Duke’s Brew & Que

This place is another representation of how amazing the food offering is in Haggerston. Whilst this area is not central or in the busier parts of North/​East like Shoreditch and Hoxton, it still holds its own for the locals.
Duke’s Brew & Que could be said to be similar to Berber & Que which popped up under the arches next to nearby Haggerston station, but no, it’s different. There is room for both of these kids. Duke’s has an outside area and feels like a upmarket warm pub as opposed to the more industrial and contemporary style of Berber & Q. You can book at Duke’s to guarantee your spot or mosey on down to Berber & Que for an impromptu session (with a bit of a wait). They do both offer big brash meaty dishes, but Duke’s focus is on a great selection of boutique beers, where Berber has an enviable cocktail list.
Basically, you get the picture that I like the both of places. On a hot Saturday early evening, we had booked and headed for Duke’s, as my other half craved their burger which looks amazing on the web. Probably not the best choice of food when you are hot, but it had to be done as there grub is finger licking good. I had the pork ribs with a side of mac n cheese. I had two, but you can have more if you are brave. We were served by this wee lady who reminded us of Kylie. All the staff were are cute as buttons with their unique and individual looks and cool service style. The other half was content with his Duke’s burger which was 6 OZ of beef served rare, with pickles, lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayo and mustard. You get to choose the cheese, so he opted for blue cheese. The burger came with seasoned fries, coleslaw, pickled and red onion.
We also tried their beer tasters, where you get three small glasses from their selection. We had Gamma APA, BS Electric and Neck Oil. Great names! Interesting tastes too, all were different. Not being a beer connoisseur, I would not be able to describe them any better than one was fruity, one was full bodied and the other literally tasted oily. I was so full afterwards, a siesta would have been in order, but it was too nice an evening to go home. We went for a little walk along the canal which is nearby to settle our stomachs.
Duke’s is lovely and laid back, will definitely go there again. It has pipped Berber & Que to the post being my favourite, due to the lovely staff.

It’s sad — when Duke’s Brew & Que first opened, I gave them five stars — every single time. Their menu appealed to me as an American, and they served up a delicious Thanksgiving dinner soon after. It was one of my favorite places to take friends, and I’d regularly go on a Friday night. But then, it seemed to go a little downhill — and it seems like I’m not the only one to think so. After a disastrous Thanksgiving dinner one year (where they ran out of TURKEY despite me having booked our table weeks in advance) and the server being incredibly rude about it (which was then quickly and kindly rectified by another member of staff — but the original server actually made me cry), I haven’t been back since. I’ve moved out of the area now but I haven’t recommended it to anyone again. Pretty sure there are better places to get your rib fix in London now.

Great relaxed atmosphere, this popular spot has ale and meat to boot. The sharing platter is great for friends or couples but make sure your really hungry, there’s a lot to go around! The chicken wings are particularly good as well as the pork ribs. The seasoned fries are also a great edition. This place is usually pretty busy so it’s worth booking.

Loved this place! Came here for dinner tonight with friends who booked a table here. First time here and first time in London. Felt a little bit like heaven– got my beer Blue Moon which was very satisfying! For the entrée meal I ordered the hot wings with a side of seasoned fries. Very very good. Wings were hot ad spicy but that is obvious. My Boyfriend got the ribs and absolutely loved it. Huge portion of ribs so we recommend sharing if you aren’t going to finish it all. The burgers also look really tasty– next time I will definitely try a burger. The beer selection is great– bottled beers, keg, craft beers, etc. along with wines and cocktails. Cool atmosphere. Service was good. Typical prices for a bar Would definitely come back here again.

Excellent BBQ food. The highlight is the beef rib, which is absolutely huge. The pork ribs are also great, and the highlight of the sides is the mac and cheese. On top of that, they have an excellent selection of beer, due to this being the original home of Beavertown Brewery. Not the cheapest place in the world but worth the money. It can get busy so worth booking.

We stopped in Dukes for dinner craving some tasty BBQ food. Arriving at 5:30 we were greeted by a friendly hostess but told the kitchen didn’t open till 6. Not to worry, time to chat while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. The staff here are really attentive and friendly which is always a plus.
Food wise I have to say this place is average at best. I ordered the stew and I’m not sure what I was expecting but while the portion was plentiful it was really bland and the rice was undercooked and clumpy. Unfortunately the garlic toast also tasted as if the garlic had been left out entirely. The people with me had the ribs which looked delicious but the burger again was so-​so.
For what it is, it’s a little on the expensive side.
Would I come here again? Not if it were my choice but given the limited options in the area it isn’t bad, there are just better places if you have other locations to choose from.

Finally managed to check this place out. Went for the Dukes Greatest Hits so I could try it all. Food was spot on, the pulled pork scrumptious and the pork ribs just fell off the bone. The beef rib was a first and had a nice char, completely different to the pork ribs. Not sure if I would order the beef rib again as it wasn’t as tender as the pork ribs. I stupidly ordered an extra side even though you get coleslaw and a garlic bread with The Hits. The portion size is crazily huge for this dish and is something you should share, unless you’re a sumo wrestler or haven’t eaten for days. This is also reflected with the extremely high price for it. I know BBQ food does get highly marinaded but I did feel I could taste the saltiness towards the end and the next two hours after I was ridiculously thirsty. If I wasn’t driving I would’ve stayed and quenched my thirst by sampling many of their amazing craft beers they had on tap. I was told that they change them frequently. Overall a great find but I would stick to the more affordable normal sized dishes. But if it’s your first time push the boat out and go for The Hits. (Visit — 23/​03/​2015)

I like the vibe, the staff and the beer is good, but it is just so bloody expensive. £15 for a pulled pork burger and fries…

Am not an expert on BBQ (what do they use as their base? I don’t know? Should I know?). But I can say that all we went with thoroughly enjoyed their meal. I split the platter with a friend, so got to taste the beef rib, pork rib, and pulled pork. All were savoury and delicious, not a touch overdone.
Prices were a bit high, especially including sides, but worth it for a nice (meaty) night out.

I’d heard loads about this place but hadn’t made it along yet. Mainly because I’m pretty fed up of pulled pork and craft beer. Anyway, we headed here for a hungover brunch over the weekend. We had a good meal. I had burger envy but got over it with a tasty omelette. We were all pretty happy with our food and then one of the guys at our table pointed out that there was a mouse scurrying up the wall. We told our waitress and she had the manager come speak to us. He was really nice and told us it had never happened before and that they’d alerted the owners and it was being dealt with. He comped us our drinks which was a nice gesture. I’d give this place a 4 on a mouse free day but not sure I’ll be going back. I understand that these things can happen but they were still seating people when we left. I would have hoped that they would stop seating people and close the restaurant for the afternoon/​evening and have pest control people come in to address the issue immediately.

There is quite a variety of craft beer and the food portion size is huge. There usual shoreditch and hoxton atmosphere feel extends to this place, although being quite far out and hidden somewhat. Nearest station is haggerston station which is literally a min walk. Tried the beef rib, and burger. Quite good actually — succulent and cooked and season well. I also tried the hot wing challenge, couldn’t resist. It was eye watering hot. The service was good, although they were extremely busy, still manage a few laughs with us, and was patient with us even though we were not. It can get cramped in here, with some many people in and out and the bar being so close to the tables. But its all the buzz.

To start we ordered the fried pickles and subbed a side of ranch dressing for the dip noted on the menu. Fried pickles should only ever be served with ranch dressing. Though the side of ranch was about 33 percent smaller than what it should have been, my husband and I were delightfully surprised with the dish. The pickles are chips, not spears (yay!) and were breaded and fried perfectly. We agreed that they were the best fried pickles we’ve had abroad.
For our mains, we ordered two pork ribs, a pulled pork sandwich with fries, and a side of mac-​n-​cheese because you just have to have the mac-​n-​cheese when you are eating BBQ.
The mac-​n-​cheese was very good. It was a huge portion and tasty and I wish it wasn’t so caloric because I’d ordered it over and over and over again.
The pork ribs were overdone. The bark was thick and hard and had this strange honey coating on it. The pork itself didn’t exactly fall off the bone, so I guess I could say that I was a bit letdown with the ribs.
The pulled pork sandwich was not the best pulled pork my husband has consumed in London but it was good. And the fries were fries. No big whoop.
The beer menu is super. It’s long and varied and the bloody ‘ell was awesome.
Overall, a good experience. The fried pickles and mac-​n-​cheese deserved a solid five stars. The pork ribs were probably 3-​star worthy and the pulled pork sandwich fell somewhere in the 4-​star category. Would definitely return if we are ever in the area again.

This is #5 on the Esquire’s list of the places «Where To Get The Best Pulled Pork In London» (
). And for me as well it was the last one to visit from that list. So after spending best part of the last half year venturing to Pitt Cue Co. and Bodeans in Soho, The Joint in Brixton (and the newly opened in Marylebone) and Red Dog Saloon in Hoxton, it was finally time to take direction to Hackney.
The place has really great ambience and even on a Monday evening it can be packed. So get your reservation if you plan to visit with a bigger group of folks. Upon sitting you are invited to select some of their best craft beers from Beavertown Brewery. And of course the pulled pork bun. Yeah, I would say it is pretty much as good as it gets in The Joint, but presented in a bit nicer way, as their chips are really a tasty companion to the masses of pork that you will eat there. And of course the beer pairing suggestions for each meal make it a really great destination to try something new if you run out of the ideas for which beer to take to accompany this hoggy affair.
Haven’t tasted, but as any other place serving BBQ classics in London, they have ribs. As I am not a specialist in that matter, I can just say that they looked tasty, although I haven’t tried.

Located right by Haggerston station, an area I’m convinced will have a tonne of cool places over the next few years. The stretch between shoreditch/​hoxton and dalston is surrounded by too much niceness for it not to spread and the signs of change are already there. Duke’s being one of a number of places including Draughts/​Tonkotsu etc (not really sure what else tbh)…
I found about this place when I saw an ad in the alibi and proceeded to salivate over the menu the next day. They do what sounds like amazing bbq. That being said, I’ve been twice, and both times just for brunch (one time being the aforementioned next day), where they do a fairly standard «American style brunch».
Their pancakes are awesome, a dash eggy but overall really good and you get an insane amount for £7ish. Eggs benny was good too — hollandaise sauce was super rich; possibly a bit too much but still enjoyable. Burger was pretty flavourful albeit a tad dry.
Basically very decent brunch food in a chilled location with a phenomenal beer list. Wouldn’t trek for it but great if you live in the area.

What a busy busy place even on a weekday evening. The crafts beers available are great, the décor is nice whilst not being overly try hard or trendy and service is good. However with all the hype I think Dukes is a victim of it’s own success in terms of food. We had the greatest hits which included beef rib, pork rib, pulled pork, slaw, garlic toast plus a few garnishes and sauces/​vinegars. Also we topped it up with some Mac and cheese and some fries.
I say a victim of it’s own success because it is pretty incredible the number of covers they serve given the small open kitchen. I wish I came here before it was so popular, you can tell it was great but perhaps standards have fallen slightly to keep up with the pace of customers. The beef and pork ribs had great deep bbq flavours, up there with the best of them in the US, the bbq sauces and vinegars were also rich and complex balancing the meats perfectly. However the meats just weren’t cooked well enough. The ribs tasted like they had been cooled down after smoking and reheated to order, and not reheated well at that. The ribs weren’t hot enough yet the bark on the beef ribs was just too hard and chewy instead of being crisp. The fries were ridiculously salty which is either the sign of a p1ssed off chef or one that is super busy, and the Mac and cheese was very disappointing and not rich and cheese at all but reminiscent of canned macaroni cheese.
Such a shame, as I said before it was probably great once. You can tell by the flavours imparted into the meats and the sauces that the original chef knows his/​her bbq, but final execution of getting the stuff on the plate right now isn’t up there with the bbq flavours. Still, I’m hoping it was an off night because the place does have a good vibe and I’ll probably give it another go in the hope that the flavours get the cooking and finishing they deserve.

Dukes is a little further out for Sunday brunch than I normally go. It’s just by the Haggerston Station, though, and therefore easy to get to by bus and train. There was no wait at noon and they have a fabulous menu for American Style brunch. The food is terrific and the wait staff is pleasant and speedy. I would definitely come back!

Fab service, friendly waiter with a sense of humour.
Wasn’t too impressed with the burger — had the pulled pork one in a brioche bun. I thought it was too dry, even with the coleslaw on it. Try it with the melted cheese on top for £1 extra. (I opted for the cheese over my fries instead of my burger, maybe it was a bad call but cheesy chips are my favourite!!). Desserts were good but pricey.
Craft brewery so don’t expect branded lagers and beers — explore a little with their big beer list! :) Great cocktails too. Average prices for London.
Reserve before you go!

If the stars do not give my opinion away a short summary would be, do not go here.
Lets start with that it does well. There is a good variety of craft beers and an especially good taster option where you can try three thirds and compare. The food and atmosphere is also above average but.
The food is overly EXPENSIVE, we had two burgers and two drinks coming to an eye watering £50. The food was good but not THAT good. There was little to say that it was worth double the price of a similar meal at Byron a couple of days before. The non-​beer cocktail options (I’m annoyingly allergic to the yeast in beer) were being too sickly sweet to drink, to boot they were priced at central London prices. This is a place that still looks on the outside like an old pub and is located a little far from the action in the hipster city that is Haggerston.
We came here as at the end our walk along the canal and, having arrived at 10.30pm it was the only place nearby with an open kitchen later on a Saturday night. I would now suggest that if you are in a similar situation and must eat here it should should only be in a dire emergency.
Although I said the atmosphere was good it was very male dominated and raucous, not what were looking for but good sometimes if you just want a very loud beer with friends.
Sorry guys, you’re too expensive for somewhere that is both remote and no better than other establishments. You get a lowly-​two-​star-​only-​if-​I-​must review

I believed the hype.
I confessed to a new colleague in confidence how much of a thing I had for, well, that I was obsessed with barbecue and that it had to be good. I am still on the barbecue holy smokey grail and so far have only been deeply and transcendentally satisfied with whats on offer at Smokey Tails.
(Adieu till next Summer)
I was told, I was guaranteed to have had the word from a barbecue connoisseurs watering mouth that, he had traveled extensively from east to west around the world and from north to the deep south of the America’s and, nowhere not anywhere came close to what he had had at Dukes. I don’t know what this guys game was, but this meat merchant was selling me a sack of hors^@#*t –horsemeat (!) as I experienced a completely different ballgame.
The service, was exemplary. I cannot fault the staff, they were all particularly charming and got me to part with a hell of a lot of sourdough on booze.
I was enamoured with the mini pulled pork slider, a bite-​sized brioche barbie bun which you could of had a trio of or single for £4. My single as a side sufficed to whet my pulled pork pining, however it was my dining compadres Pork Ribs and my (what I’d say were dive-​bar dollar*) wings (at best) that were my greatest disappointment.
Two grown men making hard work of meat mastication across the table, despite their findings of the flavours being agreeable, was not testament enough for me that The Duke treated his meat to a low and slow heat. Easy tiger, what’s the rush, your reservation queue is off the (meat) hook, you’ve made us wait this long, you might as well make damn sure it’s worth it. I like to feel like a cave girl eating wings, and love it when the meat comes clean off from between my teeth, but the way that my wings protested and clung to the bone, made me want to pick a fight with the chef when I’d really like to be picking meat off dem bones. The skin was slimy too, no sign of a naked flame or heat enough to caramelise the sugars on the surface either. The Double Bastardo sauce only added to my hot headed rage, I could’ve handled hotter but I’d have been Double Bastard mad about this evenings dinner.
*Dive-​Bar Dollar Wings– across the pond in places like Texas, where there’s grimy pool tables and miller light on draft, you can literally get salvation with salivation inducing, fire breathingly painful sweet as the baby lord, hot chicken wings, about 10, for one actual whole exact dollar bill.
I’d rather pay for a flight to Tyler, Texas than for a taxi to Haggerston for meat again, I’m afraid. I won’t be Winging my way over again too soon. I knew I should’ve gone for the Gumbo. This review could’ve been a different beast otherwise, but I’m afraid I’m just being as tough as the meat.

Executive summary: Great cocktails, friendly but bumpy service, okay BBQ which could be great with a little more love & attention.. I hope my criticisms are constructive enough to indicate that I was not unhappy to pay £80 for a meal for 2 and that I will go back because I hope they will improve
Ambience wise, it’s my kind of joint — dark, good music (old soul & rock) played at a volume which doesn’t destroy conversation. Friendly service (when you can lure the waitresses away from the pass where they seem to hibernate). They made me a very good margarita (something not to be taken for granted in the UK). The menu is limited but that is generally a good thing — pick a few things and do them well.
The food — well, the beans (bbq pork & beans) were really really good — best thing on the table by far. The pork sliders are cute and pretty good, though they need a side of BBQ sauce please. The pork ribs were only let down by the fact that they had been over-​blackened which nearly ruined the wonderful smoky taste of the juicy meat. They had a bit too much «chew» for my taste — I like the meat to fall off the bone. The beef ribs (huge. enormous.) were equally overcooked (carbon black) externally, and really very dry. A bit more like burnt beef jerky than what we were hoping for. The mac & cheese was tasty but a bit dry. The fried okra & pickles were very good — it would have been nice if the accompanying dipping sauce had a bit more bite.
Portions are *not* huge (BBQ ribs are usually sold in racks, not single ribs). The included sides of slaw & pickled onions were unnecessarily meagre.
Overall it makes me wonder how experienced the pit master (or head chef) is here. Blackening all your meat is a genuine foul in BBQ.
Duke’s is skating on the verge of excellence and I hope they can adjust their dials and steer themselves to glory.