Arby's — Restaurant in Bakersfield

The first and last time I had ever eaten at Arby's was in 1995. It wasn't because of a bad experience. Honestly, i don't know why I never went back. As I passed by this local restaurant, the thought motivated me to drop in for a visit.

First Impression and Service It was late afternoon, when most restaurants are slow down. I was somewhat surprised to see 3 tables with customers and a couple of cars in the drive-thru (I just don't hear people talk about Arby's). My first impression was the place was very clean. The staff made sure to greet me as I entered. That was nice. Not familiar with the menu, I spent a minute going over it. I asked the cashier, Tammy and the trainee, what item was popular. Tammy was quick to offer a suggestion, the roast beef. A person, who I assume was a supervisor, based on her focus on some paperwork at the counter, interrupted and impatiently said, "Items 1 through 10," and put her head back down to focus on her paperwork. This did not answer my question and only brought me back to where I was. Of course, the combo meals are popular! People skills may not be her best suite, but she's probably a very reliable and trustworthy employee. Tammy said most people get the roast beef sandwich. That is what I ordered. Tammy was very friendly, polite and sincerely engaging.

The Sandwich As recommended, I had the roast beef sandwich, mid size. The sesame seed bun is toasted on a griddle and given a nice color and texture. Inbetween, was a generous portion of thinly shaved beef. It reminded me of the I didn't see much else on the sandwich other than the meat and bread, which is why I assume that the selection of sauces is available. I took advantage of the creamy horseradish-like sauce called "Horsey Sauce" and their house sauce, simply labeled "Arby's sauce". The Horsey Sauce is a like a mild version of creamy horseradish sauce. Arby's Sauce is like a very mild BBQ sauce. Both were pleasant. They did have turkey and chicken, which I would try on the next visit. They offer $1 sliders between 2PM and 5PM. The selection of sliders seemed interesting.

The Fries No choice was offered for fries so I assume seasoned curly fries is Arby's standard offering with meals. The fries were okay. Although hot and fresh, they were not the best curly fries I have had and not the worst. I did find myself dipping my fries in the Horsey Sauce more than the ketchup. I liked this combination.

THEY SERVE PEPSI!!! I was very happy to see Pepsi was served here. They even had Pepsi Wild Cherry in the fountain - I like a little splash of it in my Diet Pepsi.

Summary/TL;DR Clean. Tammy offered great service. I got a very corporate-like feeling and that's a good thing for a fast-food restaurant. That feeling to me instills trust by coming across as dependable. The food was enjoyable without the normal guilt felt eating a fast food hamburger. I will probably just skip the fries next time though, maybe side salad? I would go back, but likely not out of my way. Did I mention they...

We went to Arby's on Rosedale Hwy at 8:30 this evening. As we pulled into the drive through line the lights on the menu boards both went out. It wasn't possible to read the menu because it was so dark. There were 4 cars ahead of us and when I finally pulled up to the order box I had to wait 15minutes & no one came on to take my order. A car pulled in behind me and left after 10 minutes. When the car ahead of me received their order & pulled away, I still had not been ae to place my order. I pulled up to the window & no one was there. In a couple of minutes a girl appeared & asked if she could help me. I told her no one had taken my order. Her reply was " Oh the battery died on my headset & I jad to get a new battery." Does it take 15 minutes to get a new battery?! I then mentioned that we couldn't see the menu because the lights weren't on. Reply " They go off automatically at 8:30 & we don't know why." Where was the manager??!! When we finally got our food we had been in line for 40 minutes and when we got home the buns on our classic roast beef sandwiches were falling apart & we're stale. The food was also cold. We have in the past gone to the Arby's on Buck Owen's & never had cold or stale food. You need an adult manager in the evening at the Rosedale location. We will never return there & can't recommend it at all. Very disappointed in everything from service to...

Normally I love this place but this is my only way to get their attention for today. We ordered two combos and two Jamocha shakes. We pull up and there's something wrong with their systems. Okay. Not their faults...but their reactions could have been better. After five minutes they handed the card back and explained. This is where it got bad. After another five minutes they gave us our drinks....and our melted shakes. It took another ten minutes before we got our cold food because payment finally went through. No offer to remake the shakes or warm up the food. And really after ten you'd think they'd at least comp the drinks. Oh! And I'm having to do it this way because they did NOT give us a receipt so we couldn't call the customer service number to say what happened. The manager was fine. She seemed flustered and likely was too busy trying to fix the mechanical/software error than realize how long we had...