tasted for some time. I almost always order langoustines when they are available on a menu and what set these apart was the smoky flavour from the grill. The wood embers impart a very special added layer of flavour. The shellfish were so sweet and were perfectly seasoned so that each bite had a combination of sweet, salt and smoky. There were a dozen langoustines in the portion and were lovely for sharing.

The main courses were equally good. My husband’s beef fillet was cooked to order, well-seasoned, and as tender as expected from a restaurant that has a butcher in the basement charged with butchering and dry-ageing the Scottish beef. The Ibérico pork is sourced from The Ledbury’s Brett Graham’s farm. The Béarnaise sauce was excellent too. My beef cheek and Guinness suet pudding was just the ticket for a cold and wet day. Very tender beef cheek and bright pops of carrot, a well-flavoured sauce with lots of Guinness flavour. The sides were good too. Duck fat chips were fabulous, the creamed leeks retained some crunch and were not overly creamy, and the buttered carrots had been honeyed too which was a bit sweet for my taste.

By the end of our main course, we were fit to bursting – portions are generous. We could not leave without trying the Grand Marnier soufflé and for good measure also ordered a chocolate mousse. I suggest you consider sharing the soufflé as it is very rich, but my goodness is it wonderful. Firstly, it looked resplendent arriving at the table in its silver bowl, like a Royal in a carriage. The waiter cut a slit in the lid and nestled within it a scoop of ice cream which began to melt luxuriously. Then he heated a small pot of Grand Marnier which he poured generously over the soufflé, so much so that it overflowed into the saucer below. It took all my table manners not to pick up the saucer later and lap up the contents like an alcoholic cat. Needless to say, my dry November came to a screeching halt with this fine dessert, but it was all worthwhile as this soufflé has now been added to my list of best desserts. It was lighter than a feather, eggy, creamy, drowning (positively) in Grand Marnier. Of course, if you don’t like Grand Marnier you might prefer the chocolate mousse which is topped with shaved chocolate and served with a puddle of cream or the bread and butter or sticky toffee puddings which I am quite sure are wonderful too. Cheese from La Fromagerie is on the menu as well.

Prices are what one expects in Central London and there is also a well-priced set menu with two courses for £25 and three for £29 – prawn and langoustine cocktail, skirt steak and chips, and sticky toffee pudding. Our meal – a main course of langoustines to share, one beef fillet, one beef cheek and Guinness suet pudding with three sides, two desserts and one glass of wine came to around £170 including service.

The staff were lovely – so attentive, chatty, and very keen that we had everything we needed or wanted. The chef is happy to show diners how the grill works which is an extra bonus for food nerds like myself. This is a new team and is already working well within a mere fortnight. They are going to take their time rather than rushing ahead to open a third floor and I think this shows restraint and concern to get things absolutely right rather than only being concerned with filling tables. Eventually, the rooftop terrace will open – from the street, it looks wonderful with a view over Soho. I expect that next summer it will be a very popular space indeed. I assume the menu will have seasonal changes and suggest they consider adding a few more dishes for vegetarian diners. At the moment there is plenty to keep pescatarians happy and carnivores in a state of heightened emotion. Chatting recently to a food writer’s husband, I discovered that he had a different set of criteria for his wife when he accompanied her on review meals. There was no need on his list for fine dining and foams. He wanted meat – steak, sausages and pies – and good wine.  I have found just the place for him, and I have no doubt that his wife would be equally happy.

Highly recommended.

The Devonshire
17 Denman St,
London
W1D 7HW

Open daily from 11am – 11pm, closes at 10pm on Sundays

Other restaurants that are opening soon or have just opened and have caught our eye this month include:

La Bibliothèque is a restaurant with rooms in Haggerston, East London. Located between Shoreditch, Islington and Dalston, it is bang in the middle of some serious foodie action. The bar/ restaurant will have a focus on art and music and is from the team behind the cocktail bar MAP Maison in London and MAP Petite Maison in Stockholm. There will be a feature bar with over 80 gins and innovative cocktails plus a whisky library (with masterclasses) leading onto an outdoor terrace. The restaurant will offer a menu with Mediterranean and Japanese influences. Dishes such as kombu braised lamb shoulder with whipped onion soubise and fermented negi onion will keep the most jaded foodie excited. The bar It has three stylish bedrooms in its boutique hotel which is the first and only luxury accommodation in Haggerston. I feel a staycation coming on.

La Bibliothèque
325 Kingsland Road,
London
E8 4DL

Iné, on the other side of town in Hampstead, is a new omakase restaurant. The opening date is advertised as November so hopefully, the doors will open soon. Iné is from the team behind the Michelin-starred Taku in Mayfair. Expect top-quality sushi and contemporary Japanese cuisine. Also on offer will be a 15-course omakase menu for £100 with the fish prepared edomae style. This is a very traditional method of curing fish in salt or kombu, dating back to the Edo period.   Cocktails and saké will be on the menu too. In Japan, there are few pleasures better than sitting at the counter while the chef prepares a menu of his (it is usually a male chef) choosing.  The head chef will be Law Kwok Meng who has 23 years of experience as a master sushi chef and has trained at Taku in Mayfair. At Iné there will be eight seats at the counter. This is where the best action is to be found in a Japanese restaurant. I will certainly be reserving my bar stool. There is no website yet so I am keeping my eyes on the restaurant news. 

Iné
16 Hampstead High St,
London
NW3 1PX

Check our feature for a roundup of this year’s Restaurant of the Month reviews  – we update it with all our tried and tested new favourites so you can pick from the best.