ROAM Cafe — Restaurant in City of Rochester

I was so excited to try ROAM Cafe for the first time after passing by a few times and seeing people enjoying themselves over food and drink both inside and out! 😋 Yesterday, I decided to walk to a solo dinner before dark and chose to sit on the sidewalk with my senior service dog in his stroller. There were two other parties outside with three open tables. I got situated at one and watched a male server pass by me several times without saying hello, smiling, nodding in my direction, bringing me water or a menu, etc. Then, a couple grabbed the table to my right, and he promptly greeted them and took their order. I calmly told him I’d like a menu please, and that I’d been waiting awhile. He informed me I had a different server and, “That’s just how we do it here!” I responded that was confusing considering there were only five tables outside, and the couple next to me was on the end. But anyway— On to the important part: I waited forever for my server, Wilma, to come by. I was very polite to her when placing my order. She then proceeded to forget to put in my appetizer along with the burger and fries. (I figured this out when I went inside to check on what happened to the crispy Brussels sprouts. I approached the only other server, and asked if my app had been forgotten about, to which he responded it had, “But (he) at least dropped (my) burger and fries,” and said they worked as a team there trying to cover for her.) My food thankfully arrived quickly from there. The dipping sauce for the Brussels sprouts was way too salty. The fries and burger were excellent though. The fries were extra crispy as I requested, and the burger was cooked medium rare. I did find it odd that I could only choose two toppings. (Cheap much?) For the price, just throw on onion, lettuce, and tomato at no charge, lmao. I tried to put a napkin on my lap when I realized Wilma never brought my silverware. So, I headed back inside yet again to track down the only useful server of the two. I’m not sure if my actual one didn’t sleep the night before, was on drugs, or just ditzy, but wow. Worst service I’ve ever received hands-down! I decided to see if she’d comp the Brussels sprouts on her own accord. (Having worked in customer service and and the service industry, I absolutely would have done so.) But of course she didn’t. 🙄 I wrote a friendly note on my check explaining the poor service she provided and requested for either the app or my cocktail (same amount at $12 to be removed. To her credit, she brought me a revised check of $31.32. I very rarely tip less than 20-30% but decided to do only 15% due to the circumstances. I therefore left $4.50 for a total of $35.82. This morning, I was doing business and happened to check my bank balance. There’s a pending debit for $31.32 from Roam Cafe along with a $168.48 credit and debit. (?!) (A debit and credit is a common scam people do to make sure you have funds before pulling a lot more.) When I say I am APPALLED and just moved my money to my other bank account to avoid getting scammed by Wilma and/or her coworkers, you have no idea! I’m copy/pasting this review to Google Maps as well as The Better Business Bureau right now. Avoid Roam Cafe at all costs!

Keep in mind, this was my first visit, and I live in the neighborhood and was hoping on making it a...

Not quite what it used to be... it’s unfortunate because I’ve always loved this restaurant. Recently though, on two separate occasions over the span of 3-4 months the experience was less than desirable.

1.) first rough experience, I was sat by the hostess at a table and watched 2 different servers completely ignore me for 20 minutes, I’m not the type of person to be quick to complain but eventually it became necessary to get up and say something in order to at least get a drink. When I asked about service I was questioned in a sarcastic way if I had “sat myself “. I said no I was sat by the hostess, the service carried on as usual after that, without any apology or acknowledgement of the inconvenience. I ordered the prime rib eggs Benedict and after I finished my meal, I noticed a hard, curly black hair glued to my plate underneath a dried layer of egg yolk. I pointed it out, and the server jokingly said, “well you’re not having the best experience here are you?”. No apology, or anything. I understand sh*t happens but in the hospitality business I expected at least a genuine apology or sense of concern. I paid and I left thinking it was just a bad day at Roam.

2.) Second rough experience was with a group of friends. We had sat down at 1:45 for brunch and it took at least 15 minutes to be greeted and get our first round of drinks. At first, we thought nothing of it as the restaurant was actually full.. as our service carried on though the restaurant emptied out and we became one of the few tables there. Between the extremely slow service, our waitress (who was very kind) had to accommodate our order because the kitchen was out of a few staple ingredients that were required for brunch such as hollandaise and home fries. We were understanding of the situation but when the food was served, we essentially received two hard boiled eggs over fatty prime rib and soggy English muffins. It was so bad none of us finished it and it took at least 15 minutes for the server to ask us how our food was, at this point it was too late.

Very unfortunate to see this restaurant...

I have eaten three meals now at Roam Restaurant and frankly my experiences have been rather mixed [the food quality was fine two of the three times that I have eaten there but the service every time only adequate at best.

As I read some of the other reviews this restaurant, it is apparent that for the most part patrons are happy with their experiences at Roam. It is rather telling however, that ownership makes no effort whatsoever to even address some of the negative reviews they receive. Good food is one thing but obviously there are other elements that impact one's experience as well. From my admittedly limited experience eating at Roam, for the most part the food has been very good. Where the restaurant is apt to stumble somewhat, is with the initial greeting [slow], the manner in which they handle wait times [almost indifferent based on my experience and as if they are sort of doing you a favor by letting you wait] and the service follow through while one is eating. Yes, the food tends to be very good at Roam [but not always, based on my limited experience there] but nowadays, Rochester has a plethora of good restaurants to choose from.

One more thing. As I write this, I am temporarily sans vehicle. I have been trying to place a takeout order for delivery for nearly an hour now! However, all I keep getting when I call to place my order, is a message saying that "the called party is temporarily unavailable". Are you kidding me? Then hire someone to answer your phone when it gets busy! Apparently one has to have an Apple account simply to reach anyone there at meal times. A most peculiar way to...