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'I tried Britain's best Guinness where 20,000 are sold a week and one issue struck me'
Mirror | June 19, 2025 10:39 PM CST

Guinness has become all the rage in the last few years, once thought as the choice of that random old man always lurking in the same corner of your local, it is now the choice of a much younger crowd.

with Guinness rankings becoming all important on social media and in almost every pub at some point in the evening you'll see a crowd of young lads infamously attempting to split the G.

Fitting perfectly into the box of a 24-year-old, flat white drinking basic man, I headed on the pilgrimage to our promised land - The Devonshire. The pub has become it now sells around 20,000 pints of the black gold each week - that's only a few short from being able to fill an Olympic size swimming pool every year.

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The pub is nestled into its magical own corner of Denman Street and Sherwood Street in London's Soho, just a stone's throw away from Piccadilly Circus. The faint murmuring of its bumble playing in the background as you enjoy a pint in the traditional London way - stood up crowded around the pavement outside - where I rightfully took my place.

Its classic green exterior with overhanging Ivy is in stark contrast to the glitz and glamour of the West End theatres that surround it. This is most obvious with the view of glowing red signs of Moulin Rouge at the Piccadilly Theatre taking up the spot across the road.

As I walked inside I was met with a classic chequered floor, aged wood and traditional oxblood leather-backed seats that greats you like it would've done a hundred years ago - despite only opening in this iteration in 2023.

The building itself is steeped in history and has been operating mostly as a pub since 1793, and after a brief recent stint as a Jamie's Italian, I'm glad to see it has been returned to its former glory.

I made my way in with a slight spring in my step to the bar, where a line of was already lining its countertop patiently waiting to settle to create the perfect pour and a happy customer in front of me of course had ordered

I was next, and along with 70 percent of the bar's customers, ordered my glass of the stout. After a short wait I was handed my pint and soon made my way outside to enjoy the not-so-fresh Soho air.

Like many, I'm sceptical of how Aficionados often claim to taste notes of chocolate, coffee and treacle but to me, many stouts all taste relatively similar.

But as I took a healthy first gulp, I could instantly understand the hype. The head was almost creamy in nature with its remnants leaving that trademark and all-important 'shtick' - a sign of great pour.

This pint was distinctly fresher than others I've had, it didn't leave you feeling full, bloated and like you've drunk the three-course meal equivalent of a pint - instead it was light and crisp and left me thirsty for another one.

The secret behind the pub's top-notch pint is all supposedly to do with the system. The pub's landlord Oisín Rogers, dubbed by critic Giles Coren as London's 'most famous publican',: "Nobody’s really done it properly in the UK.

"Because there’s never been the investment from the pubs, or the owners of businesses to do it properly. 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."

The Devonshire instead has a purpose-built Guinness system that feeds it with an 82:18 nitrogen to carbon dioxide ratio (unlike the more common 70:30) giving it the creamier texture found more commonly in The Emerald Isle.

Another reason for its flavour is the pub's sheer volume. The Devonshire churns out the stuff around 20,000 pints a week, so you know your pint isn't coming from an old keg that's been hiding in the basement for months and instead has just come off the boat from Dublin.

So is it worth the hype?

In short, I believe it is. There is a reason the pub is rammed from nearly dawn to dusk every day. Safe to say it was the nicest Guinness I've ever tasted and with its almost magical surroundings it's worth adding on the pit-stop during a trip to the capital.

If you're lucky enough to bag yourself a reservation (which is much easier said than done) the pint is possibly best enjoyed with its food - which has garnered attention of its own after being ranked as the nation's best gastro-pub

But for any future pilgrims sticking to the bar, there should be one big caveat - it is still a Guinness, I believe this is one of the best examples of the stout in the British Isles but it should be admired for the humble drink that it is.


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