The Duke's Ping River — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

See current update below: Total of 4 visits

Order placed for 2 Pizza BOGO Extravaganza, through Grab Food and waited 40 minutes only to have Grab cancel because the driver had to wait too long for the order. I reordered again after calling the restaurant and speaking to a woman who spoke English "a little" and was assured my reorder had been received and that it would get delivered. Right now I am waiting to get the reorder. If it arrives satisfactory I will upgrade the 1 star. If it does not It will remain. And it will be my 1st and last encounter with this establishment. Grab just cancelled order again. I'm posting a screen shot.

While I understand businesses have no control over outside delivery services. They should still ensure the business they offer is consistent. Several delivery services in Chiang Mai are more reliable and less expensive than Grab. Perhaps the owner should look into one of the alternatives. But that's not My call. Bad experiences especially the first are a glaring warning. I hope this is taken in the context of protecting and ensuring quality service to customers. Update: Today Feb. 25 2022. I tried once again to delivery order the same pizza combination on my 2 previous attempts. But this time I used Tuk. Another delivery service I have used for other restaurants. Happy to say the order went as planned and I can now give a rating if the pizza I so much wanted to try. I must admit it was a pretty good example of an American pizza style and with plenty of sauce cheese and toppings. Not my favourite sauce choice, a bit spicy and sweet, but passable. All in all a very good pizza value and Tuk delivered timely and accurately. Unlike grabfood. Had an eat in pepperoni pizza. Definitely better than delivery. First dine in experience Restaurant was busy during Loh Kratong, but our wait time was acceptable. Went for Thanksgiving dinner and We had a good time. 2nd dine in. Turkey was delicious. Gravy was good. The extras could use some work. Squash soup Luke warm. Rolls pasty. Mashed potatoes very lumpy. Sweet Potatoes nothing special. Bean casserole was creamy but without any flavor. And I think those were fried breaded onions on top, not entirely sure. Stuffing bread was soggy the vegetables in the stuffing undercooked. Pumpkin Pie filling was good, but the crust was brick...

I have lived in Chiang Mai for several years, but have never been to Dukes before tonight. I am unlikely to go again.

The food isn’t bad here, but nor is it particularly good. It was decidedly average. I note that there are many five star reviews, but almost all of them involve patrons who ordered pizza, or burgers, or appetizers, not the high end entrées, my partner, and I ordered.

I can honestly say it was the worst 2000 baht dinner I have had in Thailand. We ordered our steak medium, but it came cool and purpleish in the middle, as in medium rare verging on rare, You would think a steak restaurant would know how to cook a steak.

The steak came with a healthy portion of mashed potatoes, which were fine, and a salad with the incorrect dressing

We also ordered a full rack of ribs., which, in true Thai style,, came 10 minutes after the first entrée Yes, the meat was “fall off the bones“, but it wasn’t because of superior barbecuing skills. In fact, the ribs were not barbecued at all. I suspect they were boiled and finished off in a hot oven. They simply had no flavor except that imparted by the brown sugar base barbecue sauce. The barbecued beans and coleslaw that came with the ribs were fine, but not enough to justify the price. The French fries were limp and a bit oily. We left half of them on the plate.

I suppose the Dukes may be a fine place for a burger or a pizza, but I wouldn’t go there for the ribs or the steak entrées. You simply don’t get what you paid for, and what you do get is...

It's always a great night at Duke's! Twenty of us decided to descend on Duke's and enjoy a family style meal of all of his "must have" menu choices over the recent holiday season. A long table in the back room and enough servers to keep the food coming constantly... And the beverages too made for a wonderful evening. We all enjoyed cheesy garlic bread, wings, ribs, several types of pizza, fish and chips, mac and cheese, stir fried veggies (and a couple of other veggie dishes) and boneless, skinless chicken breast cooked in some kind of fabulous sauce. The chicken was moist and very, very tender. There were a couple of additional dishes too... But I had my fill by then AND even passed on the carrot cake (which is always moist and impressive) or any of the other dessert selections. I did notice some of the group having dessert boxed up.... Obviously, planning for late night snacking at home.

It was my first time back at Duke's since pre COVID... And all I can say is... He's BACK AND...