What a disaster our visit was...
When we walked in the place smelled moldy, but we are are adventuress types so we thought we would forge ahead, since its a cool historic building. Terrible service, even though we were only one of two occupied tables. No specials. Wine that tasted like it had turned. Not special food. At first we decided to chalk it up as a lesson- its not like we don't go out often; Â its not like this was our one night out a year or something.. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized none of this was acceptable, especially at those prices . Â Will not be going back.
My Saturday night experience: It took five minutes of us looking forlornly around the cavernous space until we made eye contact with a host. The server was a disaster -- inattentive but bizarrely formal ("Would madame like a salad with her short ribs"?). Opie and The Beav, the eager bus boys, were more professional than any of the other floor staff in the joint. The cocktail list was really interesting but I won't be back to try them because it took half an hour to get one. The entrees were just OK. At this price point, I expected much more.
Review Source:Just went to Rockefeller's for the third (maybe fourth?) time. Â I think it has hit its stride.
Friday night-- it wasn't packed, but there were only a few unoccupied tables. Â I love the ambiance (which other reviewers have described), and it was particularly cozy with the fire lit on a winter night. Â There was some pleasant live music that got going during our dinner.
Food was great-- we had the seared tuna starter, shrimp fritters (a special), steak entree, gnocchi entree, and for dessert-- the creme brulee and fudge. Â Yeah, they have a fudge dessert-- three slabs of fudge with caramel sauce and sea salt. Â :) Â I have to shout out to the gnocchi too-- fantastic pillows of carby goodness, just as good as the housemade pasta at Chinato.
Service was really good-- no long waits, and our server was informative and attentive without being overbearing. Â
Of course it's pricey, but I love the atmosphere and am happy to spend a little more for an "occasion" dinner in a special place like this. Â Parking tip-- there's a $1 gated lot off to the right when you enter the plaza, which you might find preferable to feeding the meter.
We probably won't return. Here's the good and bad news:
+ Â gorgeous room, pretty good food. Not exceptional, but good.
- Â $20 for a vegetarian chickpea-based entree? Wow! Â 45 minute wait for appetizer when we arrived at 5:30 and there appeared to be only a few other tables seated? Not good. And after 3 visits in the past 3-4 months, quality of service is uneven, and solidly average overall.
I really wanted to like this place. My wife and I had our wedding reception here years ago, before it was Rockefeller's when it was available as a party center, and all of our guests remarked how beautiful the room is. But I think we're giving up. Â Next time we want to spend this much money on dinner, Cleveland has some amazing restaurants with superior service. And Cleveland Heights alone has at least a dozen amazing restaurants with great service and great food available at - or more often below - these prices.
Started with overpriced $9 glass of wine(4 ounce pour),overpriced appetizers(calamari,polenta,bean puree). Had hanger steak tacos,cold and 3 Tbs of steak in three small tacos. Food was kind of salty for my taste.Apple Crisp was the best part of dinner along with the waiter. Would NOT return for dinner.
Review Source:Overpriced, odd service, and odd atmosphere. Â That sums this place up for me.
It looks amazing and classy, but the decor combined with the usual lack of business makes this place feel uncomfortable to me. Â Our entire group didn't feel comfortable to talk and be merry. Â It felt like a library. Â
The food wasn't anything special. Â It wasn't bad, but for a place that sells $10+ apps and dinners that hit upwards of $30, it's not worth it. Â The food isn't anything new or creative. Â It represents a whole slew of things I've seen everywhere else.
Service was slow and kind of awkward. Â The server seemed to act like he was put out by having to serve us. Â It was almost like he wanted us to hurry up and leave. Â If that's the case, tell the kitchen to speed it up because we killed a bottle of wine before the apps even showed up. Â
If I didn't have so many other options available, I would probably bump this up a star, but compared to what's around, this place just doesn't make the cut for me.
I'm surprised this place was not busier.
The decor is amazing. There are so many great features of the original building remaining. This would be a great place to rent out for a Christmas party (I wonder if they offer that?). There is a cool table right above the stairs looking over the whole restaurant where larger groups can sit. There is a big bar/lounge are with couch seating which makes for great conversations.
The food is unique - the menu items creative. I had duck meatballs for an appetiser and calamari in coconut milk. The hanger steak for my dinner was also good.
Their dessert was good but the descriptions of them are off a bit. My lemon cheese cake was good - but I wouldn't call it cheesecake. It didn't look or have the texture of one.
I recommend this hidden restaurant.
Parking - meters monitored 24 hours (25 cents per 30 minutes)
Access not accessible - stairs.
Went here for dinner last night thanks to a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> gift certificate purchased by my boyfriend. We drove up to the restaurant and were thrown off by having to pay for parking (no quarters on us- and they are quarter-only meters!). Asked for change inside and the hostess was nice enough to go outside and feed the meter for us.
Walking into this place is breathtaking. The decor is absolutely stunning and very grand. It'd be a nice place to have a big fancy party or a wedding reception, I'd say.
K, enough small talk. Let's get to the food.
I ordered the duck breast. Came with polenta creamed with leeks, green beans, and it was drizzled in a fig reduction. The waiter recommended that I get it medium rare, so of course, I tried it. Not too bad. Pretty tender and flavorful. Not a big fan of polenta, but it was nice and creamy. Definitely buttery. Summary: good, but not blow-me-away-and-let-me-rave-about-it-for-a-week kinda good.
He ordered a special: bleu cheese mashed potatoes, chanterelle mushrooms, and...wait for it.....a 16 oz ribeye. For $28! Boy, you better believe he ate it up. My man loves steak. His only complaint was that there was too much fat, which he ended up cutting away. Summary: good, but not his all time favorite steak he's ever had.
As far as service goes- everyone was polite but service was slow. We almost finished our beers by the time we got our food.
Not sure I'd go back, just because it wasn't the kind of food I'd have remembered eating.
Four stars for atmosphere and decor. The stone-filled interior of historic Rockefellers looks beautiful by candlelight.
Dinner is pricey. $100 for two people with two drinks, one app and two entrees- including tax and tip. Service was fine.
I'd come here if I were entertaining out of towners and wanted to show them a nice place on the East side. Tip- walk around the back of the building and experience the beautiful patio and fountains.
This is a truly beautiful place, you feel like you're in a castle. I didn't like the parking situation outside. Why you have to pay to park at meters after 6pm in a restaurant parking lot is baffling.
When I visited with three friends on a Tuesday night for wine and a light meal we were the only people there for the majority of the evening (we were there from about 7-9:30pm), which is sad. Perhaps the restaurant should consider a more prominent sign outside. They also need to work on their prices. There were rather a bit excessive for a restaurant that doesn't seem very established.
The service was fine, certainly nothing work noting.
The wine list was nice, but a lot of the bottles seemed a bit pricy.
We shared fries, which were fantastic and included an amazing homemade ketchup. I had the beet salad, which was also very good. Two of my friends ordered the grape wraps, which sounded delicious, but both were very unhappy with them. They felt that they were undercooked and tasteless. My other dining companion had the burger, which she said was good but nothing special.
I don't think I'd come back to Rockefeller's. While it's a lovely place given all of the other choices in the Cleveland Heights/Shaker Heights/Little Italy/University Circle area I'd choose one that had better prices and food.
Ate here 5/15/12.
The atmosphere is confusing...it's French medieval-inspired, with huge iron chandeliers and gorgeous stained-glass; yet they were playing horribly mismatched music...kind of "Carlos Santana gets stoned with Yanni and they attempt to play jazz".
The place was empty at 6:15 on a Friday night.
The menu is quite small.
We ordered the calamari as an appetizer. We were told it was sauteed, but it was actually fried. Â It was good.
I had the handlebar cocktail, also good but hugely overpriced at $10...it came in a small martini glass. Â Service was s-l-o-w, but the waiter was kind.
I ordered the hanger steak medium-well and it was *burned* on the outside (really charred), and very chewy. It was NOT good; however, the salad and potatoes that accompanied it were both decent.
My husband ordered the lamb, which was wonderful. Â The bread they serve is delicious, too.
We ordered the carrot cake for dessert. Â It tasted pre-made (as if it had been frozen) and the cream-cheese icing was excessively sweet. It was mediocre.
This was an expensive dinner that could have been much better. There isn't anything sophisticated or different here; Nighttown is more bang for your buck. The cocktails alone are also far too much money. Â The music made for a goofy atmosphere-definitely not romantic.
It was supposed to be a celebratory meal. I had flown in from California to celebrate with my family my survival of being hit by a car a month earlier. All the reviews were epic and it looked like a kind evening. BUT, the trouble arrived when we did. Some of our party was late, but because the place was practically empty on a Thursday evening, it should not have been an issue. It wasn't, but the staff was difficult. The food was extremely tardy (with 2 children in our group of 8, some readers will understand the issue) and we weren't informed by our waiter (Aaron) about any trouble until 45 minutes later. The waiter at a restauant is the liason between the kitchen and the patrons ... not at Rockefeller's, Aaron said nothing. The manager even was quite snotty to my kind 70 year old mother who was attempting to comment. The shining star was a cute busgirl who was verbally applauded several times (at first) for her kindness among the restaruant's chaos, but then snapped at me when asked a question. The food was tasty, too! (Minus the lobster dumplings, which were very salty.) I live 100 miles South of LA and have NEVER been treated so disrespectfully by the staff of any establishment ... ever! If you want decent food, but HORRIBLE service, please take the time (and make it A LOT of time) to go to Rockefeller's.
Review Source:One of my favorite spots in Cleveland! The building is beautiful and the staff was wonderful. We were seating right away.
For the appetizers we ordered the calamari and it was very good! I really enjoyed the coconut milk glaze. The portions were just enough.
As for our meals, my boyfriend had the duck breast with roasted sweet potatoes. The duck breast were cooked perfectly and the sweet potatoes were to die for! I had the hanger steak with smoked pepper yukon mash, grilled asparagus, house made steak sauce. My meal was fantastic!
You must get the warm apple crostada. I barely had room for it but it was so good I had to make some room!
My boyfriend and I enjoyed our dinner, it was delicious! No complaints. I will definitely come back again!
We started our Saturday night off with being turned away by many of our neighborhood restaurants for a lack of adequate planning (reservations). We then decided to give a newer off the beaten path restaurant a try. We strolled into Rockefeller's, a beautiful historic bank turned into an uber fab hot spot. The dimly lit space boasts romantic architectural detailing and grandeur that surpasses any other Height's restaurant.
The hostess, although friendly seemed a bit annoyed/confused at our lack of reservations, and almost needed our guidance as to which seating options might be available, hence the 4 out of 5 stars. We were seated in the lounge with the option of moving to the dining room once a table was ready. We opted for this option, until we made it onto our second round of drinks and realized that the lounge was more than adequate for us to dine in. The lounge does have its own menu, which is artistic and inspired and by all means delicious. However, you are able to order from the full menu as well which does have a lot of delicious offerings.
Our first round of tempting eats were the home-fried malanga chips with dip and the coconut glazed calamari. Both were brilliantly seasoned and beyond tasteful. The calamari was also the perfect crispness, which is very important to me!
Our second course was a bit of a sampling of both menus and included the grilled cheese and short rib sandwich, the pancetta with blue cheese burger, the lamb meatballs, and of course french fries with house made ketchup. All of the items were shared between the four of us, and were borderline intoxicating to our taste buds! The sandwiches were all skilfully prepared and delivered at the right temperatures. The lamb meatballs were served with a pan-fried sweet potato cake and a bbq sauce that truly rounded out the robust flavors of the lamb.
As the evening progressed and the cava poured, the lounge and adjacent den filled with a late twenty-somethings crowd which brought the energy level up a bit. Our last round of drinks was spent with jazz music being played, a well-tended fireplace setting a golden-hued ambiance throughout, and jovial conversation filling the room.
It was the perfect retreat for a Saturday night out in Cleveland Heights.
What a wonderful place to go! Â The building is beautiful, the service was very attentive, and the food was great! Â We ate in the lounge area and started with the calamari. Â This will be a must order the next time we go. Â My husband had the burger and I had the pulled pork tacos. Â We were very pleased with those choices. Â We didn't order anything spectacular drink wise, but I will say that my husband thought his beer was one of the coldest beers he had ever been served. Â I had a mixed drink and there was nothing watered down about it. Â The prices in the lounge are affordable. Â The only thing we found off about this visit was the gentlemen who said he was the owner, stood in the back corner by the beer cooler and continually helped himself. Â Overall, Rockefeller's Lounge was a great experience and we will definitely be back!
Review Source:This is a great hidden little gem! I always drive past it, but never knew it existed until a few weeks ago when I was brought there for a surprise dinner  :)
To start with, this building is absolutely gorrrrgeous. We walked up a flight of stairs to the restaurant with beautiful high ceilings and amazing architecture. We were seated quickly - even though it might have been slightly early for dinner on a Saturday night, the restaurant was pretty empty.
Our server got our drink orders - I got a riesling which was delicious at a great price - and we started with the calamari. I loved the sauce that was drizzled on it, but it could have used a lot more of it!
We got the arugula salad, and a bowl of the shrimp bisque which I believe was a special for the night. I didn't get a chance to try the arugula salad (that's how good it was, apparently!) but the bisque was delicious. It was thinner than a lot of bisques I've had, but I really enjoyed it that way.
For our entrees, we got the hanger steak and trout. The taste of the hanger steak I had was amaaazingly good! My trout was good - it was perfectly cooked but slightly bland, and like the calamari, I could have used more of the sauce that came with it. The asparagus and potatoes that came with it were pretty good too.
We finally got the flourless chocolate cake for dessert - it was really yummy and rich, but I was so full that I could only manage a few bites.
This restaurant is great for a special date night! It was fun to dress up and go, especially since the restaurant is so beautiful inside, but I noticed some people dressed a little more casually as well. I would recommend not wearing something super casual, because those who were dressed casually looked totally out of place.. plus the dressing up makes the experience. Â :) Â I also noticed that we were by far the youngest people there. Overall, I'm so happy to have visited this hidden restaurant, and would definitely return for a special night!
Dinner was great. Service was a little slow. Seemed that they were down a couple. The special for the night was rack of lamb with mashed chick peas and parsley...so good. Hubby had the trout, cooked just right. Finished the night with a divine dessert. We will be back.
Great atmosphere and will stop for a cocktail after baby gortz comes
My wife and I finally dined at Rockefeller's after many months of talking about it during visits to the Starbucks next door. Â My hesitation was in part due to the modest, unremarkable entranceway that didn't seem like it could possibly lead to a restaurant worth eating at. Â Not only was the food worth eating, but the restaurant itself is a spectacular historical space that used to house a bank. Â If I had only done my research, I would have known that the executive chef is a veteran of Lola and Flying Fig -- not too shabby.
The drink menu was solid, and I was thrilled to see that they had Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale. Â A 22 oz. bottle of that dark goodness was my companion throughout the meal (in addition to my wife, of course).
For appetizers, I ordered the pulled pork tacos, while my wife had the lamb meatballs. Â Both had excellent, balanced flavors and were cooked perfectly, and the generous portions were nearly large enough to serve as an entree. Â
We both followed our appetizer with the arugula salad. Â This too was very well executed, combining many of my favorites in one dish: wild mushrooms, Maytag blue cheese, pine nuts, pickled onions, and truffle vinagrette. Â Fortunately, the portion size was smaller, allowing us to recover a bit in time for the entrees.
Steaks were our destiny for the main course. Â I had the rib eye special, while my wife had the hanger steak. Â Both steaks were very good, though I would give the edge to the hanger steak. Â The sides deserve special notice: my truffled mashed potatoes were sublime, and my wife wouldn't stop talking about her roasted mushrooms.
Our bellies nearly ready to burst, we pressed on and split a dessert: the lemon chiffon cake. Â Now, I'm one of those people who almost exclusively order something chocolate for dessert. Â But this cake was absolutely amazing -- if I found out I was dying, I would eat this cake continuously until my funeral.
Dinner was not cheap, but it was priced appropriately for food of this quality, especially given that the ingredients are sourced from local organic farmers where possible. Â And like I said, if you need to save some cash, you could find yourself very satisfied ordering a couple of appetizers and a salad.
Lastly, our server Amy was excellent -- extremely friendly, efficient, and knew the dishes inside and out. Â Other servers also pitched in -- they were all very personable, as well.
I'm thrilled to have a restaurant like this so close to home. Â It will be nice not to always have to drive downtown or to the West Side for a decent dinner. Â I'm looking forward to my next visit.
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