Duke’s Express
14 Apr
Duke’s Express – Bangkok (Closed)
Emporium Shopping Mall, 5th Fl., Tel: 087-002-9214, Website: www.dukesbangkok.com
Rating: 8.5/10
Overview: Would I eat here again? One word – yes. Do they have the best burgers in Bangkok? That’s yet to be seen. However, I’ve heard some good things about this place in the past; and today, I’m glad I finally tried their burgers. Tucked away in the back of the Emporium food hall is the small Duke Express outlet – with about 7 small tables. When I was there, all but one was filled. Staff was friendly and informative. When I asked about the beef, the waitress informed me that all burgers were made with beef imported from Australia and that other than the 1/4 pounder I ordered, all burgers feature a 1/2 pound patty. Next time I return, I will give their signature burger a try – the Duke’s Burger.
1/4 Pound Burger: THB 149.- (apx. US $5.00)
“100% Premium Sirloin Burger served with Hand Cut Fries herbed Buttermilk-battered Onion Rings and Gourmet Dill Pickle”
This was a great burger. The patty was cooked perfectly and was still quite juicy for being relatively thin. The bun was big, but not heavy so I didn’t have that “all bun – no burger” experience. Also, it seems that the buns are freshly baked – which is a nice touch as they don’t have that faint stale taste that many buns have. You have your choice of sides: fries, onion rings, cole slaw or salad. I had the onion rings (herbed and buttermilk battered) as well as an order of cole slaw – both were good.
Other:
Beer: THB 80.- and up
Serving Time: <15 min
Parking: Yes, Emporium parking lot – first 2 hours free
BTS: Phrom Prong
Don’t know about this place. The bad name to blame i think. Will check them out next weekend. Can i mention your name?
Have booked the wife for this (yes we need to do that), she asks if this is the same as Duke’s serving steak on Thonglor/Soi Chamchan? The restaurant has now long gone and it’s been replaced by a glorious 7/11 shop.
Arthit – hope you enjoy the burger. I’m not sure if it was the same one as on Thonglor, but I do know that it is an extension of the original located in Chiang Mai (although I’ve never visited this site yet). Feel free to mention this blog when you go … good reference for me. (: Just keep in mind that it’s not a “proper” restaurant as it takes up small area in the food court (the one that has the mos burger/swensen’s icecream at the opening).
Tried and tested! It was actually busy today for lunch. What i had was The Duke Burger. Supersensational. See my snap via twitter.
The signature one is great, currently the number #2 of my top 3…
Also have great pizza here! The Greek pizza makes me salivate even now… sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, artichoke, olives, mmmmm. But the burgers… delicious. Tasted like… a beef burger! This is my new favorite place in Bangkok.
I ate here last night and the Duke Burger wasn’t too bad. The meat had a funky flavor to it so I don’t know if it’s old or what. My friend ordered the fish and chips and both were extremely overcooked. Another friends ordered mushroom pizza which was good, along with the ribs as an appetizer. Though there were only 3 tables including ours, the service was extremely slow (understaffed, perhaps)? The only great thing here is the portion- very large! I was rather disappointed and will not eat here again. The best burger search continues…
Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience there; sounds like it was pretty bad. Usually I only hear good things about it! Anyway, hope your next burger is a good one. Let us know where you go. Feel free to post any burger pics to the BBB Facebook page too; it helps me work up an appetite! http://www.facebook.com/BangkokBurgerBlog
went to dukes a couple of days ago, and to be honest: it was one of the worst burgers i’ve had so far in bangkok (and i had many). dry, burnt, overcooked, the bacon had a strange taste and the fries weren’t convincing either. the bun was quite decent though.
had a funny stomach for 2 days afterwards… don’t think i’ll give it a second chance.
Thanks for the comment; sorry to hear you had a bad experience. Not sure what’s going on over there, have heard a lot of negative feedback lately.
then maybe it’s time for a re-evaluation?
I have been to Duke’s many times, and all but twice, I ordered a burger.
For me, Duke’s represents a unique burger experience. I normally rail at burgers that taste prominently of any flavor other than beef, i.e., garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, chili powder, etc., and I HATE meatloaf burgers. (Onions, green peppers, celery, carrots and the like DON’T belong inside a burger. And what’s with breadcrumbs in a burger ? …. The bun’s not friggin’ enough ??!!) But the Duke’s burger obviously has some sort of seasoning package, and amazingly, I find it to be good. UNIQUE. And after the many burgers I’ve eaten there, I’m still not sure what all is in it.
Duke’s is also unique in that they serve their burgers on ciabatta bread. Wonderful. But there is a downside, at least for me. Their 1/4 lb. burger is too small for the bun … its flavor gets lost. This is easily remedied … opt for the 1/2 lb. of beef. I only eat the Route 66 burger, now (2-1/4 lb. patties), but hold the thousand island. That seems to be an excellent combination.
In the preceding comments, I have seen a couple of negative comments regarding the taste or quality of the food. Thankfully, I have never experienced this; the food quality has always been consistent. I HAVE experienced spotty service quality, but unless that affects the quality of the burger, on this forum, I don’t go there. We are talking burger quality/taste here .. not if they kept the water glass full.
All said, Duke’s cannot compete with the elite class of burger offerings in Bangkok. To me, these include, but are not limited to: Bully’s; Cafe Europe; Firehouse (provisionally); Great American Rib Company (needs an updated eval). Those are among the dreadnoughts of the Bangkok burger world. Duke’s is in the light-heavyweight division. With respect to flavor and quality, they compete with bar-burgers, like Bus Stop and Silver Dollar, or the touristy/trendy-styled ChokChai or V-8 Diner. But hey, that still puts them ahead of some pretender-heavyweights like Bradman’s and Soi 8 (they both serve foofoo burgers … ALTHOUGH, they both have other excellent offerings … I cannot tell a half-truth here).
Duke’s is certainly worth a try if you’re down at Emporium and hungry for a burger.
i dont know whats going on with this place but in the past few weeks this place has gone to crap. i went in Dec of 4 different occasions and had a great burger but i went last week 2 time with friends and and food was terrible. Burger was not like i had before, service was terrible and on top of that my glass was dirty. I dont know how they won Best Burger in Bangkok if the food is not same on every visit. I WILL not go back and I WILL Tell my friends to avoid
So last week I went to The Dukes which this blog said had the best burger in bangkok.. sorry it was not that good all. if you call an over cooked piece of meat, stale roll, cold french fries the best burger in BKK then i think this blog and its followers need to close shop and focus on the coldest beer in BKK. We went a 3pm and there was nobody there and it took 30 minutes for us to get our food. Service was terrible, the floor was dirty and to top it off my glass had a lipstick stain on it. I will never return
Hi Johnny, thanks for sharing. Just to clarify, BBB never said this was the best burger in Bangkok – however, we did recently hold a poll via facebook and Duke’s got the most votes. During my visit last year, I had a good experience there … and that’s what I wrote about. Unfortunately, based on a number of comments and messages I’ve received from people who’ve recently visited the place hint that service/quality hasn’t been all that consistent?! Anyway, thanks again for contributing – if you come across some good burger joints that aren’t yet mentioned on BBB please let us know.
Hey BK Hamburgler( i like the name). to be honest i think the voting was fixed by the owners because i dont know how it won. sadly i will never return to BKK. I will visit the one in Chiang Mai, always have had a good meal there.
I went there 2 days ago and boy was i disappointed. Food was served warm and took forever and service was terrible. I got the Duke burger which came with a long black hair in it, i order onions rings but they gave me french fries, i also order a rib appetizer and it was dry and tasted bad. i told the waitress and she laughed and walked away. This place is not good at all.
Duke’s Express: May 28, 2012
The restaurant is actually food booth in the far back of Emporium food court (5th floor). When I arrived (lunch time) the restaurant was empty. I sat down right away and received a menu. I ordered the 1/4 pound burger with Swiss cheese. I told the waiter “rare” to which he replied “just flipped”. “No, not just flipped, more done then that, a little less done than medium rare” I replied. “I know what you mean” he replied. I turned to the glass door refrigerator and ordered a bottle of Tiger beer. The other two choices were Heineken & Singha (small bottles only).
The ambiance was definitely that of a food stall with a low crowd hum as background noise. Not anywhere you’d choose to enjoy a burger. It was all business. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. My burger arrived, and right away I could tell it was raw. He asked if it was okay, and I said sure: I didn’t want to go through the hassle of re-heating. The sight of this burger was pathetic. A slim prefabricated (not hand made) perfect circle with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, a tiny sliver of swiss cheese which didn’t cover the burger and french fries. I put on ketchup and all the accompaniments with the fries on the side.
On the first bite two things jumped to mind. The first was that the burger was ice cold, I can deal with that and call it my fault for not ordering it medium rare. The second overwhelming impression was that the patty was overloaded with black peppercorn flavor. I’m talking way too much black pepper in this patty. To make matters worse, the bun had a bizarre texture (like it was made with too much flour) and the flavor of the sesame seeds on the bun didn’t blend well with the strong black pepper flavor. This was not a good burger. I can safely say the best part of this meal was the fries; freshly made, well done and crunchy on the outside while soft on the inside. Too bad the fries disappeared faster than the burger. I was definitely struggling to finish. I took off everything but the burger, bun and cheese; then forced it down out of courtesy.
Chance of returning: none
Satisfied? No
Recommend? No
Better than BK double whopper? No
Review score: 5 (out of 10)
Burger: 159 baht
Tiger beer: 80 baht
Service charge: 23.9 baht
VAT: 18.40 baht
Total: 281.30
PS: On my way out a man just sat down and ordered the cheeseburger. I actually felt sorry for him. I wanted to warn him, but the waiter was very nice. So I just let bygones be bygones.
to funny they are closed i knew this place was headed for disaster
… closed, and good riddence … I cannot understand how this place was so generously viewed … unquestionably the most mis-rated grey matter-ish burger in the blog.
… maybe you lost your “secret shopper” cover … or, maybe the owner was present when you ate there … Thai-operated restaurants are notorious for running off the cliff when the owner is not present every day, all day.
… moving on.