The Duck

We were in the area and wanted to try something that wasn’t a chain and wouldn’t be greasy food. So glad we picked the Duck for lunch. The beer selection was good not just the regular options but something different for everyone’s palette. I had the two roads espresso porter, which I highly recommend if you’re a porter fan. I couldn’t decide on a salad or a sandwich lucky for me they had a pick two so I could have the best of both worlds! The fig salad and blacked salmon wrap were wonderful and left me very full and satisfied!

Yummy Mac and Cheese… a must try! Both my husband and my daughter loves it. Unique sunken in bar too

I meet me friends from Connecticut and wester Massachusetts here for lunch frequently. The lunches are delicious. I have tried every salad they offer and you cannot go wrong with these offering especially coupled with the soup of the day.
The service is excellent, the décor is rustic and lovely. The prices are appropriate and not excessive.

Don’t come here with high expectations! Forgot my wife’s house salad. The ran out of duck before 1pm on a Sunday afternoon. Please go else where. It’s not a place to bring family unless you don’t mind over paying for a burger. Stay away!

What a shame. This place just isn’t what it used to be. Lack of options on menu for a vegetarian. Food is just marginal and for the price, they need to step it up. I am afraid I won’t be returning for a while until the get a new chef or new management.

A classy but not too expensive restaurant in Sturbridge OSV area. Bar is super comfortable. Hostess and waitress were extremely nice and accommodating (big win for me — first impressions). Food is very good — we ordered the house burger, chicken pot pie, and Mac n cheese. All with local and ingredients and amazing. Wine was affordable and tasty too. highly recommend. Brought a date here on Valentine’s and she was impressed.

The food was good and always has been. My issue is the bar. I paid $ 4.25 for a beer at my meal. I order the same beer and was charged $ 4.65 sitting at the bar by a male bartender. I then paid for a round: for my wife, daughter and myself. The drink was $ 7 that my daughter orders their all the time as she is a frequent visitor. My wife had the same $ 7 draft during her meal and I ordered my same beer.
7 + 7 + 4.25 = 18.25 but the female bartender charged $ 20.
Obviously, something was not correct or they charge different prices on different nights or different prices for different seating.
My advise is to run a tab as paying by the rounds will be an adventure in billing and it wiil not be in the customers favor.
It is a shame to be treated like that. I will be spending my $ 140 some place else.

This is a lovely place to eat a nice but reasonably priced lunch in the Sturbridge area. I met an old friend here to catch up after not seeing each other for almost a year, and it was great.
The starter pumpernickel bread is good. I got the lobster mac and cheese, and my friend got the arugula and pancetta salad, which the waitress recommended over the ahi tuna burger! In fact, the salads passing by us all looked huge and delicious (and I don’t usually order salad). My mac and cheese was not mind blowing (hence 4 and not 5 stars) but it was certainly tasty, with good chunks of claw meat, and very rich — I only ate half of it! I wish I had thought to get a side salad or something with it to give my meal some more flavor variety.
The service was perfect. My friend and I were there almost two hours catching up, which I know is a little on the longer side, but we were never made to feel rushed out.
Hope I get to go back sometime to try the chicken pot pie and, you guessed it, some arugula salad!

The Duck doesn’t disappoint! It’s not always perfect; today’s service was rather slow because they were too busy for the limited wait staff. However, the food was amazing! I’d not been there since I’ve been gluten free. Let me tell you, the four family members who tried my Mac and Cheese couldn’t believe it was gf! It was thick with a delicious three cheese blend and the pasta was done just right! I was in heaven! It’s a starter, but I only ate about half of it along with my arugula salad (butternut squash, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, slivered almonds — no pancetta for me). I’m looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.
One daughter had the same salad with a good sized portion of grilled salmon — moist and flavorful. My husband’s turkey panini was oozing with turkey, havarti, cranberry and stuffing! Clam chowder, New York Sirloin, Salmon wrap with cheddar and tzatziki and open faced hot turkey dinners were all big hits with my family!
I appreciated the fresh brewed decaf– smooth, hot, and delicious! The restaurant is upstairs from the fancier Italian partner, Avillino, so stairs might be a concern for some. The atmosphere is cozy, there’s a full bar and clean bathrooms.

The ambiance made half the meal. The service was slower than typical New England standards, but was super helpful.
The chicken pot pie was delicious, though more stewy than your typical pot pie. It felt like eating chunky soup with a layer of baked dough. It warmed my insides on a rainy night, and I’d eat it again, now that I know what to expect. But if you’re looking for a traditional pot pie, this one is not for you.
Try the desserts – it was a good end to a decent meal.

A wonderful find. Great ambiance rich in history and marvelous setting. Holiday décor was not overdone, but tasteful. Lunch menu pricing is phenomenal! Depending on your server, you may have to specifically request the complimentary bread for your table. For those with physical limitations, there is a flight of stairs leading up to the restaurant FYI. I ordered the mac and cheese, a wonderfully gourmet, but faithful-​to-​the-​classic version of the dish. It is listed as an appetizer, but comes in a huge bowl enough for a meal. Their gluten-​sensitive menu has a wide variety of options. Wish I had saved room for dessert!

We went on Saturday night and as we arrived the parking lot was full but we lucked out and got a spot. It was interesting to see that there were two restaurants in the same building; one upstairs and one on the main floor. As we walked in, we walked upstairs and went to the hostess. We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation so we waited at the bar. A nice surprise was that there was live music, it added to the lively but somewhat loud atmosphere.
Once we were seated our waitress came over and took our drink orders. She was very pleasant and friendly. We started off with the clam chowder and house salad. The soup could have been hotter but was tasty and full of clams and potatoes. We both ended up ordering the Chicken Pot Pie which was huge. It had a nice homemade crust on top and came out scorching hot! It was full of white meat chicken and vegetables. My only complaint is that it could have used some salt. Lastly, for dessert we ordered the ice cream of the night. Perfect way to cap off the night. We stayed a little longer to listen to the music. Overall, it was a decent night out. Not overly expensive depending on what you order as there are two sections of the menu you can order from. A cozy and casual atmosphere.

There were 4 of us for lunch on a Saturday. We got there early (11:45) and were asked if we had a reservation. We looked curiously at the hostess as the restaurant was empty. Within ½ hour of our arrival, there was not an empty seat. 3 of us ordered the chicken pot pie and 1 the turkey panini. Both were excellent. I would highly recommend.

We were excited to try The Duck based on the reviews we read. We dine out in many very good restaurants and are used to excellent food.
I came away disappointed. I had the pan seared scallops special with lobster and mushroom risotto. The scallops were not seared at all and were flavorless. The lobster in the risotto was tasty and tender but the risotto itself had no flavor and was not seasoned. My husband had the duck two ways. The duck was good but the rice had no flavor.
My husband ordered a glass of wine that was less than half full. He was okay with that until the table across from us ordered wine and received glasses of wine that were three quarters full. From the ongoing conversation we realized that one of the patrons either worked at the restaurant or knew several of the staff members. The table got a lot of attention and we did not get the attention we should have been given.
Dessert was good, that is why you get the 3 stars otherwise it would have been 2 ½.

I’m an old time customer of the «Ugly Duckling» (It’s original name for the last several owners). It used to be an interesting place with a diverse menu. No longer so. We used to eat anything from just a sandwich for six bucks to a sirloin steak or filet mignon. They’ve genericized the menu completely and eliminated sandwiches except for a couple of them elevated to some kind of «dinner» for twice the price. Their online menu said that they have a cheese sandwich for $ 9 which wasn’t even on the menu when I went in. The place has lost it’s character completely along with being considerably overpriced in my opinion. The food isn’t actually bad, just boring and considerably overpriced. This isn’t progress, just profit.

My family and I have been here a few times and have always had really great experiences. The food is delicous and feels like upscale comfort food. Their chicken pot pie is delicous as is their meatloaf. Save room for dessert too as they do that very well too. I’d recommend the duck for a fun night out!

I see this type of restaurant a lot. The food is good, but not great. Kind of expensive but not toooo expensive. Yummy options but not interesting or inspired.
Lunch was certainly a more inexpensive way to try this spot.
Lobster Mac and cheese? okay, not great.
Salad a little wilty.
I’d certainly rather eat here than a lot of other places, but only if this were the best option.

Stopped in to have lunch here on a Saturday. Dining for the Duck is upstairs in a rustic room. I had a burger with bacon and creamy cheddar cheese on top of salad greens with fries. Nice big and juicy burger. Fries done perfectly. Water refilled instantly!
We had a 50% off email that I was supposed to print but left it home, Chris our waiter said no problem. Just looked the email on the phone. He was also a very good waiter.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in New England. I’ve never had a bad meal here and they once had a stuffed cheeseburger which was probably top 5 burgers i’ve ever had in my life. Everything down to the cocktails are made with fine quality and the service has been excellent. I’ve been about 6 times and never had bad service so I would think that any bad reviews about service could be a fluke.
You have to try The Duck if you’re in the area. Even if you’re not — go for the drive.

Four stars because the food was very good, but the service was subpar.
The waitress saw the six of us come in and sit at a table… two of my friends went to wash their hands. and she comes back and recites the specials without them being present… A few times during the visit, she would just talk over our conversations, describing something or asking for something… just plain rude and un-​professional.
The food was great… we all liked what we had… burgers, quesadilla, pork loin special, panini… food was definitely good… Kudos to the kitchen… Waitstaff needs some retraining.