Taste of Rondo Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Though the website states 2:00 pm as the hour of operation (Thursday), I showed up at 6 pm to a locked door. I was asked to wait on the patio while they finished "setting up."

Fast forward.. it's 6:45, and the server never returns. Another party walked into the restaurant and didn't return, that's how I realized we could now go in.

Go inside, the party of 2 I saw go in and my table were the only people in the restaurant. I asked the server how long would it take to prepare the food, quoted 20 minutes..."we have to cook it."

I ordered at 7:10, and requested my food to go. I had to head over to the airport. At 7:30, I walked to the counter, only to he told it would be another 10 minutes. 5 minutes later, the server comes to tell me they don't have any chicken breast thawed, so I can't get the chicken sandwich I ordered. After a few more minutes the server brought my appetizer, and I noted I requested my food to-go. "You only requested the chicken sandwich to go." I don't think the default "the customer is always right " is always applicable, but there's absolutely no reason to give me attitude after I have patiently waited for food. Remember, I sat outside in the sun for 45 minutes while you finished set-up.

I go back to the counter to pay, as it after 8pm. My dad's flight landed at 7:30 and I am not at the airport. I figured paying would help expedite my departure. I couldn't help but notice the cook opening individual packets of mayonnaise to add to my sandwich. (The server suggested a chicken Philly since I could not get the chicken breast sandwich). Is this how condiments are added to orders? If so, I could have don't that myself.

A table that walked in well after I ordered is eating, there is a couple that sat themselves that leaves after waiting with no acknowledgement, the party of 2 ahead of me leaves after only getting drinks. But now there are at least 6 tables seated.

The moral of the story, customer service is a dying art. Effective Communication is a characteristic many don't develop. All you had to do was say it'll be a while, we are short staffed. The entire time I only saw one server and one cook. As a former restaurateur, I understand the pressures of the food industry, and I provide grace. However, don't quote me 20 minutes if you can't uphold your words. That's why I asked prior to placing the order. If something changes where you can't deliver in 20 minutes a simple acknowledgement works. You don't help the narrative when you decide to chastise me for reminding you I requested my food to go.

After getting to the airport and finally home, the food was still warm. That's a good thing. The chicken Philly had a good taste, fries were not seasoned as expected. My dad enjoyed the fried chicken, though I sampled the gouda grits and didn't taste gouda. The chicken bites were underwhelming, and it seemed like they came out of a bag. Overall, food was passable. Though I had planned to go back to try other items, this experience makes me think I should not.

As a new resident of the Twin Cities, I was excited about trying this restaurant. The story of the couple overcoming adversity is admirable, and the history and legacy of the neighborhood inspirational. However...those aspects alone do not compensate for a...

I consider myself to be a picky eater, kind of a foodie. I was here on a Saturday night. We walked in just after a large party according to the server.

The food was delicious. I had a Philly and wife had Blackened Catfish. We also tried the red beans and rice and greens.

Philly had a great flavor. I thought the red beans and rice were a little watery but the smokey flavor was wonderful. The greens were not what I was expecting either but the flavor again surprised me. The were really good. Catfish had a lot of spices going on but they all came together well.

Portion sizes were small. It could be because my red beans and rice did not come with the order so I had to share the sides with my wife. Server never came back after our meal was dropped off.

Service was subpar but it was a busy night. I watched how the food came out, it appears they could only cook 1 thing at a time. Wait time was well over an hour for food. Waitress did not come back and check in very often.

The acoustics were really bad in the bar and the loud voices of people having a good time were a little much for me. As we were getting ready to leave it appeared they had a dj setting up. I am glad we were leaving. I could have easily gone 2 starts, but a little less wait for food and little better service would make it 5 start.

I hope to try it again on a less busy night.

Prices were good, but portion size represented cost. Being a small business owner myself I understand the supply issues and food costs. I would not have minded paying a few bucks more to have a bigger serving of meat.

Keep up the quality of food and hopefully the service was not representative...

I went here the second or third day they opened in the summer. They were delicious! The shrimp and grits was decadent! Some of the best food I’ve ever had. For months, I got takeout from here (lack of masks inside made me feel uncomfortable) 1-2 times per week. I use the word “was” because they have gone downhill, and I will no longer support them. Much to the same tune as other reviews, orders were lost or never taken, service took a long time when they weren’t busy and customer service has something to be desired. (Kenyatta rocks, though!) The taste of the food and portion sizes no longer represent what they started out as. They stopped giving their homemade honey butter with the corn cake. The shrimp and grits is now half the size and tastes like plain grits and shrimp were thrown in a microwave. I called twice and asked to speak to Charles. First time he wasn’t there. No one was there to tell my feedback to (and it was feedback not criticism, as it was my favorite restaurant at the time). The woman who answered said she’d pass along the message. I waited two days, and there was no response. I called again. Charles was there, yet he was busy. I explained my concerns again to the woman who answered, and said I would really appreciate a callback, as I felt the cost of food no longer matched what patrons were getting. That was a couple months ago. No callback. I’ve been tempted to give them one more shot, yet it seems these reviews would support my decision to not go back. What a shame! The food used to be so good, and I really wanted to support this...