Rocky River Cafe — Restaurant in Perth

If I were pressed to describe, in one word, my experience at Rocky River Cafe, I'd have to say it was rushed.

The waitress who seated us asked for our drink orders before we had our coats off or were given menus. We told her that we wanted to settle in first. She came back in less than a minute to ask again. We hurriedly ordered cocktails and she disappeared, only to return two minutes later without our drinks but to ask this time for our meal orders. We were still getting ourselves oriented and hadn't had an opportunity to look at the menu. She literally hovered over us until we decided: fish and chips for me, schnitzel and fries for my wife, and steak frites for our guest. Basically, fish frites, steak frites, and schnitzel frites. The salads arrived before our drinks, and then the meals before we'd taken two bites of the salad. Drinks arrived with dinner, though my wife's glass of red didn't make its appearance until much later. My fish was fried to within an inch of its life: dark brown, lifeless in that pre-frozen way, and very dry. It had the same colour and consistency as my wife's schnitzel. She was happy with her meal, as was our guest.

Still, hurry hurry hurry. Both waitresses came by at least three or four times each to interrupt us with quality checks. In fact, having a conversation was virtually impossible without being sidetracked by how's it going guys all good great! I had barely put down my fork when our waitress arrived to clear the table and present me with our bill, even though my wife was still eating. We looked at each other and said, "Gee, I guess they want us out of here."

Did her manager promise she could cut out early, after she'd turned our table? That's what it felt like.

Too bad, too. It's a nice place. But relaxing? Enjoyable?

Hardly. Three stars. And I'm being generous.

UPDATE: Thanks, Keith, for responding so quickly to my review. It isn't the waitress; it's the training. I say that with great respect, from one service industry professional to another. Also, there were two waitresses on hand for three tables. I'm certain the rush wasn't more than they...

I had been looking forward to trying this place for months, since it is ranked amongst the top restaurants in Perth. The back patio area looks gorgeous and even whimsical and inside it feels rustic and welcoming with an exposed brick wall and art hung throughout. There were some pretty impressive cobwebs just above head level when seated, so the place could use a good clean in the indoor dining area. We visited, quite by accident, on the same evening as the town of Perth was hosting their night market, which may have contributed to the poor service. We saw our server only twice, when she took our order and when she checked on us, when she performed her table check she didn't wait for us to answer her before she was off to tend to another guest. The beet salad was nice, although, the salad was 99% spring greens. For example, there were only 2 sad wrinkly grape tomatoes in the entire salad. The burger was just okay, the bun was stale and we were overall not very impressed. The Nashville Hot chicken sandwich was a complete disappointment. The chicken was dry and clearly overdone, and the bun was also stale. Initially is seemed that they had not put any Nashville Hot sauce on the chicken but when we flagged someone down to ask for more, what they brought out was a very liquid sauce, more like a very thin au jus than anything I have seen on a Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich in the past. The flavours in the sauce were not what I had been expecting almost like they had mixed chilli powder with water, and it was not the salty, sweet and spicy sauce that is associated with that sandwich. Overall we were very disappointed with this visit, and surprised by the...

I think we had an off night or maybe ordered the wrong items?

LSS: Odd service, food was subpar for the reviews.

We visited on a Friday evening, it seemed busy but we did get a table without a reservation on the patio.

We were well greeted by staff and the atmosphere was lovely. We order, and were provided water, jalapeño poppers took 25 / 30 minutes but were very good.

We got the chicken and hot chicken sandwiches which sounded great but sadly they fell flat, literally. Maybe the chicken was over tenderized because it tasted bland and was very thin. We assumed they would be pan fried but it was so greasy it must have been deep fried (not crispy deep fried) At this point I almost gave it back as it was wasn’t good. I did ask for mayo which never arrived. We had also run out of water.

When a woman bussing came to the patio to clean I asked for water. She got us water right away, and ask us about the meals. We shared what we thought and she said nothing.

When the waitress finally came she cleared another table first that was served after us, in my experience this is not common practice. When she came to see us and asked if we wanted the bill. No question of dessert or a drink.

We paid at the bar, then walked out the front door right into a patio sign blocking the main exit door…

Overall, I don’t think it a full reflection of the restaurant, they have great reviews. Maybe don’t try our meals, and maybe they were understaffed. Overall, we...