Duke's
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Typically, our editorial slant at Seattledining.com is geared toward telling
readers about the better places to eat in town. Why waste your time with
telling you about what's not so good?
On the other hand, when bad is bad, then it's time we let it be known as a
courtesy to you to keep you off the path of disappointment, and with that we
offer you this feature on Duke's.
The first time I ate at Duke's was in 1997 at their Queen Anne location.
My meal was less than desirable and incredibly unhealthy. Enough grease
poured from my burger to lubricate a train. A few months following the
dreadful experience the location was converted by the owners into an Italian
restaurant, La Palina. While the food somewhat improved, it was not enough
to get it the reputation it needed and by the summer of 1999 it had been turned
back into the Duke's it was, well... kind of.
A friend of mine worked for a local radio station and we ate at the various
Duke's locations around the area all of 1999 using trade the station had.
Each time I was disappointed with the food I ordered which included items like
their fresh fish specials, clam chowders and burgers. I couldn't even find
a salad that was decent.
When I visited the Queen Anne room recently on a whim to see an associate of Sounds
of Seattle perform, I got even less than I had bargained for. I'm a
stickler for a decent happy hour complete with food and drink specials and since
it was early in the evening I inquired only to be told by the bartender that
there was none. Hmmmm? I'm at Duke's on Queen Anne in the heart of
the lower Queen Anne district, just minutes from the Mercer Arena, The Seattle
Center and downtown and there's no happy hour going on here? Begrudgingly,
I requested a menu and ordered a Garden Burger, crossing my fingers.
Midway through my meal I saw it plain as day on the wall behind the
bar. A sign with the whole run down of drink specials including martinis,
drafts and other concoctions. I inquired about this with the bartender who
informed me that none of those were in effect. So just what does this say
about the management at Duke's and how they run their business? I'm not
impressed and I'm sure there are others in the city who feel the same way.
For the record even my Garden Burger was greasy and awful. After three
bites I requested my check and that was the last time I'll be dining at Duke's.
On the good side, all I can say is the patio at the Greenlake location is a
good spot to sip some tea or a cocktail on a sunny afternoon or evening.
The four locations do feature an attractive wait staff. But if that's all
someone has to offer I know of better spots down the street for the same
ambience. How these people have operated a chain in Seattle for a quarter of a
century I'll never figure out.
Patrick Thomas/Spring 00
Editors note: Current Duke's locations to avoid are Greenlake, Queen
Anne, Lake Union, Bellevue. Patrick Thomas speaks his mind and while his
opinion is not always in line with ours at Seattle Dining, this time around he
hit the nail on the head!
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