Dinner At The Recently Opened Dukes, Beefeater In Worksop
Published On Tuesday 24 Jan 2023 by Sticky Beak
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A recent invite saw The Man Bird and I going back to our old stomping ground, Worksop, to visit Beefeater’s ‘The Dukes’ site, which opened in November 2022, for a spot of dinner. Let’s just say that the town has changed a heck of a lot since we flitted!! Ryton View (where The Dukes is located) used to just have Sainsbury’s, a petrol station and a small industrial estate on it; now there’s the original inhabitants, a Dunkin’ Donuts, KFC, Taco Bell, a Premier Inn and, of course, The Dukes Beefeater restaurant.
There’s plenty of parking on the whole site and having parked the jalopy, we strolled past the lovely landscaping features of planters full of shrubs and grasses and the outdoor seating area, and into the bright, welcoming reception of the restaurant. We could see that the venue was already busy with eager diners and there were a couple of parties ahead of us waiting to be seated. The guy at front-of-house was doing a great job, though, and we were only waiting a couple of minutes before we were escorted to our table and handed over to our server for the evening, Rachel.
Now, I’m going to level with you all here, and say that I was expecting a decent enough (but not setting the world on fire) wine selection, so imagine my surprise when faced with a choice of white, red and rosé wines that would put some other restaurants to shame! The Man Bird and I couldn’t agree on the red/white debate, so we settled on a cheeky Tempranillo Rosé that was clean and fresh and fruity – yum.
Having settled in, I had a proper gander at the large, open-plan space. Light and airy, this single storey venue has a really modern feel to it, in no small part thanks to the assortment of statement lighting that ranged from black metal pipes and exposed bulbs to huge funnel shaped pendants! The music was nice and upbeat and set at a level that didn’t interfere with conversation but added to the positive atmosphere. The wooden tables were spaced nicely apart so that pushchairs or mobility chairs could easily navigate around, and there is a mix of free standing or banquette seating. We’d been having a bit of banter with Rachel whilst she’d been sorting our drinks out and she mentioned that there was no Key Lime Pie available for dessert (clearly, she’d got the measure of our gluttony!); I like pro-active staff that tell me about menu issues from the get-go, it saves a lot of disappointment later on.
The starter section of the menu has 9 choices, individually priced from £4.69 to £6.49 or you can choose any 3-4- £13.99 / 4-4-£16.99 if you want to have a bit of a Tapas thing going on. Failing that, why not go the whole hog and grab Nachos to share (you can add Sloppy Joe Chilli or Pulled Beef to zhuzh them up) or do as we did and have the Signature Sharing Platter (£13.99). On our platter there’s a half rack of Pork Ribs with Beefeaters’ ’74 BBQ’ sauce, crispy coated Chicken Wings, Calamari bites, Potato Wedges, house ‘Slaw, and Tortilla crisps, as well as bowls of ’74 BBQ’ sauce and reduced fat Soured Cream to dunk everything into. Rachel let us know that there was no ‘slaw left so they were substituting it for a small salad: was that ok? Neither of us are that fussed about ‘slaw, so we didn’t have a problem with the alternative on offer.
Our table gave us a great view of the expansive, open kitchen and it was great to see Chef and his team bustling about and how clean they were keeping it as they fulfilled all the orders. Whilst our food was being prepared, we twitched our noses in appreciation at the Beer-Battered Haddock and Chips (it should really be called Whale and Chips, the fish was that big!) and the sizeable Burgers that came past us. That’s the appeal of Beefeater venues, isn’t it – there is literally something for everyone member of the family; whatever age or dietary requirement.
It wasn’t long before Rachel came over to us, carrying a large platter that was laden with all manner of scrumminess and, personally, I think that the platter benefitted from the extra colour that the salad provided. His Nibs tucked straight into the Pork Ribs, getting the rich, sticky ’74 BBQ’ sauce all round his mush – honestly, you can’t take him anywhere! The ribs were tender and nicely moist in the mouth with a good meaty flavour to them that matched the depth of Beefeaters’ ’74 BBQ’ sauce. I started chomping at the Chicken Wings and there was a really good taste to the crisp coating on them, not dissimilar to the one at the other Chicken serving unit on Ryton view.
The popcorn Calamari wasn’t tough or rubbery at all and its light batter wasn’t greasy or oily in the mouth; both of us liked this a lot. Equally fab were the chunky skin-on Potato wedges - these beauties were so soft and flavoursome that they reminded us of properly done, oven-baked jacket spuds! Needless to say, they soon got dunked in the Soured Cream and ’74 BBQ’ sauce. Whilst His Nibs demolished the crunchy Tortilla Chips, I made my way through the salad of Cucumber, Cherry Tomato halves, Cos Lettuce, sliced Red Pepper and Sweetcorn – all of which were cool and crisp. There were also a couple of mini Corn-on-the-Cobs on the platter, so I smashed those too!
Rachel had come to check we were enjoying our starter platter and I think she was relieved to see that there was nothing left; the platter would certainly be lighter to take back to the kitchen than it had been to bring out! When she came back with our mains, we asked for some water just so that we weren’t supping our way through the wine at an unseemly rate (as if!).
I’d gone for the Chargrilled Fillet of Salmon (£16.49), swapping the skinny fries for Seasoned Vegetable Rice and adding a side of Chopped Salad (£3.49). The Man Bird opted for the Grill Master’s Favourite Steak Sampler (£22.99), adding Mac ‘n’ Cheese (£3.49) and Beer Battered Onion Rings (£3.59) to go with the trio of 4oz steaks - Sirloin, Fillet and Rump - that comprise his meal. This steak meal comes with a classic steak garnish of grilled Mushroom, roasted Tomato and chunky, triple-cooked Chips that you can choose to upgrade from with loaded Cheesy fries (£1.99) or Sweet Potato fries (99p).
My Salmon was a bit dry and crisp at the very edges but other than that, it was beautifully juicy and melted on my tongue. I was surprised by how big it was – not that you’ll get any complaints here! A Garlic and Parsley butter had melted over the warm fillet, adding more taste to this marine morsel as well as an attractive gloss to the dish. I really should know better than to make assumptions by now, so it serves me right that my palate got the shock of its life as the fiery spice of the rice hit it! I’d been expecting something tamer (‘hint of chilli’ was the description!) rather than the colourful, kick-like-a-mule grains I got. Pieces of crunchy peppers and onion added a nice bit of texture to this otherwise soft meal and the Rocket leaf garnish added colour and a wonderful peppery pop to the dish. Nice though the chips were -I pinched one off His Nibs’ plate! - I think my choice of rice and the side salad are better partners to the Salmon, but it is each to their own.
Each of the steak cuts on The Mans’ plate had a distinctive flavour and character; the Fillet was soft, tender and quite mild, the Rump was rich and deep in its taste, and the Sirloin was mouth-wateringly juicy and bouncing with flavour thanks to the fat that marbled it. All of them were cooked perfectly medium/rare and there was only the barest trace of blood, thanks to Chef resting them properly before plating up. I got passed the earthy Mushroom and roasted Tomato half (both were delicious) whilst His Nibs busied himself with dipping the marvellous chips in the nicely punchy Peppercorn sauce.
We both loved the super-crunchy Onion Rings; there was a good-sized portion of them to savour and they weren’t at all greasy or oily. Fans of Macaroni Cheese will go nuts for the version served here; I’m under no illusion that it’s probably made off-site and portioned up and heated as-and-when-needed, but even so, the depth of flavour in the wonderfully unctuous Cheese sauce was blummin’ fab. There was plenty of comfort-food Macaroni within the sauce as well, and with a scattering of Bacon this could easily be a dish in its own right on the menu I reckon – I’d certainly order it!
Rachel had again been checking back on us regularly and, as she was clearing our empty plates away, had a little chin-wag with us, which I thought was really nice. I think that sometimes folks think that chain restaurants can be a bit impersonal and ‘conveyor belty’ (and to be fair, I have experienced this in the past) but nothing could be further from the truth at this particular site. As I looked around, all the serving team were smiling and interacting with their diners.
For dessert I chose the Chocolate Layer Torte (£5.99), adding a scoop of Vanilla-seeded Vegan Ice Cream for a quid extra, whilst The Man fancied Cookie Dough and Ice Cream (£5.99). Rachel asked if His Nibs would like the Cookie Dough extra gooey; never been asked that before! Clearly, as a chocoholic and comfort-food enthusiast, The Man nodded vigorously that, yes, he most certainly would like it extra gooey.
Chef did not disappoint, and the skillet-contained disc of decadent Belgian Chocolate cookie dough was wickedly oozy and coated the inside of His Nibs’ cheeks and tongue as he munched his way through it. This dessert kept him quiet for a good 5-10 minutes; unheard of! With a thick chocolate sauce drizzled over the dough and the Ice Cream melting seductively all over the surface, this was a real hum-dinger of a dessert; one that chocophiles will absolutely love.
My Chocolate Layer Torte was just as cocoa-laden and beautifully indulgent, despite only being 293 calories!! – 372 calories if you include the Ice Cream. The sponge base was lovely and light, topped with a chocolate concoction that was amazingly rich, and my brains’ pleasure spot lit up like Blackpool’s Illuminations! Those of a certain age will remember those intensely sweet fruit sauces that the ice cream van man used to pour over your 99 cone; well, the Raspberry sauce on this dessert was exactly like that! What I loved, though, was how the sauce’s sweetness contrasted against the sharp tartness of the freeze-dried Raspberry pieces; my taste buds were in a complete state of delight!
I know there are going to be plenty of nay-sayers that will be all snarky and like “not really Chefs though, are they? I bet most of it is ‘ding’ stuff”. All I’m going to say is that, yes, there will be an element of dish components that are assembled off-site, but the meat and fish was all cooked beautifully and fresh-to-order and everything was lovely and hot. If you’re wanting the full-on gastro experience, put your hand in your pocket and go to a fancy-pants restaurant; Beefeater isn’t aiming at that corner of the market! However, if you’re staying at the adjacent Premier Inn, are mid-travel and want a bite to eat, or just live locally to this Worksop venue and want a value-for-money meal with friends and/or family, then The Dukes is just the ticket.
The Dukes is open Monday-Saturday 11.30am – 11pm and on Sunday Noon- 10.30pm. There are a couple of offers to look out for, too: the Daytime Menu runs Mon-Fri 12-5pm and you can grab 2 courses for £9.95 or 3 for £11.95, and the Sunday Roast (served from Noon) gives you unlimited Roasties, Yorkshires and Gravy with your meat and trimmings.
For more information stick ‘The Dukes, Worksop’ into Google or give the team a buzz on 01909 494788.
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