Shari's Cafe and Pies — Restaurant in Rohnert Park

This visit is during the Covid 19 virus pandemic worldwide......so that means my visit was for take-out only. Shari's is usually open 24 hours but because of the virus they currently close at 8:00pm. While I was looking at their menu, that the hostess at the counter gave me, three other employees, one of which I believe was the manager, asked if I was being helped. So Im going to say that their customer service is more then adequate but absolutely accomodating for sure. I then ordered a side of stuffed hash browns & a side of bacon. Oh & a whole Caramel Cream Pecan Crunch p Pie. My order was ready quite quickly, yet the hostess apologized for it taking so long. Up until this point I was happy with their service. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of moving, so my Honda Civic is packed to the max with my things on my to storage. I havent had time to eat very much in the last 24 hours, which is why I stopped. Well, that & their pies are always pretty damn good.....if you like pie & I do. Im not the kind of person who usually complains, in fact I only usually take the time to write a review if it is worth the praise & is positive. So, please keep this in mind while reading the rest of my review & remember that what you have already read above was all positive..... When I went out to my car to eat because I was famished after not eating for far too long......both of the side that I ordered were dripping with grease. My stomach was already upset from not eating & normally I cant handle excessive grease because that upsets it as well. After eating the two sides my stomach is still upset & now even more so. Which is why I am taking the time to write a partly negative review. I just finished eating & I am still sitting in Shari's parking lot in my car. I have decided to now call the restaurant & ask to speak to a manager about the greasy food, in hopes that the cook will then understand & take an extra minute or two while preparing food for the customers from this point forward. I would have preferred if the food had been drainedcof the excess grease & taken a few minutes longer rather then taking less time & being really greasy. All the cook had to do was put the bacon & the hashbrowns on a paper towel or napkin before being put in the take-out container, just as I do at home before serving them to others & eating them myself. I dont think that it is too much for me to ask for or to expect from a restaurant. Especially one that I would really like to continue getting food from. I will update my review after I speak to the manager. The update to my review..... I just called & spoke to a manager. Im bad with remembering names but I believe her name was Amanda. I explained to her that I was still in the parking lot after ordering & eating. As well, that I dont normally complain but my intention was clearly to be able to come back & eat here again. She was attentive & very helpful. She asked me if I wanted to come back into the restaurant, so that she could give me a certificate for a future visit. Which I thankfully took her up on. I am again very satisfied with the customer service & management of this Shari's in Rohnert Park, Ca. I want to say thank you to the entire staff for making my visit & time worth while. I will definately be back to enjoy yet another pie another day. Im changing my review from 3...

I thought this restaurant was going to be like a "Bennigan's" type atmosphere. No, it felt like a typical style retro style restaurant. This place is more tailored for your grandparent's if they wanted to chill with their friends and have a cup of coffee or a quick bite to eat. It had a "Marie Calendar's" vibe when I walked in. Oh! When you walk in!!!! The pies on display!...... look soooooo delicious. I wanted to buy one of each cause they look so good. Unfortunately I didn't buy one. I should have and I regret it too. I'm thinking about the lemon one and the chocolate moose or.....I forgot what it was called, but I wanted it. My stomach said, "BUY ONE OF EACH AND EAT ALL OF THEM BEFORE TOMORROW!!!" My diet said, "Your cheat day is 3 days out chubby guy." (I wanted to punch my diet on it non-censored mouth).

Anyway, I ordered breakfast to say the least. I got an omelette with hashbrowns. And get this....my nice server lady asked me if I wanted to "upgade"......did you catch that? She asked me if I wanted to upgrade......my hashbrowns. Without hesitation my stomach said, "Ooooh yeeeeah...I mean....yes please." Not only that my meal came with a choice of muffins, bread, and or pancakes. I made the obvious choice. Pancakes!

May I also add she had to ask if I wanted strawberries on top. With a smile I replied yes and continued with, "...can you also add some bananas?" Can you believe what she said? She said, "Of course sweetie." I was in breakfast heaven. I waited approximately 15 to 20 minutes and the food was soooooo yummy yummy in my tummy. Please don't laugh............ok fine laugh. I don't care, it was good.

The only problem I had with this place were 2 things. Thing 1: The restroom. It smelled so bad i didn't want to pee at all, but I had to. It was like if the swamp thing took a duce and it was lingering. I think my eyebrows were singed off to think about it. Thing 2: I saw mold on the ceiling tiles. I'm not sure if they took care of it and they didn't have anymore ceiling tiles to replace the ones that I saw or they actually had mold. (The things we see after we eat). I gave my waitress a nice tip and left.

As for recommendating this place to eat.....you have to enjoy a meal there before you actually make a determination. I'd go back for a pie and...

We stopped by Shari's Cafe & Pies in Rohnert Park for a late-night bite, and our experience was a bit of a mixed bag, though the excellent service certainly stood out.

Our waitress was fantastic – quick, attentive, and we never had to ask for refills, which is always a plus. The ambiance was exactly what you'd expect from an open-late diner: comfortable booths, a few tables, and a low hum of classical music playing, which was quite pleasant. The checkout process at the front was also prompt and handled by another friendly staff member, despite the slight quirk of taking your check up rather than paying at the table.

Where things became hit-or-miss was the food. My wife ordered the Patty Melt Combo with onion rings. While the bread on her melt was perfectly buttery and toasted, she was very disappointed with the patty itself, describing the meat as bland and flavorless, almost as if it had been steamed or boiled rather than grilled, which isn't what you expect from a patty melt. However, the onion rings were a definite highlight – absolutely delicious, tasting fresh and beer-battered. She even declared them the best onion rings she's ever had.

I opted for the French Dip, and unfortunately, it was quite a letdown. The bread was fine, just soft, plain white bread, nothing special. The shredded meat inside was similarly lacking in flavor, and its texture meant it completely fell apart and out of the sandwich whenever I tried to dip it. The real disappointment, however, was the au jus. After dipping and tasting no difference, I tried a spoonful directly and found it to be completely flavorless brown water. It offered no enhancement to the sandwich whatsoever.

Despite the significant food issues with our main dishes, the exceptional service and those amazing onion rings make us think we'd be willing to give Shari's another shot. We'd definitely be ordering differently next...