Roasters’ n Toasters

RNT at Ocean 4 is NOT anything like any of the other locations. Not that I’ve been to any of the other locations but when a friend invited us to try out Roasters’ n Toasters less than a mile from our house, we immediately Unilocaled the other locations and the food looked DELICIOUS. Needless to say, we were excited to find another food gem within walking distance.
Our first clue that it wasn’t like the other Roasters’ n Toasters location was when we finally found it (it’s on the beach side of the Ocean 4. You have to take the public beach access path to get there) & the «restaurant» consisted of a cement patio with 5 – 6 tables on it. Then we read the menu that informed us that they served residents beachside. We should have gotten the hint then that this was more like a poolside bar that serves food, like those at the nearby hotels. Even when the waitress announced that this location was completely different than all the others, we decided to stay anyhow since the table was shaded, the view of the ocean was beautiful, & we were starving.
The menu had none of the items that had enticed us to come here from the reviews of the other locations on Unilocal.Severely disappointed but we went ahead and ordered an appetizer of fried calamari, requesting that it come out before our main order. I ordered the Corned Beef sandwich with well-​done regular fries, husband got the tuna salad sandwich with waffle fries, & friend ordered the Reuben with sweet potato fries.
There were two other tables occupied other than us and there were two waitresses. As we waited for our food to come, the little kids at the next table (who had been there before us) would start pestering the waitress whenever they spotted her, asking when their food would come. I didn’t think much of it, kids always desire instant gratification, especially with empty tummies. Finally, 30 minutes after we arrived, the table with the kids received their food. Now, I was getting an inkling that the kids weren’t being overly demanding of food right away but more that they had obviously been waiting quite some time to get their meals.
In the meantime, 45 minutes after ordering, we still didn’t have our food and had run out of water. Asked the waitress for more and she said that she’d have to take our glasses to refill them because they were out of cups. Seriously? But fine we did get more water (we did have to request water refills the entire time because we were never offered any.) The wait time was now pushing past an hour (for sandwiches? Really?) The waitress apologized and told us the calamari would be out in 10 mins. Fifteen minutes later, we received the calamari. It was soft and delicious. Our appetite somewhat appeased, we were a little less impatient for our food but still irritated that we had now waited over an hour and a half after ordering and still no sandwiches.
When the sandwiches arrived, the orders were all mixed up. Not too much of a big deal, we all switched sandwiches to get the correct combination of fries and sandwiches that we had each ordered. My issue was we had been kept waiting an over-​long amount of time and the server made no effort to make sure our order was correct.
We finally dug in. My sandwich had a thick stack of corned beef on un-​toasted rye bread with a small slathering of mustard on one slice. The corned beef wasn’t flavorful at all. My regular fries weren’t well-​done like I ordered but were tasty (what can I say? I LOVE me some french fries!) My husband’s tuna sandwich was a bit soggy and had that fishy –flavor that sub-​par tuna has. He didn’t mind it and ate it but I wouldn’t have been able to. His waffle fries (that cost an up-​charge of $ 1.50) were really delicious. Our friend’s Reuben also contained the not so flavorful corned beef but was saved by the sauerkraut and rye bread that gave it a much needed flavor boost. His sweet potato fries were also super tasty.
Crazy thing, about 10 minutes after we got our food, the service picked up and the waitress offered us our check and to clear our plates. Guess we had been there long enough already?
We got our check, asked for boxes. She promptly delivered them both. Our check for 3 people that consisted of calamari, three sandwiches with fries, and a diet Coke came to $ 71. No joke. Which would have been fine if the food had been good. I maybe cheap but recognize that good food sometimes comes at a cost and I don’t mind that. In this situation, I felt like I had been given the shaft. Bad food, bad service, and an expensive bill.
My husband and I both agreed, we would come back at some point when we had time to kill and a desire to relax and watch the ocean to order the calamari and beer. But other than that? Don’t go for lunch. Or when you’re hungry. Or if you don’t have tons of time on your hands.