Duke of York — Restaurant in Toronto

Upon spotting a “Taco Tuesday” special advertised on a sign while walking up Bedford Road, CB and I decided to visit Duke of York that’s on the corner with Prince Arthur. This self-styled British pub that has been fixture on Prince Arthur for over 40 years ago. We had a good fish and chips meal here a few months ago and greatly appreciated the friendly and attentive service from our server and the manager, which made for a memorable evening. This positive experience prompted our spontaneous return to try Taco Tuesday.

Given the beautiful day, we chose an outdoor table to enjoy the quiet, picturesque streetscape. The pub was moderately busy with what seemed to be a local crowd. After a bit of a wait, our server appeared and provided water and took our order for 2 Corona bottle beers – a bonus at only $7 today. When they returned with our beers, we asked about the Tuesday Taco Special. We learned that there were two types of tacos available: Crispy Fish and Grilled Chicken, Avocado and Bacon, both priced at $6 each for a single taco. (Normally the Crispy Fish Tacos are offered at $19.99 for a plate of three on the regular menu). Our table neighbor (who, interestingly, was not having tacos) told us that the tacos here were great. So, we ordered two fish and two chicken tacos (one of each per person). To round out the meal we ordered a Bacon Ceasar Salad to share.

The meal took longer than expected to arrive, perhaps because the pub was getting busier. We had expected the salad appetizer first, to be followed by the tacos. Instead, the tacos appeared on two separate plates (fish on one, chicken on the other) so we had to swap one to even them out. The Caesar salad arrived shortly after, conveniently split onto 2 smaller plates for us. Our small round table became quite crowded with all the plates and beer.

The Caesar salad was unremarkable, apart from a generous portion of real bacon. The tacos, however, were remarkable for how disappointing they were. First, they were lukewarm at best, perhaps explained by a delay getting them out to us. The taco shells seemed tough for soft tacos, and topped with smallish amounts of fish and chicken, given the $6 price. The “crispy” fish was not crispy – perhaps a casualty of the delay getting them out. The grilled chicken was rather tough, and the additional toppings, including a lime wedge, did not make up for what the chicken and fish lacked in flavor. Unfortunately, red onion was the predominant taste. Summary The Duke of York is obviously doing something right, given their longevity. And while we had a very pleasant experience here previously, our recent Taco Tuesday visit was a letdown. The lukewarm, tough and flavorless tacos made the $24 cost feel like poor value. Given the abundance of excellent Mexican restaurants in the city, there's little reason to choose a pub for tacos. I’m sure we’ll be back. But our lesson learned: stick to the Duke of York's standard,...

Fave local pub for sure! My friends and I have been coming here for 2+ years and always have great service. More recently, I've started having birthdays here.

Duke of York's Birthday Club is a fantastic experience, with a Prosecco toast for all guests and free dessert included for the guest of honour (and sometimes decorations!). When I came here for my 30th birthday last weekend, with 12 people total, the service from Eleanor was absolutely top-notch. She was friendly, attentive, and did a great job managing our large party along with all her other tables. The manager, Dan, also came over to say hello and make sure I had everything I needed (he was also very welcoming and responsive last year when I did Birthday Club for my 29th), and my friends and I were so well taken care of. And a shout-out to Luke who is also always very friendly!

Food-wise, I can never go wrong with the Buffalo chicken fingers and fries, with gravy that is the perfect consistency. The soft pretzel is an awesome addition to the menu and a great combination of fluffy inside with a firm crust—although I personally like my beer and cheese dip to be on the thicker side. While the sticky toffee pudding flavours and presentation were also great (it includes vanilla ice cream and whipped cream), the sponge was a bit too hard and dense when I had it last. The dessert I really miss is the Earl Grey crème brûlée—it was always perfect, and my friends and I would love to see it back on the menu!

My gluten-free friend was also able to find several options that she was really happy with, and ended up loving the banquet burger with a GF bun. Eleanor, the server, was very knowledgeable about the menu and pointed out what was GF and what could be made GF—and the manager also made a point to bring out the plates of people with allergies first, so that nothing got mixed up in our big group.

Looking forward to coming back!...

Before I got here tonight as part of a small group I had read recent reviews on the Duke of York to get an idea of what possibly to expect. First of all, we were greeted at the door upon entering in a very professional and pleasant way. This was so surprising I was actually looking around almost to see if the greeting was really meant for us - it is TIFF after all ;) Second, we were provided with a new table right away after we noted a possible problem with the assigned table. Ended up in a very nice spot! Third, the service was excellent! We felt well taken care of throughout despite it being quite busy. Finally, the food exceeded expectations after reading through the previous reviews. Part of our group took advantage of the Weekend special of 2 for 1 steak dinner. It was really good and I can tell as I have a very very sensitive stomach. If there had been "old" oil used to make the French fries as was hinted at in a former review, my stomach would have told me fast. So far I am ok and dinner has been a couple hours now. We also chose dessert and everyone was pleased with what they chose, from the toffee pudding to the little chocolate cake and the strawberry cheesecake. None of us had any starters so I cannot say anything about those. The burger, the steak dinner and the bangers and mash dinner were all pretty much "wiped off" the plates, that is how much they were enjoyed. Needless to add this was not our last visit to the Duke of York! Cheers to everyone for making this dinner extra...