Since Roy's sold to Outback Steakhouse, quality has suffered greatly. I agree that it's still good in Hawaii - the original in Hawaii Kai is fine, as is the location in Waikaloa on the Big Island - but after a disastrous meal in the La Jolla, Ca, location, I say never again.

I don't mean to turn the thread into a referendum on Roy's, however, my understanding is that the Executive Chef of each individual Roy's is responsible for the menu, "in the Roy's tradition" in his/her own restaurant (with the exception of a few "signature" dishes, e.g., macadamia encrusted mahi mahi). That, perhaps, would account for the differences in quality. My experience has been great on Kuaui, very good in Chicago and good in Scottsdale, AZ (with the exception of crispy lobster potstickers which are to die for). :)

I love the turkeyburger at Fatburger.

I'll second that on Roy's La Jolla being a disaster. That bad experience has kept me away for 4 years. Friends are saying the Tampa version is excellent. Maybe since HQ is right down the street....

rqd

There's a chain of 16 restaurants in the southeast called "Sticky Fingers." It's a nice rib joint. Every time I've been to the two in my city, the food has been excellent and the service at least par. There's always plenty of local rib shacks to choose from in any decent sized city, but, most of them here are self-serve kinds of places. I like to sit and eat and most importantly, drink, and be waited on. I would say that "Famous Dave's" is a close competitor to "Sticky Fingers."

we just had a great meal at the Baltimore location of Roy's. There were 45 of us and the drinks could have come a little quicker, but the food was generally thumbs way up from a usually picky crowd.

How is the Newport Beach CA. Roy's? We had drinks and appetizers in the bar last year. The ribs had a lot of fat and the Pina Colada was blue and not as good as most. And it was all quite expensive.

We used to have a Roy's in Denver at Cherry Creek Mall; it closed a while back and now it's another chain called:

Kona Grill

Which (conceptually-speaking) actually sounds a lot like Roy's used to be.

Only ate at Roy's once for a birthday; I was prepared to splurge a bit so I didn't think it was super-expensive, but the food really wasn't outstanding.

Anyone know this Kona Grill? Looks like it's Arizona-based with a handfull of locations.

In the great midwest, we have Camaron Mitchell restaurants. They have numerous restaurants in Columbus OH, my favorite is Cap City Fine Diner and Bar. Got to have the homemade potato chips with matag! They have Mitchell's Fish Market in Columbus, Cincy area, Louisville, Pittsburg, Indy, Chicago, Detroit, Lansing and in Tampa FL. They are very good! Some of the other restaurants in Columbus are steak houses and an asian rstaurant called Molly Woo. Martini (also in Louisville) is a great place to take business associates, even if just for drinks and munchies,

Roy's in kauia is still good...
 

...houstons I like, pf changs never fails and the bbq chicken salad (now off the menu but they will still make it for u if u ask) at red robin is always a crowd pleaser. :)

J. Alexanders is good :cool: Also Claim Jumper restaurants are good.

In the DC area, the Great American Restaurant Group, which includes Carlyle Grand and Mike's American, is excellent...good service, good interiors and very good food. Prices are pretty reasonable for the quality.

Interesting to check out the website and see how LEYE has
gotten its tentacles everywhere ... it certainly qualifies in my
mind as a chain, because although the trappings differ from
identity to identity, the general feel is the same (and there IS
the fact that they are all under it all the same). I've had mixed
experiences at the outlets - even within one outlet - even
within one meal (for example, at MAG in Bethesda, we had
several quite nice dishes and a couple true dogs at a table
for 8). On the whole, the food is okay, but "actually good,"
maybe not. Oh, yeah, they tend to be grossly too noisy, too.

Chicken Madeira
 

I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE the Chicken Madeira at The Cheesecake Factory!

Another for Macaroni. Not just the bread, but the Penne Rustica (oh so delicious).