Duke’s Brew & Que

Duke’s Brew & Que | Haggerston Restaurant

NOTE: Sadly, Duke’s Brew & Que has now closed.

At some point in the early 16th Century a friendly American Indian living in South Carolina gave a Spanish colonist a lesson in how to BBQ.

This happened before the word “barbecue” had even been invented: the Spaniard got drunk, took rubbish notes and, annoyingly, then brought them back to Europe with him.

We’ve been lagging behind America in the BBQ steaks ever since, but fortunately that’s all set to change as, 300 years on, there’s a new teacher in town.

Welcome to Duke’s Brew & Que: a battered, rustic and quirky ex-pub where wooden tables; mismatched chairs; leather booth seating; an authentic American BBQ smoker and the in-house Beavertown microbrewery are all enveloped by distressed concrete walls and raw, exposed brickwork.

A carefully selected range of British and US craft beers, plus Duke’s homemade Beavertown sauce, complement slow, wood-smoked, southern-style BBQ like racks of slow-cooked pork and beef ribs, T-bones and pulled pork sliders served with coleslaw; big pickles; fat, crispy potato wedges; creamed spinach; mac n’cheese and smoked beans.

Weekend brunch features heavy, stuffed omelettes; blueberry pancakes; eggs benedict; French toast ravioli with bacon and cream cheese, and the unavoidably crucial staple of any genuine US brunch: home fries.

NOTE: Sadly, Duke’s Brew & Que has now closed.

Duke’s Brew & Que | 33 Downham Road, Haggerston, N1 5AA

Never mind – there are still plenty of great restaurants in our London Restaurant Bible