Hwy 61 Roadhouse — Restaurant in Webster Groves

What a great restaurant the Roadhouse was... sadly no longer. On 1.31.24, I called to see if it would be possible to order, food to go, on 2.13.24 (Fat Tuesday). I asked how far in advance to order and the best time (for them) to pick it up, to accommodate their potential crowd. When I spoke to Alon on 1.31, he asked that I call on 2.6 to place the order, that it would be appreciated. As requested I called on 2.6 @3:00, between their lunch and dinner, spoke to Alon and placed the order with him. I asked to pick the order up at 4:00 and was told that should be fine, that he would let me know if I needed to come earlier. I arrived at 4:00 on 2.13.24, to be told there was no record of my order. I shared the above information and was told by one of the employees that I was at fault because I didn't email the order. When I asked why I should have done that when I placed the order with Alon, she and Alon both walked away without responding. It is important to note that the only reason I re-ordered the meal was because it was our Daughter's requested Birthday dinner. It took another 45 minutes for the order to be completed. A few vital take away's from this ugly experience. #1. As a (now-former) customer, I worked diligently to accommodate the restaurant in anticipation of their crowd. #2. Having grown up in an environment where the customer is always right, clearly this concept doesn't apply at Roadhouse. #3. It's very clear these behaviors have impacted their business. At 4:00 on Fat Tuesday - Mardi Gras, there were 4 people at the bar, 4 people at tables in the bar, and 4 people in the restaurant. Literally 12 people on Fat Tuesday at a New Orleans/Cajun themed restaurant. #4. Further astonishing; a kind customer at the bar offered twice to buy me a drink to try to offset the situation. Wouldn't it have been a Good Customer Service gesture for a Roadhouse employee to offer the same, or at the very least an apology. AN APOLOGY WAS NEVER OFFERED! We have fond memories of the High Quality of Service and Food when Bill Kunz owned Hwy 61 Roadhouse. So...

Wow, let's talk about an experience that we will never forget. (Coming from a food service worker and a butcher from one of the top 10 shops in the country)

Let's cut straight to it!

The music. The sound was good. The bad wasn't bad, but it wasn't blues. (Whatever, the owners can't control that)

-the drinks 2/10. The beer was good! The cocktails? We ordered a tequila w/ soda and lime. My girlfriend tried it and looked at me with concern. I took a sip, and it tasted like cleaning chemicals.

The ginger Manhatten, if I'm drinking a $15 cocktail, it better rock my world, not be a simple drink with a splash of Canada dry ginger ale.

-the food. The food here... Where do I start? This "Cajun" menu was designed by white people, for white people. It was beyond bland. The burger. Over cooked, tough, and had zero flavor.

The peel and eat shrimp. What a shame. Decent quality product that was ruined. Sure, it was overcooked... But seasoning? Forget about seasoning the water, they didn't even salt it! Then the bartender runs up with a plastic cup of something and says "they forgot this" and sprinkled it on one side of the shrimp shell (that is getting peeled off". Point is, the shrimp taste like rubber and tap water.

The coleslaw. I can think of 2 times in my life that I spit something out! That stuff is not even bland, it's just gross!

The bartender was kind though!

Either way, this place is not worth a visit. Not worth your time, and I'll be damned if I'll ever give it another shot.

Moral of the story, I want my money back! It was that awful!

I had an amazing dinner last week, for two, that cost me $20 more...

Highway 61 Roadhouse is under new ownership and management as of about 2 months ago. The new owners are certainly trying, but they don't quite have it down yet. In order to succeed as a restauranteur, your management team needs to excel in three skill sets: 1) You have to run an industrial kitchen; 2) you have to run a dining room, and 3) you have to run a business. I don't know how they're doing with #3, but they're spotty with #1 and #2. I visited for the first time for Sunday brunch. Food was mixed: biscuits were excellent, but sausage gravy was floury and tasteless. Bacon was of good quality, fried crisp and crunchy. Cream corn souffle' was made in muffin pans for individual servings... a nice touch. By far the star of the meal was the red beans and rice; it was delicious, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. At the end of the meal, I had a brownie (acceptable but not remarkable) and my partner tried their beignet. The beignet was underdone, soggy in the middle, and not at all like the world-famous offering of the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. Service was ... glacial. Enough said. The only upside was that we had more time to enjoy the live music, provided by a keyboardist with a very broad set list, ranging from jazz to pop to show tunes. I want to try this restaurant again, for dinner, to sample their Cajun cooking... but if their evening wait staff are as slow as the Sunday morning crew, I fear that the meal will take a long, long time. But the...