“I think we’re going to need more croquettes,” I said, gravely.
I was talking to my friends Fintan and Olivia who accompanied me on my first visit to Dux & Co in the heart of Temple Bar. We were in the middle of hoovering up our shared starters and our friendship was in danger of being tested by the four crazy good croquettes that sat on the large sharing plate (€12) between us.
Fintan was eyeing up the last of the light and crispy croquettes, stuffed with different combinations of ham, chicken and smoked cheddar, while chomping on a deep-fried cheese-stuffed green chilli popper. Olivia and I were faux-politely offering each other the last of the fried halloumi on flatbread, in hope that this display of generosity would work in our croquettes-obsessed favour. There was nothing for it but to order a second portion of croquettes (€6 a plate) to avoid a scene. They were hella good croquettes.
Dux & Co opened its doors in July of this year but proprietors Leah Duxbury and John Coady have been on the festival and food market scene for quite some time. You may well have tasted their homely comfort food fare at The Electric Picnic or the Irish Village Market on Baggot Street Bridge. Their own culinary journey has been greatly informed by the couple’s travels abroad and their food is, one can suppose, a Mediterranean-inspired reflection of that. The space in Temple Bar has wall to floor windows looking out on to the Quays and its interior design is vintage rose chic, complete with wooden swings and flower-shaped fairy lights. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and the Thursday evening we were visiting saw the place full and noisy, with a lot of disappointed would-be customers being turned away at the door.
Our additional plate of croquettes arrived alongside our main courses, and were wolfed down with the same alarming speed as the original plate. Olivia’s enormous slow-cooked pulled pork sandwich (€12) was the biggest hit, a giant fluffy bun overflowing with succulent pulled pork and sweet homemade BBQ sauce. The fennel ‘slaw on the side proved a worthy accompaniment as did the sweet potato fries. My lobster mac and cheese (€14) was exactly what you’d expect – rich, comforting and indulgent. I would have liked to see a bit more lobster meat in my bowl, however, as I had to work hard to find the pink and white portions of crustacean flesh hiding under the pasta. Fintan’s crab gratin (€14) was, unfortunately, a bit of a let down. There was an unpleasant bitterness to the dish, perhaps to do with an unbalanced fried leek and white wine sauce, and the crumbly topping was dry and lacking in personality. Thank goodness Olivia’s pulled pork sandwich was so gargantuan, there was plenty to go around.
We were stuffed full of croquettes at this stage and we shared two desserts between the three of us. Myself and Olivia made short work of our blondie with ice-cream, which we enjoyed but agreed with Fintan’s criticism about it being on the dry side. We had to fight to get a taste of Fintan’s Key Lime Mess (€5) which was anything but a mess. A delicious, sharp dessert that disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Dux & Co is BYOB which kept the price down to a very affordable €75 for the three of us. I’m not sure if Dux & Co have quite translated their talents from the field to the restaurant but I do know that this is a really well priced place to go for an enjoyable meal with friends. As long as you order enough croquettes to go around, you’ll leave happy, full and with your friendships intact.
Dux & Co
51 Wellington Quay
Near Ha’Penny Bridge
Dublin 2
01-6139864
Twitter
http://www.duxandco.eu/
