Rusted Roost Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Menasha

Went with family last week (second day after opening). Waitress was obviously new but very kind and honest about not knowing much about the food. Very limited drink menu, but what we had ordered for drinks was good. We ordered the Shakshukah as an app, which was tasty (very similar to a vegetarian spaghetti sauce) but it came 8 very small slices of toasted focaccia. Like I said, it was tasty, but 8 very small pieces of bread topped with sauce/stew for $16? For $4/person, that's insane- even split between 2 people, $8/person for basic crostini is too much.

This is when we started to figure out how things were about to go for dinner. There were a few issues- 1 member of our party ordered the Pollo en Crema- it was good, but very small (a very small chicken breast with sauce for $25). Potato casserole was tasteless (all 4 members agreed). 2nd member ordered the Piccata... not sure if there is an incorrect description, or if there was a serious mistake, but it was not a piccata. It was a relatively large, flattened, breaded piece of chicken (to their credit, it would've been one of the best chicken patties/flattened chicken tenders I've tasted) with a small dixie cup of melted margarine on the side. There was no lemon or wine flavor in the slightest. Maybe it had separated and we received the top? That was paired with mashed potatoes, which were decent. The third member of our party had the chicken chasseur, which was everyone's least favorite. Tomato sauce on top was unpleasantly sweet and lacked in real flavor, mushrooms under-seasoned, serving size was a very small chicken breast, casserole was bland. The last member of our party had the turkey burger on english muffins- claimed to be good, but was gone after a few (honestly, 4-5) bites. The patty was the same diameter as the english muffin- aka a slider for $16.

Serving portions that small for $20-30 (avg) in this area is a business destined to close soon. For most people, a single chicken breast with a small side is not enough, even paired with a $15-20 appetizer (a few bites of bread with sauce). So overall, our party paid $160 (tip included) for 2 alcoholic drinks, 1 beer, 1 soda, 8 tiny pieces of bread with sauce, 3 chicken breasts, a turkey slider, and some sub-par potatoes. The margins must be gigantic here, this would honestly cost $25-35 to make at home.

I understand there are restaurants (especially in large cities) that have small, more refined portion sizes... but they are restaurants where plating, service, atmosphere, and most importantly, taste is top notch. Honestly, I wouldn't have been happy if our meals were $10-12 each (rather than $25). Based on the "piccata" I would consider going back to get their chicken tenders... but do you really want to pay $15+drink+tip (probably around $23, if you get a non-alcoholic drink, $30+ with a mixed drink) for...

My husband and I got a rare date night out while my MIL was in town to watch the kids. We were REALLY looking forward to trying this place out. To say we were disappointed would be an understatement.

We were placed at a table for two so close to the corner of the bar staff and patrons could hardly squeeze by us. Annoying, yes, and not the date-night vibe we were hoping for. Our waitress asked us what we would like to drink, then we waited 10 mins for the drinks and waitress to reappear. She quickly set them down and started to walk away when we stopped her to order an appetizer. She didn't address us again until the appetizer came out, which was quite some time later and again, we had to stop her before she rushed away so we could order our entrees.

She never once asked us anything, we had to consistently get her attention, which made us feel like we were burdening HER at our night out. Total bullshit and what an awful vibe.

The food was the worst part of it all. Everything was a long wait in a half-empty restaurant. Random thought-it was odd that the wine list was in a fancy leather menu cover, yet the food menu was a laminated piece of paper. Weird.

We ordered the potato pancakes with salmon as a starter. To call these potato pancakes in the great state of Wisconsin where these are a supper club staple, is a true dishonor. They had ZERO seasoning...not even salt and the texture was like a rubbery puffed up mashed potato ball. The "crème fraîche" was watered down sour cream. We each tried one, ate the salmon on the side and ditched the rest.

My husband got the so-called Pork Verde. Please see attached picture of how unappetizing this dish was presented-it looked like something I might find after my dog got sick. Huge chunks of tough stew meat in a bowl with flavorless green sauce that I wouldn't even feed to said dog. And the tortillas...you'd think they could at least get those right...no.

I got the mushroom flatbread with bechamel and asparagus. Someone PLEASE find the mushrooms and asparagus! The mushrooms were dried, no problem, but so small you can't even find them in the balsamic glaze. Maybe one tiny piece to each slice. And the asparagus was literally sliced so thin, what's the freaking point?!? How do you advertise this with mushroom and asparagus when you can't even see them, let alone taste them in the pool of bechamel.

Again, our waitress NOT ONCE asked us how ANYTHING was, which gave us the feeling she knew the food was not on par. Or she was just rude and lacked customer service skills, either way BOO Rusted Roost. If at least our waitress was decent, maybe we could've looked over other things...scratch that. There is no getting over the terrible food.

Awful, awful, awful. All around waste of $100 and a much needed date night. Don't waste your...

I love the decor and vibe of the Rusted Roost; it gave me the impression of high-end food, and I was prepared to pay for it. I'm always looking for superb upper-crust food joints and am happy to pay accordingly for that sound, foodie experience. Unfortunately, this was not that. :-(

The restaurant was minimally busy, serving approximately 3-5 other tables. Of course, I ordered the Wagyu burger. I'm bougie like that! One of my lunch companions ordered the same burger as me. We were starved and ready to eat, so we anxiously awaited these burgers... for 40 minutes. The server approached our table, handing us our plates so we could place them on our spot in front of us. I immediately noticed the burger was the shape and thickness of a frozen patty, and my heart sunk to the pit of my empty stomach. Okay, I can deal with a frozen patty if the texture, juiciness, and flavor are there, but I don't want a frozen Wagyu patty. If I'm paying wagyu prices, I'd prefer fresh hand-pressed meat. And why did the server ask us how we wanted the wellness of our burger cooked if the patty was too thin to accommodate any special cooking instruction? Typically, a medium-rare burger takes less than 40 minutes to cook. Needless to say, the texture, juiciness, and flavor were not there, but the steak fries were pretty good if you ate only the hot ones. The tiny, overpriced specialty drink was tasty, though! We paid $100 (including tip) for three meals, one mixed specialty adult cocktail, a Blue Moon beer, and a soda.

Decor and ambiance can take you so far, but as consumers grow foodie-savvy, places like this will have to up their game.

Note to my readers: Just so you know, the crab cakes are made with the cheapest, mushiest crab that food service can buy, so if you know crab cake well, you'll be disappointed if you order them here.

We won't return.

Sidebar: I just read other reviews and see that Rusted Roost automatically adds a 20% tip to their bills without notifying you. Perhaps that is why our bill was so high for just three people....