Roy's Restaurant — Restaurant in Perry

"Your suffering will be legendary, even in Hell!" - Pinhead / Hellraiser II (1989)

For the truly masochistic gourmand there is a new culinary destination: Roy's. From the outside Roy's looked like any other riverfront restaurant overlooking the Steinhatchee river. Its large windows were warmly lit and in the darkness of a wintery Florida evening it offered up a siren song of welcome. I was initially concerned that good service and food would be found inside but fret not dear reader! My reservations were soon ripped asunder like a newborn lamb in the jaws of a wolf.

Our party of five was quickly seated and our drink order was taken soon after. The drinks took roughly ten minutes to reach the table. Our food order was taken about five minutes later. I ordered a rare ribeye steak ($30). My fellow diners ordered two medium rare ribeye steaks ($30 each) and a medium rare prime rib ($30). Our man boy sherpa ordered the bay scallops ($21).

In the twenty plus minutes it took for our food to come to the table we enjoyed the quiet of not having our dining experience interrupted by any member of the wait staff asking if we needed refills.

My anticipation was about to boil over when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw our waitress round the corner with our order.

When my plate was placed in front of me I was immediately aware that my meal had been prepared by a true master. The steak at first appearance offered up no clue as to how it was cooked. The alabaster color and lack of grill marks hinted at an arcane style of preparation. I knew that unless I ate it I would be unable to deduce the secrets of the warm death in front of me.

I cut into it vigorously because it was the only way I could actually cut through it. Under its tough albino surface it was simultaneously bloody and dry.

I slowly lifted a sliver to my mouth and took my first bite. The taste was familiar and yet somehow allusive like seeing the ghost of a friend dancing on the periphery of your vision. As I worked through the arduous task of cutting and eating my meal the phantom of flavor slowly drifted out of the mist and into view. It was the flavor of Ecolab cleaning agents!

My steak hadn’t been grilled, seared on a flat top, fried, or microwaved. It was given a steam bath in a commercial dishwasher by a true sadist. Part of me likes to think that it was Roy himself that washed my steak but I know that is only a dream.

As to my fellow diners the steak eater’s steaks were all served up with hunks of hard un-rendered fat that went mostly uneaten. Our man boy sherpa had projectile vomiting later that evening.

Have I had worse? Maybe. Will I return?...

Like to share what happened today at Roy’s restaurant in Steinhatchee today 7/26/24. Mr billy Sullivan and Gary shook have birthdays this week, so Dan Sullivan and I were taking them to Roy’s for a late lunch. Gary and I arrive before Dan and Mr billy who are about ten minutes behind us. Gary and I entered and no line, see lots of empty tables and that is good for us. We stand there unacknowledged for five minutes and another couple comes in behind us. Finally a lady comes to us and said how many and I said four, she nods at the couple behind us and said follow me. I said there not with me and she said rudely you can’t be seated till your entire party is here. I asked to speak to the manager who came out and said policy is you cannot be seated. I replied that I could understand if we were even a party of six, whereas she cuts me off and stated it’s her policy and she changes it for no one. I asked her if they have tables that only seat two which she replied all their tables seat four, whereas I said totally my point. She changed for no one and I said I will make sure to post this on Facebook and she said your outta here for threatening me, she then calls across the restaurant to the lady leading the couple from behind us to a table and says, do not seat these people they are out of here and can eat somewhere else. The couple they were seating turned around and said we can eat elsewhere also. My aunt Esther cooked at Roy’s for like 30 years, my family, which is large have ate there all our life. As I walked out the door mr billy was coming across the parking lot and I told him I got threw out. Went to Kathy’s crab shack and the food was excellent, service was excellent. End of 65 years of eating at Roy’s. You just can’t talk with stupid. Sadly our country seems to have become like this. Dan is a little younger than me, the other 3 are 65 to 86 and Mr billy is a veteran, so we were not rebellions just old and wanted to sit down. The other place said their business hears so many complaints from people on how rude management is at Roy’s. I’m still laughing that at 65 I can be thrown out of...

My husband planned a day trip for us to go over to Roy's for lunch on a Saturday. We are usually in Steinhatchee once a month or so to go fishing. This particular day it was raining, but the main goal was Roy's.

He and my son had been in after a fishing all day just before Hurricane Idalia. He talked frequently about wanting to take me there once the restaurant rebuilt & re-opened. He was so excited that Roy's was finally back up & running that we just made a day of it. Drove over on a rainy Saturday, enjoyed lunch & just drove around the town and along the coast.

The restaurant itself was beautiful with stunning views of one of our favorite places. We had blue crab claws as the appetizer (the special of the day) & they were amazing. Beautifully plated and delicious. I had blackened gulf shrimp, and my husband had their stuffed flounder. Everything was so fresh and flavorful. Oh...and I'm still dreaming about that Greek potato salad. 😊 The staff was friendly and attentive, and we already noted a couple of items we wanted to try "next time."

We are so, so heartbroken to learn that Roy's was leveled by Hurricane Helene. The entire town of Steinhatchee has endured so much - 3 hurricanes in 13 months. We live in Valdosta, GA so we got direct hits from these storms, too, and are no stranger to their damage, but to see the complete devastation of some of our favorite places is just beyond words.

We are heartbroken with and for you, and want you to know that no matter what is decided moving forward, that you have made an impact on not only the Steinhatchee community, but the surrounding communities as well. I'm so glad to have had the experience of our rainy day date spent at Roy's. Praying...