It's a toss up between 3 and 4 stars if we look at wow factor, but the attentive service and live music was on point, so giving them 4. This was my 3rd or 4th visit, I think my feelings are about the same as they were the last time I came maybe a couple of years ago.
The menu overall is great, there are some hits and some slight misses..not that they were bad, because we finished every single dish without much complaints, but just that the wow factor only applied to a few of the dishes. I don't see myself frequenting this establishment often, maybe once a year or every couple or so. It has a nice intimate feel and some of their dishes are also more interesting than the norm. Cost wise, food can easily be $25 per person but once you start ordering the high end dishes or wine/drinks, well, you know how that goes.
Winners:
+ BASA FILLET in CRAYFISH SAUCE $17: My winning pick of the entrees. It was perfectly cooked, a nice tender fish in a beautiful and delicate sauce, yet packed with flavor. I happily spooned up whatever sauce was left to pour onto my rice.
+ BEEF TARTARE $18: The mound was pretty huge, with sides of small diced tomatos and lovely flavored capers. We ordered 2 of these for the 8 of us so we got huge portions to share. The raw beef was extremely fresh and tender, good quality.. not like that other stuff you see where they chill it and then there is that slight chew.
+ ROASTED EGGPLANT $10: This appetizer was nice and light, very soft and just barely sweet, a great way to start the night.
+ GINGER CHEESECAKE $7: I loved how this was light enough to be almost fluffy, the ginger flavor was very subtle, everyone couldn't stop at just 1 bite.
+ CREME BRULEE $7: I didn't get to crack the hard caramel on top but it was just the right thickness and the cream was great, not too rich or eggy or anything like that, a nice softness to it..I couldn't help myself but divulge myself with a few bites.
Still good:
+ SEAFOOD CRISPY VIETNAMESE CREPE $14: This was actually pretty good, I liked the cripsiness of the crepe and the flavor. It had some bean sprouts in it which gave the right balance of flavor (unlike someplace like 99 Coffee Shop where the bean sprouts are just downright overkill. But I do love 99!)
+ TRUFFLE DUCK PATE $8: How can you not order anything with "duck" at a place called "Duc"? The pate was not as creamy or as I would have liked, but still, I can never pass up pate and I did enjoy it.
+ ESCARGOT $13: The escargot was soft and of course doused in butter, you can't go too wrong with this but ahh I could have made do not ordering this dish and just stuck to the more special plates.
/ "Cari Ga" Chicken Curry $16: We were pretty full from the plethora of appetizers, the dish was good but didn't really have much of a wow factor. it was kind of hard to share amongst 8 people where you end up with just 1 spoonful. I think I would still try to order this again because I'd rather pay the $16 for this bowl versus the $24 for the lamb curry.
Not as successful:
- BASA FILLET with BEURRE BLANC SAUCE $17: The fish was every so slightly overcooked but the kicker was that it was missing some flavor or proper seasoning/salt.
- LAMB CURRY $24: This was the one dish we were looking forward to because we really enjoyed it the last time, it lacked that flavor punch we were hoping for. That's probably what we get when we set really high expectations. It was delicious but it kind of hurts when you pay $24 for a small bowl of it. Still, I did get to have couple pieces of lamb and they were very tender, just wish there was more flavor to it.
The location is at Mauna Kea and Beretania, luckily walkable from my place, but there is street parking or validated parking across Duc's at Diamond parking. 20% gratuity was added since we had more than 4 in our party, which was fine because they definitely delivered careful and watchful service.
The live music was great, there was this older woman who played guitar and was on a mic. She sang lovely slow tunes and it set the mood right for a nice, casual, fun and intimate dining experience. (I think I'm going to call to ask for her contact information, I wouldn't mind hiring her for a future function!). The server even helped with having her sing "Happy Birthday" as he brought out the cheesecake with a candle on top, as we all sang along for the birthday boy. That topped the night off perfectly. Thank you, Duc's Bistro for a pleasurable dining experience and lovely evening! read more