The Lobby Cocktail Lounge & Kitchen — Restaurant in Riverside

THE SERVICE: 4/10 The server was EXTREMELY sweet, but at the same time, very disorganized. We were one of two tables of guests, so it wasn't because they were busy. We ordered the fried pickles as an appetizer to share. She brought them to the table with 3 plates in her hand, gave only two of us plates, taking the third plate to the table next to us with their catsup on it. We asked for a 3rd plate and she handed us the one she carried to the other table.

We had to ask for napkins to use while eating the fried pickles, and we had no silverware. We were handed one tiny black drink napkin each. Way too small to protect your lap from spills and god forbid they get wet - black dyed napkins stain everything they touch, so we didn't use them.

Our meals were delivered in a very reasonable time, but we had to flag our server back down to ask for silverware, which took a few more minutes to get and to our surprise, was wrapped around a real cloth napkin! It then took a while for her to bring the requested condiments for our burgers. That should be written down when taking the order and brought with the food so you can eat immediately while the food is hot. At the end, one of our guests requested a box for half her plate of food and was given a tiny box that wouldn't fit it all, so had to ask for a larger one.

I don't know the server's name, because she never introduced herself and didn't have on a name badge. She has great potential and is as sweet as could be, but really needs some training on expediting so she doesn't have to make a million trips for one thing at a time, how to evaluate the needs of the table based on the order, and bring the necessities like napkins, silverware etc, instead of waiting to be asked for them and doing other things before bringing them, while the food gets cold.

THE FOOD: 10/10 The burgers are absolutely off-the-charts AMAZING. Kudos to the chef! We had the lobby burgers and the blue cheese burger. The thick juicy burgers were all perfectly cooked to medium rare. The fries are super unique and very tasty. The fried pickles are a MUST! Their ranch dressing is FANTASTIC. Very likely homemade. More kudos to the kitchen staff.

THE COCKTAILS: 4/10 The bar and their famous fancy drinks is the Lobby's claim to fame, but I'm not so sure. Sugary drinks aren't my jam, so I stick to the classics. The last time we visited The Lobby, we ordered vodka martinis with olives. They didn't have olives and served the martini only slightly cooler than room temperature, so essentially, a glass of unchilled vodka. YUCK. This visit, I ordered a lemon drop, which was nothing short of unimpressive. Lemon Drops aren't easy to make and I expected their specialty bartenders to make a great one. It was not. They were also out of Pinot Grigio, so substituted chardonnay for my friend, who happened to be the one who was served a kinda cold olive-less glass of vodka last time, so I don't think she give The Lobby a 3rd try.

THE AMBIANCE: 2/10 The downstairs bar is pretty cool if you sit at it. There are 3 dining tables in the narrow niche behind the bar, next to the doors to the kitchen, which is where we were seated. The walls are painted black, as is the ceiling, the only lighting coming from a tiny battery powered lamp on the table. Reading the menu was very difficult. This dark small area would be perfect for a couch/lounge extension to the bar, but is not ideal for dining. The undecorated, unlit, black walls feel very dreary and dungeon-like which was only made worse by the over abundance of tacky Halloween decorations they have up at this time. Had I known, I wouldn't have chosen this restaurant for this occasion. We had hoped to sit upstairs, but it was closed. Maybe the ambiance upstairs is more...

Our visit at The Lobby was an unforgettable experience for my friends and I – IN A BAD WAY. We carefully chose this restaurant and made a reservation weeks in advance to celebrate a very special occasion.

Right off the bat, we were greeted rudely by a girl who others called “McKenzie”. She didn’t know how to properly listen because we had to keep repeating to her how many people were in the reservation. It was a huge disappointment already to have her be at the front with her pouty mouth to seat us and to follow, we reserved for 7 people but they only had a table for 6 ready.

We were seated and finally enjoying the vibe. We ordered food & drinks but unfortunately for us, the girl McKenzie was one of the servers bringing our food. We had 3 servers total in the night – 2 were extremely polite and professional. McKenzie on the other hand spilled ice cold water all over our table, directly on one of our friends and then with no sense of urgency watched it flow across the table towards another person.

NO APOLOGIES were made by this incompetent girl. She followed it by slamming our food and plates on the table. She also didn’t fully wipe our table after spilling.

As we were enjoying our dinner and drinks, we noticed this audacious girl staring at us and gossiping about us to the bouncer and the other lady at the front with her. The bouncer kept giving our table death stares as if WE did something wrong.

It’s honestly such a shame that The Lobby has good food and drinks but disgusting greeter, hostess or whatever position this McKenzie girl lied her way into getting.

We definitely do not recommend this restaurant for special occasions unless this girl has...

I was very excited to try this place with my friend for her birthday. Its a small but trendy little spot. The easiest way to get there is to park in the parking structure on Orange Street and then walk as it is located Main Street. This place has a lot of potential and when walking up the DJ was playing a mix that everyone was enjoying from throwbacks, RnB, Rap, Old School and Pop. I ordered the Lobby Cobb, Hanger Cube and Watermelon Slush all at the same time. It took 30 mins to get my drink and over and hour to get my food. People who arrived after us got their food before we did. I was beginning to think it was because we are Black. When I noticed this trend I inquired with our server as to why we hadn't received our food we were informed there was no organization, orders are backed up and out of order. When our food finally arrived it was cold but still good. There seemed to be no order or efficiency for a more seamless process. I only ate half because I wanted to warm it up at home instead of sending it back and waiting another hour to get it back. Even cold the food was delicious and I was pleasantly surprised with the watermelon slush (champagne infused slushie) since any watermelon drink is a hit or miss. I wanted thr peach bellini slush but was told the machine was broke. The only reason I gave three stars and not one star is because of the DJ playing all my jams, the helpful hostess and the food was still good even cold. Not sure if I will return but overall our experience could have been better with just receiving the minimum expectations when dining out.....fresh and hot food not cold upon arrival, and receiving our food and drinks in a...