You gotta chick out this Varsity Lakes newbie.
You gotta chick out this Varsity Lakes newbie.
If you don’t like chicken, quite frankly something is not right. It’s the most popular meat in our country, and us Aussies are some of the biggest chook consumers in the world. #sorrynotsorry
If we want a fail-safe yummy meat to chuck in our stir-fry – chicken. If we want to meal prep for the week – chicken. So being staunch chook fans, any time we hear about a chicken joint, we naturally ‘flock’ to it…and this one is top of the pecking order! Dukes Chicken in Varsity Lakes serves up the most flavoursome eats around and trust us, you need to chick it out!
From chicken and chips to burgers, rolls and wraps, to flavoursome salads and vitamin packed juices, everything at Dukes is cooked-up and made fresh every day. Owners Nicole & David, who bought Varsity’s much-loved Blackboard Café a few shops down (during that thing called *hushed voice* Covid), have created a modern and inviting space with indoor and outdoor dining for those who want to dine there. Plus, they even boast a dedicated juice bar! Coz pairing a delish hot chook with a fresh, healthy juice is heavenly.
Nicole and David’s passion for good food and excellent customer service, combined with a shortage of chicken shops around town, culminated into Dukes. Two years ago, they made the big move from Melbourne to the Gold Coast and firstly, excellent choice, and secondly, thank you because now we have this epic eats venue. Melbourne: 0, Gold Coast: 1.
With crisp white vertical and square tiling, splashes of wood and a clean red and white colour palette, Total Fitouts have ensured it looks the goods. Possibly THE most impressive thing about this place is the inclusion of THE holy-grail of rotisserie machines…imported from France! And folks, we can confirm that it is indeed the ‘chicken’s wings’ (our like-a-version of the ‘bee’s knees’ or ‘duck’s you-know-whats’).
Head Chef Matt Lewis knows his way around a chook, and devouring your way through one of his quarter, half or full chickens will knock your socks off. The signature at Dukes would have to be The OG. With roast chicken and gravy in a milk roll with the option to add cheese, it proves that simple ingredients and flavours done right will draw a crowd every time. If you’re up for something a little more multi-cultural, sink your teeth into a tasty Bahn Mi with shredded roast chicken, cucumber, carrot, shallots, coriander, chilli and garlic mayo in a milk roll. If a burger is more your style, try The Duke Burger with crispy buttermilk tenders, lettuce, pickles and Duke’s mayo on a Pixel Bakehouse milk bun. Salivate! Oh and don’t forget to add an obligatory side or two like chips (duh), mac and cheese, roast veggies, a salad or gravy. Or if you have a crew to feed, grab a meal pack guaranteed to satisfy even the most peck-ish in the group.
The juice options pretty much make up the rainbow with Red, Green, Yellow, Orange and Pink. We’re a sucker for a Green Juice (predictable much?!) with kale, spinach, celery, apple, cucumber and lemon. Or if you want to be boujee, you’re welcome to pick any three ingredients from the juice menu and have the team bring your creation to life.
Serving up the best roast chook on the GC, fly the coop at lunch time, snack time (or even dinner time Wednesday to Sunday), for one heck of a hen-some feed.
Where: 4/240 Varsity Parade, Varsity Lakes
When: 11am – 4pm Monday & Tuesday and 11am – 8pm Wednesday – Sunday
Words by Bianca Trathen.
