The Duke — Restaurant in Toronto

The east end was a rough place in the day. A tavern license was a license to print money and Friday and Saturday nights the boys in blue would be outside at closing time. You had your choice, The Shamrock (now a fitness centre), the Ulster Arms (now derelict) or the Duke of York.

The Duke has come out of the dark days and now is a cultural icon of Leslieville. It has a large patio, well shaded in places and a cavernous interior that is invisibly divided between the long-term clients by the pool tables and bar and the stage area.

I don't stay for the music but I must say the beer (especially their own stout) is good and affordable. The menu screams pub and I must say the fries that seem to come with almost everything are superb.

ACCESSIBILITY: 2 steps at the door. The accessible entrance is through the patio. Washrooms are on the main floor.

BIKE FRIENDLY: Yes, bring them into...

The Duke of York is one of my favorite places to go for live music, dancing, singing; Friday night, Karaoke it’s a blast, everybody has fun with host Charlie Calvo. Thursday open mic get up on stage with Darren Atkinson’s big band to back you up original songwriters amazing entertainment not to be overlooked. Historically claimed as one of early Toronto’s original live music venues associated with legends ( John Wayne ‘The Duke and ’ Duke Ellington ) this authentic roadhouses remains as one of Toronto’s oldest and most well...

The food here is horrible. Probably the worst nachos I’ve ever had. A light sprinkling of cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and…parsley? It also comes with olives and jalapeños, but I opted not to have those. The chips were the worst part though. They weren’t even crunchy. They were chewy. You know when you have old stale nachos? I swear they gave me yesterday’s nachos that someone sent back.

My partner had a (frozen) burger and fries. Condiments all come in single use packets.

Decent patio but do...