Finally made it in after over a decade of living nearby! I always thought this spot was just part of the hotel and never realized it was a full restaurant open to the public. The entrance is a bit tucked away—you walk in like you're heading to the hotel lobby, but just head past the front desk and you're there.
We came on a quiet Sunday, and even though it wasn’t busy, everything was on point. The drinks were fantastic, the food was delicious, and the whole vibe was really welcoming.
I also loved all the Spaulding graduate signatures all over the walls—such a cute little hometown touch! We had so much fun reading the names and years.
Already looking forward to coming back—there were a bunch of dishes on the menu we were eyeing. Can’t wait to try more! See you soon!
Michelle
This has become one of our family’s very favorite restaurants, especially when we have our pup along. Tonight we had the absolute best Father’s Day experience with an indulgence of incredible tomahawk steaks around the table and just fantastic service from Kady. This was a special night for our family and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
Bel Ramos
The service and food are incredible. Happy hour is the best. 🍻🍺 Everything was perfect. I’ll be back. 😍
Christian Kleven
Very quaint local pub. Great food and warm service, it's a great vibe.
Christie Stack
This place is amazing. Great food and service. A welcoming and chill atmosphere. Both the dinning area and bar, we come here often and have had a great experience Everytime!
Elisa Collomy
We really enjoyed this joint! We had a lovely server who was on top of everything we needed, before we needed it. The food came out very fast and was, of course, delicious. (Bacon burger and buffalo chicken wrap) I also really liked the complimentary popcorn!
Bob Heeney
had reservations, arrived a few minutes early and went to the bar for drinks till our table was ready. 1 hour + later, finally got a table. of all the tables in here, only 1 had food. 6 tables without customers, lobby full of people waiting to be seated, at least 40 people. another hour later finally got our order taken, 40 mi uses later started getting our meals. some cold, some missing things, short 1 order. manager came to the table and did her best to get things fixed for us and discounted our meals. after that things got better. thanks to the manager who also took time to get family photos of all of us. they were extremely short handed so all in all things went much better than they should have.
Christopher
What a wonderful first time experience. From the moment me and my friends walked into the restaurant until the moment we left, we had such a great experience. This was my first time at this restaurant, and the food and service was beyond amazing. Our waitress, I wish I could remember her name, was absolutely amazing and very attentive. We came to attend a show at the Rochester Opera House, and chose Spaulding steak and ale as a last minute, and was a perfect choice and close to our venue! The red sangria is top shelf!
John McDonough
Very cool little bar in a cool building. The grounds are really nice too. Great service at the bar, cold beer, and good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amanda Basso
This is such a hard review to write as the Spaulding Steak and Ale holds a special place in my heart growing up and as a place I used to work. However, now I feel like I am forced to write Dear John letter due to my most recent experience . Both myself and my husband came in at 4:30 on a Sunday (date of this review) and already the staff were not set up for success with the bar tender being the only server there as well as having an outdated POS system, that we were sitting in front of and witnessed the struggle, that glitched and made it difficult to put correct orders on correct tickets that slowed down production. The bartender, whose name I think is Cora, was a rockstar who did her best to keep it together and was the saving grace to our dining experience (that and an amazing espresso martini). However, what was the real nail in the coffin was the food quality we received in our dishes. Out of the two dishes we ordered the best part was the corn side dish I got on the side to my cold and anemic tacos (which were wrong as I ask for no cilantro but didn’t have the heart to add to the already stressful situation I was witnessing). My husband’s Spaulding Sampler was probably the most disappointing as we could have gotten a better sampling of dishes , for the same price, at the frozen section of the local grocery store. I would like to say this was our first negative experience here but then I would be a liar.In all honesty, the upper management and owners should be embarrassed by what they are producing and either need to really reconsider their business model or shut their doors. This truly feels like a death knell to a once great business and a place they once brought me so much joy. I do not think I will return and will no longer recommend it as a place to go in Rochester. It breaks my heart.
Ordered the steak tips and tacos. They were delicious. They had a friendly staff as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Diane Morrison
We went here before going to the Rochester Opera House to see the Christmas Carol. It was our first time eating here. The food was excellent. The service was very slow because there was a party going on in their function room and it took a while before we got our dinners. I would highly recommend but be sure there aren't any functions going on before you make reservations. Plenty of parking in the back and handicap accessible.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallops Wrapped in Bacon These Guys Know How to Do It, Certified Angus Ribeye
Using Commonsense
Terrific haddock. Super
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Diane Babineau Jousset
The worst dining experience we've ever had. Food was pretty good but still won't be going back. We had a reservation, it took 30 minutes before anyone came to our table so we put in food order at the same time as drinks. It took another 15 minutes for a few of the drinks to arrive, and 10 more minutes for the rest. It was literally an hour and a half before any food came out, and two meals were missing. These two meals arrived 20 minutes later as we packed up to go because we had tickets to an event. We had to take them to go in styrofoam, not the best way to eat a steak dinner. Several sides never arrived, the bill was screwed up, noting items we never ordered. The manager didn't seem to care at all when we asked why the long delays. No apology. I would have sworn we were on some TV show that punks people.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Michelle Randolph
Place is awful! We were charged three times and three different amounts and the manager had no answers. My husband and I had to get new debit cards and took the loss of over 320.00. Not a friendly place and their employees are not honest!!
Finally made it in after over a decade of living nearby!
I always thought this spot was just part of the hotel and never realized it was a full restaurant open to the public. The entrance is a bit tucked away—you walk in like you're heading to the hotel lobby, but just head past the front desk and you're there.
We came on a quiet Sunday, and even though it wasn’t busy, everything was on point. The drinks were fantastic, the food was delicious, and the whole vibe was really welcoming.
I also loved all the Spaulding graduate signatures all over the walls—such a cute little hometown touch! We had so much fun reading the names and years.
Already looking forward to coming back—there were a bunch of dishes on the menu we were eyeing. Can’t wait to try more! See you soon!
This has become one of our family’s very favorite restaurants, especially when we have our pup along. Tonight we had the absolute best Father’s Day experience with an indulgence of incredible tomahawk steaks around the table and just fantastic service from Kady. This was a special night for our family and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
The service and food are incredible. Happy hour is the best. 🍻🍺 Everything was perfect. I’ll be back. 😍
Very quaint local pub. Great food and warm service, it's a great vibe.
This place is amazing. Great food and service. A welcoming and chill atmosphere. Both the dinning area and bar, we come here often and have had a great experience Everytime!
We really enjoyed this joint! We had a lovely server who was on top of everything we needed, before we needed it.
The food came out very fast and was, of course, delicious.
(Bacon burger and buffalo chicken wrap)
I also really liked the complimentary popcorn!
had reservations, arrived a few minutes early and went to the bar for drinks till our table was ready. 1 hour + later, finally got a table. of all the tables in here, only 1 had food. 6 tables without customers, lobby full of people waiting to be seated, at least 40 people. another hour later finally got our order taken, 40 mi uses later started getting our meals. some cold, some missing things, short 1 order. manager came to the table and did her best to get things fixed for us and discounted our meals. after that things got better. thanks to the manager who also took time to get family photos of all of us. they were extremely short handed so all in all things went much better than they should have.
What a wonderful first time experience. From the moment me and my friends walked into the restaurant until the moment we left, we had such a great experience. This was my first time at this restaurant, and the food and service was beyond amazing. Our waitress, I wish I could remember her name, was absolutely amazing and very attentive. We came to attend a show at the Rochester Opera House, and chose Spaulding steak and ale as a last minute, and was a perfect choice and close to our venue! The red sangria is top shelf!
Very cool little bar in a cool building. The grounds are really nice too. Great service at the bar, cold beer, and good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is such a hard review to write as the Spaulding Steak and Ale holds a special place in my heart growing up and as a place I used to work. However, now I feel like I am forced to write Dear John letter due to my most recent experience . Both myself and my husband came in at 4:30 on a Sunday (date of this review) and already the staff were not set up for success with the bar tender being the only server there as well as having an outdated POS system, that we were sitting in front of and witnessed the struggle, that glitched and made it difficult to put correct orders on correct tickets that slowed down production. The bartender, whose name I think is Cora, was a rockstar who did her best to keep it together and was the saving grace to our dining experience (that and an amazing espresso martini). However, what was the real nail in the coffin was the food quality we received in our dishes. Out of the two dishes we ordered the best part was the corn side dish I got on the side to my cold and anemic tacos (which were wrong as I ask for no cilantro but didn’t have the heart to add to the already stressful situation I was witnessing). My husband’s Spaulding Sampler was probably the most disappointing as we could have gotten a better sampling of dishes , for the same price, at the frozen section of the local grocery store. I would like to say this was our first negative experience here but then I would be a liar.In all honesty, the upper management and owners should be embarrassed by what they are producing and either need to really reconsider their business model or shut their doors. This truly feels like a death knell to a once great business and a place they once brought me so much joy. I do not think I will return and will no longer recommend it as a place to go in Rochester. It breaks my heart.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Ordered the steak tips and tacos. They were delicious. They had a friendly staff as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went here before going to the Rochester Opera House to see the Christmas Carol. It was our first time eating here. The food was excellent. The service was very slow because there was a party going on in their function room and it took a while before we got our dinners. I would highly recommend but be sure there aren't any functions going on before you make reservations. Plenty of parking in the back and handicap accessible.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallops Wrapped in Bacon These Guys Know How to Do It, Certified Angus Ribeye
Terrific haddock. Super
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The worst dining experience we've ever had. Food was pretty good but still won't be going back. We had a reservation, it took 30 minutes before anyone came to our table so we put in food order at the same time as drinks. It took another 15 minutes for a few of the drinks to arrive, and 10 more minutes for the rest. It was literally an hour and a half before any food came out, and two meals were missing. These two meals arrived 20 minutes later as we packed up to go because we had tickets to an event. We had to take them to go in styrofoam, not the best way to eat a steak dinner. Several sides never arrived, the bill was screwed up, noting items we never ordered. The manager didn't seem to care at all when we asked why the long delays. No apology. I would have sworn we were on some TV show that punks people.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Place is awful! We were charged three times and three different amounts and the manager had no answers. My husband and I had to get new debit cards and took the loss of over 320.00. Not a friendly place and their employees are not honest!!
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