Roosterspin — Restaurant in New Brunswick

I'll start this review by saying I am the house DJ at Roosterspin in New Brunswick on Saturday nights, so I am admittedly biased.

That said, I've been meaning to leave my own review for quite some time as a regular customer myself, and I came here to do so when the first thing I saw was the most recent scathing review right before mine—which I'd like to address.

I'll add here that I am not affiliated with the restaurant other than my DJ gig, so this is by no means an official response from their team. It's simply a personal take from another patron who just happens to be one of actual humans potentially complained about in the previous post.

Though I do not play "typical radio blends" as the person mentioned, and though I cannot say for sure if I was the DJ on the night this person was present based on the review alone, I accept full responsibility on behalf of anyone behind the booth since there is a high chance it could have been me.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I will mention here that between myself, the bartenders, and the servers, we all keep a close monitor on noise levels throughout the night and continuously adjust according to the crowds. Sometimes though, there are a lot of people and it does get loud in there—that is simply how popular restaurants work.

I'd say for the most part, the majority of the people in there on any given night know what to expect in terms of vibes and enjoy themselves, especially on weekends which are particularly fun. I apologize to the person who had a bad time though.

You can't please everyone, but for every person who complains now and then, there are at least 10 other people having a great time.

All that said, what I really came here to say is that Roosterspin is awesome. I am now the DJ on Saturday nights, but I began as (and remain) a very regular customer. The food and atmosphere are great, and it's really the only bar I ever actually care to go to around here. The drinks are handcrafted and top-notch.

More than that though, Roosterspin is truly an arts hub. From the bartenders—who are each unique and wonderful artists in their own rights—to other DJs, musicians, and performers, I've met so many creative people here through networking events and other special nights hosted by the restaurant. It's somewhat of an unofficial showcase of the pure talent in the area, and I highly recommend artists of any kind pay attention to what's happening here. The different events are a great way to connect with other creatives in the area and get yourself out there.

All in all, I love Roosterspin and encourage everyone (especially artists) to check this place out. And come by for some good tunes and a lovely cocktail on Saturdays!...

I just went here for a date with my girlfriend and we were both disappointed. To start off, the entire restaurant was LOUD!!! They had a live DJ playing your typical radio music blends but the speakers blasting so loud I couldn’t hear my girlfriend sitting across the table. We had to shout. Then comes the service. The waiter took a comedic amount of time to take our order after we requested another minute and a VERY long time to notice we were waiting for the check. Lastly and most importantly the food, it was extremely average considering the absurd prices. For appetizers we order the fried calamari and fried shrimp and were unsatisfied when we received decently flavored but absolutely micro fried shrimp. The breading was good but the actual shrimp meat was the type of shrimp you’d find in a fried rice where it wasn’t made to be the star of the show. A tad bit oily as well. All and all, decent but we would pay around $10 for it, not the $17ish they charged!! Next was the calamari. It came out room temp and somewhat bland. I will say that the meat here was solid and justified unlike the shrimp. It also came with fried pickles although I’m pretty sure they were fried cucumbers as they had no pickled taste. The price was also $17ish and I would’ve paid around $12. I understand that seafood is expensive but the quantity AND quality given here is subpar to most other restaurants charging half the price. For the entrees, the spicy tuna sushi roll was $22 and it still couldn’t compare to the $16 spicy tuna roll down the street at any other sushi restaurant. The fried rice was good but the amount was half of what I expected. We enjoyed it but we’re extremely disappointed in it. To top off our below average daylight robbery of an experience, they charged a gratuity of 20% for a party of 2 which was unannounced. We didn’t drink tonight so I can’t comment on the drinks although they must be good because the restaurant wouldn’t be able to survive strictly off it’s food.

TLDR: Decent tasting, low quantity, EXPENSIVE for what it is. Slightly below average service Unannounced gratuity of 20% EXTREMELYYYY LOUD no comment on drinks 2/5 would not be coming back. There are countless better restaurants in...

This is my second time at Roosterspin.. I celebrated my birthday here doing karaoke in 2017 and decided to come back for my birthday this year. I went alone this time because of the pandemic..

To the staff: I apologize for forgetting everyone's name... Lala and Wayne told them to me... But the way my MS is set up I forget if I don't write them down fast enough 🤦🏾‍♀️ I do want to thank you all for another great night out.

To those looking for reviews: Tables are spaces out. There is outdoor dinning as well- it happened to be raining the last few days so it was still wet and cold. The doors and windows were open, everyone had a proper mask (not just a plastic mouth shield which I've seen in neighboring restaurants), and The staff made sure to clean before and after each party sat down- which made me happy to see that they were doing what they could to keep everyone safe. Oh and the bathrooms are clean AF!! I appreciate that‼️

The waiters and waitresses were very attentive. I think I saw maybe four other groups (including a table of 6) come in during the two hours that I was there. The staff knew when to check on you and when to leave you alone. That's not something every establishment knows how to do. I had water, silverware, extra plates, and napkins without having to ask.

I took pictures of everything that came my way. With the exception of my dessert. I kind of inhaled that 😂😭. I am very grateful to the staff for acknowledging that it was my birthday. They did an amazing job with the food, the drinks, and the atmosphere as always.

If you ever want to go somewhere and try some things you've never had... GO TO ROOSTERSPIN ‼️ I've had other things on their menu... From my first visit. I can say with confidence that the menu is worth the trip alone!!

Sidenote: Leave notes of gratitude when taken care of and Don't forget...