On Deck — Restaurant in Thunder Bay

I see a lot of reviews compelled to include the phrase "dive bar" ... first of all, let me tell you right away this is NOT an actual review, but rather a historical reflection on what this grand ol' "dive bar" actually USED to be.

Let me first express, I'm a pro musician with 4 decades of touring, performing, recording and record producing in my resume. I even took on a dream gig of touring with the Bellamy Brothers, back in the 1990s. Yet - if I were to tell you, what my favorite gig, of ALL of the places I've ever played?

It was here. THIS building.

Now to be certain: "On Deck", gets five stars from me, simply because of their care, passion and upkeep, of what I consider a location of monumental, historic value to me. This was the Waverly Hotel, the bar was the Nashville Edge, the band I was in was called Electric Haystack, and on at least a dozen occasions from the years 1987-1990, we drove 8 hours from our home base Winnipeg and we ROCKED this place. Beautiful girls were EVERYWHERE, and yes, we had our share of shenanigans we were known to get involved in, but everyone, including us - ESPECIALLY me ... was happy in the end. This is a review of the best times of my life. At one point, including 2 very dear friends I met at this establishment but have passed on (R.I.P. Angie and Denise), I honestly had more friends in Thunder Bay, than I had in Winnipeg. This really, really was, my favorite gig I've ever done. You know that old saying, "If THESE walls could talk"? Maybe if you listen closely ...

Thanks for taking the time to read this memory I cherish, of this building that was at one time, Thunder Bay's absolute best country-rockin' nightspot- the beloved Waverly Hotel. I'm sure one day, hopefully soon, I'll revisit, and sample, from what I can just see in these reviews, On Deck's obviously scrumptious cuisine, and edit my review accordingly. But one line I'll never edit:

To me, this place will ALWAYS be...

We went on a Sunday night around 6pm, not too busy which was nice. The establishment itself is worn but clean, what you'd expect from a place that's been around for years. My wife wanted to try the Cauliflower Wings and I am game for pub food. Ordered Cauliflower Bites, Deep Fried Pickles, Onion Rings and a Buffalo Chicken Burger with fries. As far as how the food came out, it was perfect as far as deep fried food should come out, crispy and not greasy, the guy doing the cooking that day was spot on. As far as the food itself, the Cauliflower Bites were in kind of Beer Batter, my wife thought they were okay, but not great. The Deep Fried Pickles, were good, couldn't probably improve, would order again, the Onion Rings were the best of the apps we had, definitely order again, hands down. Now for the Buffalo Chicken Burger with Fries, I was considerably disappointed, as it was just 2 Chicken Strips aligned on the bun to cut perfectly diagonal, rather than say, a Chicken Breast or some kind of Chicken Burger Patty, whether they ran out of the usual Patties and this was a substitute, it wasn't a Chicken Burger to say the least. I understand that, yes it could be difficult to house batter chicken breasts and cook them like the Persian Man does for their Chicken Wraps, but for the price I was expecting a bit more, as for the fries, out of a bag, once again, I am sure they are limited to making fresh cut fries. I don't expect I'll be returning for food, but for refreshments and some games, I'll definitely return. Service was okay, our server would forget things and we would have to ask a second time, but she was pleasant and nice. We noticed they had plenty of take out going out, so kudos...

Hi,

Great place for cheap beer and diner food. Most of the pool sticks are not in good shape and one table has trouble releasing the white cue ball. Most of the servers i met were good people. Although, i had a bad experience with the manager. I usually go on deck with a group of friends to play pool. I went during the day and approached the bartender and asked to exchange a loonie for quarters. she said she couldn't and that we would have to buy something first. I asked a man next to me for change when another man jumped in between all of us and asked what was going; which i let him know. He told us we "cant be bugging customers." when i told him we just wanted change he said he was the manager and we had to leave. It was very unpleasant and humiliating being kicked out and and it was a horrible first impression for my friend who had never been there. It would have been much more reassuring if he just opened the till but he was impatient and was not in a good mood to figure out a solution. He could of at least held a conversation a little longer rather than a my way or the...