RM Bar & Grill

The liquor licence is long gone. Next was breakfast and lunch only. No customers. No income. No longer in business. Another restaurant/​bar closed in Ashford.

True, this place has little in the way of décor.
I did have fish & chips one Friday with my wife… I’d give them a 4.5! The next time in I had a large grinder… about $ 9 and it easily had ¾ lbs of pastrami in it… I’d give that a 5! But to sit and enjoy some good food and suck in a little atmosphere? At least I can say the place is clean. Good bear on tap and very reasonable prices.

This place has literally no decorations or ambiance at all. It is a big white room with a bar on one side and cheap tables and chairs. I’m no snob, but ANYTHING would have been welcome to show that someone actually cared about the place. Sometimes a side-​of-​the-​road place like this can be a real gem, but RM is bland and doesn’t do a very good job with any aspect of running a bar/​grill. It’s like the owner bought a clubhouse where he could go drink with some friends.
Based on this, and the limited menu, my thought was «OK, what are they least likely to screw up?» I ordered a burger, which was fine, but nothing special at all. If I were forced to go here again, I’d order it again, but I’d sooner cook one myself at home.
The beer selection is limited to a few mass-​market domestic options. There appears to be a «full bar» for mixed drinks, though they were unable to «find the coffee» to make an Irish one. Everything was clean enough and did not smell. The specials menu is inconveniently located and pretty much impossible to read without walking up to it.
There were only a few people there, but it took us over an hour to get our food. The waitress/​bartender was friendly enough, but the kitchen was very slow, being basically one guy who spent his time hanging out behind the bar.
If you’re looking for a Knights of Columbus/​Moose Lodge kind of atmosphere, where you can go hang out with fellow camo clad guys to avoid going home to your wife, this place will work for you. Otherwise, I can think of 100 places you could drive to and have a better experience in the time it would take to get served here.

We had a local friend recommend RM as a good place for food and takeout. Great fish and chips I’m told. We tried it for lunch takeout first, to get a feel for the place.
Tried to find a website to get their phone number and menu. No dice. Did find a Facebook page though, so we were able to find the menu through some photos on there. Called the place and was greeted with «Hello?» Minor pet peeve, but if you run a business, answer with the business name so customers don’t have to ask if they’ve called the right number.
It’s not obvious where to park or where to enter. Having called in takeout, we entered through the «Restaurant» door, but that turned out to be wrong. Takeout orders are picked up in the Bar. Not a big deal though. The «restaurant» area is very small and has a pool table in it.
The place needs an «OPEN» flag or some color outside — very easy to just drive right by. The place is clean inside but it’s completely lacking in atmosphere or charm, not unlike the exterior. Nothing on the walls, no color, etc. But the cook (owner?) and the woman behind the bar (co-​owner?) were both very nice. Unfortunately, their «help didn’t show up today» so using a credit card was out of the question. Operating the cash register was also a challenge, but I can chalk that up to new business growing pains. All of these minor quirks can be forgiven if the food’s good.
We ordered a cheeseburger, which the menu says comes with fries. Ours did not. But I’m pretty sure I got charged for them. Grr. The burger was good though — hand formed and tasty.
We also got a cold turkey grinder, which was unfortunately sub-​par. It came with peppers we didn’t ask for, not enough lettuce, sad tomatoes, and too much turkey (granted, better than not enough). The turkey itself was fine and the bread was good. The large was precisely that. I’d be willing to try another grinder, but I’ll order more carefully next time.
Lastly was the chicken parm grinder. Sadly, it was the worst I’ve ever had. I hoped for homemade chicken, but it was clearly frozen patties — and not very good ones at that. Insufficient sauce and barely-​melted cheese. I didn’t even finish it, and if you know me, that’s saying something.
This may be a place that does a small handful of things well and we just didn’t find those things on this first outing. The burger was good and I’d get another. The grinders were quite disappointing though. Maybe we’ll be back to try the fish and chips, but I think I’ll give them some more time to find their bearing.

Very deceiving from the outside… Cute, clean food looks and smells yummy (didn’t eat). Bartender is very nice girl! Pool table and outside patio to smoke