Roy’s Restaurant

1 Reviews on “Roy’s Restaurant”

• Elizabeth Windsor

  Sit back for a moment for a fairly harrowing New Year’s Eve story…Clearly, NYE is supposed to be celebratory, a time for new beginnings, great friends and loved ones, wonderful food and a beautiful atmosphere…Aside from great friends, this experience was anything but enjoyable.A friend of mine made reservations well in advance to Roy’s [as we were holidaying in San Diego] for a lovely NYE dinner and celebration. We came for our 9pm reservation and the first thing we noticed upon entering from the cold eve outside was it was even colder inside. It was not full at all despite the occasion and usually overflowing restaurant. Except for the staff running about, everyone else inside, was still fully dressed in coats. We were seated in a room closest to the front and front doors, and it was drafty and cold – both sets of large parties were there for a time as most of their food was on the table already, and they were all fully clothed. grown men, for all their bravado, in coats and scarves attempting to make the best of their evening with friends and families. The entire place had no heat–unacceptable considering the rather low outside [and invariably inside] temperatures. When we enquired after seeing most guests in coats, we were informed the boiler/heater broke and efforts made to fix it in the morning were to no avail, there was nothing else they could do, so they did nothing, and offered nothing but excuses. Yet, the staff knew as early as 2pm, we were told, thus had ample time to notify guests, but no calls, emails or texts were sent to inform us, and give us an opportunity to decide whether we wished to brave the cold environment, and perhaps dress accordingly [we were both in rather dressy outfits that were not warm as most places have heat, heaters, fireplaces and it gets fairly hot indoors], or simply make alternative plans [we would not have gone, given the chance, as I do not fare well in such cold temps. Also, instead of improvising and attempting to purchase a few space heaters or even heating fans, or possibly putting people in a further area away from the door closer to the open kitchen [basic body heat and kitchen heat would have heated the room several degrees], everyone was spaced out throughout the frigid restaurant. It was so cold within the entirety of the space [even with windows and interiour doors closed] that grown men, given all their bravado and machismo, were forced to sit in coats and scarves, with women and children shivering in their outer clothing, including gloves. Such a situation was simply untenable; it was unbearable and so unpleasant I don’t know how people suffered through it. People were constantly complaining, there was no laughter or joyful exuberance one would expect of a NYE celebration. We could barely enjoy our meal. In fact, it was so terrible we left early before we completely ruined our entire New Year’s [which we did anyway as shortly thereafter I came down with walking pneumonia from being so chilled at the restaurant].Additionally, we were so shocked that on a menu, allegedly as thought out as staff had us believe, there were no festive selections, and most surprisingly, not a single decadent chocolate item for dessert. There were several with nuts [I’m severely allergic, and notified staff immediately], and a pannacotta. Given the already wintry conditions inside [and out], I found it wholly inconsiderate and inappropriate to have all cold desserts, to begin with, and not a single warm chocolate [the Roy’s melting hot chocolate souffle is a signature dessert in every Roy’s I’ve been to] for such a celebratory occasion. No accommodations for my nut allergy were even considered except to offer me cold ice cream or sorbet while we’re all sitting shivering in our coats. Truly disappointing from start to bitterly cold finish. The dishes in between were nothing to rave about either, and service was so horribly slow, despite the lack of major NYE crowd throughout the majority of the restaurant. There was no edamame on the tables, as usual, They kept attempting to upsell a steak dish [the most expensive on the menu], despite me noting several times I did not eat meat. The lobster bisque was barely warm, which clearly did not help the situation in an already-cold atmosphere.We rushed our dinner, and frankly, while it was a prix fixe, it was not inexpensive, thus, for the price, we certainly did not feel we received even a modicum of a pleasant experience. Our server was none too thrilled to be there, ignored us half the time; at one point I had to find and ask another server to track him down to get us our bill to settle up so we might leave before my extremities went completely numb from the frigid conditions.At the very least the staff could have made it somewhat pleasant, offering clientele some appeasements to lessen the sting of the conditions, if even to offer complimentary warm beverages of any type…none were made. Better still, a bill adjustment to acknowledge a less than stellar, and more akin to superbly miserable dining experience, should have been made, but aside from glib remarks or excuses, not a single gesture was offered.One last point, considering the day and occasion, I was also rather disappointed that the venue was not at least a tad more festive in colouring and/or decorations, or at the very least a happy staff attempting to keep guests entertained or happy [they were all as cold as the rest of us; no wonder they could not spare a smile]. There were no party favours or even so much as confetti on the tables just to liven the space.I travel quite frequently domestically and internationally, and dont ever recall an experience this bad – it even prompted me to write the restaurant’s managing partner to express my severe disappointment and displeasure [he could not even bother to respond].so, while my prior Roy’s experiences in other cities were fairly lovely, THIS disaster and lack of so much as a response or apology, has completely turned me off from ever patronising or recommending another one of their venues.

  June 4, 2019, 4:21 am

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