The Duke Saloon — Restaurant in Victoria

Our group was looking forward to visiting the Duke Saloon as it is the only "country bar" in Victoria. Despite the line up, which is apparently common, it moved fairly quickly. The doorman however was quite rude to the 2 women ahead of us, (45+) insisting that he take thier photo withthe ID scan. When the women commented why didnt the several pretty young women who were just let in at the side, showed thier ID and paid the same cover, not have to stop to be photographed. Upon thier inquiry , his comment was very curt "if you dont like it go to another bar." I felt that was just unnecessary as they were not impolite in any fashion but justifiable in thier inquiry. We handed our ID, it was scanned, and we went inside. The decora was ok. The bar staff were not identifiable in any country uniform. When I asked a bartender why none of the staff had any cowboy hats or something western on, he made the comment "this is Victoria country". The DJ taped music was great. The Band was OK. Mixed music, and not all country. Couldn't do line dancing as the dance floor was filled with very young adults standing around. There was s small mix of adults over 35 including our group, however they left before we did. We stayed only about an hour and a half, as the crowds were filling with very young drunk 25 and under adults. Drinks were priced fair. The bartender was polite in his service. Just not what we had hoped for being a...

Got made fun of on the dance floor by a group a guys and my bf got called a homophobic slur in the bathroom… this place could be cool if the venue put in a little more effort to make the atmosphere more welcoming and accepting of people who maybe don’t want to wear cowboy boots but still enjoy the music and western vibe. The venue also didn’t market on any of their socials that they’d be charging a cover at the door. I don’t care about paying a cover, but it was still a little shady to learn that only once we got to the door, especially since it was our first time checking this place out since moving here and I tried to see if we needed tickets beforehand. The band was...

I have been to the duke previously and had a lot of fun. I've been a little frustrated recently with the past two pub crawls I've been to not being able to get in until 45 AFTER they had opened the doors. While this is a good bar, I think it's important for management to take customer criticism into consideration and be more polite when responding to complaints. After having an unfortunate experience, customers simply want to be heard. All businesses can always learn and improve from listening to their valued patrons. I'm disappointed with how the duke handled this situation, and I hope they learn from...