Locals Only — Restaurant in City of Rochester

Geeze, where do I start? The first red flag should have been when we walked in and the floor was filthy. Like guys, can you not bother to sweep/mop? The second red flag should have been the smell of the place -- I can't be absolutely sure what it was but it did not smell pleasant, and it was ubiquitous (I don't want to use the r*t word in a review without being absolutely sure, but I have my suspicions). Actually, the first red flag maybe should have been the 45-minute wait time estimate we were told, only to then be called back 2 minutes later.

We ordered two dishes:

The cauliflower appetizer was over-fried (a definitively unappetizing uniform shade of dark brown), and was unseasoned -- literally just tasted like oil. Buried underneath was a small bit of unseasoned mashed avocado which did not solve the dish's main problems. For $14, I would have expected the cauliflower to either be breaded, fried so that you could still tell it was cauliflower, or at least tossed in a sauce. But nope. Entirely disappointing and I blame this dish for the stomach ache and slight nausea I had on the way home.

Our next dish was the Star Power. This sounded good on the menu, but in practice was extremely weird tasting and we couldn't even get a quarter through it. The impossible patty chunks tasted weird (I eat this stuff every week, so I would know!)-- I don't know how to better describe it -- and I couldn't tell if they had gone bad or what. The rest of the vegetables were cooked into a sort of mush that was equally weird tasting -- sort of overly savory -- and definitely imbalanced. The chickpeas in the mix were overfried and were hard/chalky. This mush was sitting on top of a bed of spinach -- and in practice the combination did not work. I literally could not tell you what this dish even tasted like because the flavors were an unappetizing mish mash. On the way out, we saw another couple paying their bill with the same dish sitting unfinished on their table -- so it wasn't just us!

I don't normally leave reviews like this, but I feel like I need to warn other vegetarians/vegans about this place. Maybe their non-vegetarian food is better (I would hope so).

We ended up paying $50 for this experience. The only positive thing I can say is that our waiter...

I was in Rochester for the first time and came across Locals Only and it looked like a great place to have brunch and set up and get a little work done. Walking up, the aesthetic was so on-point and I was greeted by some really friendly and kind staff. I love the range of places you can sit from the beautiful outdoor area to the bar to the upstairs which is where I decided to sit (oh, and even if you don't need to, you have to check out the bathrooms!). After looking at the menu, I thought I had stumbled upon one of those rare places that has the whole package: great atmosphere, staff who are excited to be there and high quality food. I saw other reviews complaining about the prices, but I travel a lot and the prices are comparable to other similar places I've gone. This could have easily been 5 out of 5, however after getting my coffee and water, I didn't have a server for the rest of the time I was there. I had to go downstairs to the bar to get refills on coffee and water, to order my food and to get my check. I thought maybe this was a self-serve place except that I saw other wait staff serving the other customers upstairs. The staff didn't look busy at all even taking time to hang out and do shots together at the bar. I worked in the restaurant industry for years and never tip less than 20% unless the staff is rude or they just ignore me. Unfortunately, I couldn't tip more than $1 because I got about as much service as I do when I go to a fast food place where you order at the counter. Again, the staff was incredibly friendly but I don't know what happened after I got my coffee. I would definitely give this place another try and would be open to changing my rating to 5 stars, but that service was not okay. I love what you guys have going there but that was some of the worst service I've had and I get the feeling that you are better than what I experienced. This isn't meant to complain, but to give...

I had the upmost horrific experience at this cafe. If you are a person with a service animal DO NOT COME HERE. When I arrived they asked me about my dogs status. Which is fine. And I revealed that he was a service animal. But then they asked for identification which I legally do not have to provide and they are legally not supposed to even ask for it. Anyways My dog is a toy size. Instead of accommodating us at a table. They sat us at the bar with high chairs. We don’t even drink. I requested to be seated at a table. Instead they offered a baby seat stool. My dogs legs were slipping through it was unsafe. So I again requested to be seated at a table and was met with hostile energy. I eventually was seated at a two person table. I needed a seat for my dog so I pulled a chair close to me. Mind you the entire bottom floor was empty there was no one else dining on the first floor. The waiter than says o I am going to need that chair. Which rubbed me the wrong way because there was no one else dining. I decided to look outside for seating and I found a table that would work for me and my husband. I began to bring our things outside. Not one of the workers helped me move the menus, the cups, the glass bottle of water, or the utensils. I made 4 trips in total. Once my husband came out of the bathroom I told him about the situation and we decided to leave. So review on the food I can’t give you. But definitely not service dog friendly and very nasty disrespectful people. Not worth spending your money there. AT ALLL. Ps: we paid for parking not knowing that if you eat at the restaurant you don’t need to pay for parking. They should’ve had a sign saying that in the parking lot instead of in front of the restaurant where one will not see until they’re...