RBF, Your Authentic Champagne Bar — Restaurant in Cary

Was really excited for this place but walked out disappointed. It’s well decorated and cute to take pictures in, but the service was particularly lackluster. My friend and I came in around 1.5 hours before closing, and there was not a single guest indoors. The waitress who greeted us said we could sit at the far end of the restaurant or “wherever else” we desired. Since she offered us the option of choosing, we asked to sit by the windows. She seemed inconvenienced by this, stating that they were “trying to seat people closer to the other end” of the room. Later on, I realized it’s because they didn’t want their staff walking an extra ten steps to deliver our drinks to the table by the windows, and instead they wanted us to sit by the bar so it would be 10 steps fewer to walk. May I repeat that there was NO ONE else inside the restaurant, and the staff would already have to walk towards the windows anyways because there was a group of 3 seated outside. When we requested a different table than the one offered, the lady sighed and said “honestly yeah whatever. You can sit anywhere” ….?? What??!

As multiple other people have stated in their reviews, this business boasts a tip-free system (except for automatic 20% gratuity on parties greater than 6) and prides themselves on paying their staff livable wages. That was one of the main reasons we chose to come here. However I think it’s a bit weird to say they are “tip free” but then still show a tip screen after closing the tab. I feel like they should at least mention on the tip screen. Because they factor the tip into their prices, they are much higher than normal.

Lastly, on my way out the door, I accidentally spilled a glass of water. I didn’t break or drop the glass on the floor, and only water was spilled on the floor. I was frantically trying to look around for a napkin and trying to contain the spill, and the staff was just staring at me the entire time. None of them offered a towel, none of them came to help, none of them even moved an inch, and none of them said a word. It was blank stares like i was a zoo animal, and I was mortified. It wasn’t until i looked up and made direct eye contact with one of them that they said “don’t worry about it, it’s fine”.

They definitely live up to the name of the restaurant. RBFs all around. I hate feeling like I’m inconveniencing the staff of an establishment at which I’m a customer. I definitely won’t be back. If you are planning to go, I’d recommend lowering your expectations of service and reading the terms and conditions on the website. The moscato d’asti also wasn’t...

Update: brought my wife this trip to NC (she's working on a MW after finishing WSET Diploma) and she thoroughly appreciated all the detail that went into the choices made for vibe and atmosphere here, and the gal playing guitar outside didn't hurt the ambiance of the place. Female-owned, female-driven, living wages, phenomenal curated wine list, nice small bites...geeze! Again...tops for probably the state of NC, let alone Cary. Her favorite glass was the Phillipe Fontaine Champagne--don't miss it! The Chibatta w truffle butter cost almost nothing and broke up everything perfectly-- honestly, if I lived here, I'd make weekly trips here just to take the butter home. I think we dropped a couple hundred exploring the dark side of Champagne, but without my wife's presence the first visit to NC I can say I loved my less expensive Lambrusco and even the Elio Altare Barbera...I'm just a sucker for Italian reds...so if bubbles aren't your thing, you're covered. Bottom line, wifey gives the stamp of approval and she's got the creds...so happy my ground work ended up being worthwhile. The owner must live here and even remembered my visit 4 months ago--again confirming the customer orientation. This place is just too right. 😝

Wow! Finally! I was visiting my sis who moved to Cary from Seattle a couple years ago (I'm in Austin myself), and this entire wine scene in the RTP area is a collection of stores that serve wine rather than wine bars that cater to Somms (cool wines not found in a store and small bites to pair w the wine). Look no further--after visiting around a dozen places in Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Cary & RTP, I can safely say this place rises to the top for wine enthusiasts. I encountered a couple of honorable mentions for having a well-curated wine list, but no one nailed the trifecta to go with it with food, service, and vibe. I didn't even realize I was speaking with the owner until 15 min. after--that alone shows the interest in the customer experience. The knowledgeable staff steered me to a Lambrusco that was my fave, but I found a bubbly rose from Italy that was a mix of sangiovese and shiraz I loved too. The manchego chips were really good--I need to return hungrier to try more. Did I mention the outdoor patio, free parking, and nice price points? How about the living wage paid? 5 stars with no reservations in my...

•parking was a nightmare •drinks were not good (especially for the price point - $15-20 for ONE drink) •service was bad and the owner was absolutely rude and horrible to our group

I went with a group of friends for book club and we all had very high hopes for this place as it LOOKS super cute online. we were planning on meeting at RBF for the next few months, but after our experience there we will not be going back as a club or individually.

when getting our bills, we noticed our bill was higher than we expected it to be. I asked for an itemized receipt and found out that there was a 20% gratuity added to our bill without telling us. I have no problem tipping, but when a tip is added without telling us, then asking our entire group for ADDITIONAL tips on top of that, it’s unbelievable. they did not show us our receipts so we all tipped an additional 10-20% on top of a bill that already included a 20% tip. when we brought this up to the owner she was incredibly rude to us and was trying to convince us to not change our tips by saying “do you really want to do this?” “you should have checked the website and saw we add gratuity on top of large parties” “this will take a while” “are you sure you want to remove the tip?” “what are you expecting me to do?” for owning a business in the service industry - you would think they would have better customer service.

not to mention when the owner “fixed” our tabs, she screamed at us from across the bar that our tips had been removed to try to embarrass us in front of the other customers. as of this time- by bill still has not been corrected by them and my credit card statement shows the incorrect amount.

for a place that prides itself on paying workers a living wage and tips aren’t necessary, they sure do find a way to add one regardless and then make you tip on top of that! it’s predatory to the customers. especially when we had no knowledge of this being added to our bill.

there are so many other places in raleigh and the surrounding areas that are cute and have better drinks, parking, and customer service, I would not spend your money on RBF. save yourself the hassle and go elsewhere. I won’t...