Bleu Duck Kitchen — Restaurant in Rochester

This is a cozy restaurant located just west of 4th Street and Broadway SW. They serve dinner most nights and have fun cooking classes, tastings and offer catering. They have a very extensive oyster bar that really sets them above the rest in my eyes. I do feel like the quality of their oysters are some of the best I have had. The menu has something for everyone. I don’t believe the flavors can be achieved at many restaurants like they do here. The combinations that Bleu Duck put together are unique and flavorful. I think that is why I typically like eating here. So why only 2 stars…..?- Mother’s Day Brunch was the single most disappointing experience I have ever had there and for the price…..I don’t know if we will be back. It was that bad. I was embarrassed we even brought my mother. Not a good first experience for her sadly. The eggs were cold, not even warm. Bacon and sausage were wonderful. The frittata was totally dried out, only three pieces left in the serving pan. I couldn’t even cut it. Did look like it had asparagus in it which I love. But it was so old and dried out by 1pm. The salad was ok. Fresh fruit looked beautiful. There was a bread pudding/ French toast- again. Down to the bottom of the pan. Very dried out. Kimchi Potatoes were gone. Nothing but burnt remains around the edge of pan. I did ask a lady who was trying to relight the eggs. (Guess that’s why they were cold.) She said that more will be coming in a bit. I do believe more came out, but we just did one plate each. We never got back up to try them. I skipped the potatoes when I went through and selected the pork chop with apples. Again, dried out. I couldn’t cut the pork with just the butter knife. It was that tough. I asked for a steak knife and the server Benjamin said he would find me one, but never came back with one. So it wasn’t eaten either. The pastries were an assortment of mini cinnamon rolls like you get from Costco. Same with the cheese cake bites and brownies, nothing special but okay. The cupcakes looked pretty. There were at least 4 types, and those in my party said they were good. I didn’t have one myself, (thanks diabetes). My mom ordered the bottomless mimosa, but her cup was empty most of the time. 🫤 for $15 we expected more. She had one glass and as plates were cleared he refilled her glass. She had a sip as we got up to leave. We were a party of 5 adults, and the cost was $55/ person. We paid $375…..I’m not sure how the math worked out? That’s $75 per person. We didn’t have cocktails or wine. Two had water, one had a lemonade and I had an iced tea. Plus my mom had the mimosa($15). The gratuity was included in this total. But the meal really fell short this time. It really looked like all the food had been there since 8am and it was now 1pm, when we were trying to eat it. My (teenage) son said he still felt hungry when we left and the food was dried out and old. Yeah, it was an accurate description. Huge disappointment for Mother’s Day. We have never had a bad meal at Bleu duck until today. The service is usually much more attentive and on...

Fabulous service and great food Limited specialty menu with an array of options for everyone including vegetarians

Update: Went on a Wednesday night which was Oyster Night. Large selection of fresh oysters for $2 each with a bottle of wine. Place was packed and we had a larger party so rezzies at 7. Everything was delicious. Wish they had a couple larger shareables that can work for vegetarians. Starter items are geared for 2-3 and definitely not plant-based. Grateful for fresh cookies for dessert that served 5 although edges have been burned the last couple times we've ordered them.

Update: Saturday brunch We come to Bleu Duck for special occasions and when we want to feel special. The staff here always do a good job and Corbin was no exception. Service is excellent. We are grateful the food is made in house so even though the menu shows everything with meat, we are able to order most things without. We ordered a starter of "Saturday Morning" without sausage gravy and it disappeared quickly. I ordered the omelet without ham. It was still very salty and the salad and side of corn salsa balanced the flavors out nicely. My hubby had the huevos rancheros without chorizo and added a side of corn salsa and was very happy. And my friend ordered the waffle and loved it. We ended with the house doughnuts which were also delicious. The bottomless mimosa was a nice accompaniment. Because of the holiday weekend it was a bit quieter than a regular brunch crowd. And there was still a musician singing easy listening hits which added to...

This is the most disappointing service industry experience I have ever had. My friends and I visited Bleu Duck on a Friday evening and were met with animosity from our server from the second he got to our table. I am not sure if it was because we were young (early 20s) or women but it should not matter, as humans we face stereotypes in our daily lives and a fine dining establishment is the last place an individual should have to feel they are been looked at with negative bias. He told my friend she “fit the bill” when she discussed her career in the country club industry as a “ditsy blonde who upsells booze to men” (who says that???), responded to our friend’s mention of her beginning her career in medicine as basic, and after spilling oil on one of us never apologized or said the words I am sorry. I love dry humor and can have an appreciation for all types of personalities however, rude is rude. After seeing how this effected one of my friends I called and left a message asking to have a conversation with the GM and never heard back. This can not show me more clearly how this establishment views the situation and I will be sharing my experience with my colleagues and network in the Rochester area in hopes no one else has to go through the negative...