This is a grand old Victorian pub, set on the bank of the Thames and divided into main three areas. Each has its own function. The public bar is the ideal place to drink a pint of Young’s. The larger saloon bar is a more genteel affair, with its open fire and framed sketches of scenic Thames views on the walls – you could almost be in the drawing room of a country manor. The vast dining room, equipped with almost equally large windows, offers wonderful views across the river, where rowers pass for the Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race. A scattering of tables on the riverside patio give a better vantage point, should the weather hold.

The Duke’s Head in Putney is the embodiment of Young’s shiny new face. The draught beers are not only deliciously diverse but their number are even greater than the digits counted on BOTH your hands. Men can now smell of fresh lavender with a Molten Brown soap AND moisturiser combination in the lavatories. It’s expanded, upwards and downwards, even laying claim to the damp cellar and disused skittle alley (now a rumpus room of delights containing modern bamboo, hypnotic chandeliers and The Flaming Lips easing their way into your earlobes) And then there’s the grub. When the ‘bar snacks’ boast quail eggs you just know you’re in for a treat of Finger O’ Fudge proportions. Traditional yet exotic, classic yet unconventional, almost every dish is just as you’d expect it, only with a twist. And with twenty different wines OF EACH COLOUR to accompany you meal, this sort of pleasure deserves a visit to the Confessional. Discovering The Duke’s Head is like discovering America - once you’ve experienced all its great riches you’ll want to settle in (just don’t be killing any of the natives, they’re actually quite nice people) You wont feel this contented again unless the government introduces a mandatory 3-day working week. Otherwise a perfect 10 out of 10.