The Iron Duke
The house beef wellington is wrapped in haggis in place of the mushroom duxelles, so it is oatmeal and suet insulating the beef from the pastry (DRAM).
Why go
It opened on 12 September 2024 in the old BRGR unit on Royal Exchange Square, a 36-cover room turned around in a 12-week refurbishment by Stephen Feeley, Matthew Collins and chef James Bennett, who came together off the back of The Scotsman Group and Signature Pubs (DRAM). The name and the whole build come from the Duke of Wellington statue standing outside the front door. The kitchen leads on prime Scottish beef and seafood, and the bar carries five cocktails called The Duke Signatures, each built on a moment in Wellington's life. That is a theme followed through to the glass rather than stopped at the sign.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the beef wellington. Haggis in place of duxelles means oatmeal and suet where the mushrooms would normally sit, so it is doing the same job of insulating the beef from the pastry with a different set of problems to solve.
- Avoid: treating it as a quiet local. The owners themselves point to tourist traffic and passing trade on the square2, and there are only 36 seats to go round.
What locals & experts say
- Stephen Feeley, co-owner, via DRAM Scotland (21 October 2024):
The Iron Duke is inspired by the Duke of Wellington statue just outside our front door and the venue is themed around that.
2 - Matthew Collins, co-owner, on the drinks list:
We've got an extensive drinks menu with Scottish brands and handpicked wines as we really want to showcase the best.
2 - The venue on the kitchen:
prime Scottish beef, fresh seafood, and modern takes on traditional Scottish specialties.
3 - Coverage gap, stated plainly: open since September 2024 and no critic in the approved registry has assessed the food, and no price is published for any dish or drink. That is why this entry sits at medium confidence.
- Food hygiene, checked: Pass, inspected 12 January 2026.4
- Local rec: Jeff's save. He left no note on it.
Good to know
- Timing: noon to 11pm through the week, to midnight on Friday and Saturday, and an 11am start at weekends.
- Booking: through ResDiary, and sensible with 36 covers on a busy square.
- Where it is: 6 Royal Exchange Square, under the statue with the traffic cone, a minute from Buchanan Street. There is a different pub called The Duke at 631 Duke Street in Dennistoun, which is easy to mix up with this one.
- Price: nothing is published. The menu runs to prime Scottish beef and a beef wellington, so do not budget for it as a cheap pub dinner.
Craft signals (cocktails: a themed set, not a programme)
Cocktail craft is read on menu-launch cadence, and there has not been one. The five signature drinks are the Wellington-themed set the pub opened with in September 2024, the venue's own drinks page still describes the same handpicked wine and locally sourced beer with cocktail twists3, and no second menu has been announced in the trade press since. The theme is worked properly and the wellington is the real craft here; the bar list is fixed.
Verdict
could-visit — A 36-cover Scottish gastropub in the old BRGR unit on Royal Exchange Square, opened September 2024 by Stephen Feeley, Matthew Collins and chef James Bennett off the back of Scotsman Group and Signature Pubs. The signature is a beef wellington wrapped in haggis in place of the mushroom duxelles, which is a genuine swap rather than a garnish, since haggis brings its own fat and oatmeal into the pastry and changes how the whole thing holds. The theme is worked properly too, five cocktails built on moments in Wellington's life under the statue outside the door. It stays at could-visit because nobody has reviewed the cooking, no price is published, and a themed city-center pub in a tourist square has to prove more than a good idea.