David Duncan House

Terrible Service! Terrible Experience! Ordered a steak medium rare, came to me well done. When I brought it to the attention of the staff, I was told that I was wrong and that the steak was indeed medium rare. Not what I expected from a fine dining restaurant. Truly disappointed.

I would def come back. walking into the restaurant is like going to a different era. Service was excellent. Food was fine. They make ceasar salad from scratch table side.

This was a disaster from start to finish for our party of six.
Upon being seated, we asked for separate checks for each couple, and even adjusted our seating positions to make it easier for the serving staff to identify each of the couples.
When we ordered pre-​dinner drinks, one of my friends ordered an expensive Scotch «neat» It was provided to him «on the rocks». He returned it, only to get the same cold glass of Scotch back a moment later with the ice cubes removed.
A few minutes later, we received our garlic bread and appetizer tray; dill pickle wedges, olives and cottage cheese… Really? Cottage cheese? In a «fine dining» restaurant in 2016?
Appetizers:
According to my wife, the $ 26 bacon-​wrapped scallops (4) were served in a virtually tasteless brown «gravy-​like» substance. No seafood sauce whatever.
The servers also managed to forget the appetizer order for one of our party… and finally delivered it to him at the same time that they were serving the main courses to the rest of us. (BTW… the crab that is offered on a couple of the dishes is canned. According to my friends who had dined here before, it used to be fresh crab.)
Main course:
A number of us ordered the 8-​ounce filet mignon ($ 50). My wife ordered hers «medium». It was delivered bloody… basically «blue». When she confronted the waiter about the undercooked steak, he asked «Do you want it cooked some more?». My friend ordered his medium-​rare and got something somewhere between blue and rare. He also returned it. Both steaks were re-​delivered substantially over-​cooked, but with a brand-​new baked potato.
The filet mignons were mostly tasteless, and had no sauce of any kind to improve their flavour. My wife asked if they had any Bearnaise sauce, which they said they did. Moments later, they gave her a gravy boat filled with a yellowish liquid, possibly some sort of gravy. Definitely not Bearnaise sauce.

…And all the meals were cold.
Drinks:
A beer that was ordered by one of my friends never materialized. I ordered a glass of Port at the end of my meal. The waiter and I had a fairly lengthy discussion of whether I wanted the 10-​year-​old ($ 11) port or the 20-​year-​old ($ 16) port. I chose the 20-​year. I never got either of them.
When asked, «How is everything?» by the waiter, one of the ladies at our table said «Not very good». The waiter seemed to ignore her, and just walked away. A few minutes later, he returned and told her «You know, when some things go wrong, it’s not my fault.» Twenty minutes later (and before the bill was paid) he asked her if there was anything that he could do, «Desserts, or anything?» to make it better. She said «No».
When we finally received the bill, everything was on a single bill, including the Port that I never got. We had to individually go through the bill with the waiter, itemizing everything that each of us had. He did this for two of the couples, then turned to the third couple and said «Everything else is yours».
On the drive home, my wife commented that she would have liked to have a coffee and dessert, but that she didn’t want to give these people any more money… and she loves coffee and dessert.
I would have preferred the Keg. Cheaper, better food, and better service. My wife agrees.

My wife and I came here for dinner last night. Never heard of this place and I always drive passed this place all the time.
I really love this restaurant; the house is very impressive and rich in history, and the interior décor is grand and stunning to say the least. One of the best French décor in the city.
Awesome experience here. The waiter was professional and the service was top notch!
My wife ordered Caesar Salad and I ordered Escargot for starters. They make the Caesars in front of you which was a cool experience. My wife said the Caesar was creamy and a hint of vinegar just like how she wants it. My escargot was tender and was bathed in butter and garlic; super tender and delicious! They also flambé the escargot in front you. What an experience!!!
For the mains, my wife ordered the Duckling a l’Orange Grand Marnier and I went with Peppercorn Steak — medium rare. The duck came first and it looks absolutely delicious. My wife said the duck was crispy, deboned and the orange sauce really complimented the duck; well balanced, not too too sweet. Finally our waiter pulled the flambé station over and cooked the peppercorn sauce. When it was ready, he poured it on top of the steak and hand it over. I cut the steak and it felt like I was cutting butter. Medium rare to perfection! They got it right!
We end the night sharing the tiramisu. Oh my god, the tiramisu was heavenly, possibly the best that I’ve had anywhere. Unilocalers, this is a definite must try!
With all of my restaurant reviews, I always ask will we come back? Oh yes, most definitely. I’ve never tip a restaurant 25% but this place deserves it.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
Ambience: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Cleanliness: ⁵⁄₅

We agree with reviewers who are extremely disappointed by this once noble restaurant since its change of ownership.
Service was impolite and ill-​informed.
We were first placed for a party of six at a boardroom type table that could seat ten. The manager said he had no other table for six and claimed that the person who made our reservation had asked for that particular table. She corrected him. He gave another explanation, but found a round table for us a few minutes later.
The drinks waiter had never heard of a common apéritif. The traditional steak and seafood menu seemed overpriced by most steakhouse or fine dining standards.
The waiter hectored us as we ordered, rudely corrected a request for rack of lamb to be done pink, said we meant medium, and lectured us on all of his preferred definitions. When main courses finally arrived much later my rack of lamb ran the gamut from well-​done to bloody. My wife’s halibut was dry.
After dinner, two of our party asked to share a small 20-​year-​old port for twenty dollars a glass. Unlike the identical Taylor Fladgate I had recently enjoyed elsewhere at that price, it came in a tulip-​shaped liqueur glass that may have spoiled its bouquet; the port didn’t seem right. The liqueur glass held two ounces instead of the three elsewhere.
A waiter had knocked over an empty glass on his tray (for sharing). It wasn’t replaced. After being loudly admonished for complaining, we spoke to the manager, who said he had seen the incident and had sent another glassful on the house. None had arrived. Eventually he himself brought another, but too late.
We had to ask for our bill after sitting for half an hour at an empty table. When it came a waiter said that as well as coffee, all of our «aperitifs» were on the house. Not so. They were on the bill. The port was not.

Should have stayed away despite reading the reviews.
Food: Seriously, I think I would have been happier with my steak at The Keg for a fraction of the price. I understand you’re an «upscale» restaurant but the least you could do is have the food up to par. Ordered the duncan deluxe appetizer for two as well ($ 55) once again have your food reflect the price you’re charging your customers.
Atmosphere: I honestly felt like I was trapped in a house with old décor and no windows. It felt suffocating. Totally not my scene.
Service: It was alright. Nothing out of the ordinary.
I would not return.

Definitely not worth the money, very poor value. We ordered our steaks medium rare and they came out burnt. The calamari we ordered was comparable to the frozen kind you buy at a grocery store. The service was good initially but they brought one member of our group the wrong order and did nothing to remedy the situation. One of the waiters was very rude when we tried to explain the situation. The only reason this place gets 2 stars is because the Caesar salad was good.
Just go to the Keg up the street where you get better food for lower prices.

I have been to the David Duncan House a few times over the past few years. Family and colleagues love it. I thought it was above average as of a few years ago and certainly worth revisiting. I go there invariably for special occasions and more often for professional functions due to location and parking availability. But I am sorry to have seen its deterioration over the past few years — while curiously accompanied by soaring prices. My most recent experience was in December 2015 and it was a decidedly disappointing one. While I would still return for a professional function if costs are covered, David Duncan House has now lost me as patron.
Our group had a shrimp and salmon platter. If individually ordered the Smoked Salmon would have been $ 16, served on a bed of romaine lettuce with cream cheese, capers, red onion, and rye bread. It was certainly not worth the price. The salmon was passable, the rye bread was tough, dry, and semi-​stale. The platter included shrimps — and I certainly hope these were not $ 40 tiger shrimps «Colossal Shrimp Cocktail $ 40 –Four Tiger Shrimp served with our tangy house-​made cocktail sauce» pictured on their Duncan House website
And in any case the shrimp served was at best on par with frozen shrimp rings I could easily get from Loblaws or Metro; the «housemade cocktail» was industrial, formulaic, and without character.
Then came the garden salad. There was more salad dressing than salad! I only ate the rim of the plate and left the rest intact. I thought it could be more appropriately named as a salt or briny soup or whatever with some greens thrown in.
Main course? I had what the waiter said was a «12 oz» NY striploin. The actual 8 oz slab of meat was lifeless and tough — which might as well be when the rest would have gone to waste. Yet in an amazing feat Duncan House overcooked a medium-​rare to medium piece of meat. Maybe it was not the House’s fault — it was just a piece of expired cheap frozen beef. Yet on the brighter side David Duncan House gave myself some cooking confidence. In fact, I was at a house gathering of my cousin ‘s for a party just a few days after — yet his first time following a cookbook doing a rib roast managed to put Duncan House to shame. Fine they’re not exactly comparable, but it was an independent confirmation and consolidation of my disappointment. To paraphrase Bill Murray in his famous one-​liner in Lost in Translation — what sort of restaurant makes you want to cook your own food? I could easily have done a better job with my plug-​in indoor electric grill — without temperature control. Yes I did try it before.
Sides: the fries were cold and stale and about ~ two or three notches below those from McDonalds’ and I left more than half wasted. I had never tried fries there before (usually have mash potatoes or baked which was nothing great) — but this merely added insult to injury.
Any positives? As another couple of the group confirmed my above impression and did note this to the waiter we were offered a second chance. It was late by the time and so we decided to let it go. And as it was late I did take the cheesecake dessert home for family and did try a small piece of it at home which was reasonable to at best above average. It remains, however, only on par with frozen ones that can easily be had from frozen dessert aisles of any major supermarket chains. The waiter was polite but seemed prone to mixing up the sides with the various orders (our group was 10 people, and he did write them down) which necessitated some last minute fiddling on his part during main course presentation. And as mentioned, ample parking was a bonus. The décor remains elegant but seems increasingly dated — perhaps by 2050 it will revived as retro.
The overall verdict? Will still return when it’s sponsored and when expenses are paid for.

The David Duncan house is amazing. They treat me so well every time I visit. The staff is friendly and the food is fantastic. i try and have all my business functions here because they always make me look good. The building is very old but totally gorgeous! Lots of free parking and central. All in all. i love the place.

New owners apparently and it is evident, will not be returning after horrid experience
Medium well filet came medium rare, took 30 mins to get waiter to cook some more and than half came well done other half still medium rare
Presentation was better but food quality, cooking and service down a notch, previously my favourite restaurant but I will never return
Thanks for the memories old owners

Classic steakhouse with a classic vibe. New owners know what they’re doing. Food and service are both incredible!

David Duncan House is a great place for a fancy meal.
Not so much a restaurant, it’s more of a mansion, if you will. I’ve been there twice in my life, and both times were for my parents’ anniversary, and I treat it as a place for a special occasion, not for regular dining.
The mansion has tons of seating (well duh, it’s a mansion) and you’re always treated to the best of service, as it’s an upscale establishment.
The appetizers are done well, and they’re honestly mainly meant as something to sustain your stomach as you chat a bit and decide on your food choices.
I mainly see this place as a steakhouse, and I order the filet mignon, wrapped in bacon. This is a heavenly steak. It’s perfectly seasoned, brilliantly juicy and the bacon adds a nice touch to the steak’s flavour. My only recommendation is not to get it medium rare, as it gets a bit hard and isn’t what you’d generally think of a medium rare. Rare is how I go.
The 6 oz. is also a good option, nice and juicy with a good touch.
The desserts are average, not to die for but good if you want to round off your dinner with a cheesecake, or a Baked Alaska, a dish truly from the upper reaches of the world.
A downside to the restaurant is the sheer cost. Everything for a four person family rounds out to 250 – 300 dollars, so if you’re going to eat there, either be extremely hungry and ready to pay, or just eat a little. This is one of the reasons I’m taking a star off.
The other reason is that it takes forever for your food to arrive. By the time it comes, yore going to have been starving, which just adds to the food’s taste. Personally I don’t want to have to wait for a long time to get my food, and I guess with such a huge establishment they have a lot of people to serve, and I get that. I just thought it would come out a bit quicker.
all in all, it’s a good restaurant, and definitely a good place to go if you want the fancy atmosphere or if you want to impress a guest. Also a good place to go with your girlfriend or your boyfriend. If I ever feel the craving for a steak and I’ve got a lot of money to spend, I’m heading here.

I’ve lived in the area for over two decades. I really wanted to love David Duncan House. i really did… But *sigh*. Service was pretty mediocre for the bill coming up to $ 300 for two. The wine glasses are the small ones that you get from the dollar store. The waiter liked to fill them up almost to the top with our bottle of Chianti Classico — I guess he didn’t want to come by and fill them up too often. The last time I was served wine like this was at an open bar at a cheap wedding. Poor Chianti.
We ordered the seafood platter for two. it came with some tiny oysters that looked old and some pieces of bread with cream cheese on top to put the smoked salmon on. The shrimp were just OK. Definitely a miss.
I had the prime rib — I asked for it medium rare and in my eyes it was done medium but the waiter insisted it was medium rare. I asked for pepper on the table but the waiter said he doesn’t have and to just let him know when — then he violently cracked a whole heap on the side of my plate… Weird.
My friend had the bone-​in ribeye steak. It was good. The assistant came by and served the potato but he was really hurried and kind of violently dressed the potato. I guess the theme of the restaurant is ‘violently dressing food’.
To top off the dinner we ordered the cherries jubilee for two — THIS WAS THE WORST EVER. The cherries weren’t even really caramelized and by the time the ice cream came to us it was a melting heap of mess. The dessert itself tasted pretty terrible.
I am so glad I came here with friends before I took a client as I would never take a client here.

I was invited on an occasion with some very nice family friends and honestly, I’m going to put it out there that the food was good. However, they lose stars from me because of poor service. We probably ate $ 50 – 60 worth of stuff each so it’s not like anyone was cheap-​ing out.
I ordered the rib-​eye steak and I must admit that this was cooked to perfection. The beef was juicy and it was actually really medium rare. The caesar salad was also delicious.
However, service was extremely mediocre. They pretty much handed us our bill in the middle of a conversation we were having and as soon as we paid our bill, they stopped all their service altogether. Everyone’s water glasses were empty and they didn’t even ask to refill them. It was such an appalling «let me take your money so that you can gtho» attitude. For a supposedly high-​end restaurant, I find this extremely rude and I’m actually genuinely upset about this.
In any case, although the food was good, it’s not like I can’t get that same quality somewhere else in Toronto (that also has great service). Really not sure if I’m going to come back. I really also hope they take these reviews into serious consideration because I’m reading other people’s reviews and clearly, I’m not the only one who is unhappy with their service.

I didn’t think they actually meant the resto was a house when I first heard we were coming here for a client lunch. but it was!!! More like a two-​storey mansion. The service was great, waiter was very attentive and there was complimentary coat check. Most of the visitors there were in business wear and presumably taking a fancier lunch break from work.
I ordered the clam chowder to start, and it was one of the best ones I had — definitely comparable to what I tried when I went to the east coast. Creamy and flavoured to perfection, I can’t even.
I also had a spoonful of their special French onion soup. Oh em gee. The first and only time I ever had it was unfortunately at Timmie’s. My impression of French onion was forever tainted after that time. but Duncan House saved this dish for me. The cheese coated the soup perfectly and the onion flavour seeped deliciously through. However, it’s definitely a very filling soup as the people that ordered it all felt somewhat full after finishing it.
For the main, I had the special of the day which was a 6oz New York steak with crab cake and seasonal veggies. The surf and turf combo was nice since the resto is supposed to be known for both. However, I found the crab cake a little salty. I had my steak medium rare, and that was done just right with nice, subtle seasoning.
Recommended for a special occasion as the dinner menu is definitely on the pricey side — but ambiance is great and good for bigger groups as well.

Extremely mediocre. Disappointing. The setting is a beautiful old farm house.
Let’s start with the positives. The Caeser salad is hands down one of the best in Toronto. Made fresh at your table. It was a classic dressing with the egg white, anchovies, mustard and garlic. The garlic bread also was delicious and came out fresh, hot and tasty.
I had the rib eye and it arrived at the table warm. It was warm borderline cool. I mean come on guys. Who likes to eat a steak warm? My guess is that they don’t heat their plates in an oven like a Morton’s or Ruth Chris. Also the travel time from the kitchen to table could be lengthy due to the size of the place (duh maybe use something to cover the plates). Also when the plates do reach the area of a table it can sit for a few minutes on a tray waiting for a server. The steak was pretty burnt out the outside and the inside was fine. It’s a classic case of using to much heat. This IMHO a rookie mistake. I ended up only eating ½ because it simply wasn’t any good.
Service was extremely poor. Waiter made several mistakes on the order and had a stuck up attitude. Waiter was not attentive. Near the end of the meal we had to go look for our own milk and brown sugar because our waiter was nowhere to be found. The scary thing was the night we went was quiet. If our service and food was so poor on a slow night, can you even fathom a busy night?
The reason I gave my rating two stars is because the steak was piss poor. Also for a «fine dining» venue the service is a complete fail.

I’m so disappointed at the new management, oh why did Bill have to sell this place? WHY!!?
Like Charlotte W. has pretty much summarized, there are new additions to the menu, but they have taken off the soup/​salad that used to come with your entrees. I talked to one of the old waiters, and he said that they are using better grade beef but it doesn’t taste any different to me.
My usual order is their Prime Rib (the lighter cut has been taken off the menu), and the side veggies are now bok choy?! The shrimp cocktail now only comes in four shrimps instead of six like before.
Service is certainly not as friendly and warm as before. It’s so disappointing as an old regular that I may need to search elsewhere for my go-​to steak house unless this new owner gets his/​her shit together.

We come here for the food, not the décor, not the starchiness, and it does not disappoint. I especially love the oysters … personally, my favourite place for oysters. The lamb is exquisite, as are most of their dishes. The service is also very good.
Will continue to come; even under different management, the food is still good.

Be careful what you wish for. I wished this place would change, and now that it has…
Coming here, as I have reviewed before, is to come to a place of childhood memories. Where good things happened. So, it was to my big dismay that this Saturday’s experience was as cold as ever.
First, the two gentleman hosts were not here to greet us. They are both older, but always happy to see the Wongs. This time, I was surprised to see two younger men who obviously didn’t know who we were. They still greeted us and by any standards, were polite and gracious. But there was no warmth and I knew we wouldn’t sit upstairs at our favorite location. Instead, we were trucked to the lowest floor of the restaurant right by the exit door. My dad had a view of someone’s feet from the floor directly above us. It was a dark and creepy corner of the restaurant.
Then dinner. For those of you who have wished for a menu change, you got it. They have new food items: Grilled Atlantic Salmon (replaces the Broiled version), Porterhouse steak for two, Veal Chop, and Halibut… to name a few additions. New dessert items as well. Prices have, obviously, increased.
Now, here is where I was ticked. Before, every main course came with a salad or soup appetizer (no additional charge). They no longer do that. So, soup (the daily soup option) is an additional $ 6 and change, and then salad, a whopping $ 9 and change. But the salad and soups are still the same — they come in that mid-​sized plate and all you get for the salad are iceberg leaves and sauce. Nothing else. And for $ 9? They changed the price, but nothing else. If you want to charge this high for cheap leaves, than you better start adding Cheese from the Highlands and Olives hand-​picked from the Andalusia mountains.
One of the best value meals just became less so. You still get the garlic bread with Cottage Cheese and Pickles with your meals. But as a customer for over 15 years, I am not impressed.
The Escargots were really salty this time. My duck was the highlight of the meal (oh so tender and juicy), but my dad’s version was tough and not great. So, already, inconsistencies for the same dish.
Service was not the best. It was a busy Saturday night so food was slow to come out. Our waiter knew us before and acknowledged us, but another Waiter forgot our coffees and charged us for it. Than at the end, because he was lazy, asked if we just wanted our coffees. No. We wanted to go home because we had waited long enough for our drinks. So he had to redo the bill, but not our problem.
Overall, I was disappointed. It’s like coming home to find all your furniture has been re-​arranged without your knowledge (and for the worse at that). That feeling of great unsettlement.

Came here with tzutzuko mu on a Friday night. What a treat!
David Duncan House is a restored 19^th century mansion (much too big to be called «house»). The décor inside definitely has a European flair, it reminded me of some of the places I used to dine at out in the countryside in England. It’s the type of spot that older people would love — very traditional — but the service, ambiance and décor make it a perfect date spot.
Since my DC knew all the staff (they are Greek, naturally) we were seated in a prime spot next to a giant roaring fireplace. Very nice!
The menu is nothing to excite, unless you are a meat lover! It’s all about the steak here, although they do have a lot of seafood options. We ordered a Chateaubriand Bouquetiere (for 2) which is basically a giant beef tenderloin served with lots of grilled veggies, potatoes and Bearnaise sauce on the side. A waiter brings out a cart and sears the meat right by your table, it’s fun to watch!
For dessert we had Cherries Jubilee, which was also made tableside. Cherries flambeed with butter and sugar, then poured overtop a scoop of ice cream. I was too full to have more than a taste, but it was lovely.
Food was surprisingly well-​priced too all things considering. Wine list is extensive.
Absolutely lovely place for a special occasion!