The Rock - Food & Friends — Restaurant in Springfield

I'd been here one time years ago for a work event. The service wasn't great back then, but I chalked it up to the size of our group. Besides, that was years ago - surely they've improved?

Friday night my folks were in town and we opted to try The Rock, much to our collective disappointment.

We called ahead to ask about the wait time for a party of four. We were told it was a 45 minute wait and we couldn't put our names on the list by phone. No big deal, a lot of places are like that, so we drove the 20 minutes there just to then wait another expected 45 minutes for a table.

After waiting outside a while, we asked the hostess stand if we could order drinks from the bar while we waited. Natalie, the hostess, seemed annoyed at the question and was unenthused and curtly answered yes without providing any direction.

So, our group of four meandered to the bar where it was full of diners. We stood off to the side so as not to encroach while still trying to make ourselves noticeable to the bartender. The only place to stand was in the middle of the dining room square in front of the kitchen doors which was then to the annoyance of every server bustling by. Trust us, we weren't happy about being in their way any more than they were happy about us being in their way.

The bartender was obviously making drinks and running food so we were patient but did notice that we weren't even acknowledged with a simple, "I'll be right with you." As it turns out, she was friends with a couple sitting at the bar and therefor quite distracted. My patience began to dwindle but I remained polite. When we did finally order, I specified no salt on the rim of my margarita only to be met with what seemed like extra salt.

On our way back out to the waiting area, I thanked Natalie by name trying to break the ice and hateful looks she continued to throw my way and all I got in return was an angry stare.

When we were finally called to our table, she was seating our group of clearly short people at a high top. She did offer to clear off a low top, and we asked instead for the empty table outside. Natalie said it would be another 20 minutes! I don't understand how you can immediately clear a low top inside but it would take 20 minutes to clear a table outside?

Our server was friendly enough but he never offered or brought water. When he brought the bill, he didn't do a final ask about whether we needed anything else, just dropped the ticket and walked. I had to actually yell "Come back" because he couldn't hear me the first time I called for him - we was too busy rejoining the servers loudly jibber jabbering around the kitchen door a few feet behind our table. All we needed was a single to-go box.

The food was okay but it wasn't anything to write home about. I ordered the nachos which were difficult to eat. Granted, they are referenced on the menu as a mountain, and they certainly come out looking like one. All the toppings were on the top so most chips in the middle were dry. The chips were stale like they'd been out all day, and the plate was too small for the mountain so I was spending extra time trying to dismantle my meal without making a mess.

My fiancé had the turkey & brie and upgraded his fries to sweet potato fries. There weren't many, and they were cold.

Navigating the restaurant makes me wonder how there haven't been more collisions. To enter the dining area, go/from the restroom, and to exit, you must cross the pathway of the kitchen.

To recap; the service is not good, the atmosphere isn't conducive to conversation, the layout of the restaurant is absurd (especially when having to order your own drinks), and the food is mediocre.

With inflation at an all-time high and your dining out options plentiful, The Rock doesn't need to be at the top...

This place seems to be overpriced for the amount of quality it has to offer. I ordered the grilled tofu which is okay, not terrible, but not amazing. They said the onion rings were made in-house, but I would have thought they were just out of the freezer and fried. The french fries were very good and the bloody Mary was very good. My loaded mashed potatoes were barely warm and the cheese wasn't even melted. My boyfriend's burger came out with the wrong bun and only half as much pork belly as it was supposed to have. instead of apologizing and offering to replace his burger with something else, the waitress said they were out of the pretzel buns and for some reason the kitchen had forgot to put the second slice of pork belly on the burger. So she brought out a second slice of pork belly for him to put onto the burger. She didn't offer to make it right or even seem super apologetic about it. My boyfriend felt she seem more interested in chatting with her friends at the bar then waiting on our table with any particular care. My friend ordered the cheesecake bites and they are $6 for two small cheesecake bites on a huge plate and they're mostly filled with a congealed strawberry filling with very little cheesecake filling in the middle. I think if they cost about $2 it would be just about right but $6 seems a little much. I ordered the peppadew appetizer and it didn't say on the menu, but half the appetizer is this really fatty meat chunk on a skewer with a peppadew peppers. The peppadew peppers didn't have the nice sweet flavor I was expecting and I didn't want the meat chunks at all. If I'd known it came with meat chunks -- probably I wouldn't have ordered it. My boyfriend said he felt the quality was on par with Applebee's but the prices are more expensive than a cheap fast casual place like Applebee's. I also feel a place that is a big chain like that would do a better job of ensuring customers satisfaction. Like if they bring out the wrong sandwich usually they make it right. They were out of all of their desserts on the menu except for one, in addition to being out of their pretzel buns. The ambiance is really nice. We really liked the decor and the setting. I wish there were more really cute restaurants like this in Springfield. so again, it wasn't terrible or anything, it just wasn't great. I didn't feel that the prices were justified. I think if they shaved off two to $5 of each item, the prices would match the quality that they have to offer. I'd rather support a local business than a big chain restaurant like Applebee's or Chili's, so I'd say give the place a try if you haven't already. But in my opinion, the quality just doesn't quite match the price and the service leaves a little to be desired. I feel a little conflicted about what rating to leave. Three seems a little harsh, but the fact that the service wasn't great kind of push me over the edge. Four just seems too high of a rating. I wish I could leave a 3.5 if I'm...

My brother and I ordered the Chislic Skewers, Stuffed Peppedews, Ahi Tuna Poke, and a burger (I forget which one). Everything was overpriced and not that great except for the burger.

The Chislic Skewers had exactly 5 cubes the size of playing dice on a six inch wooden skewer. They looked lost. Like six-year olds adrift on a rowing shell. They were fatty beef and heavily seasoned, so I enjoyed eating them... I just didn't get long to enjoy them. All this for $10 + tax + tip. That's $1 per playing die. Oh, they came with a dipping sauce... I guess that should count for something.

The Stuffed Peppedews were identical to the Chislic Skewers except that three of the beef playing dice cubes had been replaced with the smallest little peppers I've ever seen. Yes. Thank you. I know peppedews are small. I've had peppedews before (granted, it was in Texas so maybe that throws the average size off). But these were truly small--the size of grapes, or cherry tomatoes, or those dishwasher cleaner tablet things. Again, they were enjoyable... as long as the six of them lasted. I guess I wouldn't have minded so much--they were an appetizer after all--except that they COST 14 DOLLARS! FOUR. TEEN. Maybe Texas is the only place you can get good Stuffed Peppedews.

If you're read this far, I've wasted enough of your time, so let me be brief: the poke bowl was similarly underwhelming. The burger and fries were decent.

I will NEVER come back to this place again... although, it's so close to my brother's apartment and I'm quite lazy. Let me restate: When I inevitably wind up at this place again, I will only get...