With St Patrick’s Day almost upon us on March 17, 2024, there’s one pub inLondon that’s sure to be bursting at the seams with Guinness drinking revellers.
Perched on a street corner in Soho, The Devonshire, founded by Dublin-born Oisín Rogers, has quickly become known for having some of the best pints of the black stuff.
Since it opened on November 23, 2023, people aren’t only travelling from their London office for a pint there – beer-lovers come from all over the UK to the newly famous establishment.
The journey to The Devonshire for that sacred pint has even been hailed as a ‘pilgrimage’ by GQ.
The pub has become the biggest seller of Guinness in the UK, giving thirsty beer-lovers 3,870 pints of the cult beverage in just one regular Thursday night.
In fact, Guinness accounts for 70% of the pub’s bar sales.
On the Devonshire Guinness experience, Oisín told GQ: ‘It’s one of those things that you have to go to a pub for.
‘That whole theatre of having a barman, that surge and that sound. Leaving it to settle and making you wait. Taking your money, and then serving you something perfect that sticks to your lip. And you go, “oh my god, that is so worth waiting for”.’
Oisín built the pub around the Guinness ‘installation’, which he claims no one has ‘done properly in the UK’.
He said: ‘In every other pub that I know in the UK, the Guinness comes through the same cooler as the lagers, which makes it too cold. And they use the same gas… You can tell in the taste.
‘We spent a lot of money on it, and I am f**kin’ delighted that it works because it was a massive risk.’
Most UK pubs have a Guinness split of 70:30 nitrogen to CO2, while The Devonshire does 82:18.
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How does this affect the quality of your pint? It gives it the creamy head that’s closer to what you typically find in Ireland.
While you can get into the main pub without invitation, there’s a VIP Green Room which has hosted the likes of Joe Jonas and Lewis Capaldi.
There’s plenty of hype around The Devonshire and it’s legendary Guinness on social media too, which is sure to reach fever pitch as we approach St Patrick’s Day.
@Lil_hen3 wrote on X: ‘Rumour has it that The Devonshire in Soho now has the best Guinness in London.’
James Reqk replied: ‘I had this exact conversation last weekend. My mates had heard the same thing.’
Barry Forster even travelled from Newcastle for a pint of the pub’s Guinness. ‘Had a great lunch at the Devonshire yesterday… Well worth the trip from Newcastle. Fab Guinness, great food, and tiptop service,’ he wrote.
Lana Sargeant agreed, writing: ‘I hate to say it but The Devonshire does do a very, very, very fine Guinness.’
An X account dedicated to Guinness @AmazingGuinness tweeted the pint was indeed very good, but it wasn’t too impressed with the price of £6.90 – we’ll leave it up to you to decide if it’s worth it.
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