We had just arrived in TST when feeling a little peckish and it was late afternoon around 5pm and several hours away from dinner so my wife and I decided to get something to eat in i-square. We stumbled into this diner at the corner of 3/F and was pleased we did. We picked one set from the combo menu (Meatball hero) for $58 and beer battered fish and chips for $76 and to wash it all down we had an apple cider for $27 (Happy hour) that normally would cost us $40. The food arrived quickly, hot and the portions were larger than expected.
The environment is spacious while cosy and many small tables for couples, at the time we went it would seem quiet for a Saturday. I guess the staff cater for mainly foreigners as none of the staff we saw were Chinese and they all spoke English to us. In my opinion they were not too attentative to the customers requesting service even though it was not that busy. Also, need to note that the combo are better value than single items off the menu. For example, I was going to get a half meat ball hero sandwich that did not come with anything for $63, but in the end I found the combo only cost $58 but came with side orders of fries, coleslaw and canned drink!

There are two parts in this review. The first part is a food review on Duke's Deli. The second is on the value of a group purchase coupon for a meal at DDeli.
Here's the first part:
Duke's first started as a high-end burger boutique in the Soho area a few years ago. But the shop did not survive the competition and the high rent at Soho. It eventually opened its grassroot version, Duke's Deli which has since moved from Des Voeux Rd,to the iSquare until now.
Unlike the Soho Duke's which targetted the high end of the market, DDeli seems to target at the younger and less expensive segment of the market.
I don't usually visit TST but this time, we got a few group purchase coupons which claim to serve a pizza set meal worth $91 for $39. So on this Friday night, we decided to drop by the iSquare and try out the DDeli. The place is tidy, casual and pretty american. They serve pizzas, beer, burgers, fries, steak sandwiches etc.So what's the deal for the meal? For the $39 coupon, we got a slice of pepperoni pizza, fries and iced tea. The pizza slice was big, cheesy, and topped with enough pepperoni, the crust is the thick and chewy type, pretty north american. The fries were good, crispy outside and fleshy inside. At $39, I had no complaints and surely felt that it was a good deal for a fair meal, until I started fliiping thro the menu. The menu showed pizza sets at $56 + 10% for a slice of combination pizza (with pepperoni, mushrooms), fries, iced tea and cole slaw which was not included the coupon set. We asked the waitress how the $91 was arrived at?
"Sorry, I don't know". "
Can we order other items and use the coupon as $91?"
"No, you can only redeem the coupon for the pizza set".
"But the pizza set is only $56, and includes coleslaw !!! Why does the coupon say it's worth $91?!"
"Sorry, I don't know. U have to ask the agent!"
Mad, but can't blame her. She didn't sell me the coupons.

So, what's the catch behind the $91 value as claimed by the coupon? This leads to the second part of the review -- which tries to figure out the value of this $39 coupon.

Well, let's try to analyse this $39 question.
(a) $39 is the face value of the coupon.
(b) $56 + 10% less the price of the coleslaw is the apparent intrinsic value of the coupon.
(c) Why apparent?
You have to look at the fine print on the coupon which says
"Must use the coupon or pay the minimum charge of $88 plus 10% service charge" !!!
So if you're only going to spend less than $88 on food, then taking the minimum charge into account, the intrinsic value of the coupon becomes $88 + 10% less the price of coleslaw.
So far so good? Ok, let's take another step and make it a bit more complicated
(d) But I made a special trip from HK to TST by MTR to use this coupon. Well then, from a cost perspective, the transportation cost should be deducted from the value in (b) and (c) to arrive at the net intrinsic value of your coupon.
Still not confused? Let's take another look at the subject.
(e) From a consumer's utility (or satisfaction) standpoint, the value of the coupon should be what the consumer is prepared to pay for the pizza set. In my case, the place is clean and tidy; the food is fair. Without the coupon, I would have been willing to pay $70 for the set (including 10% service charge). In this case, neglecting transportation cost, the value of the coupon is $70. The extra of $70 - 39 = $31 is the consumer surplus -- extra satisfaction from the meal over and above what I paid for.
(f) I still don't know where the $91 comes from?! Perhaps it's based on ordering the meal a la carte rather than as a $56 set. If that's the case, then I'd say the $91 is simply a theoretical value with really no meaning to me as a consumer as I could have purchased the same set at $56.

Hope my convulated Economics 101 has not spoilt your appetite.

Nice place, fair food, sub-service, good price at $39 or even $56. Will encore.

Had the steak sandwich combo which was ok but when arrive the fries was very cold and not hot. The girlfriend had penne carbonara which was better but not enough cheese. We also had the duke dehli platter, the onion ring was not good like loose and water in between onion and skin; chicken wing spicy and cheese stick ok. However subway, deli france is much better. For onion ring cheese stick wings ,Tony Roma is the best in hk. Also before I forget, the staff love to chat and not seeing to the customers as saw one tourist had to go up and ask for something.Improvement much needed please!!!!!!!!!

I went to this restaurant with my loved one for a "all you can eat" American buffet. The restaurant offers a salad bar and a list of food which you can order. I had great expectation for before going but was really disappointed. The corn soup was sweet and they offered no spoon until we asked for several time I ordered burgers, chicken skewers, pizza and some other stuff but I got only pizza and skewers (after asking for them several time). People at the other tables for the same buffet got their food but not us The pepperoni and mushroom pizza tasted awful

I am really disappointed. Would recommend pizza and burger from chained fast food restaurants rather than this crappy "American" restaurant

I went over to try out the Philly Cheese Steak after hearing good things about it. I visited mid week just before the lunch rush so it was just myself and another customer.

Despite this the one and only waiter did not bother to come over and left us to wait at the wrong counter.

Only after waiting for 10 minutes and asking the waiter repeatedly if he could take an order, did another person tell us we had to go to the other cash register. Seriously? It's a cash register. Are they not capable of taking an order unless it's at the right register?!

Later I asked the same waiter for a bottle of water. He decided to take a violent interest in the menu and ignored the request.

I finally went to the (right!) register to ask for the water and the manager apologised for the waiter saying he was not very good. So ummm... why keep him?

After all that, the sandwich and the iced coffee was pretty good. And the meat in the sandwich was very tasty.

It was very disappointed, as my husband took a photo of this delicious hot dog in his iphone from a magazine a few weeks ago after we've come back from okinawa and can't forget the philly cheese burger from the american town there, I've been pushing him to go with me.

as I enter I was still very excited as I love their interior design... however... I have no idea why we were greet by a waiter and then you just go in by yourself and have a seat anywhere you want and realize OH you serve yourself for this price.....

after you've seated someone will just drop down a menu on your table, then you choose and you have to go order it by yourself.. o..k... so ... we were looking at the menu thinking it should be worth the price... so we ordered a smoke salmon salad, somked turkey with mozzarella cheese crostini, and chicken parmesan sandwich with one coke = total of 166hkd.

let's talk about the food ( with the flies flying around your food):
Salmon salad: the salmon is good.. the vege..........taste...sour... but still fine.... is salad....
oooo I love the bread most in this dish =P

Smoked Turkey with mozzarella cheese crostini..: .... I used to have crostini everyday when I go to school in toronto... but this.. is VERY different from what I've remember......... I can't taste any cheese.... I can't taste any turkey.. but just.... super SWEET... just SWEET... which is BAD in my way... cause I love cheese and meat so we felt like we paid for sugar...

chicken parmesan sandwich: My husband was the one who taste this... LOL... he also can only taste SWEET......................................................where is his chicken....?!

this is when we decide we will never come back again.... did they just pour sugar in everything?

well if you like to eat sweet fastfood... then this might be your choice, but just not ours.

Craving for western food, we went to Duke's Deli for a try out. The furnishing in Duke's Deli is eye catching, very American café like. The black and white checked floor tiles, wooden tables and chairs, open kitchen and the bright illuminating lights all behold customer's attention while bypassing the restaurant.
The restaurant is separated in 2 sections, the outside for café seating and inside quieter section for formal dinning. Seats are pretty spacious in the inside seating area with comfy sofas, My boyfriend and I grabbed a corner seat. Later the waiter came over and handed us the menu. The restaurant runs by ordering the food ourselves at the cashier.
The food range was hideously many which I was not sure it was a good or bad thing. As all the pictures on the menu looked very apetizing which gave me a headache in choosing what to order. After a while, we made our decisions and went over to order our food. The delivery speed was prompt, so you don't need to wait for a long time for your food.

1) Buffalo Wings $48/5pcs
Duke's Deli's Wings are from Nuke'em Wings. Nuke'em Wings are famous for their seriously hot & spicy wings. The bucket of spicy smelling wings arrived soon after we ordered the food. Plastic gloves were given along with the bucket, and the wings always taste better by eating them with your own hands! The wings were hot and spicy, the meat were smooth and tender. Yet the fried skin was not as crispy as I thought it would be. The secret recipe of the spicy sauce poured over the wings had made the crispy layer soften, so I was a bit disappointed by that.

2) Pepperoni Pizza $34
Duke's Deli serves the largest pizza in Hong Kong. They made 22" pizza starting from a price of $190 only. The shockingly giant pizza could be ordered by sliced and one 22" was sliced by 8 portions. We ordered a slice and it came out to be quite a big slice already. The pepperoni pizza was served hot and every single mouth bite was full of mozzarella cheese. Yet I would not say the pizza tasted good because the amount of pepperoni was somehow not enough for the big slice of pizza, or that the pepperoni was too thinly sliced. Moreover, the pizza became cold pretty fast, probably because of the big surface area. Anyway, biggest does not equal greatest. Local chain Pizza Hut may already be a better choice than Duke's Deli's Pizza.

3) Roasted Skinless Chicken Steak with Mozzarella Cheese $42
This was the greatest dish out of the four, this was simply amazing! The roasted skinless chicken steak was served hot on a toasted multi-grain bread, topped with a layer of melted Mozzarella cheese and sided with some nice fresh green salad. First the toasted bread is scrumptiously crispy! It was totally toasted to give the crust. The chicken steak was soft, tender and was nicely seasoned to give a sweet taste. The salad on the other hand was great too! The leaves were freshly prepared and there were also my favourite rocket leaves in the mix too. Not a restaurant I encountered would include rocket leaves as side salad leaves, I was ecstatic when I saw it on the side. Super thumb up for this dish.

4) Macaroni & Cheese with Mushroom $45
The Macaroni was made to order so it took more time before it was served on the table. The Macaroni & Cheese has an appetizing look with a slice of cheese on top and melted cheese on top of the macaroni. When we started mixing the Macaroni, I was dazed to see the sizzling smoke that came out of the Macaroni. The dish was boiling hot that the smoke kept coming out non stop, it was quite a scene. The Macaroni was not that nice. The sauce was too hot that it kind of burn the cheese, there were too much sauce that made the dish very liquid and did not give a creamy mouth feel. The liquid sauce was also too thin that it did not give enough taste and extra Parmesans cheese had to be added to it to give some taste. Overall, this dish was nothing amazing except the startling smoke. I had the smoke recorded for fun.
Overall, the dinning experience in Duke's Deli was enjoyable and fun especially with the chimney Macaroni & Cheese. The environment was pretty nice to dine in, the food overall was average but the Roasted Skinless Chicken Steak with Mozzarella Cheese is highly recommended for a try.
www.cinnamon4coffee.blogspot.com

After having desserts and other (sweet) snacks during the afternoon, we wanted to eat something savoury to balance all the sweets...

My friend mentioned wanting pizza, and so I thought of Isquare's duke's deli as it has been quite a while since i last visited a deli shop. I was surprised they served baked rice as well, as this is rather un-American! The menu is quite extensive, but a replica of the same-type. There were no salads like the central branch, only pizzas, baked rice (many options of different toppings and cheese), pastas, sandwiches and cakes.

We decided on
Pepperoni pizza by the slice $36
This took a while to be served, but the wait was worth it as we learned they had baked it upon order so it would be hot and crispy when served. This crust is much more like a flatbread, rather than ones you often find around Soho. We were both pleased with the taste of it, but I preferred Brivo's by far!

Turkey on Kaiser Roll with a side of mustard sauce $48
They only had two choices of bread rolls - hero and kaiser. I was disappointed as I really wanted to try something new. Nevermind! I ordered it with all the fillings - pickles, lettuce, tomato, and so it came to a pretty tall sandwich! I had to split in half (vertically) to eat it =P. It was fresh enough - the turkey was good quality, as well as the fillings and the kaiser. I think a toasted kaiser would make for a tastier sandwich but the waitress (who wasn't very competent) didn't ask me if i had wanted it toasted so i didn't think of this until i had started eating it.... I can only compare this to subway, and it is admittedly much more fresh but I dont think the Kaiser roll beats the honey oat bread nor does the price justify its 'freshness'!

The sandwich came with a soup of the day:
Today's was a chickpea and tomato soup. It sounded bad, and tasted equally as bad as I expected. It was not smooth and just tasted a bit like potato soup...with a tomato scent? I would never have ordered this but it came with the sandwich so...

A great place to go with friends and hang out for a nice dinner. The food there isn't expensive considering it's location and environment. The Philly Cheese Steak sandwich was the most expensive item on the menu at $68, and it comes with Wagyu Beef.

The pizza also comes by the slice at $20 to $34 and it's huge! Tastes just like the pizza available in the States! There's even a decent selection of food for vegeterians. Pastas, pizzas, snacks, doughnuts.

If you're looking for a decent place to eat with friends, this is the spot to go to. It's in a great location, and very cozy. The people that work there are a joy to talk to as well.

I was quite ecstatic at first, hearing of Duke's Deli opening a new cafe eatery at i-Square, as I love the American style food. I regularly purchase lunch from their Central Store a fair bit, but that's been a review which was archived before it got to to see daylight. Upon re-confirmation from the Central store's staff that the flagship store has finally opened - I came here kinda hoping to experience just a bit more sophisticated stuff in my daily eating path!

What erks me the most initially is the way the i-Square Duke's Deli outlet is set up - its been compartmentalized into 4 sections: A coffee & Cake one, a Sandwich section, a Hot Sandwiches with Pizzas & Pastas section, then in the behind housed a slightly repetitive schemed 22" Pizza counter! Its almost an carbon copy of the Central Store except its bigger.

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"PHILLY CHEESE STEAK -"
It took me a while to work out whether I shall order their very simple (perhaps too simple, Te style) pasta offerings, or their signature burger which is the same as in Central store, or a Sandwich/Kaiser Roll or their Philly Cheese Steak. I settled for the latter because I like this Philadelphia styled beef sandwich on a crusty roll with thin sliced grilled beef, plus there are many outlets throughout America which serves this so I was kinda curious to their interpretation. Made from American Wagyu beef - this meat carried quite a lot of beefy but gamey flavour, perhaps a little off-putting for some people! The Cheddar cheese on top is what u would expect too, strong in flavour, double-thickly sliced, but a little bit artificial! (I actually like this fake style!)

The Hoagie roll was toasted really well, the green peppers and onion were also sauteed grilled well, albeit slightly too salty. The Wagyu beef was slightly too chewy to be frank but on the verge of being acceptable! The side-dish of what resembled something between a white coleslaw and a remoulade however, was very bitter and carried too much white pepper influence rather than being refreshing as it should. Improvements needed in both items.

"MUSHROOM PIZZA SLICE -"
Its a given that any non-fresh pizza slices to be reheated is not going to be too good, nevertheless such is life - sometimes, you need to order and eat something which isn't in its perfect form! This pizza slice was thin and nearly crispy, but retaining some tenacity in the dough, although ultimately a bit dry prob due to refrigeration and the need to be double-baked. There was a fair bit of herbal influence, I could pick out tarragon, oregano and rosemary, not sure about other things! Its not bad but not too good either.

"SAN PELLEGRINO LEMON DRINK -"
Pretty good as usual! They actually carry the famous Caffe Vergnano 1882 coffee here in this outlet - but I really couldn't fit another coffee in.

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OVERALL - Low '4'
To put it less emphatically, this cafe seemed a little under-performing with its very dinosaur aged menu items, its almost liked a souped-up Subway but double the price. The overall designed scheme lacked a bit of coherency as well. I feel that this shop is just about perfect for a light lunch, but for dinner its perhaps not really what customers want. It still needs some refining and re-shuffling before they get onto the right track, but otherwise, I can't foresee any immediate threats of it usurping its closest competition!