One Duke Tavern — Restaurant in Hamilton

While reading this review, let’s keep in mind I am strongly empathizing with how covid affects restaurants and other businesses and I can’t imagine the difficulty. I write this review for the intent of improvement for my future visits.

Let’s start off with the good. The patio is nice, it has good ambience except for the seats off to the side which are very close to some garbage cans and sidewalk which is off putting. The food wasn’t bad either, good proportions and average prices, I wasn’t so disappointed.

For the not so great, the service was confusing. The operation of ordering, paying and everything in between left ourselves with a lot of questioning. Our only request was no cilantro on nachos, the entire plate was covered in cilantro and there was no replacement, or even reduction of cost on the bill, even though we told the staff again at the counter the order was incorrect. One of the other mains also had the wrong side.

When we went to pay, the staff had no idea what we had and were very confused, we had to list off everything we ordered and the confusion worsened, without exaggeration it took over 30 minutes to bill 3 people out. The staff (manager?) also felt like pointing out while we were paying that on the reservation email it stated it would be one bill and he seemed a little annoyed with us for requesting separate bills. We double checked the email and showed him the email said nothing about it. There are better ways to resolve issues like this, kindly tell the guests it will take longer to cash out because you expected one bill and it’s not a big deal, but don’t tell your guests something that simply isn’t true or a big deal, patience and conflict resolution is the best way to go about it.

Also, a note to the owners, don’t take shots in the back while your customers are paying and your staff is running around like chickens with their head cut off, it looked like quite the show. Instead, you should help your staff.

Again I’ll reiterate, I empathize with your struggles and hope you the best in the future and your future guests have a better experience...

I also need to be extremely honest following my friend's review of this establishment and follow up, since his review cannot cover the poor experience we went through.

To begin with, me and my friend initially ordered the lobster tail with the cream sauce. Our waiter did not check with the kitchen initially, and it took 15 minutes for her to come back out only to tell us that there was no lobster. They should have at least went into the kitchen to check for availability before coming back out so late to tell us there is no product available. Then, we tried to order the steak frites only after she told us that there was no risotto with the grilled salmon we initially wanted from not being able to get the lobster. We were under the impression that we were gonna get steak because our waiter said she'd check for the steak frites, ONLY for the kitchen to come out with the wrong order which was whatever the grilled salmon and "fried" rice substitution since there was no risotto available to our dismay. The waiter did offer us 50% off for the wrong order which we appreciate, however the food was sub par, and the salmon was dry. Although we are a large group that came in, It took over 50 minutes of waiting time and on top of that my friends were also missing utensils and drinks even though the place was not as busy as they claimed it to be. People came in after us, and they still got food before us.

The management is abysmal, since only one waiter was present on a sunday night, and while I understand that there is a shortage of workers for this place this is unacceptable and only detrimental for everyone else's experience. Like come on really? this is not one duke tavern, this is more like one server tavern. I cannot recommend this place especially for large groups, until service improves, food gets better, and there shorter wait times. Also it is hot and sweaty, the AC is weak, and the atmostphere was mediocre.

EDIT:...

The city of Hamilton usually disappoints me. I am from the far superior city of Toronto, but the Hammer does surprise me from time to time... I was hanging pictures for a friend and when we decided to go to out for food, she suggested a nearby spot. "Is their kitchen even open? It's eleven o'clock!" "Yeah, they are open late!" I honestly don't know if that is true all of the time, but it was a Saturday night, and off we went to One Duke! It's a cute spot on a side street and I imagine that if it hadn't been frigidly cold and windy that the patio would be a delightful spot to sit - maybe next summer? Once inside, the staff were pleasant and welcoming in the genuine way that you feel at your local. We started with a plate of super fresh oysters that did not disappoint, followed by our delightful entrées My friend had chicken alfredo. I tried a bit and it seemed to be perfectly creamy without being drowned in sauce. I went for a scotch bonnet pepper chicken pasta sandwich which sounded both interesting and intimidating. I asked the chef about the spice level and they assured me they could adjust that, so I said maybe just unload half the arsenal - it turned out to be just perfect for me (and maybe next time I'll push my boundaries a bit further?) For sure you have been to places where the portion sizes disappointed you, but at One Duke the plate was filled generously to provide a truly satisfying meal. Two people, a couple of drinks apiece, great late night dinner, amazing staff (I'm sorry for not remembering names, but truly top-notch!) all-in for about $120 with a 20% tip. I highly recommend this spot if you have the misfortune to find yourself in Hamilton - it is sure to make the visit...