Good & reliable food, gets busy at times though. Have had the burgers & they are good. Would agree with the commenst below about the ceaser, though it's better than many other pubs in the area. Have eaten here many times & never been really disappointed & yes the huge wine glasses are the biz.
The Duke used to be our regular local pub, despite living the other end of Newtown. However, the quality of the food isn't as good as it used to be. My staple order was the caesar salad, it still comes with the grilled tenderloin chicken, but now the dressing has become tasteless and the salad is often drenched in it.
Combined with the packet parmesan and the chewy bacon bits, I'm often disappointed that it's no longer the way it was. However, the gi-normous wine glasses are still a draw card. Avoid the pre-theatre crowds by coming after 8 pm, or enjoy a sunny afternoon in the courtyard. The open fire in Winter is cosy. I also gave ambience points to the occasional visit from friendly bikies in the front bar, gives the pub attitude without making it scary.
The Duke bistro is the most perfect example of great pub/bistro food. The food is good, the portions are enormous, the prices are low and the people are a great mix of subcultures and cultures, all comingling happily. The only drawback is that the Enmore Theatre is a few metres down the road; the place is packed when a big show is on.
This place is great value for large portions of pub fare, esp the steaks. The outdoor courtyard has a lovely relaxed vibe and the glasses of wine are larger than standard, which can't be bad (!). The only discrepancy is that the wine list is so limited.
We ate here on a weeknight. The service was friendly but the food wasn't great. Traditional pub food is hard to get wrong but the vegetables were only partially cooked, and the chicken was a bit cold. For the price I was expecting more. Overall the meal was satisfactory but I wouldn't go back again.
Went early Friday night. Place was not too busy, service was very fast and it was really quite enjoyable to sit with a nice beer and a large plate of food. The waitress who took our order was a bit abrupt, but it does not make for a bad night as you really are just ordering, getting a number and sitting down.
Meals are really large and come with a nice salad. Veal Schnitzel was really nice, Calamari was a little bit salty but all in all a very enjoyable pub meal.
I absolutely love the Duke food. The BLATs are awesome, great for a hangover, and the chips are always perfectly cooked, great salads, steaks and calamari. Its a really relaxed place great for an afternoon beer, with free pool on sundays!