The Roadhouse Byron Bay — Restaurant in Byron Bay

My partner and I live 100m from The Roadhouse Cafe and often have a coffee there and always highly recommend to our guests and friends. Today however we had one of the most unsettling dining experiences we have ever experienced. After ordering our drinks and with the recommendations from one of the staff we both ordered the Special Baked Eggs. After a small wait, we were then advised that they no longer served this dish. So, we quite happily changed our order and waited for it to arrive. This is when things turned started to head straight down. After trying the guacamole, there was a big hard lump, normally not an issue, so I just advised the staff member that there were quite a few hard lumps in the guacamole. She poked at it with her finger and said "Is that all" and reluctantly took it back to be replaced. She then brought it out and I asked if they had any tomato relish, chilli jam, sauce...... etc. which was met with an unfriendly laugh saying "No, we don’t do sauces......... we only have marmalade". As she was aware it was for my bacon and eggs, she then returned even more "rude" and plonked it on the table. Turns out my partner had the perfect "Tomato relish" with her scrambled eggs. I asked the same staff member about the relish and she this time extremely rudely informed us that it was not tomato relish/chutney/sauce/jam...... that it had other ingredients also. So, we were a bit shaken but decided to continue eating and then the manager/owner came over and asked if everything was ok. I discretely ask to talk outside as I didn’t want to have other customers affected by our experience. I explained to the young owner that we are quite upset with the service and that the lady was very rude to us..... This is where I thought things may be resolved, a simple apology and that would have been that. Actually, the owner literally laughed in my face saying that they are a VERY popular cafe and that they are very busy every day and some people just have different experiences. He actually made everything so much worse as he laughed at me and made me feel so ridiculous and embarrassed. He said he would refund me as he walked away smirking. Our friends arrived with their 2 daughters and he came to our table and continued to justify how they were a busy cafe and that it was all just "too funny" and laughing at all of us as though it was a big joke. He humiliated me and my family, my two friends and their daughters. And even though my partner tried to say that there is no excuse for rudeness, he couldn’t help but laugh at her also. This has turned into one of the most humiliating experiences that we have ever had the displeasure of...

We’ve stayed by Roadhouse a number of times when in Byron, but never visited, and always heard good things and said we must go!

Finally on our last morning, after packing up our accommodation & the car, we called into Roadhouse.

It was a beautiful morning and the only seating left was inside. We felt a bit awkward with all the children going and sitting inside and spreading out, but we were quickly put at ease! I wish I knew the waitresses name. She was just gorgeous, so attentive and friendly, and even cracked jokes, while the children yelled and demanded orders from hubby and I.

We had a couple of delicious meals - plates with burgers (and the burgers were absolutely scrumptious proper big burger patties) & a poke bowl with noodles. We also had a sticky chai and coffee, which were both super nice too!

While we were all sitting eating and chatting, the waitress would pop by every now and again and drop off little tasting plates or different things for the children including their own mini chai cup & noodles (we hadn’t asked or paid for extras, such a special touch which rarely exists anymore, right?!).

There was such a great atmosphere with locals poking their heads in to say hi to staff and grab drinks, along with their cute dogs.

We were sad to leave Byron this trip, and it was so special to finish on such a high at Roadhouse!

I really wish I knew the waitresses name to be able to mention her personally, but hopefully this will be passed on to her!

Thanks for having the family and going above and beyond, we will be back on our next...

Great venue and vibe but so slow... Nice outside seating area with lights, and a cosy indoor area with a welcoming feel. We were greeted by a friendly guy, but after being seated had to follow up for our menus. No big deal as they were getting busy, but didn't set a good impression. The waitress helped us find a tailored non alcoholic version of a cocktail for my pregnant wife, which was good. Our first dish came out a fair while after ordering, but was delicious hoisin duck Bao buns which we ate up fast. From there things went downhill steeply though - we waited until 7.40pm (we had arrived at 6 and ordered by 6.20 in a 2 hour sitting), for our main dishes to arrive, and when they did they came 5 minutes apart! We were starving and I had to chase up as we were worried they had been lost. The poached beetroot salad, and the beef ribs were both pretty good dishes, but we were pissed off by then and the experience was turning sour. What really was the final straw though was when the waitress came over to remind us that the sitting ended at 8! I asked her if she realised that we had received our mains 10 minutes earlier at 740pm and her response was somewhat confusingly that this was because it had been a 6pm sitting! At that point we decided to leave! All in all pretty good food, but a long, long wait and don't be surprised if you are then hurried along when it...