Dux another pub?

When you move to Canberra, you notice several things. 1) It gets really cold 2) No one seems to have a concept of this driving thing you do with vehicles and 3) There is no real "Pub" culture like you get in most other cities. The industry is mainly driven by "Clubs" which have huge ties to the community, most of which spring from sporting teams etc. The big problem with Clubs? They don't promote their food as their selling point so most you go to will give you less than basic pub style food and whilst the customers seem to like it, when you are serving the meals, they just look bland and boring. 

So where does one go for a good, modern Pub meal? Talking to some people here in Canberra, there are not many options. I went to one the other day called Civic Pub which had a fantastic set up and was a great venue to watch the almighty Maroons destroy the pathetic Blues in the game 3 of the State of Origin (especially fun when you are in the minority of the crowd). I would definitely like to go back there and try their menu as it looked quite interesting. However, in looking for a place to go for dinner the other night, I stumbled upon the Duxton and blow me down it was just like being back in Adelaide.

Today's venue was: The Duxton (Modern Australian/Italian)

Service:
Well, we picked a great night to go as it was quiz night! So we couldn't get to experience the service in the main dining area as we had to eat out in their front bar (which was pretty nice, but I'll get to that in a minute). The young guy at the bar was polite and took the order with no difficulties. Here you are given one of the beeper gimmicks so you go up to the kitchen passe and collect your meal from there. I don't mind this process unless you have ordered 4 plates and can't carry 4 at a time... Then it becomes an issue. Had a nice chat to the guy behind the bar about how the Duxton reminded Tania and I of home and pubs back there. He recommended a couple of other places so will definitely check them out.

Atmosphere:
The Front Bar of most pubs generally gets a bad rapt for it's clientele. This one wasn't like that at all. It was a simple set up with wooden bar stools and tables and simple wall decorations of sporting memorabilia. Pretty much what you would expect of a front bar minus a bar stool being thrown and lodged into someone's skull. However, a heater would have been nice. Yes, I know Canberra gets cold and I should have brought a jumper with me, but even Tania was cold and she was rugged up. The main dining area looked quite nice with a lot of foliage to give it some real life. Would like to sit out there one day without someone asking me trivia questions. Unless that trivia comes from under the lid of a Super Dry stubbie.

Food:
A little different this week as instead of getting a single meal each, we decided to get some share platters instead. Arancini Balls w/ Aioli, Marinated Chicken Wings w/ Chilli Relish, Meatballs w/ Rich Tomato Sauce & Grilled Bread, and Pork Belly Sliders w/ Asian Slaw & Chilli Mayo. It was quite the feed we had going on. Personal favourite for me for me were the Arancini Balls. Amazing. The mozzarella inside them was the perfect creaminess for it to melt in your mouth *insert sexual innuendo joke about balls here*. Tania was quite the fan of the Sliders. I kind of felt they had the right idea and elements there to make amazing Sliders but to me, they were quite dry. A little bit more mayo and maybe using a different bun as the ones they did use were super sweet. Only other critisim is that the Meatballs were a tad on the cooler side. But that is a minor dent in an otherwise awesome main course.

For dessert we had the Mississippi Mud Cake and the Caramel Tart. Little hit and miss here. The Mud Cake was the right consistency, not too firm but not too soft. When you added the strawberry sauce that was underneath it, it was perfect. The Tart was a little lacking. What was it lacking? Well, probably the main ingredient of caramel. It just felt like a normal tart with this odd flavor that was meant to be caramel, but just wasn't.

Overall:
A great little pub. One thing I forgot to mention is that it is located away from any of the main areas in a little suburb called O'Connor. It was like eating up in the Hills as there isn't that huge amount of foot traffic. I really wish I could have come here on a night that wasn't quiz night so I could have got a taste of what it is really like as it seems brilliant. Places like this make me believe that there is a "Pub Culture" alive in Canberra.


Service: 3/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Food: 4/5


Recommendation: In what is most likely an election year, say "Yes!" to a good pub! Also, eat at the Duxton.