Duke of Gloucester

This place it totally dive-​y. But in a good way. The food is less than stellar but they’ve got a decent selection of booze. The service is quite slow and often the servers forget what you’ve ordered/​you completely, but I suppose that’s part of the charm. You gotta pay to play pool, but the darts are free to throw. And every Thursday they host a Trivia Night.
I’ve been to several of these (which is what prompted me to come here in the first place). I’ve never really seen this place bustling with people, unless you count the trivia go-​ers, but it could be because someone could walk right by this place and never notice it. The sign is above eye level as the venue is on the second floor of the building, and the door that leads to the stairs up is nothing remarkable either. They have a jukebox here as well, which is super cool. If you’re looking for a chill dive bar, this here is it folks!

Overpriced food and drinks. Dirty, scummy dive of a bar. I would avoid this place at all costs. Even the staff seem to hate it there.

This place reminds me of home. Dirty carpet, barely functional jukebox, function room complete with dozy old one half asleep. Service was good, then again it was a ghost town. All in all not bad, not great.

It’s been here as long as I can remember. A good old standby. Don’t expect too much. Hasn’t changed in that time. Basic pub food and good beer.

This pub helped salvage my sanity when I lived in T.
I d only been in Toronto one night and had got talking to the concierge at the hotel who was a scouser. I d left my girl in the states and I was house hunting for us both as we were due to move to Toronto. Anyway me and the scouser arranged to do a pub crawl guided by him. We ended our journey in the Duke. When I walked up the stairs and saw the place I just burst out laughing! It was like being home! The Bruno Tyson fight was on — loads of people cheering for Bruno! I was in Toronto for over a year and this place became my «local». This first night involved my first game of pool (8 ball) in Canada and I cleared from the break! I ended up playing in there every Friday night.
The place is brilliant. Full of ex-​pats and nice Canadians. Loads of «goings on’. Playing pool one night, for instance, and a German guy who was sat with his wife asked me if I would shag her!, she was well tasty but I politely declined. My last night in there (I was heading back to blighty) we all met up and we put ‘hey jude» on repeat on the duke box. We were singing it for about 2 hours and for some reason I ended up half naked standing on the bar singing this song! I went straight to the airport from the Duke pissed out of my brains!
I heard that there had been a few famous Brits in there over the years. Apparently one night Oliver Reed was in there. He had started to put weight on and the regulars were taking the piss out of him about this. So he said «I bet none of you can do this» and promptly did a head stand on the bar! It’s that sort of pub. Even my girl liked it in there and she was a complete snob. Don’t be put of by its shabby appearance — this place has real heart and atmosphere.
A few years later I went back to Toronto for a short visit. The first place I went was The duke. Same old faces in there. Enough said!

Once you get past the baby cockroach scurrying across the bathroom floor stall (sorry i stepped on you little buddy, but you skeeved me out!) and no soap in the ~little girls room~ and get behind the absolutely divey charm of the Duke, you’ll be fine.
Quiet Tuesday night, the server was on top of his game. Drinks were served swiftly and food orders taken. I got their mac and cheese with fresh mushrooms and tomatoes and was surprisingly delighted. It was a decent mac and cheese and I didn’t get food poisoning from questionable food (bonus, didn’t taste cockroach in the dish). yaya! A friend ordered their English breakfast at 9 pm and it looked, smelled and likely tasted very delicious.
Good Stuff Duke!

Such a dive, not sure why i keep coming here to watch games. I know they have had DineSafe issues recently too, which makes me dread eating here.
Prices are decent, especially for something right on Yonge Street.
The place is pretty worn though, it needs a big refresh.

excellent pub atmosphere. about as ‘old pub’ as it gets in toronto.

The episode of the Simpsons where Homer tries new bars… wanders into one that’s dark and dank and has to ask the bartender for a new ‘clean’ glass… I think this was that bar.
Worst food I’ve had in a pub to boot… actually, it tasted just like a boot.

This place was absolutely terrible. I went for a Canadian soccer game since this is supposedly one of the best places to watch. I guess I will never understand why Canadian soccer fans choose this place as their go-​to. The place is terribly laid out for these purposes with small or unclear TV’s and cramped spaces. But on to the actual service and food.
I sat at the bar and was ignored for about 10 minutes while the 2 bartenders served numerous people about 2 feet to the right of me. I was finally greeted and I asked for a menu. After looking at it briefly, I was then ignored for an additional 10 minutes or so. I ordered a beer and a pound of wings. The beer came in an unclean glass and was poured improperly (had absolutely no head). The wings came and were not honey garlic, they were medium.
As I was sitting at the bar, I then got to hear the one male bartender be an annoying jerk for 2 hours. Complaining about how hungover he was and how he needed a cigarette. When one customer had the nerve to ask him what beers they had, he actually said «Don’t waste my time, it’s busy, I don’t have time for this.» He then gave him a beer menu and walked away.
As someone who works in the hospitality business, this is hardly the service one expects in a restaurant. I recognize this is a pub and not exactly a classy joint, but I see no redeeming qualities in this place. If even the beer is terrible and you can’t get even the most basic of orders correct, what business do you have staying open?

With the expectations set high due to the recommendation from BlogTO, I had gone today for their All Day English Style breakfast expecting the standard; eggs, bacon, sausage (or blood pudding), home fries, break (choice of several types), baked beans, and a broiled or fried tomato. What I found was far from it.
While yes, there was the standard bacon, eggs, home fries, and beans, the selection of breads was brown or white. No baked tomato and no blood pudding. The eggs (ordered sunny) were undercooked, the bacon (although nice thick slices) were a mere 2 small pieces and not the slab of maple baked goodness. While there was a slice of tomato, it was used as more of a garnish than an element of the meal. The toast was lacking as the standard I am used to is a crumpet (allows the egg’s yolk to sink inside and soak up all that goodness). The home fries had a nice seasoning and crisp to them which I think was my favourite part but the whole meal was lack luster. I’ve had far better elsewhere in Toronto and Montréal.
The only reason I am not giving this a 1 star is because the waitress was very helpful. Not pushy, straightforward and kind. If it wasn’t for that, I would not have enjoyed anything to do with the meal.

This pub is what I imagine a pub would be like in the UK in the 80’s. I don’t care of I’m right or wrong, but that’s what it I feel, haha. The old carpet, the old wooden tables, the carpeted walls with old crests and photos. The old musty smell, the old bar with green stained glass. My point is, all this old stuff feels kind of cozy. It’s a real hidden bar, above of an Indian restaurant and kind of tricky to find.
Their bar food is surprisingly above average in terms of quality and potion size and the service pretty friendly and quick.
Great place to grab a brew with a few friends, without too much traffic and a cozy ambiance.

This is exactly what I thought bars were like when I was a kid.
This place is divey, like a dirty Cheers without the studio audience. The only music comes from the lone jukebox. Seating is strewn about the place and lower than it looks. The bar staff is friendly and the customers are talkative. It’s your perfect bar. No pretension, just a bunch of people, looking for a good drink and a warm place to enjoy it.
The wings are straight out of a costco bag (breaded in a factory far far away and flash frozen), but the suicide was hot enough to make me remove my cardigan, which gives this place some points. Anyway, you don’t come here for the food. You come here to forget about a girl. A girl who you would have married when you were young, if pride hadn’t made you turn your back on your last chance at true love, a long, long time ago.
I’ll be back, if only because I found the best place to stare wistfully into space over a cold pint.

Really dive-​y & fairly mediocre. except for the prices. My friends and I got 3 or 4 plates of wings and 2 pitchers for something like 50 dollars? I found it to have a kind of crowd that are regulars there, which I was thrown off by, as I felt like an outsider. At the same time, I would go back because of the AMAZING prices… and the wings were really very good!

I love going to this place. Its always busy with lots of great football fans. I love their beers on tap. Their terrace is also really nice year round depending on the weather. The only problem I have is the body odor of some of the staff members. It really ruins the experience when I’ve got to smell the eau de b.o. when I am out for a drink… just saying

To anyone whose only exposure to British Pubs is a «Blank & Firkin» or some tourist trap near Trafalgar Square, the Duke of Gloucester may seem dingy and unfriendly.
The truth is, this is the oldest and most authentic British Pub in Toronto. In fact most of the interior was actually built in England and shipped over to Canada. This was long before the days of «cookie cutter» pub chains on every corner. One of the regulars I spoke to was there the day the pub opened over thirty years ago. The Duke of Gloucester looks pretty much identical to the way it did when it opened, so it’s a bit of a time machine into the past.
If you grew up in the UK, this is the kind of pub your father took you to. A real working man’s local. There’s no fancy décor or loads of brass railings and much like a real local they’re not too friendly to strangers!
This however is part of the charm of The Duke of Gloucester and why it’s frequented by so many ex-​Pats.
They LOVE their regulars, in fact every Christmas they throw a private party serving up Turkey with all the fixings for free… so long as the barman recognizes your face, or else you can’t come in!
Like many real British Pubs they offer a weekly quiz night, darts, a small snug area for private parties. They have a great jukebox and also have a monthly DJ duo (Pie & Mash Soul DJs) that actually get people up and dancing to Britpop and Motown tracks.
It’s not pretentious. Suits, jeans, shorts. They’re all there enjoying a pint together.
The food is decent and not too pricey, they have a great rooftop patio and it’s a good place to watch the «Footy» on the weekends. If you want to watch England in a World Cup match you better buy tickets in advance because they always reach capacity.
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it because it’s real, not a distorted Disney facsimile.

Now don’t hate me for saying it, but I don’t know what the big deal is. Give me a Canadian pub any day of the week I’d say.
The jukebox was decent, but hardly the best in town (that credit goes to The Jersey Giant’s selection on Front).
It could be that I’m not in love with Soccer (or English football) but I couldn’t get used to the idea of being so close to other people, sitting in uncomfortable chairs and swizzling back expensive imports.
I don’t think I’ll be heading back to the Duke any time soon.

Ef, yeah, people. If you have to go to a bar in the Yonge/​Bloor area (besides Hemingways, which is in tony Yorkville), this is it. Kinda divey, but laid back and fun.
It’s convenient to UofT and the Bloor/​Yonge area. Pub grub is surprisingly good… mmm perogies. Okay, well I’m 99% sure the perogies are those frozen ones you can buy at Loblaws, but still, with some fried onions & plenty of butter… yum.
The upper level of the pub is kinda divey, to say the least… its where the regulars hang. The bottom level (well, 2^nd story) is a little more college-​y.

I have only been here once, and that was to stalk the Kids in the Hall after their Massey Hall show last year. Did I say stalk? I mean, wake up out of my sleep after being tipped off to their presence and taking a cab there five minutes before last call.
As Connie said (apart from my personal, awesome experience), it seems like a pretty run of the mill kind of place. I cannot tell you much about the food (didn’t eat it), or the beer (don’t remember it), but I can tell you that if my comedy idols like it, then it’s okay by me. Dave Foley himself told me that they used to come here back in the day for the fish and chips, so unless it’s drastically gone downhill since then, it’s probably good cuz Dave Foley don’t lie.

The Yonge + Bloor area isn’t one of my top picks for areas to hang out in the city, but the Duke of Gloucester is not-​bad divey Brit pub to kill time if I must hang out here.
It’s not my favourite bar by any means — their only highlight, to me, is their covered (and heated) rooftop patio, which takes me even further away from the blahness of Yonge Street.
I have no complaints or extreme praises about this place, really — it’s just a place to get together with a big group of friends, really. The service has always been efficient, and the food actually looks okay, in that typical Brit pub sort of way.
As long as it doesn’t give me Brit sort of teeth, then I’m totally fine with anything the Duke throws at me.