Duo — EAT IT AUCKLAND

Public holidays are the perfect time to take advantage of all the Dorklanders having left town and traverse the quiet city streets to visit that restaurant you’ve been dying to visit for ages but didn’t have the nerve, or patience, to sit in Auckland traffic to get to it. On my to-visit-list was Duo by husband and wife team Jordan and Sarah Macdonald. I’d visited during the day for an excellent brunch but have been eager to get back there at night to try one of their legendary paua doughnuts.

The Mcadonalds have been busy developing a hospitality monopoly along Hinemoa Street in Birkenhead. They’ve opened an Italian called Uno Osteria in the last year and on the night of our visit to Duo opened a new French wine bar called Bon Pinard as well. I’d type Duo as a modern New Zealand bistro. Luckily this bistro has received the tick of approval from my even fussier husband who reminded me as we pulled up to dinner that I had already made a promise to him in our weddings vows to not take him to any more boring white people’s restaurants. Thankfully I made good on my promise this time and it is all a credit to the kitchen at Duo.

The dining room is smart and doubles as a day time eatery. Forrest green velvet banquettes line one side with dark wood accents in the furniture and along the bar. There is a sweet little blackboard of the daily specials and a big communal dining table towards the front. The PVC windshields were pulled down to transform the outside into additional seating on these colder evenings.

The menu is perfectly sized to give you some choice, but not too much choice. It has a raw bar section; small, snackable items perfect to go with a cocktail or glass of wine followed by slightly bigger and bigger again small plates. The unsaid emphasis of this menu is that it is meant for sharing, so leave your food insecure friends and family at home for this one.

*Lamb ribs, olive gremolata, apple glaze, mint*

We ordered two of the paua doughnuts, as I was not prepared to share this coveted bun with anyone. At $13 a pop, I think this is easily Auckland’s best value paua dish. A sizeable, freshly fried doughnut that more resembles a freshly baked bun in its greaselessness, it had a steaming hot fluffy outer surrounding a generous filling of creamed paua. Paua fans will sob and sigh over this dish. It is presented beautifully in a glistening paua shell with a pool of sharp but not hot horseradish mayo. The horseradish gives it a little extra somethin’ somethin’ without making you clutch your sinuses in agony.

I used to think Cotto (now Otto) used to do the best lamb ribs in town but I think they’ve now been superseded by the ribs at Duo. Execution is everything when it comes to this cut of meat and Duo cooks theirs with finesse. Lamb ribs can be a horribly fat-riddled piece of meat that can leave an unpleasant feeling in the mouth if not rendered well. Here, rendered they have, such that the meat is falling off the bone at a whisper but has crispy, craggy edges at the same time. The lamb ribs ($27) were served with a green olive gremolata of sorts that had an earthy finish to it, suggestive of perhaps some green peas. The dish was finished with fresh mint and a magical apple glaze, so transparent in appearance you’d be forgiven for missing it but its presence is unmistakeable. Think of a green apple lolly, but make it gourmet.

*From left: garlic fries with herb mayo; scotch fillet; Crunchita leaves with buttermilk dressing and pecorino.*

Thank you Duo for finally convincing my husband that steak can be good. The scotch fillet ($40) is grilled over charcoal and finished with café de Paris butter and jus. I appreciated that I wasn’t asked how I’d like my steak done. Because how the kitchen wants it done, is how I want it done (although in fairness I’ll always want it somewhere between rare to medium-rare). Fans of the hospitality TV drama The Bear may recall the chefs lamenting about having to dispose of litres of jus and starting to make it from scratch again. This magic sauce is hard work and can make or break a great steak. Well Duo’s jus is stellar. Silky, glossy and full of flavour. After we’d dredged every piece of steak and garlic studded fry through it, we started to discreetly dunk our utensils in the jus and lick it off hoping not to offend the other diners around us.

We had made a mutual agreement early on in our menu perusal to order the garlic fries ($14) which were of the excellent, hand-cut, skin-on variety. This golden bowl of loveliness was studded with little flecks of garlic and herbs making the presence of the former ingredient known without it being too same-same throughout. The other logical order to compliment steak and fries were wedges of Crunchita lettuce with a buttermilk dressing and shaved pecorino ($14). Refreshing and crunchy like its name, it completed this classic bistro triumvirate.

*Scotch fillet, cafe de Paris butter and jus*

For once in my life, I wasn’t able to put away dessert, but the options were excellent ones I’ll save for another day. Crème brulee, vanilla and quince. Chocolate hazelnut marquise made with dark Ghana chocolate and hazelnut cream. A pear tarte tatin for $38? Well clearly that one is for sharing. One landed on the tablet next to us and the four punters seated there swooped in on it like bin chickens to, well, a bin (sorry that’s a Sydney joke).

Your next go to restaurant for dinner (and breakfast, or lunch for that matter) should be Duo. You won’t be disappointed. Just ask my husband.

Duo
138 Hinemoa Street,
Birkenhead
Auckland 0626
Ph. 027 213 8591
@duo.nz
Facebook