Good food, good beer and good friends are all that matters when hitting up Roast Public House (more commonly known as Roast). There is a spot for all, whether diners feel like sipping craft brews at the bar or enjoying a nice meal in comfy booths or tables.
The whole feel of the restaurant is casual, yet artful. With a combination of pale brick, wooden walls and floors and bare light bulbs hung from the ceiling, the place evokes a feeling of home and warmth. The establishment also sports large blackboards for beer and food specials that add to the overall aesthetic.
The serving utensils are also unique in style. Instead of typical ceramic plates, meals are served on metal trays. Instead of servers having to constantly refill waters, diners are gifted old wine bottles full of water so they can fill up at their leisure.
Now let’s get to the food.
It’s awesome (let’s just say this wasn’t my first visit).
Roast offers apps, salads, sides and sandwiches. A lot of sandwiches to be exact, with sections featuring pork, beef, poultry and meat-free options (though the meatless sandwiches pale in comparison to the rest, in terms of choices).
But, by sandwiches, Roast also means wraps and burgers, too. But hey, if Roast wants to call a wrap a sandwich, they can be my guest (or rather, I’ll be their guest, anyway).
My eyes and stomach settled on the Turkey Spinach Dip Press. This sandwich, served on soft wheat bread, featured scrumptious layers of “hot-pressed” turkey, tomatoes, cheese and you guessed it, spinach dip.
Spinach dip, which seems like an unconventional sandwich ingredient, is what made me suck up that sandwich like a vacuum cleaner.
Did I upgrade to sweet potato fries? Damn straight. All humor aside, those fries are the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever inhaled. They are for sure a go, not to mention the sauce (oh, heavens).
Roast sure knows how to feed people — the portions they provide are just enough to make you wish you would have skipped lunch. The perk of this, though, is that saving leftovers ensures lunch for tomorrow. Or, if you’re like me, dinner number two.
One thing that Roast could improve on, though, is their service. If diners choose to embrace their inner senior citizen and go at 4:00 p.m., service will be ample. At busier times, though, Roast has been rumored to lack a bit. But hey, if it meant I had to wait a little longer for their food, so be it.
Overall, Roast is a great place to go. Diners are given exemplary culinary options that taste amazing, the restaurant is visually pleasing and its location is prime (especially for us kids). Not to mention, the restaurant is run by two UW graduates. Go UW! Go Roast!
