Duke's Refresher Riverside

Delicious burger! I love the fact that they don’t blast loud music, so you can actually have a conversation with your friends or partner.

December 29, 2024 on Google

We went specifically for the festive Christmas dive bar. The food and drinks are good & for the type of establishment, they are well priced. Our servers were great. Huge downside was the music .. not sure how they want to market and lure people in for a Christmas dive bar but play no Christmas music, or any basic top 40s - we don’t even know how to classify the music that was played, some form of heavy metal or rock? Music is very important to us for the ambience.

December 10, 2024 on Google

We recently celebrated our daughter's 25th birthday at Duke's Refresher - Riverside, and it was nothing short of exceptional. The upper level, adorned with a festive holiday theme and twinkling lights, created an enchanting ambiance that set the perfect tone for the evening, truly adding a magical touch to the celebration. The evening started on a high note with delicious apps and perfectly crafted cocktails. The service, however, stole the show. Dave and his team—Yusuf, Sarah, and Phil (apologies if we’ve misspelled any names)—went above and beyond to ensure our group had an unforgettable experience. Every request was met with a genuine smile, and their attentiveness never wavered. From the seamless coordination to the warm hospitality, it was evident that the staff truly cared about making our event special. Everyone in our party left raving about the incredible food, drinks, and service. A big thank you to Duke's Refresher for hosting such a memorable celebration—we couldn't be happier! Highly recommend for any special occasion or simply a great night out. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Mary and Pat

December 1, 2024 on Google

No premier league? Hard pass. Went to catch a game, had to wait too long for a supervisor to get the TVs going. Only for us both to find out that the corporation behind Duke’s decided to save money and not get a subscription to show the games. Kind of embarrassing the staff thought they could show the game, if they knew up front I would have happily went to another bar, however ended up wasting time and missing a chunk of the game. Can’t blame the staff though, I too would have expected Duke’s to be able to show premier league games, especially since it portrays itself as sports bar of sorts. At the end of the day, it’s a decent corporate bar. Good drink specials. But big miss on not using that corporate budget to get a subscription to show some premier league games. What a shame.

November 30, 2024 on Google

Duke's (Yonge/Gerrard) was our first date spot, so it was only fitting that we had our wedding rehearsal dinner here a few weeks ago! Thank you Dave and his team for the great service, awesome food, and cozy atmosphere. We especially appreciated having the whole upstairs area all to ourselves. It had ample space and seating, making it easy for our party of ~18-20 to eat and mingle. And are you kidding me with the Mean Girls reserved sign?! As someone that quotes that movie on the daily, that was truly *chef's kiss*👌. We've got nothing but love for Duke's, and can't wait to spend future date nights at this new spot. :)

October 13, 2024 on Google

We were really excited to try this place since it’s walking distance from our place, and they had a half-price pizza promotion! The atmosphere was great—really good vibes—and the staff were very friendly and accommodating. We ordered drinks, calamari, and two pizzas. The drinks and calamari arrived in a reasonable time, but the pizzas took about 45 minutes. We were hoping they’d be worth the wait, but unfortunately, the pizza dough was tough, stale, and overcooked. My friend even said his teeth hurt after a few bites. Not the best start to the long weekend. Edit: Dave (their General manager) invited us back for a second chance. It was a complete turnaround from our bad experience. We all had a great time! Compared to last time where we only started eating an hour in. We were already done eating after an hour because the food was really good! That steak and Mushroom poutine was definitely the star of the show. Second chances matter! We will definitely be back!

October 12, 2024 on Google

Casual family dinner on the rooftop patio. Excellent service and food. Server was well informed and gave great advice when we were deciding between certain dishes. All of our meals arrived hot and at the same time. We shared the calamari and Oklahoma sliders as our appetizers. Our mains were margherita pizza, Caesar salad, the woody burger with sweet potato fries and the jalapeño popper dip.

August 26, 2024 on Google

Came here for a large gathering and I love the vibes of this place! They have a nice event space upstairs that I feel could comfortably host about 35-40 ppl (not sit-down) in a casual mingling type of cocktail event. There was interesting retro decor and the server was very nice. I only had a few items of finger food and one mixed drink, they were not bad. I felt perhaps the drink was a bit diluted since it was supposed to have 4 different alcohol, but i could only faintly taste the alcohol. Nevertheless, i like the vibes of this place and it’s a nice place to chill.

August 17, 2024 on Google