Duke’s Southern Table

4 Reviews on “Duke’s Southern Table”

• Skegee21

  More like Northern Discomfort!. I was excited to celebrate my relatives 60th birthday at this establishment, in fact, I was the person who suggested this place, having heard the food and ambiance were great. These two things, however were short-lived based on the treatment of the owner. NEVER have I seen an owner speak down to their guests, especially ones who waited nearly two hours for a partial meal to be served. Yes, we understand that a kitchen can be very busy at times so we weren’t bothered by that as we were enjoying the company of our friends and family. What we were bothered by is the owner’s demeanor when our party wanted to discuss the fact that we couldn’t enjoy our meal together. A simple, genuine apology goes a long way. That’s what I expect from Southern Hospitality. What we received was Northern Discomfort. I expect a manager/owner/hostess to make their presence known to a table who had so many issues without being summoned to do so. I expect them to make every effort to right the wrongs as to not leave an impression that we are now left with. I was cautioned about the behavior of the owner of this establishment and have read other reviews but I always like to give everyone the right to have a bad day. If you were NOT at our table then please don’t invite yourself to it now unless you have your money ready to share in our cost of our experience.

  July 13, 2015, 11:07 pm

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• Auroraandhow

  The good, the bad and the UGLY…. The good, the bad and the downright ugly…Family and I (a reserved party of 10) visited Duke’s for a birthday dinner. The good- decor/ ambience are well done; live music was enjoyable; food is delicious and fairly priced; wait staff pleasant despite being a team of rookies. The bad- table service is sub par and attention to detail, non-existent. The ugly- the owner. In short, we were impressed and happy upon arrival. Greeted warmly enough and our request to have our rear, private table moved was quickly and pleasantly accommodated before the guest of honor arrived. The trouble began at dinner. We ordered all of the appetizers on the menu and loved every one. Our server came out and warned us that dinner might be delayed because the kitchen was busy. We were perfectly ok with that- we had light bites, drinks and were in no rush to leave. We chatted and enjoyed the live music. We ordered dinner and things just began to fall apart. A third of our table was served dinner. Sides were not served and had to be requested. We waited as long as possible before having no other choice but to eat in advance of everyone at our table being served. We had two others join our table and one was actually served their food in advance of the two STILL WAITING an hour after ordering. An hour and a half later, their food finally arrives along with the meal of the other late guest. The host of our group approached the owner with the intent of sharing our experience with the sole expectation that she would be eager to apologize. We weren’t even expecting a modification to our bill although it would be the decent thing to do on the owner’s part given the circumstance. The owner was anything but decent. She tore into our host and actually attempted to turn our own guests against one another by attempting to cajole our guest of honor into thinking that we were creating the fuss. Honestly speaking, it took a tremendous amount of self-restraint not to really let her have it and to maintain the attitude of grace and sensibility that we expected in return. After all, we were celebrating! We attempted to quell the matter as our host’s attempt had fallen on deaf ears, by calmly and respectfully speaking to the owner and she actually put both palms of her hands directly in my face, turned around and walked away. I suppose her conscious (or good sense) got to her and she returned a little while later insisting that she’d already done her best to right her wrongs (she had done no such thing) and it just wasn’t good enough for us. She offered us what she should have at the onset of our exchange- two ‘comped’ meals given they arrived an hour and a half after being ordered. When spending hundreds of dollars in a restaurant, one expects to, at the very least, be treated well. You are, after all, paying for the service. We can cook our our own salmon and fried chicken at home!A shame because the food is good enough to return but not only would I never return, I’d never encourage anyone else to do so either. When we celebrate, we go all out and have never experienced the base level of customer service we received while dining at Duke’s. Can only hope that our experience was a lesson in how not to treat guests and that deference to guests despite their poor experience leads to referrals and returns. Dismissive, cavalier and downright belligerent treatment certainly does not.

  July 11, 2015, 8:42 pm

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• Mona

  Duke’s Southern Table Newark. I made a reservation a week in advance for 8 for lunch. When we arrived the table was not set up. One of the wait staff pushed two tables together and was going to cram us around until someone requested an additional table. There were only 2 other tables occupied when we arrived. We placed our drink orders (which took a while to receive) then our lunch orders. I had soup and salad which was brought before everyone elses meals. My soup (chick pea) was salty (typical old Southern?) my sweet tea was more lemon than sweet; 3 in my party had the jambalaya – one had shrimp legs and no body, another had shrimp tails and no body and another had bay leaves (usually removed); another had the turkey burger – dry and bland. Service was very slow and no one ever came back to refill our glasses until we asked. Unless they teach the wait staff to be more attentive and the kitchen to serve quicker I don’t see this place lasting through the year. Too bad as the decor is nice, it’s convenient to my office but it took us 90 minutes from walking in the door until we left. Much to long for a typical lunch hour.

  April 9, 2015, 7:38 pm

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• Dyanbryson

  Much needed addition to the Newark area. The grand opening for Duke’s was Friday, October 10, 2014. Via Open Table I made reservations for two for October 10 not realizing this would be opening night. My friend and I arrived at Duke’s only to be discouraged as we saw the festivities going on. As we realized it was opening night we thought there would be no chance for us to be accommodated – Open Table should not have accepted our reservation.We were wrong – once the manager, Seydou Kabore, realized our situation – we were uninvited grand opening guests but confirmed Open Table diners – he immediately took care of us. He set up a table and found meals for us, although the buffet had been closed. Our waiter, Spencer, was equally accommodating. He ensured we were well taken care of.Now, opening night is usually for insiders. It is usually a chaotic, high-energy event, not a typical dining experience. Judging from the service we received, in spite of being opening night, the service here is top notch! Of course, the food was very good. We did not see a menu but what we were served was good Southern cuisine – fried chicken, rice, greens, corn bread. Unusual for North Jersey, we were treated to a jazz band and vocalist. The restaurant is helping Newark reclaim its jazz heritage so I expect entertainment to be here frequently in the future.I will go back to experience Duke’s on a normal night. I look forward to another very guest focused experience.

  January 13, 2015, 3:53 pm

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