ONE DUKE WARMS UP THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
RESTAURANT REVIEW
Neighbourhood spots have a special place in the hearts of faithful patrons.
Take One Duke in the James Street South ’hood, which has a “been there forever” feeling to it. This is due in part to the thickwalled building it’s housed in, a Jacobean Revival style mansion called Amisfield Castle built in 1840 that was absorbed into a commercial development in 1980.
It was a Tuesday evening and signage in the entryway of the cosy, brick-and-wood dining space advertised nine-ounce glasses of wine for $7 and $12 pizzas (there are also daily specials) and a big, garland-lined board with a simple greeting: “Welcome to One Duke.”
There were also ads for the live music that happens every second Thursday, starting at 6 p.m. There was no live music on this night, but an interesting sound emanating from the speakers that my companion and I struggled to categorize.
“A remix of Kenny G. and electronic dance music?” she mused. Pretty close, I thought. That put us in the mood to order drinks. There was a TV in front of us and another in the other section of the dining room, both tuned to sports channels. A commercial for the new “Star Wars” film came on, and I asked our server if she was looking forward to seeing it. She informed us that she had appeared in a trailer ad for the movie. That had to be a good omen for the meal.
My companion’s Manhattan was made with Knob Creek bourbon and a nice balance of sweet vermouth. My Steigl, a good and reliable Austrian lager, went well with the food.
As there was a bit of a wait for the food, we had a chance to look around. The place has a log cabin vibe: stacked wood slats adorning some walls, and wooden tables — even the swinging door to the kitchen is clad in wood. Even the wall art (depicting wine, oysters, and a couple of waterfall scenes done by Métis artist Jennifer Bettio to commemorate the history of the land One Duke sits on) had been painted on wooden slats. It’s all tied together with lots of exposed brick.
An apt destination for enjoying a glass of wine on a snowy winter night, I thought, with a decent selection of medium-priced wines on offer from Ontario and beyond (Tawse and Wayne Gretzky Estate, for example). And the bar was well-stocked.
Just under half-an-hour later, our food arrived.
This was the last “Novemburger” I had a chance to try, a skillfully-cooked “fusion braised burger” topped with mushrooms, red onions and jalapeño Havarti cheese, which had a nice kick. It was wrapped in a soft pretzel bun, scored across the top.
The burger was moist with a good blend of ingredients, served on a large, square white plate next to a pickle spear; and a dish piled with fries coated with their “signature fusion curry spice.” I liked the fries — they tasted freshly cut. The curry in the sauce could have been toasted a bit more and cooked into it longer, but the end result was still cheesy and gooey enough for me to eat quite a few.
Our colourful Bob Marley pizza, with jerk spice, chicken, mango and mozzarella, had a thin, crackerlike crust. The abundance of cheese seemed at odds with the jerk spice, however, and I kept waffling about whether I liked the overall effect. But I did like the individual ingredients.
We also ordered a Caesar salad, which was pretty good. The croutons could have had more life, I thought, but a healthy squeeze of the lemon slices on the side balanced out the flavour.
Our server then brought out a salmon club: lox on a ciabatta — with bacon! — and capers, cream cheese, sliced tomato, cucumber and mixed greens, served on a toasted Panini bun. This was a single layer sandwich, rather than the typical double-decker. A touch too salty for me, but tasty overall.
For dessert, fried banana cheesecake, in a crunchy crust. Its slightly melty texture was foreign to me, but not unlikeable. Good banana flavour, topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle.
One Duke, with its warm, unpretentious ambience and menu that offers a range of fun snacks, light meals and hearty entrées, is a great spot for a casual dinner or to watch a game and enjoy a burger and a beer.
It also has a lovely, double-pergola patio that seats about 50.
The clear Edison bulbs strung on the roof of those pergolas sparkled as we stepped outside, as if to remind us to come back when summer rolls around.