Duke's Brew & Que, London

Duke's & Que is a pub. It's a pub disguised as a restaurant and don't let their drool worthy menu fool you as it has done with many. I went here for dinner and after sampling a few of their meaty morsels and their well selected cocktail menu I can confirm that this place is worth visiting.

I like ribs. The vegetarian in me still winces when I pick up that meaty hunk of flesh attached to a bone all covered in sticky barbecue sauce.

Last night, I indulged my inner caveman at Duke's Brew & Que with beef ribs, pulled pork sliders, mac and cheese, fried pickles and okra and some of their BBQ beans. I washed this down with a margarita (unfortunately not frozen) and my dining partner with some of their beer from their extensive menu.

Duke's & Que is also a brewery, although they only make a small amount at a time. They have a huge selection of beers and tequilas though as well as a solid cocktail menu with a couple of classics on it. The food is hit and miss. I'll be honest, we ordered well. I rarely go for dinner somewhere new without scoping out the reviews online to see what I should order.

I'm glad I did so here. The beef ribs were not only tender but huge in side. I'm glad of it too, the cocktails were strong and I needed something to sock up the tequila. The fried okra was a little dry and the mac and cheese was oozing oil (not always a good thing). Even saying that I still think that they know what they're doing when it comes to food. The ribs were perfectly cooked and the pulled pock juicy in a sweet white bun.

I'm a huge fan of condiments and along with the usual suspects there was a homemade BBQ sauce that was tangy and spicy along with a horseradish and mustard homemade mixture that made my eyes water. It's certainly worth trying if you're a fan of wasabi!

So this is a cool part of town, well to be honest, it on the edge of the cool part and that means you'll get a mix of hipsters, media mummies and daddies with their offspring and few lost locals from the council estate across the road.

This use to be a locals pub and you can tell that it has had a somewhat smooth transition into a dining boozer. I insist you go, and eat meat, and drink beer...

Duke's & Que | 33 Downham Road, London, N1 5AA
http://dukesjoint.com
020 3006 0795

Dabbous, Whitfield Street

I lost a few hours of my life one evening last week in a basement bar in Noho. I drank four very strong, well made cocktails propping up the bar of Dabbous. It all started quite innocently with intentions of dinner, but on discovering the wonderful eight page cocktail menu and quiet, well staffed bar, a judgement call was made to stay and drink.

If you're looking for a New York style drinking establishment, with more space and less fashionistas,  recently opened Dabbous could tick all your boxes. It's quite lovely downstairs with attentive staff and a slightly impressive selection of gin. It was the first Wednesday they had been open and it was clear that there were a few teething problems.

I'm not going to lie, I like this place, I just don't love it. The fact our bill came to over £100 and they didn't care to inform us that their card machine wasn't working until we were both slightly inebriated was a little off. It's also worth a mention that although they had a menu of bar snacks, this involved  less than a handful of options, two of which were caviar and black pudding.... Eeewww! We ordered chicken bites, which were possibly the smallest bites I have ever seen and a steak sandwich, which essentially was meat on a slice of toast. All very tasty, not very impressive. To be honest, I'm not even sure I'd want to try the restaurant after this bar experience. What was quite frustrating, was that as we were leaving we were informed that we could have ordered from the full menu downstairs rather than just bar snacks. Considering that we had arrived and asked for a dinner table, it's poor form that they didn't tell us this right away.

I'm rather fond of sitting at a bar and chatting with the fine gentleman mixing my drink, Dabbous is just perfect for that. I managed to get served by one of the very charming owners (Ollie Dabbous' partner) who chatted away comfortably about the cocktails. You certainly can't knock the service here, as soon as you sit down, ice water is served and you are made to feel very welcome. The cocktails menu has a great selection of classics - including my favourite, an Aviation. It was made well, served in the correct glass and I even got to sample it with a selection of gins.

Come here as a bar, on a date, with a good friend for a catch up. The low lighting might have made finding the loos impossible but it certainly made the cool calm bar intimate. Overall, I'll come here again, but I'm not sure if it will be for more than a drink.

Dabbous | 39 Whitfield Street London W1T 2SF
www.dabbous.co.uk
020 7323 1544