Roadhouse - Whitecourt

Roadhouse has been the breakfast spot for my girlfriend and me ever since I moved to Whitecourt last year. We come here regularly on my days off. However, the past two times we have visited, the new blonde server has made mistakes with our orders. Our sides were incorrect and the cook on our eggs was mixed up both times.

We decided to stop at this restaurant on our way home because it seemed like it would be decent. However, we were quite disappointed with the experience. The chicken kabob was tough and chewy, the pancakes had no flavor, and the poutine gravy tasted strange, but we couldn't quite pinpoint why. Overall, it was not a satisfying meal.

The meal was excellent. The staff was extremely friendly and kind and the prices were more than fair. We will definitely be back.

I ordered a Beef Dip With A Tossed Salad. The bun was well toasted, but the beef didn’t taste fresh. It tasted like it was microwaved. The Beef Dip tasted ok. The Salad was basically tossed lettuce, with a sprinkle of carrots and a few diced tomatoes. I barely ate it. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being excellent, I would rate this place 4 out of 10.

The young lady that would eventually be our server was outside having a smoke as we entered the restaurant. There were eight tables in the section we entered…three were occupied and four hadn’t been cleared after the last customers. We took the remaining cleaned and set table. The guy across from us had finished his meal and sat awaiting his bill. Eventually, his waitress showed up with the bill and the portable debit machine. She left it will him and went to another section to wait on tables. He ran his card through and waited for the waitress to return. She continued to run back and forth placing orders and carrying out orders. Eventually, as she came by, he stood up with the debit card machine in hand. She smiled at him then proceeded to take the orders of the patrons at the table opposite him in the adjacent section. He sat down again and she never did return to retrieve the machine from him. He eventually flagged down our waitress and handed the machine to her. Our waitress took a while to get to us, but the wait was worth it once the food arrived. We had absolutely no complaints about the meal. Our waitress did return once to refill our drinks then mixed the diet and regular glasses up. The lady at the table down from us flagged her down to ask for a refill of hot water for her tea and a coffee for her husband. The hot water arrived but not the coffee. I saw one waitress take a bowl of soup to the back. Our waitress took some salad and chick peas to the back as well. The third waitress went back to chat with them leaving the place without wait staff. The third waitress made three trips past our table, each time noting that we were waiting for our bill. Each time she said “I will get your waitress.” It didn’t happen. Eventually the third waitress brought our bill and the debit machine. I told her a 55 minute wait for a bill was ridiculous. She immediately shot back that we could have gone to the front till to check out. “After all,” she told me, “You should realize this is the suppertime rush.” …so much for the motto that the customer is always right. My question is why she passed us three times saying she would get our server if we were expected to go to the front to pay. I also ask why any waitress would take a smoke break and supper break if indeed the suppertime rush is an issue. To make matters worse the debit machine didn’t work at our table…there was no Internet service. We had to go to the front to pay. What this place needs is someone to coach their wait staff on customer service and efficiency. They don’t need more staff, just more efficient staff.