Duke of Somerset

The food was ok — the service was bad! Enough said.

Tldr: good drinks, terrible food, okay service
It’s apparently a chain, it’s got the same menu as duke of York up on prince Arthur. I ordered the woo woo or woohoo? Some sort of cocktail, it tasted like a cosmo, but better. I also ordered some sort of chicken curry dish. There were more potatoes in the curry than curry, with a side of rice I barely finished half of the dish.

I guess the small piece of fish last time was a fluke.
Amanda, the Duke of Somerset marketing manager, responded to my previous Unilocal review and let me know that the portion was unusually small. She got in touch with the restaurant and made sure they corrected that issue.
When I revisited this past week, I was not disappointed. The fish was double the size of the one I had last time, at least in width, and the angle of the picture doesn’t do it justice. Just like last time, it was fried nicely. The batter is not overly thick, so you get the perfect amount of crunch with the fish. I still wish there were more fries and that they’d be on the plate instead of a container, just to give it that hearty full-​plate look. But I was very pleased with my visit overall.
My server, Kate, was very friendly and attentive.
It’s not cheap, but if you want good fish and chips around the Bay and Gerard area, I would recommend this place.

Friendly servers, cozy tables and decent fish and chips. During the summer time there’s also a patio out front and for corporate and birthdays or landmark occasions the dining room offers more than adequate space.
Beer prices are good. Surprisingly not as busy as other pubs in the area and I don’t get why. The bar is clean, seating comfortable and it’s not overpriced considering it is on Bay St. Service is quick and friendly, and most food is tasty and the portions are good.
Worth the trip

Poor slow service — nothing extraordinary about this place. There are better places around —

Having worked so closely to this pub the last 5 years, I finally decided to try out this bar. Came here on a cold Friday afternoon with a friend for a quick lunch. We were seated immediately as the restaurant was not busy. The restaurant is huge and offers many tables and booths.
My friend and I decided to share their signature Fish and Chips and boy was it a great idea, the portions were massive! The fish was tasty and juicy, however, it was a bit greasy. The meal came with side order of fries and coleslaw (which was a bit bland and watery). It also happened to be Fish and Chips Friday meaning that aside from their signature Fish and Chips, they also served other types that are not usually offered on other days of the week.
The service was pretty decent as our waitress was friendly and helpful when taking our orders. The manager also came by to ask how our meal was which was unexpected but nice.
Prices were a bit higher than the usual bar prices.
Overall, pretty decent place, I’ll definitely stumble here again if I’m ever in the area.

Went for the first time to see an old friend back in the early summer. Did not like it at all!
Chairs/​benches are not comfortable for adults (unless they are child-​sized). Upholstery was old and worn and I felt like I needed to bathe after sitting on it. The whole feel of the interior of the restaurant is that of a tired old university pub.
The patio looked lovely enough — but I didn’t venture outside.
Service was severely lacking. There appeared to be 5 or 6 servers hanging about — but it took over 15 minutes to get the attention of someone in order to get a drink.
I ordered their mini burgers with fries. Very disappointing. Very dry, and over cooked, ratio of beef to bread was not suitable. Almost no topping under the bun.
I would not waste a penny of my money by every going back here. With so many other options to choose from with better prices and food — I will always go somewhere else.

The restaurant offers both interior and exterior option before you take a sit. The sitting at outside is so cool to chill with your friends while you’re drinking your beer, wine, whiskey or vodka whichever you consume as an alcohol. The interior design is sort of dark illuminated which I did not quite have chance to observe because I sat outside.
It looks like a typical British pub where place is surrounded by UK flag mostly. They offer variety of beers and other type of liquor, however beer is more common than any other liquors. The restaurant is also very suitable for sport games where you can watch the game with your fellas on television or maybe you’ll end up with a conflict who knows ?
Beside than that, food that they offer unfortunately do not consist of range. In fact, foods are pretty limited compare to other restaurants. Taste of food is averagely good. Y’know normal type of pub food.
Verdict: 7.5÷10. Definitely recommended but do not go there with high expectations.

Checklist for faux English/​Irish Pub in Toronto:
1) Overpriced selection of mediocre beers… check.
2) Selection of fried items that are battered and fried beyond recognition… check.
3) 1980’s chain restaurant interior… check.
4) Inconsistent service… check.
I’ve been here a couple times, most recently to watch a world cup game. Well, we didn’t quite manage to watch it because the one TV on the patio is small and not so conveniently located.
Pitchers of beer are expensive and the selection isn’t great. We got a bunch of their combo «bites» or «snacks». I actually thought the shrimp bites were chicken until someone pointed it out to me… that’s not a good sign.
Service is inconsistent. Always friendly but generally slow and unsteady.
Nice patio though.

I’d give this 2.5 stars overall.
DO’s:
— do go here for a decent beer selection
— do come to watch sports with friends on their spacious patio
— do come for decent service
DON’Ts:
— do not go here for good value for your food. Portions are small, underwhelming in flavour, and overpriced.
All 3 of our orders of burgers were well overcooked (quite stiff to chew) and a bit charred (crunchy black bits on the exterior). At a starting price of $ 12 for a bare burger, I would expect it to be at least cooked properly.
I made the mistake of upgrading my side of fries to their ‘Camden Poutine’ for $ 5. It was basically a handful of lattice fries in a mediocre beef gravy. Cheese was just mozza (I think) that was melted on nacho-​style, definitely not cheese curds, and the supposed bacon bits that it was supposed to have were just little flecks that could barely be seen. Definitely not worth it. In fact, I wouldn’t pay for any of the upgrades and just stick with the small cup of fries that comes with your burger.
All 3 of the burger orders were disappointing, although the guacamole seemed to be the least offensive.
The Moroccan stew and chicken pot pie were better tasting, I’d recommend those over the burger.
Overall, I’d say don’t come here for the food, save your money for the drinks on the patio.

Actually 3.5 stars
Stopped in here to watch and witness England lose in the World Cup. I would have to agree that the TVs were a little small and the one we were watching had a black shadow on it (creepy…kind of like something from Ju-​on). On the plus side, our server was very attentive despite the crowd. We ordered the pear cider on tap and it was pleasant, and we shared the nacho sticks (big MEH here; I’d pass) and some kettle chip concoction with blue cheese that was weird and surprisingly good. The place was a bit pricey, but not so much that I felt ripped off. In short, it was a decent venue to watch our team lose.

I’m not sure why this English-​themed pub in the middle of Toronto serves such a nice Moroccan vegetable stew, but it’s really worth trying. And if you buy a tower of onion rings they’ll donate a buck to the SickKids Foundation. (Now THAT sounds more like an English pub.)

Nothing exciting to say about this pub. We watched the hockey game here. They could do with some bigger tvs.
Service was really, really good but everything else was just underwhelming. Boring menu with boring food. Had the feel of a chain restaurant except it’s a British pub.
It does the trick.

A decent duke pub that is clean with good service.
Food wise I like their updated chicken pot pie with the flaky crisp top. I give this chicken pot pie 4 out of 5. It is better than most and comes with mash potatoes and peas.
The portions here are more normal sized and I like that. Instead of piles of fries they provide an adequate portion.
Their 5 for $ 20 apps is a great way to have some variety. I particularly enjoy the sausage rolls, curry rolls, and sweet potatoe fries.
Their wings are pretty decent especially their hot and the sweet chili version.
They have an ok selection of draught beers including three craft brews.
They had a patio, but you don’t really get much sun at this location. You do get to be outside and there is decent foot traffic for some people watching.

3.5÷5
Shortly after spraining my ankle at a concert and Young & Dundas square, I hobbled down to Bay street with my boyfriend looking for somewhere to get some post-​concert eats and rest my poor ankle. We came across Duke of Somerset with its nice patio and decided it to check it out as it was a nice night for some patio chillin’!
We were promptly sat in the very large patio area. There are regular tables and some with benches, too! We opted for a bench seat, plopped down, and watched some hockey on one of the outdoor TVs.
Service was very good! Both our server and the manager were very friendly and helpful.
We opted to try some of the small plate/​tapas style dishes. Here’s what we had:
Sweet Potato Fries with a Maple Dijon Dip: I hate sweet potato fries but my boyfriend loves them! He devoured two servings of them and said they were very good. Nice & crispy on the outside.
Mini Burger & Fries: the fries were decent but the mini burger wasn’t anything special. A little doughy on the bread, a little overdone on the meat, and not too much in the way of toppings.
Homemade Sausage Rolls: A-​Okay! Nothing to write home about but pretty decent to snack on. I dipped mine in ketchup.
Deep Fried Pickles: I love deep-​fried pickles! These were pretty good. Nice breading and not too scalding like some deep fried pickles can be when you bite into them. I dipped mine into some yummy ranch sauce.
Crunchy Nacho Cheese Sticks: Yumyumyumyumyum! These were the favourite for me. They are a really cool spin on the classic mozzarella stick pub fare. These are a cheddar cheese, but coated with a nacho breading. A bite of salsa spice to give it some kick! I am totally a fan!
We also had a small chicken Cesar salad that was okay. Reminded me of something similar that you’d buy at a Sobeys.
Overall it was okay, I don’t think I’d actively come back here if it wasn’t for the lovely patio and amazing Nacho Cheese Sticks. They were So. Damn. Good. I think I may pop by on a lunch hour at some point and devour some! Yum!

Nice pub right smack dab in the middle of nowhere downtown. The bar staff and waitresses were very friendly but a little absent minded, possibly due to understaffed for the Eurocup finals. The food itself was ok, nothing too special. Average.

The booth seating here is definitely the main attraction for me. I’m not a fan of sports bars but you can tune out the TV noise as long as it’s not a big game. The menu isn’t very adventurous but there are some solid choices; sweet potato fries and burgers seem popular and I can verify these are both good.
The pricing here reflects the location more than the quality of the food. I think they should add free Wi-​Fi too. It can’t hurt.

Pretty standard pub. Nice large patio, and they’re willing to take reservations for large groups. I only come here for work drinks though; I don’t think I’d choose to come here with friends.
Slightly better than average beer selection, but food that isn’t memorable. I’ve yet to try their Mug Special, but if you bring your own mug on Thursdays, they’ll sell you 30 oz. of beer for $ 6.

Very much a generic bar, nothing I can point to that is wrong with it but nothing that stands out either except for an inviting group setting inside.
Came here with a group of around 30 people, and they made a mistake in having our reserved spots in an area that was not convenient, and as a result a small portion had to be split up.
For our troubles, management provided all of us a free shot and an appetizer platter, which I feel more than makes up for the fact that 6 of our group had to go sit at the next table over (Mind you the organizer did have to go make some hassle for that to happen).
Our waitress was very friendly and was never too far away to serve us.
I ordered a burger and it was nothing spectacular at all and for $ 7.50 I would have liked to get a bit more out of that.
Their beer selection is nothing much to write home about, they have Fuller’s London Pride as they are an English pub, but that’s nothing you can’t find at other locations anyway.
If you’re in the area, use the Unilocal app to maybe look for a better place if not I would recommend this place for a solid time of drinking!

Went last night for trivia night. I arrived before my friends and grabbed a drink at the bar. I started chatting with the bartender and who I think was the manager and they asked if I was meeting someone and I said that I was expecting a large group of people. They were nice enough to tell me that the trivia area was filling up quickly and let me have the rest of the available tables. That was much appreciated.
Pretty decent selection of drinks, a little on the pricey side.
Moving on to the food… I ordered a peppercorn burger with fries. Immediately i could tell the burger was a pre-​packed pattie that came in bulk not a homemade pattie based on the shape. It was overdone and flavorless. Fries were ok, but definitely nothing special.
Waitress was a little slow on brining drinks at times but it appeared she was the only one serving our section which isn’t her fault.
The atmosphere was a little strange, a little too corporate.