[San Francisco, Mission] Duna

Mr_Happy · June 11, 2017, 6:40pm

Duna, on Valencia near 21st Street in the Mission, is a new fast casual restaurant from Cortney Burns and Nick Balla previously of Bar Tartine, with a Hungarian/Central European theme. It replaces the short-lived Motze, also by Burns and Balla. Didn’t get a chance to try Motze before it closed unfortunately but was a big fan of Bar Tartine. Counter service - you order at the counter and get a placard to put on your table.

I had dinner at Duna on a Sunday night. I over-ordered a bit and had the chilled beet soup ($11) and the chicken paprikash + spätzle ($19) off the “Classics” section of the menu.

Chilled Beet Soup
kvass - kefir - almonds
Fairly large bowl of soup, could have maybe made a meal with the addition of some bread. Served at slightly below room temperature. Chunky - it had shredded beets along with the liquid, and was covered with a white sauce (the kefir I believe), almonds, and chopped dill. Nice variation in textures between the liquid, beet pieces, and crunchy almond bits. The kefir gave it a little extra tanginess and richness. Could definitely taste the dill in there too. I’ve had a superficially similar beet soup before at Bar Tartine that was much more tart and sour. This one had a little of that but was much less in your face. Maybe it’s a slightly more traditional take?

Chicken Paprikas + Spätzle
mushrooms - sour cream
Good and hearty. Consisted of a whole bone-in skin-on chicken leg smothered with a slightly hot paprika sauce, topped with a small dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill. Chicken was cooked well and the sauce had a lot of paprika flavor. The spätzle was also good, cooked firm and browned in spots. Came with some long mushrooms and a big slice of sweet roasted onion.

Mr_Happy · July 20, 2017, 11:27pm

Went back to Duna on a weeknight.

I had:

Smoked Potato Flatbread ($4)

Excellent, kind of like a denser naan. Warm with a bit of char on the outside, soft and flaky on the inside.

Liptauer Paprika Cheese Dip ($5)

Also excellent, rich, creamy and cheesy with a good amount of slightly smoky paprika flavor, with some sesame seeds(?) and chives sprinkled on top to give it a little change in texture. Went really well with the flatbread. I kind of wish they had a few more beers on tap (had a pretty good Henhouse Rye Saison with it), the flatbread and cheese spread would be great to eat with beer.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls ($19)
sausage, pork belly, mushrooms, dried apples, sour cream

Very good, very filling. Two cabbage rolls with a beef and pork filling, surrounded with thin slices of a hard sausage that kind of was like a spanish chorizo, chunks of pork belly, and slightly fermented cabbage, in a savory and slightly tangy broth. Topped with some sour cream with dill and scallions. The cabbage roll filling was a little dense.