The Duke on Sydenham — Restaurant in Strathroy-Caradoc

Stopped in here for lunch today, and overall we were disappointed. First let me say the service was great, everyone we encountered were friendly and offered great service. The points deducted were entirely the food, and value.

We ordered a pulled pork sandwich with fries and a Rueben Sandwich with fries. The Root beer was completely flat, which was quickly exchanged for a cranberry juice, no problem.

The fries on both plates were terrible, dry and chalky and had clearly been sitting and reheated in the fryer. If you're charging $17 for a sandwich and fries, you should really make sure that the fries are on point. Especially when your food cost on the fries is 10 cents.

The coleslaw was nice but lacked flavor, but the pulled pork sandwich was quite good, but was very small / not much pork for $16. The Rueben Sandwich was lacking in meat quantity for $17, the quality of the meat was good, however they placed the sauce and saurkraut on the bottom which resulted in a soggy, wet piece of bread on the bottom of the sandwich, not pleasant and not easy to eat. Also there was no cheese "to speak of" on the sandwich, yes it was there but barely noticeable.

If you're going to charge $17 for a sandwich and fries for lunch, it better be a damn good sandwich and fries. These were not. And serving those fries was unacceptable given the price they're charging.

Overall very disappointing lunch, we've had much better quality and value for $40. Maybe their dinner service is better but we likely will not be back to give them...

Perhaps they've hired a new cook (or the weekend one is far better than the rest) but our food was excellent. I wasn't very hungry so I ordered the pear and chicken salad and hands down, it was the best I've ever had and it was filling. Warm dressing on on the side means the salad remains crisp and fresh until you're ready to add the dressing (delicious!) and melt the cheese. I asked for chicken on the side and it was grilled to perfection, juicy and tasty without over-seasoning. My partner ordered the shrimp fettuccine which was an absolute dream. Bear in mind, I'm comparing the flavour and quality of these dishes to fine dining experiences, not pub food, and I don't give out compliments like this lightly. The greek salad was good but didn't quite live up to the price. The cocktails were very tasty but at these prices, I want a beverage, not a glassful of ice cubes and three sips. Also, if you're going to call something a margarita, it had better be blended. I ordered my second choice without ice and was much happier. The staff was lovely. They welcomed our Pomeranian on the patio, which is quite a lovely setting and removed from any street noise. The women's washroom was spotless. Overall, we were delighted. The place is around the back of the Sydenham shopping mall so don't give up looking. It's well worth the search! Extra points for making it clear that this place is LGBTQ+ friendly and doesn't...

My partner and I went for dinner last night she got a burger and it burned the roof of her mouth. We assumed it was a minor burn so we said nothing. She woke up this morning with blistering, peeling, dark red burns. I called the restaurant and the first person I spoke to was incredibly kind and showed genuine concern. The manager he passed the phone to however wouldn't even let me finish explaining before I was interrupted with "so you want money back for a burger served the way it should be?". I told him I didn't want to pay for a burger that caused her 2nd degree burns. I was told that because we didn't complain right then we couldn't prove anything. I was met with immediate hostility, spoken to condescendingly, and then accused of lying. If you didn't want to give me the money back just say no. Why be so incredibly unkind? What did I do to deserve being spoken to like that? Why did I have to "defend myself?" Why was my integrity immediately questioned. I go here frequently, I bring my friends and family here for celebrations. I had always been met with kindness there so I thought it would be safe to inquire but l was treated like I was trying to steal from them. The manager has since apologized and reiterated that you don’t get money back for serving food the way it should be,...