Duke of York

Went here for lunch. The staff was friendly and attentive. The food was standard pub fare and of average price. The bacon/​avocado burger was dry, which was disappointing. I’d stick to using this place as a drinks only type of venue.

We walked to the Duke of York for supper.
Gord ordered the Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich with a side salad. He said it was really good and he’d get it again.
I was hungry and ordered the ½ rack of ribs, substituting the fries for mashed potatoes. Everything was good but I thought $ 20 was a lot … I think it should have been priced about $ 15.
Stephanie was our server. She was friendly and took good care of us. She left about 5:30pm and the service went down after that and we were ignored.

Decent pub grub and a great place to go if it’s not too crowded. Ordered the chicken curry and my fellow diner ordered the Moroccan stew. I wasn’t expecting much from the chicken curry and was pleasantly surprised. The curry was very flavorful with a hint of coconut and had decent sized chicken breast pieces. It came with a side of basmati rice and naan. The naan was dry and could have been fresher. The rice was ok, the scallion added was a nice touch. My friend enjoyed her stew although she commented that it was missing something to really bring the flavor out. Service was fine no complaints.

If it weren’t for this pub, I wouldn’t have found my new favorite beer… Barking Squirrel!
Bangers and Mash and the fish & chips were perfect!

Food & Drinks: the usual pub fare is interesting & reasonably priced. Their nacho sticks are unique. Vegetarian selection is limited but tasty. The Moroccan vegetable stew was bland but flavorful & the quinoa-​kale salad was good too.
I did not see any vegan beer on the menu — they should introduce some or mention animal product– free, beer.
Service: Friendly & welcoming.
Décor: Traditional with beautiful wood paneling, wainscoting, lighting, &, carpeting making it warm & cozy. Wear on the panel adds to the charm. Some stains on upholstery do not.
Will I return? Definitely!

Their beef and cheddar pie was amazing! They also have a great Moroccan stew (perfect on a cold night). The service is always great and friendly.

Came here for a trivia night for the first time. The atmosphere at the pub was welcoming, plaid pattern carpeted floor, old portrait paintings on the wall, Christmas trees and decoration around. I ordered Crispy Calamari and 5 for $ 20 appetizers which consisted of Popcorn Shrimp, Crunchy Nacho Cheese Sticks, Mini burger and Fries, Giant Pretzel, and Crispy Dry Ribs. The pretzel was warm and soft, but a bit too salty. My favourite was the dry ribs, flavorful, light and crispy. The popcorn shrimp had too much sweet chili sauce over it and made the deep fried dish soggy. The breading ratio was also too much, rendering the small shrimps tasteless and hard to notice. Overall the food was decent for pub food, For drinks I had Spicy Bloody Caesar and The Woo Woo. The Caesar was supposed to come with a skewer of pickle, cherry tomato, olive and lime, but my drink came only with a lime wedge and a celery stick. This drink was ok, but I preferred the sweet mixture of The Woo Woo — Smirnoff, peach schnapps and cranberry juice. The trivia event was entertaining and the host was funny. Our servers were friendly and attentive, even with a full house of customers. It was a fun night and we enjoyed our stay here. Would like to come back for the half-​priced wine bottle before 4 p.m. some other time.

I go to the Duke pretty regularly. It’s a typical pub, but with more than average pub food. Best dish by far is the chicken curry. Great selection of beers, and the baskets are a great deal!

3.5 Stars
Came here for dinner with some coworkers a weeknight so it wasn’t too busy. The server was friendly and made sure we had everything we needed throughout our dinner. Initially I was quite excited for the food as there was an array of choices on the food menu. Their basket bites especially caught my attention. They are basically small appetizers for $ 5/​each or you can get 3/​$ 14 * 4/​$ 18 * 5/​$ 20. Two of my coworkers ended up getting that and was a bit of a disappointment to them as most the fried food especially the samosa in their curry basket was very dry and was not very hot.
I order their quinoa salad, came in large portions however lacked flavour. We also each ordered a Guinness on tap, little pricey but worth it. Overall being so close to a number of posh areas, it is great place for food as a semi decent price.

I’m not sure why we went here. It’s a university pub, they don’t care about food and its all strictly mediocre or a little bit less than mediocre.
Would not return, not a fan, but great balcony and location. No desire to up their game at all, and why should they when they are a stone’s throw away from U of T.
Had the fish tacos and fries, both entirely forgettable. I wasn’t disgusted, but I didn’t enjoy.

Bring back the old nachos! I don’t know what happened, but since the last time I visited in the spring, something has happened to the nachos. And it’s not good. Don’t get me wrong — the chips and veggies and sour cream are all still there, but there is a noticeable difference in CHEESE presence.
The thing that first threw our group off was the option to «add ½ cheese» to the nachos on the menu… What was all this about?! Don’t remember seeing this before. We were immediately suspicious. If they were asking if we wanted to add ½ more cheese, then it was possibly because it needed it, and it did.
But this wasn’t always the case. I remember a time when the cheese distribution was perfect. Gooey layers upon layers so that almost every chip was touched by the substance. They were, dare I say, perfect nachos.
I will restore this review to a ⁴⁄₅ when the nachos have been remedied. Until then…

Great place for a casual date or just a night out with friends. I had the guacamole bacon burger that was absolutely amazing. Drinks are overpriced but the wait staff was friendly and well-​trained. Seating is in large booths or table booths. Great mood lighting and not overly loud so chatting is still possible.

As a grad UofT student I suddenly discovered this place to head to after my evening classes. Been here a few times and generally had a great time. Nicely setup pub with a decent food menu, generally great tasting items but a tad overpriced. The staff is always nice and helpful and I have never had any issues with them. Good beer selection as well with some extra crafts in there besides your standard pub drinks.
One of the pubs in the area that does it well — but do not expect anything spectacular.

Overpriced for what you get balanced with nice environment and «trying» staff.
It is an average place with nothing special. Come here with no expectation and you will be ok. The only «above average» thing is a great beer selection (Muskoka, Steamwhistle…)

I ordered a Duke burger and fries for take out. it came up to 13.55 after tax. way overpriced. the patty was obviously frozen, it was dry and bland. had a 1 pickle slice 1 tomato slice and 1 lettuce slice plus house sauce. not impressed. if i wanted an extra topping i would have to pay another 1.29 per item.
the fries were plain and looked from frozen.
i could of gone to another luxury burger joint and got a premium burger with a poutine for the same price.
i will never go to this restaurant again

Sometimes drop by on Tuesdays for PubStumpers trivia with a bunch of friends and as a result, got a chance to try different foods. It’s your run of the mill pub, the burgers, fish and chips, and beer are all quite standard. Burgers are done well, dressed in a standard fashion and their fish and chips are fried nicely to a crispy texture. As for their fancier sounding dishes (curries and non-​steak related entrees), I think I’ll stick to the pub food. I’ve had mixed experiences with them, on different days being better or worse than before. The nachos are a great table-​sharer, with a nice serving of salsa and sour cream. The service is great too, in fact within minutes of posting this review, one of them thanked and responded to my review.
You can’t play down the environment though, it’s got a great pub-​style feel, exactly what you want from a place like this. As long as the company is good, this place is a great watering hole.
Cheers!
Food: ³⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Location: ⁴⁄₅

Second time here for pre show dinner (for Hart House shows). I’ve enjoyed both visits as service has been great, ambiance is nice and relaxed and food is just fine. I had the fish and chips both times and quite enjoyed it. This time we had popcorn shrimp as a starter and it was a deliciously decadent sauce covered and breaded delight. I also had the brownie dessert-​perfect size for sharing. I’ll come back!

You’re not expecting many surprises when you go to a place like this.
An average assortment of beer on tap. An average assortment of pub food. An average assortment of people. Standard furnishings. Passive disinterest.
But there ARE surprises!
On the good side, this bar has one of the best trivia nights in town. Every Tuesday at 7pm, a regular crowd gathers for a lively league that’s been going on for years and years. Challenging, unpretentious and awesome.
On the bad side, occasionally some of the food with more lofty ambitions is terrible. Like really terrible. I once managed to have a herb-​encrusted Cod dish that is in serious contention for the worst thing I have ever eaten in my life. It was as if they took this lovely cod, bludgeoned it with a hammer, submerged it in oil and then dastardly attempted to infuse it with as much salt as possible.
This negative experience is most likely my fault. You should never come to a pub and attempt to order anything that doesn’t come with a side of fries.
Stick to the standard pub-​food menu and you’ll be more than safe. The tenderloin sliders are spectacular.

After watching my first professional ultimate frisbee game (Toronto Rush vs DC Breeze) on a rainy Saturday, we went to this pub which was close by from the U of T Varsity field and the St George subway station. Wet!
It had a nice atmosphere with pictures, mirrors and everything looking like a British pub. Seeing how the place was fully carpeted, because it was wet from the rain outside, inside it had a musty smell. It happens!
Our waitress provided decent service. She did her job. She didn’t really smile that often. Again, oh well, maybe it was just the weather.
I ordered the 5 for $ 25 mini meals which comprised of 2 mini burger sliders with fries, Nacho Cheese Sticks, mini Tenderloin Burger with fries, and deep fried pickles. The burger and pickles went to my sister.
What can I tell you, the food was not that good. Take it I know it was a pub but still, something was definitely missing from these mini meals. The burger patty in the mini slider was crappy. It was burnt to a crisp and dry as hell. The fries were soggy and not tasty, although drenched in oil with no flavour. The tenderloin mini burger was kinda chewy and also a bit dry. The buns were blah, forgettable.
The good part of the meal was the nacho cheese sticks. Now THOSE were pretty good. Tasty Tex-​Mex flavour, crispy and went well with the tartar sauce. And that’s it.
Go for the alcohol drinks and the atmosphere… skip the food if you can!

If you come here to have a sophisticated meal with clients or future in-​laws, you may be disappointed! It isn’t as suave or delicious as it may initially seem to be.
However, if you are looking to grab a pub-​fare meal or few beers on draught, this is as good of a place as any. The beers are cold, and while the food is only comparable to any chain type place, there is enough variety here to satisfy.
It is very close to the subway at St. George, which is a huge plus. Service is also a bit better than these types of places tend to be.
The only major negative is the long distance between the top floor seating area and the washrooms in the basement. I’ll bet there have been plenty of people who have taken a tumble on that walk!

D’accès pratique, très fréquenté par professeurs d’université et avocats du quartier, ce pub écossais a toujours été accueillant et chaleureux. Organisé en plusieurs salles sur plusieurs étages, avec un comptoir de bar et une terrasse bien à l’abri, ce pub et restaurant propose un menu brunch et régulier avec des plats classiques du Royaume Uni: ‘bangers & mash’ ou bien entendu un ‘fish & chips’.