Roar — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

Incredible concept, great location, classic building, but TERRIBLE execution. If they can figure out the operational side of this endeavor then they will have a one-of-a-kind top-notch destination. Let me start by saying that I truly hope that the owners read this review and fix Roar so that we can all enjoy it for many years to come. Unfortunately, I have been to Roar twice over the last two weeks and the service was deplorable on both visits.

The valet team was absent upon arrival and we had to go into the building to find them to park our car (this was in the rain and defeated the purpose of valet). Then upon leaving they couldn’t find our keys. Two guys in red rain coats and an Iphone app isn’t valet for a building this size on Derby evening.

The main music hall is an incredibly fun concept and the beer/drink wall is inspiring. Local musicians can play while you sit and enjoy a drink and different food windows offer a wide selection. However, it shouldn’t take 10 minutes to find someone who can get you a key fob to have a drink. Additionally, the system is not really intuitive so it would have been nice to someone/anyone explain it new users. Further, on our second visit the key fob / or the system seemed to be having an issue but no one was around to help. A nice lady (assume she may work there) tried to help but then said she would be right back but was never seen again. As a group we would have had probably 2 or 3 more drinks per person if we could have had just a little service.

The second floor (once you get there) feels like an upscale game room. You can take the elevator or the unmarked stairs. Golf simulators ring the sides and mini bowling anchors the east end of the building. On our first visit we were not able to play golf or bowl as they were all booked up (completely our bad for not booking ahead). We did make a reservation for the second visit for golf. Bring your own clubs! All of the drivers/wood were broken and the club sets are a mixed bag (pun intended). The simulators are state of the art but definitely need service and calibration. We had a mid-single digit handicap player with us and his best drive was only 159 yards. But his approach wedge produced 120 yards with half power.

Food and beverages while gaming is non-existent and probably the biggest catalyst for this negative review. In our two hours of golfing not one single employee came by to ask for drink or food orders. I wandered the second floor looking for anyone to help and finally arrived at the food window (open to the lobby area. After waiting for a couple minutes, I asked one of the people behind the counter if this is where we order food. A chef (his coat said executive Chef) said that I had to ask a waiter or go to the bar. I told him that there weren’t any wait staff and he shrugged his shoulders and walked away. I have worked in commercial kitchens in New York with many chefs and with that said if this is your executive Chef, he should be fired immediately. Hot tempered chefs have passion about their art but apathetic ones will be the death of a kitchen. I finally had to walk downstairs to get food in the music hall and a couple bottles of water to carry back upstairs to have for the group. In all, I would guess that Roar missed out on probably $200 in food and drink orders from our small group on that one occasion.

On a separate visit we met up with friends who ate at the “Steak House” for dinner. The food was just “fine” (probably the result of the apathetic Chef) and the service was once again the centerpiece of the failure. For the prices in the Steak House the food should be great and the service should be spot on.

Again, I hope that the owners do read and care about the reviews because Roar has SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!!!! But it is in dire need of a full operational make over. One member of our group last night went so far as to suggest the show “Bar Rescue” needs to...

Extremely disappointed after my first time there. For an establishment that's been open for years, it felt like there were a lot of kinks still needing to be worked out. Me, my husband, my sister and her husband all went last night for the first time after seeing multiple people suggest going for a good date night experience. We arrived at 6pm (one hour after opening) and it seemed like staff had barely gotten started getting ready for the night; we could see workers busy in the back room of food area prepping for the night and walking around looking busy, but nobody had the time to stop and help first timers get an idea of where to go. The food area barely looked operational with a bunch of boxes everywhere. The bartender in the back of the arcade was the most helpful person all night. My husband tried to get a beer fob for the tap wall (lots of beers we've never heard of, several that were out) and he was told to go to the 2nd floor to get it there, first inconvenience. As soon as he got off the elevator, a security guard asked if he was there with the Wake Forest party and he wasn't supposed to be up there. So security had to walkie for someone to get his fob. When we were finally ready to get beer, there were no cups around and we had to help ourselves to go behind the food counter and get very small plastic cups, but later realized there were chilled glass ones that we much rather would've preferred. My sister ordered food at the kiosk and when she got the text saying it was ready, she went to get it and a guy was just standing there. She politely asked the employee for her food, he made an annoyed face at her and handed her her tray with no words. Her food was ok for bar food, mac and cheese bites were good. Went to play golf and it was fun other than one hole being down and the sensitivity of the sensors for playing the hole each time. Also, the beer wall was not operational down there and no bartender. Went to the arcade and got the $20 all you can play in an hour card. However, there were no places by the games to set down cups. Would've loved to try bowling, but apparently we weren't allowed on that floor. The putt putt and bartender were saving graces of the night, but if I want to just drink good beer and play games with good food, I'll stick with Camel City BBQ and Dave...

Wow, where to begin. This place has a lot of potential to be great but they need some serious work. We made a reservation for 7:15 for the Valentine’s Day meal. When we arrived we waited at the hostess stand for almost 10 minutes before we were even acknowledged. Another couple showed up behind us & that’s when someone told us they would fine someone. Once we were checked in we were told it would be just another minute & to have a seat in the lounge area by the bar. We did & after 25 minutes there my husband decided to grab us a drink from the bar. When my cocktail arrived there was lipstick on the glass from another customer. Then after 30 minutes of waiting and watching 3 other couples get sat I finally asked if there was a problem with our reservation & the hostess realized she had completely forgotten about us. She apologized several times, once using profanity & got us seated. Once at the table we were greeted by our waitress who took our orders. The Valentines Day meal came with 2 appetizers & soup before the main course. One appetizer came out & when the waitress came to check on us she realized the other appetizer & soup had not came out. She told us she would get it out right away but when our main course came out & the other two started still had not made it to our table she rushed back to bring them out. Our soup was fishy & thin, the filet was way over cooked & resembled roast beef. Dessert was the best part but made us believe it was store bought. The atmosphere was advertised as a Roaring 20s theme but other than some large photos on the wall there was nothing 20s themed about it. There was a scene of disorganized chaos & tension in the air between all the team members & you could tell that no one really knew what they were doing. The lack of professionalism & hospitality training was astounding. My husband & I literally ended up laughing about everything throughout our entire experience because we had simply never seen such a mess of a restaurant. The location is great & the lounge area looks really nice. If there were competent staff & kitchen managers in place this restaurant could be a success but unfortunately they have a long way to go. Take it from us, spend your money &...