Dukes Chophouse — Restaurant in City of Schenectady

We hope this review is welcomed by Dukes Chophouse Food & Beverage Manager in good spirits for them to improve their customer experiences. The restaurant atmosphere is nonexistent. It is located alongside the casino floor with its bar area both outside on the casino floor and in what I assume is the restaurant bar lounge. According to the photos marketing the restaurant, there is a dining room in the back; however, despite having prior reservations, we were seated up front in the overflow bar restaurant area next to the kitchen, in full view of the casino's slot machines and constant background noise. We requested to be moved but were told there was no room for us in the backroom despite empty tables everywhere, and it was already 7:30pm. This was not what I had expected, anticipating spending approximately $600 or more for dinner for 4, including drinks. We can only assume that the restaurant and casino are profitable, so why haven't the developers tried to create an upscale entryway, such as a screened wall with an entryway to minimize the view and constant clanging noise that any diner is subjected to? Food: The $23 shrimp cocktail was rubbery as it had been prepared quite earlier most likely sitting in the fridge for some time. The ribeye steak was ordered medium-rare and came out medium with pink throughout. The $58 ribeye steak had no flavor at all, even with the bone-in. It had no rich, buttery flavor -- just bland requiring the use of a significant amount of salt and pepper for seasoning. Note: The restaurant does not indicate if the meat is rated Prime or Choice. Desserts are purchased off-property from a bakery nearby. The Chocolate Blackout cake from Villa Italia is delicious but should be served at room temperature and not cold. Cold diminishes the rich, moist sponge texture and the flavors of chocolate. Lastly, no restaurant manager was milling around to come over and ask if we had enjoyed our visit. It appears as if they do not care, and again, spending at least $600 for 4 would have incentivized them to simply say hello. Oh, BTW, I was seated in full view of the hostess stand and could view additional diners being seated. When we left, numerous empty tables were still in the so-called dining room...

My wife and I visited Duke's while on a quick anniversary getaway to Rivers Casino. This was our "special" anniversary meal.

We had a 7:45 reservation and waited about 5 minutes after checking in with the hostess to be seated. After being seated it took about 15 minutes to be acknowledged by our waiter. It was obvious that the restaurant was short staffed but the 15 minutes gave us enough time to figure out what we wanted to drink and eat.

My pre-dinner cocktail was the NY Sour. HIGHLY recommended. Perfectly balanced and delicious! I had the fried lobster appetizer which was amazing. Just perfect. My wife had the Caesar salad which I had a bite of and it was very good.

Entrées took quite a while to come out. Both my wife and I had the 8oz filet, cooked medium. I opted for the "Oscar Style" and I am so glad I did. This took what was already an amazing filet and brought it to the next level. The crab was tender and flavorful, a great addition to the tender filet. We had the double butter mashed potatoes and sautéed wild mushrooms. Both sides were excellent. With my entrée I had a glass of Conundrum Red Blend, a perfect accompaniment to the steak. We were asked about any special occasions when we made a reservation. Since we mentioned it was our anniversary they gave us a complimentary (huge) slice of cheesecake for dessert. What a nice touch!

There was absolutely nothing to fault about the food. One of the best meals we have had in quite some time. Regarding the service, the individual workers are doing the best they can given the circumstances and the fact the place was obviously short staffed. Our waiter Terrance was an absolute rock star with what he was able to accomplish, just one man doing so much. He really seemed to care about our experience. Unfortunately, the behavior I saw from other guests was disappointing. Lots of rudeness directed toward the staff when they are doing the best they can given the circumstance.

Dukes Chophouse gets a...

Wow. Not good.

Our server - Nadia- phenomenal. The single reason for any stars in this review at all. Most appreciative for her efforts. She is an asset. Also, there was some great jazz playing in the background - very nice.

My husband and I were seated in a distant back corner - furthest from the entrance - amongst two huge TV screens playing college football. What? I like football. But so much for an evening out and "fine dining" - more of a college pub atmosphere in that back area. Very confusing. We had a reservation for the main dining room. Several tables were open.

What followed - sadly, some horribly inedible meal preparations. The tuna tostadas are a game of hide and seek. Where is the over cooked - re-heated tuna hidden beneath a sea of overbearing sauce/mayo and greens? Good luck. I had the pork chop entree. Quite honestly the worst piece of pork I have ever had. Yep - that bad. Two bites done - kept chewing. Cooked to nothing short of dehydrated leather with some bottled bland sauce poured on top in an attempt to moisturize at the end. A mess. Could barely cut through it. The chop was 1.5 inches thick - I think it was over-cooked a day ahead, refrigerated, and then microwaved for good measure on demand. Quite a bit of effort undertaken to ruin this cut of meat.

The calamari was good. Thumbs up there. And, the "manager" did comp a single glass of wine (since I only had 2 bites of the leather/pork), but could not be bothered to inquire regarding what went wrong. Does the place have a manager? Don't know.

I suspect - perhaps- this establishment is overwhelmed by bad experiences such that it has become numbing - so why bother showing your face.

I do hope they figure it out. I can only imagine how dificult staffing a restaraunt is these days. For me - a hard pass in...