The Sutton Arms in Great Sutton Street, Finsbury, is an established destination pub for beer drinkers, seeking great cask and keg beers from independent breweries. Mick Duignan took on the Sutton Arms in the 1980s and still runs it today, with his son Jack. On a recent visit, I enjoyed Floc Warm Shade pale ale on cask and there were other cask ales from Kernel, Verdant and Burning Sky. A fourth cask pump was recently installed to meet the increasing demand for cask ale. Jack is also proud of their cider selection; he says, “five still ciders are on at the Sutton Arms at all times, including Olivers, Turners and Seacider, which are selling really well at the moment”. The Sutton is planning to open later at weekends, in response to an increase in customers from hotels in the area. Jack added that he would support the pedestrianisation of Great Sutton Street so that they could host a beer festival.
Jack had been looking for a second pub for a while and took over the lease of the Kings Arms in Buckfast Street, Bethnal Green from the GraceLand pub company in November 2024. GraceLand had run the pub since 2013 and always had a great selection of beers. “This was the perfect opportunity for a new venture; it was the right place, right time”, Jack said. Taking over a pub at that time of year, with all its stock, was tough, so he decided to keep the pub open and refurbish it at a later date. Opening the pub for a few hours on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Eve during the day proved a success; they were really busy and he will definitely do that again this year. New Year’s Eve was a funny one, which Jack did on his own. He had asked his mate to come over to have a beer but when his mate arrived there were glasses everywhere and the friend ended up helping to clear up!
Jack has exciting plans to host a cask ale festival in June, jointly between the Kings Arms and the Sutton Arms. For every pint of cask ale you drink, you will receive a stamp and enough stamps will earn you an extra pint. More details will be posted on the pub’s social media. Four cask ales were on offer at the time of my visit in early May, from Howling Hops, Thornbridge, Beak and Burning Sky. Pints ranged from £5.00 to £5.50 and the ales rotate on a regular basis. There is always one still cider on.
There are plans to paint the interior and exterior of the Kings Arms, reinstall an old-school pub carpet and fit a new hanging sign outside. There will also be a wall where local photographers and artists can exhibit their work, as well as photos of the local area. Brewery mirrors have just been put up and photos of a past landlord, William T Malandine and his family (who ran the pub from around 1910 to 1938), have been placed on one of the walls. The pub used to be known as Malandines and Jack is thinking of putting a sign on the window as a nod to pub’s history. He wants to get an ‘old-school pub’ vibe back. The pub has a Toad in the Hole table. This is a pub game popular in Brighton and Sussex and Jack hopes to start a league in June. Toad tables may also go upstairs at the Sutton Arms. There are also plans for hanging baskets with flowers outside the pub.
Jack was blown away about how good the Kernel nitro stout is, so he approached Evan at the Kernel brewery about a permanent line and they made a bespoke Guinness style box, especially for the Kings Arms. More pubs are looking to independent breweries for alternatives to Guinness because of both the high price and shortages over recent years.
The Kings Arms has five cask ale pumps and 14 keg beer taps and all of the beer lines were replaced recently and clips were added to the taps and pumps. Jack’s tip for serving the best quality cask ale is, “let cask relax and settle properly and make sure your cellar is cold.” He is encouraged by the sales of cask at the Kings Arms and has seen a huge rise in cask sales since December. “People were excited to be going in there to see what was put on and what was changing and we are known for having good cask at the Sutton Arms and we wanted to put same good cask ales on at the Kings Arms.”
I am looking forward to seeing Jack’s vision for the Kings Arms come about and taste the beers at the festival in June; maybe I’ll see you there!
Joanne Scott