Brookland Eats — Restaurant in Roxboro

My girlfriend, my mother, and I went to Brookland Eats for Sunday brunch. The building and décor are excellent but to say that the food and service were mediocre is playing fast and loose with the definition of mediocrity.

When we arrived, we waited at the front counter for about 5 minutes before being acknowledged and seated, despite the fact that the servers, who were standing on the opposite end of the room, made eye contact with us several times. Not the best way to start the dining experience, but then came the food...

With its almost complete lack of any sort of seasoning, my lackluster steak wrap would have felt right at home in a nursing home cafeteria. The high point of the meal was the mixed vegetables that arrived alongside the flavorless tortilla and meat brick.

My girlfriend had the chicken and waffles, which she described as being "just okay." Her "just okay" was actually the highest rating that any of us gave anything that we had that day.

The worst was the food that my mother received. She ordered an omelet that was dried out to the point of being virtually inedible. When our server asked how our food was, my mom informed her that it was "awful and not fit to eat." This was met with a chuckle and she simply walked away. There was no offer to correct the problem, to get her something else, to let us talk to the manager, nothing.

When it was all said and done, our bill was over $40 for the 3 of us, not including tip. Around $50 is far too much for a casual brunch, even if it had been good, which it was not. I am not a high maintenance person. I am relatively easy to please but I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. Despite being a small town, Roxboro has several much better restaurants within a few minutes' drive. If the staff at this restaurant had made any attempt to correct the issues that we experienced, I would have been inclined to give it a 3 star rating, but they were completely dismissive. It is a cute place with lots of potential. This was my first trip to this eatery but I will not...

So I'm updating my review. I am not happy with the new "chef" they have in house. I had ate here for lunch not long after he started. I had a Caeser salad with grilled chicken. The salad & dressing tasted & smelled like old feet, along with some strange marinade on the chicken. The waitress seemed to understand my issues, as that's when she informed me of the new cook. I ordered a southern Cobb salad with fried chicken. The amount of salad I got I could have fit in a regular size coffee cup, without stuffing to fit. I had asked if the ranch dressing was the same, was told yes & that was just wrong. It was terrible, tasted old and was thin. So after a couple of months (hoping that the cook has had time to acclimate) I go back. Wrong decision. I ordered a burger with french onion mayo, grilled onions & mushrooms, and swiss cheese. Sounds good, right? Couldn't have been more disappointed. If that's Angus beef, I'm Judge Judy. Grease rolling on the plate, and very bland; I mean, they didn't season anything. I got a side salad with the burger. Six pieces of lettuce, some wrinkled grape tomatoes, old cucumbers. Oh yeah, the ranch dressing is even worse!! Thin as water & tastes weird. Didn't ask for something else, it was going to be just as bad. I used to love going here(as you can read in my initial review) but this place has gone downhill, fast.

This is from a year ago & had 5 stars

We've been here several times. It can be a bit pricey but I find it totally worth it. I haven't had a bad meal or experience yet, save for the first visit & that was a waitress who didn't quite get that she shouldn't stand & talk to her table while they're eating. But we have not had that waitress since then & the food outshines her unpleasantness. I recommend the Sunday lunch special - fried chicken(it's changes every Sunday); the Tarheel Cuban sandwich; the Southern Cobb salad( I got mine w/o black-eyed peas). Burgers are good but considering the range of the menu, I'd suggest trying something new to you. Side note - Excellent...

We have been here many times over the past few years. The past 3 times we have gone, I have left disappointed in the food. The salads are great. The appetizers have been very good - espeically anything with the pita chips. The drink menu and mixology is very good. But.... I have not been excited about the entress the last few times I have eaten there. The beef is not very good quality. The last two times I ordered the hamburger it was either over cooked or undercooked. I sent it back for being overcooked once and it came back essentially raw, and I almost felt like it was a 'message' from the kitchen when it came back like that. I didn't send it back again that time as the rest of my party was finished eating. Last night my guest and I both ordered the prime rib and we could barely cut it, it was so tough. I thought maybe the knives weren't sharp enough. But really, it took some chewing. For a $33 entree, I feel like it should have been higher quality. The sides were great. The service was ok - the front hostess was very friendly, but our table server was quite business like and rushed. Having been there before when it was cold outside, I came dressed for potentially having to sit in the front room. Thankfully, we had a seat in the back room (which is very nice and was decorated beautifully for the holidays) . Roxboro has not had very high quality places to eat, and this was my go-to for several years, but I think we won't visit again unless it's just for appetizers and drinks. So sorry to say that, but I hope management realizes that lots of 5 star reviews in the past don't guarantee 5 star reviews in the future, unless action is taken to continuously evaluate food, service, and atmosphere. PS, we were happy there were NA beers available this...