Roanoke cafe By Club 51 — Restaurant in Roanoke

The experience here was very odd and awkward to say the least.

I came in one day because I was waiting on my cell phone to be repaired in a shop near by. I walked in and who I thought was a customer from outside got up from the booth near the window from what she was reading, hopped behind the counter and greeted me. She handed me the food and drink menu. I let her know that I’d just be ordering from the drink menu. She made a face and continued to take my order which was an Irish Coffee. This is where things got very weird.

She seemed aloof from the jump. Several times she would come in from the back with a coffee mug, look at me, smile, then disappear into the back. She once walked up to me and said “I’m making this EXTRA special!” with the mug in hand, stirring it. “I’m mixing this with magic fair dust!” I didn’t know how to respond. This had been going on for… I don’t know how long. Five, ten minutes? It shouldn’t take this long to get an Irish Coffee. And I couldn’t tell if she was being…sarcastic? Insincere?

In between time, another customer comes in. My server and another one stops what they’re doing, greets her (the new customer) and starts talking about some “ex” of my server’s. They start gossiping.

I eventually finally get my drink. I’m once again ignored for some time. I look at the time and realize my phone should be ready to be picked up pretty soon. I asked for one more order, and my server makes another face. She says, “Oh, I’m sorry! We’re missing one of the ingredients! We won’t be able to make it!” I just ask for the check. She gives me more insincere banter and then hands me the kiosk to check out. Then skips back to the other customer to continue gossiping, “So…ANYWAY…”

Not only will I never come back here, I hope never to feel as ignored, and as unwelcome as...

Our daughter loves the food here, which is why we gave it a few tries — three visits in total. The first time was great, and we were hopeful. The second time was a little underwhelming, and unfortunately, the third time sealed it for us. We had just sat down when the waitress immediately asked if we were ready to order. We asked for a few more minutes, but 10–15 minutes passed with no return, and we eventually just got up and paid for the coffee and orange juice we had ordered. The food isn’t quite at the level that would make us overlook the inconsistent service. Sadly, we won’t be returning. To be fair, they’re always busy, so the experience clearly varies for others. As we left, we insisted on paying for our drinks, and the gentleman behind the counter kindly offered them complimentary — but we still left the money for them. And if you work in an industry where tips are part of the equation, that’s something directly tied to the level of...

Came in on an October Sunday afternoon, staff had quaint costumes on (Avacado, Poison Ivy and Princess Peach were our favs!) Overall service was fair, a tad bit slow but par for the course for a Sunday breakfast time line. We got waters (only 1 of 3 had ice), and once we finally got our orders, both of my girls had crepes, which they enjoyed, plenty left over for tomorrow's breakfast. I had the corned beef hash and eggs, which was less than enjoyable. The corned beef portion appears to have been pulverized, possibly straight out of a can, the texture left the dish inedible, it reminded me of the canned devilsfood ham Mom would make us when we were on a budget when were were kids. The homestyle potatoes and eggs, however, were good, I just have to ask next time how seasonal meats are prepared. We will likely go back. I'll just have to look at the menu a bit longer to find something...