Lost Roo — Restaurant in Long Beach

Most restaurants in Long Beach oddly close at 7PM. For a family with kids, trying to get them moving from the beach this is really strange compared to off island restaurants that are usually open until 9-10PM. Most of our choices were about to shut and disappointed, I took our family to The Lost Roo that shut at 8. Let me tell you, boy was I surprised.

My first impression not knowing anything about it was that it was going to be an Outback/Bugaboo Creek frozen food recooked noisefest. WAS I SURPRISED!!! It was anything but!

Whilst it was very noisy and the theme was a mix between local and australlian, I was well pleased.

The chefs in that kitchen were on FIRE! It was as if you had a top chef from some high end restaurant cooking comfort food. They were doing the Lord's work for sure in there. I have lived all over and let me tell you we did not eat one bad thing on that menu. EVERYTHING was phenominal!

Highly suggest the shooters. Sad I did not get more than 1. I should have ordered another.

Steamer clams were great, but only came with 2 toast points. I would have liked to have had 4 for $25, especially where this is a starter. It was delish.

My daughter got the crab mac and cheese and it was really good. She never eats and she ate half that plate. This was like $28 MR.

My other daughter had the plain mac and cheese which boggles my mind why I take this kid out and all she orders is this Kraft rubbish. They do have a kids menu.

The fried oysters were PERFECTION. Like New England style...Flo's Clamshack in Ipswich, MA perfection. Hats off to whoever was cooking Wednesday night.

The chippies were like the perfect chippies. Best I have had since leaving England. Better than Winston's Food Truck in Vancouver, WA. If you want a perfect chippy...go here.

My husband had the gumbo. It was not hot, but it was seasoned to perfection and absolutely DELICIOUS!

Rum Crem Brule was phenominal. I could have had 2 of those. The Browie Ice Cream Sundae was good as well. Desert portions tend to be single size.

TOP MARKS for having British/Irish beers.Would love a Boddie's option or Olde Speckled Hen. The Guiness went awesome with the oysters.

I am going to ding service a bit as they brought out our apps and food at the same time. Also we wanted to order desert and they were just so keen to keep on wanting to give us a box and the bill. We had to ask several times about deserts. Service could have been a lot better in terms of delivery and upselling product. Seemed everyone wanted to get out of there ASAP. I don't know why dinner is such a rushed thing in Long Beach.

The was super busy and noisy in there so if you have a kid with SPD it is overwhelming and you might want to bring headphones.

We will go back for sure as the food was phenominal and it is open past 7PM.

Overall the bill though cost more than our hotel room $175+, but the food was...

Having spent a few days at Cape Disappointment State Park just 15 minutes up the road, this was one of the few modern, semi-upscale (not a dive) restaurants on the peninsula as far as I could tell. The Lost Roo has an Australian theme complete with a kangaroo in the entry and boomerangs for door handles. The décor is modern with concrete, wood and steel with high, open ceilings.

I ordered the Roos’ Smoked Prime Rib French Dip ($15) and my better half the Mushroom and Swiss Burger ($13) along with two 10 Barrel IPAs ($5 each). The IPAs were good, but they were served in a thin glass (10-12 ounces max), compared to other joints in town where you get a pint (16 ounces) for $5 or less.

The French dip was supposed to come on a “hoagie roll”, but it looked more like a slightly elongated hamburger bun. For $15, it was a bit of a “disappointment”. The flavor was OK and the fries were decent, but I expected something more substantial for that price.

My wife’s burger was simply pitiful for $13, coming with an obviously frozen, pre-formed 4-5 ounce meat patty, a slice of Swiss cheese, and a couple of sautéed mushrooms on a store-bought bun. She had the tots instead of fries and they were straight out of the bag and frozen as well. The burger looked like something you would get a Jack In The Box and the tots were lukewarm … RAALPH!

At these prices, the Lost Roo would do well if they used fresh, handmade 6-8 ounce beef patties, a decent hoagie roll for the dip, and potatoes made in house, not straight out of a bag. Taking everything out of the freezer and throwing it on the grill or in the fryer is what you would expect at Denny’s, not a place as nice as this … WHAT A WASTE!

CombatCritic Gives Lost Roo 4 Bombs Out Of 10 … More...

They were willing and able to seat our family gathering of 15-20 kids and adults with less than 10 minutes notice. We came a bit before the dinner rush, so your mileage may vary. Decent variety on the menu to appease a range of appetites. Everyone seemed to enjoy their food. I got to sample a few different plates and would say my favorite was the lamb burger. The fish and chips were decent cold (I got someone else's leftovers), and were probably excellent warm. The chowder was getting rave reviews but I couldn't eat any. And of course I love any place that has tots available to substitute fries!

My wife and I almost always order calamari when it's available. I have a peanut allergy and this is the first time I have ever seen peanuts on calamari. They were able to bring out a replacement (without death nuts) just a few minutes later. One of the other people at our table spoke up that they would be "willing" to eat the one I couldn't, so they left both and gave us a discounted price. They totally didn't have to since it was my fault I didn't read the menu. Never go into a place expecting them to comp you food, but this just is a small sign of their customer focus and willingness to roll with a dynamic situation.

Mid-priced, probably not the cheapest option in the area, but I didn't cry when I saw the check.

We will almost certainly make the Lost Roo a staple every time we visit the area. Don't be afraid if the parking lot looks busy - it's bigger on the inside.

Thanks so much for a great dining experience for our...