We were walking from Jersey City to Hoboken when we noticed a small place on Grove street with what appeared to be mismatched china tableware on the table. We were wondering if it was a tea parlor or something of that sort and a quick search gave us the answer: Dullboy is a cocktail bar. Taking its name from a line in The Shining, the terrific book from Stephen King, forever associated with Jack Nicholson’s performance, it comes from the line: « all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy », meaning that if you do not have time off work, you are both bored and boring. Well, Dullboy is certainly the place to go after work. Entering into this quite dimly lit place, you cannot not miss the typewriters hanging from one wall, and, opposite, a wall covered in books. Not just a page: entire books giving a 3D effect to it.

It’s a cocktail bar, so I could not not try one of their specialty cocktails, The Charlotte, made with barrel seagrass rye, blade and bow bourbon, apricot liqueur, bigallet china-china (a liqueur made with macerated orange peels in beet neutral alcohol, that has a sweet and bitter taste), lagavulin scotch and lemon oil. They have classic cocktails, wine and beer, but no mocktails, so Jodi stayed with water.

The Charlotte cocktail at Dullboy in Jersey City

It is a cocktail bar, but their food is not to be missed. The crispy artichoke for instance are quite interesting: it is not that often that you see that on a menu and this was delicious, dipped in a white sauce most likely made with yogurt.

Their lobster dumplings, made with fermented ancho-chili sauce, cilantro aioli and picked red hot chili peppers were superb and a must have.

But the best was their ribeye that was pan roasted with butter and thyme and topped with drunken Chimichurri. The steak was perfectly cooked, tender, with a nice crust. I am just drooling thinking about it. The dish was served with amazing pork fat fried smashed red skin potatoes that were crispy and cooked all the way through. Probably some of the best I ever had.

Jodi got the burrata, served with a cranberry chutney and a brown butter and sage pesto. This was pretty good, not your classic burrata and salad dish for sure.

So, over all, Dullboy was a great find. The atmosphere and the creative and original menu made me think in a way about Antique Bar & Bakery in Hoboken and I wish they were in our neighborhood! The only negative was the fact that they do not have dessert. That will not stop me from going back!

Enjoy (I really did)!

If you like this post, the photos or the blog, please feel free to share it or post a comment. Merci!

Dullboy -364 Grove St, Jersey City, NJ 07302

I Just Want To Eat!