Local Roots & Provisions — Restaurant in Lincolnton

Well, this was a total disappointment. My husband and I went to LRP last month and had a fantastic meal. We sat in the bar area and the food and atmosphere was excellent, as was the service. So we were really looking forward to our second visit last night. We were seated in the larger area. Our server, Sophie, came right over to us to take our drink order. She was so sweet. As we were talking I noticed something moving on the table. It was a roach, plain and simple. I know how fast they move so immediately took my menu and smashed it. Sophie was horrified and very apologetic. It wasn't her fault. There were roach guts all over the part of the table where I hit it. The roach landed on the floor, dead of course. It was small. We sat for a bit waiting for the manager to come over. After about 5 minutes a young woman comes over and says "We're going to bleach the table. Do you guys want to switch tables"? Ummm... really? So we were offered the next table over and all we could smell was the strong odor of bleach. Then Sopie came back and we continued with getting our dinners. The roach should have been a sign. The prime rib was just ok. None of the food was hot and the au jus was outright lukewarm at best. What a disappointment from our first visit. When the person we found out was the manager (she never said she was when dealing with the roach) came to ask how our dinner was I said it was ok. I told her about the au jus and she offered to get more. We had already finished what we were going to eat at that point. At the end, the manager was "generous" enough to comp our $10 appetizer due to the roach issue. All in all, it was a very disappointing experience. Sophie was great and honestly had it not been for her we would have just left.

Note to owners: Most restaurants fail in the first 5 years. Food is one reason customers will continue to visit but service is the most important thing. Had the manager been professional and treated us like we mattered we could overlook the food not being up to par. Take time to train your people to treat customers like they are in a high end restaurant is you want to keep them coming back. We can forgive an off night with the food but not with the service that you typically find in a Chili's...

Heard a lot about this place so we decided to give their Sunday brunch a shot. The place looks amazing! The staff was very friendly and everyone greeted us as we came in. There wasn't a vast menu which usually indicates good things in the food. Limit the size and perfect it. We both looked over the menu and settled on the steak and eggs. Our waitress came over and was ready to take our order. To which my wife orders the steak and eggs. Now there's three steaks listed on the menu. A NY strip, a filet and a ribeye. My wife requested the strip. Instantly the waitress replies, "we only have the sirloin". Notice, a sirloin isn't listed on the menu. So, my wife opts for another dish... More in that to come. I went ahead with the steak and eggs. I figured, if they can make a sirloin taste good, their ribeye would be amazing for dinner.

Our food came out and looked great. We were asked if we needed anything and I asked for A-1. None to be had. They had a house sauce that wasn't even close. Nowhere near as good. If you're going to serve steak, at least have some of what customers want. The eggs were eggs. Hard to screw them up. The sirloin was cooked exactly as requested, but was flavorless. It was almost as if there was no spices or butter used at all to finish it. And it was tough even though I ordered it medium rare. Not impressed. So, I couldn't get what I wanted though it was listed on the menu and it wasn't up to par for the price.

My wife got the chicken and waffle. As soon as she ordered it the waitress replies, "are you ok with the hot syrup?" To us that implied that there may have been complaints or an issue with it. She went with it anyway. MISTAKE! Basically, if the wait staff has to ask if people are ok with a menu item, maybe don't pour it all over the food. Have it in another dish. Tasted like some sort of Chinese thing.

Our personal review, this place looks great and has a great staff but for the quality of food that we got, it is NOT worth the price. And substituting a sirloin for a NY strip, filet or ribeye should have constituted a price reduction. Our first and last time...

3rd time is not a charm. I've tried to like this place; I really have. After three meals at three different times over the course of a year, my opinion hasn't changed.

Anyone who knows me personally knows I'm all about local businesses and their success, but I'm also honest. It's just not fair to other businesses who work hard to provide a high-quality product with high-quality service to match, to receive what appear to be participation five-star reviews, just for being local.

That said, the quality of service is Local Roots' saving grace. All three visits have been enjoyable in terms of environment and how well the waitstaff treated me and my wife and accompanying guests. The same cannot be said of the entrées. Each time I order steaks, the exorbitant price never comes close to matching the quality. The prime rib from several months ago tasted like it was far from fresh; either past expiration or freezer burnt, and overcooked. I asked for med-rare, and got medium. It was also far too tender; like meat tenderizer was used, making it taste off. The sirloin from over a hear ago, again, overcooked. I asked for med-rare and got medium. This week I get a strip. And once again, I asked for med-rare and got mostly medium, with over a quarter of the steak med-well.

The sides are usually good; as are the appetizers. However, I just cannot abide beef this expensive prepared at such a low standard. There's really no excuse for this. As such, I'll continue to eat here, but only as an accompanying guest myself, and never again will I order steak; and I recommend others order something else as well.

As for the other reviews, they do not match the experiences of my friends and family who say they won't be back at all. I'm not so harsh, but I'm also under no illusions about the overall quality of Local Roots & Provisions. The quality just cannot be so out of proportion to the prices. It...