Instead of using the real Tottenham pub (which is now called The Flying Horse) on Oxford Street in London, they used a pub called The Duke of York, which is situated on Rathbone Street in Fitzrovia.
They changed the exterior of the pub to read “The Tottenham.” This would have been a quieter and more convenient location at which to film, as opposed to the crowded, bustling Oxford Street with very limited parking for film vehicles. The real Tottenham is also at an extremely busy intersection.
The Duke of York/The Tottenham is featured in all three episodes of Strike – The Cuckoo’s Calling.
In episode 1, Strike takes the Lula Landry case files (given to him by Bristow) and heads to the “boozer” to read through the notes and have a few pints.
In this scene, Strike sits at the table in “Bullshit Corner,” which is just to the left when you enter the pub.
At the end of episode 2 of The Cuckoo’s Calling, Strike gets very drunk after finding out his ex-fiancé, Charlotte Campbell, is engaged to Jago Ross. Robin manages to track him down here after trying a couple of other pubs in Soho.
After having a go at a man at the bar, whom Strike calls “beardy” when he thinks the man is laughing at him, he and Robin get kebabs before heading back to Denmark Street, where Strike is now sleeping in his office.
The Duke of York appears again in episode 3 of The Cuckoo’s Calling. Robin and Strike meet in here before Robin heads to SOAS university.
In Career of Evil, Robin comes here and gets drunk after finding out some upsetting news. Strike tracks her down, much like what she did for him in The Cuckoo’s Calling, and takes her to Hazlitt’s hotel on Frith Street, where Strike pays for her to stay for the night.
The drunk Robin scene was filmed at a table by the window on the right-hand side as you enter the pub.
The pub features again in Lethal White. Strike meets Sam Barclay here to hire him to do “detective stuff.”
You can find The Duke of York on Google Maps here.