Dukes Barbecue: Restaurant Review

And thus continues the search for the best pulled pork and ribs in London. Following Pitt Cue and Barbecoa, Duke's Brew and Que (also known as Dukes Barbecue or Dukes Joint) had a lot to live up to. I have lived in East London for years, but only heard about this place a month or so ago. Luckily I am not completely out of touch, it's only been open for around 4 months.

I arrived fairly hungry and looking forward to some mouth watering meat. Ordering was easy. We just ordered everything. A mixture of pulled pork 'sliders', beef ribs, pork ribs and all of the sides. This place is definitely not diet (or veggie) friendly.

For drinks? The girls attacked the cocktail menu with gusto, while the boys opted for beers. The bar is also available for waiting and just drinking. The outdoor tables are also covered and inviting. Important for the British Summer.

With a twist, traditional mojito and cosmo but with tequila

The atmosphere was really friendly and the crowd was a mix of families and groups of friends it all felt quite 'local'. Definitely not pretentious or too 'East London'. The staff were also really friendly and attentive. Ordering additional cocktails was not a hassle to them at all, worked for us!

The restaurant/dining room

The bar...give us a wave!

So onto the main attraction. The pulled pork sliders were small enough to qualify as a slider, two big bites and they were gone. The pulled pork was good. Not the groaning, eyes rolling back in your head good of Pitt Cue, but good. The coleslaw was also nice, but again not up to that of Pitt Cue.

Slidey...

Next up I was incredibly excited about the macaroni cheese, one of my many weaknesses. Good as you could have expected from any mac 'n' cheese. It was delicious. Really rich and creamy with the macaroni perfectly cooked. The beans were also great. Not my first choice of food, but obviously they go so well with the smoked meat. We also ordered deep fried pickles. As I've been watching an unhealthy amount of Man V Food lately I have a new appreciation for everything deep fried. I'm also a big pickle fan. They were nice, but the pickle inside was quite plain. As was the mammoth one served up with the ribs.

Deep fried pickles

Beans (obvs)

Heaven

The beef ribs were two big hunks of blackened meat. They were really tasty and well flavoured all the way through the meat.

Nice pair

The pork were a bit tougher and less tender, but tasty none the less. The meat didn't fall from the bone as tantalisingly as it does at Pitt Cue, but when you gnawed it from the bone it was delicious. Again not somewhere to go on a first date...too much meat on the face/hands...

Pork ribs, nice pickle

We managed to polish off all the meat and sides mainly groaning in fullness. One of us however managed a desert. The 'Hackney Mess', a take on Eton mess, but in Hackney (obviously....).

Attack

Spent. All the 'dishes' are baking trays covered in grease-proof paper

Hackney Mess

Overall the atmosphere and fact you can get a table without queueing is a great bonus. Booking is highly recommended though. We booked the week of a Saturday night visit and the only time available was 6.30pm. We had a two hour window until the next booking. It didn't feel like we were being rushed or table turned, just fair enough we had 2 hours then to move on.

Cocktails, remains and condiments

I like the specials 'reel'

Decor

Semi open kitchen

Overall I will definitely be back here. Thoroughly enjoyed it, next time though...I'm going for the burger.

Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Food: 3/5
Drink: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

Find Dukes Brew and Que here for reservation and opening information.