The Devonshire

I thought I was going to write about the stock market but knew few would want to read so didn’t bother and went out to lunch.

We went to The Devonshire, a pub a biscuit’s throw from Piccadilly Circus. It was crowded with drinkers inside and on the pavement on London’s first day of summer. I had never been and so had an uncluttered mind. I have noticed a lot of Guinness being necked in pubs recently and here there were four pints settling on the bar and there is a pump for draught Guinness Zero. It is served in a zero branded glass to differentiate it from the real thing – a taste test wouldn’t work. The restaurant is upstairs and right up my street. A bare wood floor, wooden tables with white table clothes covered with squares of brown paper and an open kitchen at the end. There is a stack of logs to fuel a furnace that looks as if it could power a locomotive. The red hot ashes are shovelled out onto a shallow tray where the food is cooked.

I had smoked salmon and suet pudding; Robin had crab salad and lamb hot pot. We both drank Guinness. Afterwards I had a rich chocolate mousse which I anointed with cream. The service was friendly and efficient, the food faultless and the prices rather reasonable for central London these days. Unsurprisingly it is popular and fully booked at lunchtime most days so plan your day round a late lunch.

Oh, and the stock market has been rather stable so far as I am concerned. The palm oil price remains strong and MP Evans will publish good results for 2025 soon. The investment trusts I hold have, as a pack, edged higher.