Royal Court — Restaurant in City of Ithaca

A couple weeks after what I would have rated a solid 4-star Friday night dinner experience in the dining room here (tasty food, decent value, fast & friendly service, fun, kitschy, vintage decor, happy, welcoming family crowd), we returned and decided to eat at a table in the bar area. We sat next to another empty table that was reserved. Everything started out as well as our first visit, with a rowdy, but friendly Friday night adult crowd of regulars growing at the bar. Shortly after we were served, the party at the reserved table arrived, clearly another trio of elderly regulars from the greetings & chat with the bar staff & peers seated at the bar. Being a motel bar, I wouldn't have guessed it all that unusual or discouraged to have non-regulars and out-of-towners eat in the bar, but we started to get weird glances, and one of the group at the reserved table began to repeatedly run her chair into the back of my partner's seat, harder and harder. From the sidelong looks and giggles, it was both deliberate and encouraged by the staff and other customers. Really made it an unpleasant experience - I'm sad to say our delight in having found a fun, economical place for dinner & drinks, as well as for visiting friends and family to stay and dine has been completely disappointed, and we won't be going back, much less recommending the motel or bar/restaurant to...

I wish I could tell you the food was great. I wish I could tell you the service was excellent. I wish I had a million dollars. None of those wishes came true for me on my visit Thursday in September. I stopped in wanting to try some of the local fare. I found the 1970s decor, while not intentionally retro, was very retro, but in a cool way. Loved the overstuffed chairs and booths. However on this visit the patrons we're mainly drinking at the bar and the bar tender seemed to be playing double roll of waitress and bar keep. I sat patiently at a booth in the bar area and waited for the bartender/waitress to be free from her current duties to to be even greeted. We made eye contact several times, only to get a cordial smile and nothing more. No acknowledgement that I was there or that someone, anyone would be with me soon. I sat for 32 minutes (yes I timed it) and nothing. No menu, no waitress, no hello. As a matter of fact I think the most acknowledgement I received was from one of the patrons s at the bar who nodded and said hello....I don't think this is a restaurant? I think it's a bar for locals who sometimes eat a burger there. I'm going to guess the reviews on the food are also from the same people who...

A very specific experience, a bit like time travel. The food makes it worth a visit if it's a style of food you enjoy. If you are allergic to hip trends and foodie fads but still seek a quality fresh hot meal, this is your jam. Most servers and patrons were decades older than us (one of the grams walked up to our table and touched my partners colorful hair without warning or permission but that was probably an isolated situation and it was friendly not hostile) but definitely enjoyed a good meal and would visit again. Classic family style American fare with a salad bar. The food was good and the server's recommendations were good. I have a feeling the adjacent bar crowd is probably younger than the seated dining area and we might try that in future. We...