Cafe Romeo — Restaurant in Romeoville

I have been coming to Cafe Romeo since it opened, I have been coming to this location almost my entire life as it has changed ownership at least four times. It has been four different restaurants in a little over 20 years but it has always served the same food. It is a breakfast diner with lunch/dinner items on the menu.

The food is food. Yes you heard me right, it's not a typo, it's food. Not bad food, but nothing that really stands out, most of the menu can probably be made at home and would taste the same. the food is always properly cooked, but that's it, there is no Chef here, only line cooks, cooking from a menu that has existed since the dawn of time.

I don't usually ever order anything off the wall that requires much effort, most of the time biscuits and gravy, some hashbrowns and eggs. One time I ordered a steak (while they had it) and it was pretty expensive for the quality of meat. So I did not order it again. Sometimes I order the eggs benedict however the hollandaise sauce tastes a bit off (out of a package maybe?) The front of the house staff does their due diligence, they are usually friendly even when they seem frustrated with their job.

With the amount of traffic and opportunity that drives by every day and their parking lot almost always empty you would think that this place is closed down if you weren't familiar with the area. 135th and 53 is always busy which surprises me that this place closes very early in the afternoon.

The exterior and interior of the building are decored after an amalgamation of 90's diners and hand-me-down furniture that's been around as long as the building has existed.

Cafe Romeo is currently suffering from a very common form of a slow death cycle that many restaurants face consisting of low customer influx, resulting in raised prices, lower wages, closing early leading to less customers and on and on.

There is a sign in the lobby that bothers me a bit, it reads something along the lines of "Due to government handouts no one wants to work anymore, were are hiring so please be patient, make sure to tip the people that do come into work because atleast they showed up"

Not exactly sure this is a good idea, what's happening here is a passing of blame, Cafe Romeo is passing the blame of their dying business onto everyone and everything else. The person who purchased this business has got to know that the last three restaurants here all served the same food and all three closed from not having enough business. This is a prime location for a thriving business now more than ever, the traffic is insane and there is a bus stop right outside your doors. You have potential customers not just from Romeoville, but Lockport, Joliet, and Bolingbrook. Also do not bother your would be customers to tip their server right through the front door simply because they showed up to work. Motivating your staff to keep their job is your responsibility, earning a tip is theirs. Government handouts are not causing your business to fail, when Cafe Romeo opened it should have had a clear plan from the start to atleast avoid being like the other three business at this location.

To summarize; Romeo Cafe lacks all vision when it comes to food and originality, and is stuck in a slow death on life support blaming everyone else for it's own shortcomings. But while it is still here you can definitely get your eggs...

Excited to try this place for the first time and boy, did it disappoint. The staff were busy as expected on a Sunday mid-morning but my coffee was never empty. I had to ask for my order to be taken but that's okay. In the mood for a grilled cheese, eggs, turkey bacon and coffee only to find this was not a menu combination. No problem. The bacon's taste screamed that it was past its edible date - had to spit out the bite I took. Turned me off to even wanting bacon anymore and I mentioned this to the wait staff. They asked me if I wanted another, different helping. NO!; 0/10. The hash browns were unforgivable: undercooked on the bottom side and burned on the top. They somehow turned into a mash potato slop when I added salt and ketchup (what? How?) - I'd never seen that before. Asked them to be remade and the 2nd batch was more of the same; 0/10 with a 'how does that happen? and a 'yuck''. The grilled cheese was a repectable 7/10 tasting just okay enough to pass and the eggs were on the same grade as well - just okay. The coffee was smooth and good which I would give an 8.5/10. I was promptly slid the bill without asking for it and with no words spoken at all. Seems like the wait staff was wanting to get rid of me. The bill still showed the bacon was being charged and this is when I found out I was being charged a-la-carte for everything. I also saw two charges - one for cash and one higher if using a credit card. There was no mention of this billing system anywhere; not at the entance, host desk, nor menus - anywhere. Not a welcomed surprise to spring on your guests. I asked to speak to the Manager and the chef came out to talk to me. I thanked him for speaking to me and asked how business was. He stated that business fluctuates and that people have their opinions. I guess he sensed where this was going. I asked him what he thought about his food, namely the hash browns and turkey bacon. He stated that the turkey bacon was one of his best sellers and that I had been his first ever complaint. He took a look at the goop of what was left of the hash browns and he said that he didn't make them and that maybe next time I should order them well done. He also said that everyone has their own tastes and that this is something he can't help. When I asked him what he thought about his prices he said that he would bet me $100 that he was the cheapest around. With that, I thanked him for his time and wished him the best. My bill came out to $27 which felt like the final kick in the pants to an already deplorable dining experience. Lesson learned. I left feeling that the tone of the restaurant was that of just trying to sell passable food with no desire to improve. Everyone was busy but it felt ultimately aimless. With a Google review of 4.2, I definitely felt duped as a customer. Never again will I solely depend on what Google reviews are telling me. With a little more research I would have found that Yelp and Facebook offered ratings of 2.8 and 3.6, respectively, highlighting more examples of my experience. Verdict: I wouldn't come back if I could help it and believe me, I'm...

Luis the manger is a jerk! I would never come here again. The food is old the sausage is definitely a few days old and the hash browns are greasy and soggy! They said the coffee was free and charged us $4 cup

I come here quite often and spend around $40 each time. I always order the Cobb salad, combo skillet, and something else new. Today I had a bad experience. I picked up my food and was called ten mins later to say they forgot my salad so I had to come back to get it. When I got home for the second time I realized my skillet was burnt and dry. I called because it wasn’t edible. The woman who answered said someone would Call me back. I waited 20 mins with no call back so I called again and spoke to manager. I asked to return the skillet and get a refund at this point. He initially said no refund he will Remake it. I explained this would be my third time coming back and I am no longer interested in eating. He said nobody told him i even called. I got there and the waitress gave me $12 rudely. I explained that I paid tax and I would like the tax back as well. She reluctantly gave me my tax. So I then asked to speak to manager in person and she told me no he was busy and then walked off and got him. The Manager wasn’t as rude as her but they lost a customer. The way they handled me as a customer was unprofessional and they didn’t even try to make my experience less of a hassle. I ordered here before and didn’t get my soup (that I paid for) they said they will give it next time. Never got it!!! I didn’t even complain about it. I even recommend this place to many folks but today they lost a customer. Poor customer service. Treat people kind especially loyal customers. Their food isn’t cheap so they need...