Duke's disaster

[yorkieb]

Dropped into Duke's last night, the one by the river. Was looking forward to a great experience based on good thing I had read on TV. We were told that we couldn't eat inside if we didn't have a booking. So OK no problem we were happy to sit outside at the road front. We ordered two starters (one being ribs appetiser) and two mains (one being rack of ribs). Then the waiter comes back 5mins later saying sorry we out of ribs so you must wait 30 mins. So ok we say we will wait. 2 mins later one starter arrives. So my wife has to eat that one or it will go cold and i wait. Half way through our wait we ask to change the delayed starter for another available one, "sorry need 30 mins as well". Bang on the 30 mins mark my pizza arrives. 2 mins later my wife's ribs show up so we cancel my ribs appetizers. Another 2 mins later the ribs appetiser arrives. So far 4 different waitresses all totally confused and in disarray. My wife (in Thai) explained that we had canceled the dish as my main coarse had arrived and mid conversation the waitress drops half of another dish she is carrying over our table then scooped it up and goes on to deliver it to an unsuspected table. At which point we lost the will to be there, played our bill and left. Service was absolutely rubbish and the food on the night was below average. We won't be returning any time soon.

[Rob13]

Maybe you caught them on a bad night, busy and short some staff. How were the ribs?

Edited December 31, 2015 by Rob13

[canuckamuck]

Should have at least taken the pizza to go, it would have been good. and you paid for it.

[jobin]

Yep. Bad things happen to good folks. Sorry for your inconvenience.

[cloudhopper]

It's that wonderful time of the year.

[daoyai]

I envy the OP, if in his world this is a "disaster"... must live a charmed life.

[anto]

>>must live a charmed life.<<..exactly,not that i would ever want to set foot in Hi-so Dukes ;-)

[PostmanPat]

I went to a very highly recommended restaurant in Bangkok last night and had a very disappointing evening, inattentive staff, delays, cold when it came, etc etc. Sadly I think what happens with some places at big holiday times is that the majority of staff either take or are given, time off, and the rest manage the best they can. If places cant offer normal service they should close, but they dont, and they wont, and instead they lose customers and risk bad reviews in places like trip advisor.

[NickJ]

When you change an order or cancel one it pretty much creates a fog of confusion. When you mix that with a full restaurant it's chaos. ........When you place an order and its in Thai and English and the English speaker throws a few words of Thai into the mix......Forget about it.

[NancyL]

Yes, it's definitely "that time of the year" where some of the best people in a restaurant are given time off because, well, they deserve it and the owner and rest of the newer staff try to muddle thru. Don't know if that was the situation at Duke's, but we've seen it at several places where we've dined in the past couple days.

I've been in several hospitals helping foreigners this week and the situation is much the same. They're short staffed, and they want to hurry up and discharge everyone who is remotely close to being ready for discharge so they can have empty beds for the New Year's carnage. Plus, some of the staff is busy decorating and setting up the sound system for the holiday parties.

[jimmym40]

I'm sure the place was packed, as you mentioned, had to eat outside. It makes sense that during holiday periods, top of the line restaurants will be packed. So be prepared for it. You picked the wrong time to eat there for the first time. Go to any Dukes during the week days and I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised as how good everything on the menu is. Give it a second chance, if not, you'll be missing out big time.

[sappersrest]

I envy the OP, if in his world this is a "disaster"... must live a charmed life.

I have every sympathy with the OP.

It could well be a "disaster" especially as some one has taken the effort to go to an in town restaurant for especial treat..

There should be no excuse for bad service no matter what time of the year. I find the service in that place to be very indifferent I feel that I am in the staffs way and really should not be there , though the food isn't bad.

[CharlieH]

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[NancyL]

It's easy for us as westerners to say "well, the management of Dukes should know that this would be a busy time and have staffed accordingly" but there's only so much you can do with what you have to work with

Yes, please give them another chance. If not at the Mae Ping location, then one of their other restaurants in Promenada or Maya mall.

[yorkieb]

When you change an order or cancel one it pretty much creates a fog of confusion. When you mix that with a full restaurant it's chaos. ........When you place an order and its in Thai and English and the English speaker throws a few words of Thai into the mix......Forget about it.[/quote

My wife is Thai and did all the ordering. When her ribs arrived she asked was this the rib appetizer as we have been warned that the portions are large the waitress looked confused and offered to bring her the menu to check it which made no sense. The staff didn't seem to know there own menu.

[yorkieb]

Maybe you caught them on a bad night, busy and short some staff. How were the ribs?

The pizza was a little undercooked and too doughy for me and the ribs were dry. Not the fall off the bone experience we had expected. We did eat there two years ago hence the return visit. However there are many more excellent restaurants competing for our baht in CM and as many have said here the tills at dukes won't stop ringing just for the loss of my custom.

[roo860]

I've been in several hospitals helping foreigners this week and the situation is much the same. They're short staffed, and they want to hurry up and discharge everyone who is remotely close to being ready for discharge so they can have empty beds for the New Year's carnage. Plus, some of the staff is busy decorating and setting up the sound system for the holiday parties.

Nancy please be content with the POTY award, next years Florence Nightingale award hasn't started yet.

Edited December 31, 2015 by roo860

[jonwilly]

Had excellent meals at The German place out at Meechok on Tuesday and Arcobalano on Wednesday.

Good Food and Service.

Does this mail say something about Dukes ?

john

Edited December 31, 2015 by Tywais
Link to libelous article removed

[Rama]

I don't go to the Duke or any of the big restaurants on the days around the big holidays for that very reason. It tends to be chaos. Go next week and I'm sure your experience will be different.

[bangmai]

If it's a good idea to avoid restaurants with "Help Wanted" signs, in Thailand, you should probably avoid places with "For Sale" signs, too. I had forgot what a circus New Years is, here. Kind of like Songkran. Yesterday, a guy from a well known appliance store was a no show for an A/C install check (just an estimate). I had been in their store the afternoon before. No call....not reassuring to know they can't even keep a pre-sale appointment. It's weekend warrior times 10....I'll probably stay in tonight. Good thing I bought a case of Chang before Christmas, for some reason, I still have 10 left.

[MaeJoMTB]

Maybe you caught them on a bad night, busy and short some staff. How were the ribs?

The pizza was a little undercooked and too doughy for me and the ribs were dry. Not the fall off the bone experience we had expected. We did eat there two years ago hence the return visit. However there are many more excellent restaurants competing for our baht in CM and as many have said here the tills at dukes won't stop ringing just for the loss of my custom.

Duke's has changed since 2 years past (when it was a great place to eat).

Dave was taken over (hostile), and now as only the 'front man' doesn't appear to give a da_mn.

It'll be gone soon.

[CMKiwi]

Like the OP, I too have been to the Dukes near the river twice. The first time was ok but not worth all the hype that people make it out to be. I thought maybe just a bad night for the staff.

On the second visit things just got worse. Soup was lukewarm bordering on cold, a word with the staff and they took it back to the kitchen to 'nuke' it in the microwave. I think that is how they tried to warm it in the first place as the bowl was quite hot compared to the contents.

For the main we thought we would try one of their 'famous' pizzas. Not impressed with either the base nor the scant toppings but really was disappointing was the amount of salt either put in or on the pizza. I managed 2 slices before deciding to give up.

The second visit wasnt during any festive season so there really was no excuse for the aforementioned faults.

Like others on this forum, I act/vote with my feet. There are other places with better food in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas and dare I say it at less cost.

Sorry the OP had such a bad time too

[totally thaied up]

Went last week and two of my dishes were cold as in like the North Sea cold. We were just about to start out meal when they asked us to move to a smaller table so they could fit a family of 4 on our table. I mean, the first dish was already on our table as were the drinks as well and we were still asked to move!

Yep, food and standards have gone down badly now over the last 18 months. I will go now to other places now to eat. I mean, I practically had ice dripping out of my dishes (looked like pre-cooked and then taken out the fridge to reheat) and had no taste to them at all.

[northernjohn]

The whole Dukes empire is for sale.. Under (allegedly) odd circumstances..

Craigslist has it.

My understanding is the price is to high and will take a long time to sell at it.

This of course has nothing what so ever to do with the OP.

Not sure why it was thrown in.

As for the OP I am a long time Dukes fan. The service has not always been the best or the worst. I don't pay 5 star prices so I don't expect western 5 star service. Also I am well aware of the reality that finding a Thai capable of serving in all kinds of situations is very hard to do and to expect every one of them to be perfect is unreasonable.

As for the food some I don't like so I don't order it. Some I like so much I have a problem choosing between them.

Now for the ribs to each their own. I don't order them but my Thai wife who eats very little that isn't Thai will order the small portion. My boy will be visiting me again and it is the river side Dukes for the first dinner where he will have according to him the best ribs in the world.

Service. I have been a long time patron at Dukes and I have noticed that every time he opens a new restaurant the service quality at the river side location goes down. I am not in business here in Thailand but it is my understanding that they are hard pressed to find good reliable steady help. The more you employ the harder it is to find them. I will continue to patronize them as well as a few others because I like the food. I have also sent some thing back no problem. Like Dave says you got a problem let him know or tell the manager.

[theDukes]

It's very busy right now. Sorry about problems. better to talk with the manager right when something is happening than to hold it in and let it bother you. Lattana, the manager, was helping them in the kitchen to get the food out. Up to you where you want to eat and go.

As far as the rumors insinuated here. Yes The Duke's is for sale as is The River Market. If someone would buy them Pin and I want to move on to the next cycle of our lives. Our kids are getting through university and we would like to slow things down in a few years. This does not mean that we spend all of our days giving 120% to our businesses and we work with our managers to do the best job that they can do. Unfortunately sometimes things get messed up. Particularly when it is so busy.

The Duke's has not been taken over and nor is it being owned or controlled by the boiler room boys as implied by Andrew Drummond. There is a reason that Andrew Drummond left Thailand. He was about to go to jail for fabricating stories and distorting the facts. Mark Hutcherson was the original partner in The Duke's Night Bazaar. He was the one who brought us the location and asked if we wanted to do a restaurant there. He was a partner there for about 6 years until he sold his shares to someone else. He hasn't been associated with The Duke's for at least 3 years and never held management control. He was a shareholder. Drummond is a sensationalist that has lost his insight on Thailand by being forced to leave and is making it up as he goes along so that people do not forget him. Before he wrote his first article he didn't even check with me. When I pointed out his facts were wrong he changed the article but still implied that Mark had been involved in all the restaurants. Not true. In fact one of the partners in The River Market, The Promenada and The Maya is a little fellow named Gino Wernikoff that many on here know well. There are a few other partners is some of the restaurants.

That being cleared up have a Happy New Year.

Dave

Edited December 31, 2015 by theDukes

[CharlieH]

Following the response given above by the owners.

This thread is now CLOSED