The Duchess Of Markham — Restaurant in Markham

A Local Favourite in Markham Village!!

I have been going to the Duchess for many years and I've had many a wing and many a beer there, but I've never really taken the opportunity to dine there. I've sat on the patio and inside to watch live bands, but a chance meeting with the owner who challenged me to actually try the food was all the motivation I needed to sit upstairs and actually have dinner there.

I got the Food crew together and we headed to The Duchess on a Saturday just before the rush. Once we were sat by our most gracious server, she offered food for the kids and went over the evening's specials. We decided to start with the impressive dry ribs and the classic calamari. The ribs were dry but still had a good moist consistency right through. The Calamari was a good mix of tentacles and tubes, lightly dusted with great seasoning and too greasy by any means, the kids loved them. For the Kids Meals, they choose Butter Pasta with freshly grated Parmesan, and a kids classic, Chicken tenders with fries. Both dishes were a hit and no complaints from the kids. One adult chose the nightly feature, Butter Chicken, and as someone who has eaten Indian food for years, they said it was actually surprisingly good. I choose the tacos that night as I had a craving and looking for something different on the menu. The tacos didn't disappoint as I ordered one of each. First up was the Baja Fish taco with crispy fried fish, lettuce, diced tomato, shredded cheese and guacamole with a drizzle of creamy chipotle sauce. The second Taco was a Grilled Chicken Taco served with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, Tex Mex cheese and shredded lettuce. Finally, numero three tacos was the Shrimp Taco served with delicately sauteed shrimp lightly seasoned with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, Tex Mex cheese and shredded lettuce. Now for the most part these were good tacos, with fresh ingredients and nicely presented. Being someone who has travelled all over Mexico and the Southern USA and had Mexican food made by Mexicans countless times, these tacos were lacking a little ( for lack of a better word ) Mexicanness. There was hardly a trace of any Mexican spice or flavour. Aside from that, the Tacos were filling and worth a try.

The Duchess has been around for years and will continue to be. It's always a great place to meet or make new friends, bring a date or just chill out, and now I've actually eaten something aside from the wings, a burger or a french fry and was for the most part impressed. My guests that night enjoyed the food and the service and the kids were treated very well by the staff. I'm curious as to what my next food adventure will be at the Duchess. Hopefully, see...

Messed up my entire order. It was to go so I unfortunately didn't notice until I got home.and it was a very simple order so there's no excuse

Ordered the grilled chicken wrap with fries. The wrap is supposed to come worh lettuce, tomato, peppers, onions and cheese. The only request was fries well done

The wrap didn't have any of the vegetables or cheese. Just chicken and lettuce..and they added bacon which isn't part of the order and I didn't ask for. I checked the menu and this wrap isn't an option so I have no idea what was going on in the kitchen..its one thing to forgot toppings but not all of them!? And it's very irresponsible to add Ingredients customers didn't ask for. They have no idea if I'm allergic don't like it or can't eat it.

To top it all off the fries aren't well done. Many ate undercooked..The only way they couldt have messed up the order more was if they forgot the chicken itself. They lit got everything wrong.

Worst of all my gf is now unhappy as she insisted on treating me and I'm pretty disappointed so now I have to spend money I don't have (in between jobs) to pay her back because I feel bad too. She doesnt want my money and neither want the other to pay for it. If anything the restaurant should just pay us back.

Honestly I find this place meh at best anyway so I probably won't be going back. Last 2 times I ordered just a salad..both times took 45 minutes. The 2nd time they once again gave me the wrong salad with items.i didn't like. And because they actually wrung it up wrong, they wouksnt do anything about it because to them they made what the slip said. They wouldn't even pay the couple dollar difference since it cost more than what I wanted

Good if youre looking for cheap bar food I guess but don't expect anything decent. Maybe best to go just if you're looking for beer with friends but there's a few other bars and grills on the street so...

Ps. It's bs it costs 3 to sub fries for salad..so fed up...

Was once a great go to place...still is in a lot of ways but the food is not as good as it once was, still good just not great. Wings are good, atmosphere can be great especially on the patio but... the service can be absolute crap! It's very hit and miss. Have had some awful experiences there with service lately. Slow, pushy and down right rude. Do not go when it's busy, especially wing night. The wings are good, but not that good. Also make sure you order everything you want right away because it will be a long time until they come back. I really do love the Duchess. Have been going for years. One of my favourite places that sadly, has not been very good the last little while. Hopefully eventually the wait staff that are in the wrong business will eventually leave and they will bring in some better servers. Some with better personalities and maybe a smile now and then. Bad, rude service can really bring a great place down. Like to see the Duchess great again...very sad when people are passing up this legendary place for Col. Mustards, but they are. (Mustards does have better wings at the moment) My heart though wants to love the Duchess again:)

Update: Have been back twice now and had a much better experience. Better service...I think there are some new wait staff on board. Rib and wing special was quite good and great value....not giving up on this...