The Classic Cafe at Roanoke

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

And, no, they werent the good kind. My family went to this place on Easter Sunday for brunch and the whole experience ruined our entire day. We (as well as our kids) are used to eating at fine restaurants, so when there werent any prices on the menu, we were not at all alarmed because we assumed that the food was adequate. WE COULDNT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. After receiving lukewarm salads and beverages from a can, I told my husband that if they proceeded to bring our kids canned fruit for their appetizer, then I was going to walk out. The Classic Cafe didnt let me down and indeed, served my children fruit from a can. I could tell my husband was embarrassed, so like a good wife I stayed and kept my mouth shut. When our entrees arrive, I was completely baffled! My husband and I ordered the filet, and what WASNT on the menu were the sides...mac-n-cheese with a crushed pretzel (yes, I said pretzel) crust and cold green beans. I was stunned! Seriously...pretzel?!?! Anyways, my kids were served their grilled cheese sandwiches, which were so soaked in butter, that I couldnt let them continue to eat because butter was getting all over them! After seeing and picking at our entrees, we refused dessert and just wanted to leave. When we were brought the check, you could have knocked me over with a feather....$35 each for my husband and I and $18 per child (we have 4), not to mention $2 per canned drink. I immediately left the table as to not cause a scene and continued to cry in the car because I have never felt to robbed in my life. I did call back later and talked to one of the owners. He admitted to the canned fruit and their excuse for serving it was that most of the children that come in on Easter Sundays arent used to eating "fine" dining, so they didnt see a need to serve fresh fruit. If thats the case, then WHY IN THE WORLD charge $18 for canned drinks, canned fruit and greasy grilled cheese sandwiches?!?! He reiterated that theyve "been in business for 17 years, blah, blah, blah" and offered to send us a gift cert. to give them another chance. Um...No thanks! I beg of you reading this...please, please, please...skip this horrible experience! Youd be much better off eating wonderful food at Al Biernats in Dallas and Texas de Brazil in Ft. Worth for the SAME price(if not cheaper!). And if you want to stay close to Roanoke...the Whataburger down the street is excellent and worlds better than the Classic Cafe. :)

DA

David Sink

Let me start off by saying that overall the food was amazing. My wife and I went there for her birthday. Salmon Mouse - sampling that was gifted from the chef. Very delicious salmon mouse in a pastry cup. Topped with fresh dill and caviar. Pork Belly small plate - I enjoyed the flavor of this. It tasted much like a very tender pork roast. I had expected that the outside of it would be crispy (maybe pan seared), which was not the case. If it had been this would have been amazing. As it was, it was just good :) Rack of Lamb - Served "lolipop" style, these were very lightly breaded. The meat could be cut with a butter knife, and was very tasty Mixed Grille - Contained a piece of duck, some home made sausage, and piece of flat iron steak. The duck was the star of this dish, with a bit of savory/sweet huckleberry on the plate. The sausage was not my favorite, mainly due to the seasoning used. The flat iron was good. Jalepeno Apple Pie - Enjoyed and different but it wasnt anything overly amazing. Part of this may have been the fact that I was full, which you could guess by the entrees. The review doesnt really emphasize it, but I really enjoyed the food, as did my wife. Im not one to leave 5 stars on a review, but I will call out why I couldnt for this, and some of you may love it for this reason and other avoid: the atmosphere. The place is quaint, and when I pulled up on the restaurant, I was a bit worried by the outside. It wasnt packed on a Friday night, and the pastel blue wooden building definitely highlighted the fact that this is a casual place. The inside felt a bit like an old house, which may have been the case. This is a great place for a date, but even Open Table stated that it is "casual dress," so dont expect the quiet/private romantic night out. Its casual and very relaxed. I would definitely go back, but not knowing that going in threw me off only momentarily.

JM

jmcclain721

After reading some good reviews and even a few word of mouth endorsements, I decided to surprise my wife with a date night to the Classic Cafe. Babysitter, check...dancing after dinner…going to be a special night, right...Anyway, the cafe is close to where we live so its very convenient for us. Anyhow, we arrive and the place is small, but cozy, quaint, and elegant. Servers seem to be top notch so we were expecting a good experience and quality cuisine. However, the food just did not make the cut, in more ways than one. Compared to other restaurants, this has to be the most over-priced mediocre cuisine Ive ever experienced. I had the 8oz filet which was meh. Quality was not that great and I’ve had a better filet at Outback at 1/3 the price…and I’m not saying it has to be Bob’s or III Forks, etc…but each time I go to these types restaurants, I always walk out saying the food was amazing and I’m not concerned over the amount of money that I have spent because it’s worth it. We were so disappointed and it put a huge damper on our(my) evening. Perhaps we may have went in with some lofty expectations, but the food in relation to the price was a HUGE disappointment. Spend the same amount of money (even less really) and go to Bob’s and have a carrot or save a bunch and go one of the chain steakhouses. BTW, overall service was very good and the servers were great as well. But, once again, the food was just not even close to making the grade.

CA

Cameron Sutor

It doesnt look like much has changed with The Classic Cafe, and their steaks, since Mr. Moorelands visit a year ago ... My Dad and I were looking for a local restaurant to grab a steak and a few drinks. Out of the places that were nearby and open at 8pm, this one had the greatest number of positive reviews, so we decided to give it a try. As you can infer from my one-star rating, we will not be returning to The Classic Cafe. Other than our waitress and the fact that the chef/owner came to apologize that our food was unacceptable, the food and wine did not justify the price, and definitely did not come close to meeting our expectations. I ordered a 14-ounce ribeye and my Dad had the 8-ounce beef tenderloin. A steak, when cooked medium-rare, should have a warm, pink center, which these were. But the issue wasnt with the preparation of the steak, rather, it was with the quality of the beef. Now, I dont want to seem too hard on the chef, so Ill be honest and say my steak was okay, but not great, and not something I would go to his restaurant and order again. This biggest issue with the steaks was with the tenderloin. It pink, tough, and stringy! I didnt plan on writing that much about a low quality steak dinner I had the other night, so Ill summarize by saying: "If you want a good steak, go somewhere else." Also, their alcohol is overpriced. Enjoy!