duk….. a fantastic review from new site northnexposure…..

The great New launchweb site Northern exposure…… to what’s happening in  lancashire

Northern exposure pops into duk and writes a marvelous review…

Well done team…

Was that really Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall at Duk?

If it wasn’t for the A board outside we might easily have walked past Duk. A small doorway with steps leading down to the basement and then there we were. It was a Wednesday and the place was almost full….. they must be doing something right we thought! And so it turned out to be!

But let’s get one thing straight right from the start – WE LOVE TAPAS! We have eaten it abroad, in Chester, Solihull, Manchester and even in Bolton but we have never eaten it in Preston until now! The fact Duk’s been open since 2006 floored us but we rarely venture into the city centre in the evening.

First impressions; good lighting, music not too loud to discourage conversation and a great buzz about the place. Looking round we did a double take! Was that really Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall sitting in the opposite corner? No it wasn’t but it had us going for a minute!

Now the hard bit, choosing 6 between us! Whilst mulling it all over we nibbled on pitta breads and a selection of dips. If this was the standard then we were in for a real treat ( and WHAT a treat it was!). The menu said the portions were bigger and we would normally polish off 8 between us. We took some advice and limited ourselves to 6. Before 7.30pm it is just £12 for 3 Tapas dishes, or £16 for 4. There is also an equally tempting a la carte menu.

Eventually we settled on Swordfish Salad with lemon oil and balsamic – a meaty texture and ample for 2, Lemon & Chilli Potatoes – great combination of flavours, Garlic & Rosemary Potatoes – a favourite potato dish. The potato dishes were so generous that when we go again we will just pick one! We also picked the Spicy Meatballs with cooling dip, and when they say spicy they mean spicy – the cooling dip was the perfect accompaniment to two very large meatballs! Butter Chicken with red onion, arguably my favourite but Dave’s was the Monkfish wrapped in Serrano ham that we got to sample. The Sea bass with Pesto drizzle ran a close second for me.

We want to emphasise that this was Tapas of a quality and quantity we have never had before. Add the attention to detail, even asking if we had any food allergies, sets Duk miles apart from any other Tapas restaurant at which we have eaten. It was quite simply food to die for!

So that was it we thought, we were full! But then came the sweet menu to end all

sweet menus! We noted that all the hot desserts are freshly made to order. Dave could not resist the Dragon Banana with chilli, maple syrup and fresh berries, Me, I said I didn’t fancy that so gave in to temptation and chose an individual cheesecake on an oatie base topped with toffee pecan. Well Dave’s dessert came and I thought I would just have a little taste …. and then another one and then perhaps another 2 or 3 or more! I couldn’t describe it, so I will just say “go for it”. That’s not taking anything away from the cheesecake. The toffee pecan topping was inspirational and wickedly good!

Duk has won numerous awards and in our opinion it has earned every single one of them. Open every day from 12 noon Duk is most definitely a place not to be missed.