royal claytons throne to be seized by ‘state’?
As Steven Arroyo’s new French brasserie Church & State continues preparation for its late spring opening (extensive exterior work still underway), the Industrial District’s one-note dining scene suffers from a half-hearted autocracy.
Royal Claytons, the Toy Factory Loft’s Old World tavern with the only food menu in walking distance, has been slacking in quality and service since its regal debut in 2006.
The pub-style restaurant currently enjoys a tenable stream of diners from nearby loft buildings, seemingly from lack of better (or more convenient) options.
This weekend, a mid-afternoon lunch with a few friends at Claytons proved to be a royal disaster. After arriving to a fairly empty restaurant with no one to seat us, we took it upon ourselves to clear one of the many tables still littered with dirty dishes and uneaten food left over from the earlier crowd.
Helping ourselves to menus and desperately trying to locate a server for assistance, the unconcerned bartender (holding down the joing by himself) eventually found the time to take our order. But our growing irritation turned into misery as our asses cooked faster in the uncomfortably hot room than our food did in the kitchen.
Apparently, management has decided to take the Old Word experience to the next level by eliminating air conditioning for its patrons.
When the orders finally arrived, two of the plates were dry and tasteless as if they had been scorched by a fire-breathing dragon. In fact, the cooking was so unedible we insisted to have part of it removed from our bill. The server/bartender unflinched at the request as if he’d been processing manager discounts all day.
It’s obvious when a place is the only stop in town, incentive to keep up the quality dies out.
Hopefully, new competition across the street with Church & State in coming months will will put an end to Royal Claytons’ neglectful dining monarchy over the Industrial District.
It’s time for a new law of the land.
13 comments
That’s a shame. When this place opened it was truly something unique and enjoyable, both in the atmosphere and the food. Elizabeth, if you read this, please do something to salvage what used to be one of the best destinations in the Arts District. Afterall, you had your wedding there.
I know! It really is a shame. The only time I’ve been there was great – good service, good food, live music. But that was about two years ago (?). The place has great bones so there is potential. Unfortunately, bad food and service doesn’t fly anywhere no matter how cool the space is (a/c or not).
I agree. I went there several times when it first opened and it was wonderful. Lately–as in, my last two visits–quality has taken a serious hit. What was once a great restaurant has become quite tarnished in my mind.
I went after it opened with a couple of friends. It was great. Then I took my wife a year later, after I heard talk of a remodel. It was completely different. For some reason, they were doing well, IMHO, then there was a press release stating that the place needed to be reimagined? THat was news to me.
Anyhow, the owner claimed that bridge tavern was ready to go, but she is not going to open it because of a lack of demand. I was initially bummed because it was going to have a huge beer list (like library bar).
Now, there are 4 new restaurants in south park building out, one of which is going to be gourmet sausages and beer casual spot that will render bridge tavern obsolete anyway.
I owner also envisioned two other spots, but I am guessing that this is the end of the road. So sad.
I agree 100%, it was even a nice choice for breakfast but after going a couple of weekends and the place closed or open late or simply closed with no sign I felt something was up. So we stuck to dinner but the rude bartender and the ever decline in food made my wife and i completely forget about this place, church and state couldn’t get here fast enough…………….what a shame the owners gave up on this place.
Royal Claytons is really unfortunate. When I moved in to this building I was very happy that there was a restaurant with a breakfast menu, burgers, pizza, tvs, everything.. and the joy died down very quickly. The food is , as stated above, amazingly dry and bland – always overcooked. Ive tried SO many times since moving in to give it second, third, fourth tries.. all with miserable results. Once I asked for my burger to be cooked medium rare, in hopes of not being delivered the usual hockey puck – I was presented with a almost untouched beef patty. One that could anger the maddest of cows. Raw. Not funny. Im done with Claytons now. I eat out almost every night at Petes or other great downtown spots, which is really a shame. They have a kitchen! They have a built in crowd! And all for nothing.
It will be good when Church and State opens, but only for certain occasions. Im sure it will be pricey and might even have lines etc at night. Even with C&S in the building we can still use a casual place as well. They can co-exist perfectly if done right. Grab a drink before or after. A quick meal in the middle of the day etc. Come on Claytons! Get back in the game!
I went there last summer and had almost the same experience as Stephen. I was excited at first but after horrible service and undercooked food, I’ve never been back. We waited and waited for someone to take our order and another 40 minutes before we got any food. They didn’t deduct anything off our bill so we left no tip.
Walking distance from Molino, we too were thrilled when RC opened, and the owner & staff were enthusiastic, if not always perfectly coordinated. The food was amazing. We got our first dose of the new reality in the fall 2007, when we took two out-of-town guests there. After getting a taste of the food from the new menu, we were poking at it in disbelief, when the asst mgr (or something) came around and asked if our food was good. Rather than censor myself, I immediately replied that it wasn’t and asked what happened. I got something about “Thomas” (the chef) having left, and they wanted to change the menu to make it more “British”. This last was delivered without the slightest hint of irony. And not even an apology that we didn’t like our food. We went from semi-frequent diners to never returning again, not even for a beer. I’m actually rather shocked that they have done nothing to improve, and that they have managed to stay open this long. Ah, well…
All these comments make the restaurant sound like a variation of the ill-fated Mode, meaning a business that is very poorly managed and pretty much run into the ground.
Are the owners purposefully trying to fail? Do they even care, one way or the other?
It will be surprising if all the bad word-of-mouth doesn’t result in a gound-floor vacancy in the Toy Factory building in the future, perhaps sooner rather than later.
I have too disagree with the previous opinions, had lunch at claytons last week, the shepard pie was slaming, the service was quite was quite good, english food is more simple fair, I doubt very few of the previous reviewers have ever been too England, let alone had pub fair. These of course are my own opinions if you want over priced and rudely served food, go to the west side.
I have to say, I have been going there for quite some time. I have had nothing of these negative experiences.
The restaurant has taken time to become its own. Now a definitive style exists, British in flavor (without forgetting its vegetarian folks). I heard this very evening that they are creating some vegan and other vegetarian choices for those of you that care.
The fish and chips are devine, the spinach salad one of the best I’ve had (including dressing with a kick), and the portabello mushroom sandwich has all the gorgeous sauce of escargot without the…well, escargot. Vampires beware.
The (let me make this clear) SWEET POTATO fries are just the way the doctor ordered, extra-crispy. Did I mention that they have sweet potato fries? Kiss off bacon/cheddar.
The bartenders have been nothing but friendly and accommodating, especially when I am ordering another drink, and they have Chimay, which lets face it, what else is needed? Maybe I’m just simple that way.
Since you brought it up, let me add that I find the decor rich, creative, and elegant without being…yawn… “lofty” and cold. Let’s face it, we have enough of that in Downtown. I brought a friend who said instantly “this is a great place for a wedding!” Funny the owner concurred.
I’d say if anything this place suffers from being in a remote location, which if people were thinking right–there is plenty of parking there. So why not invite your friends? Have a party. Or just hang your purse on a hook under the bar and enjoy.
I’ve been going here regular I’d say 3 times in the past 2 mo. and had very good service and good food every time. The crowd is pretty good at dinner and if it ever had any negatives (can’t say I’ve ever had a negative experience there) they don’t seem to exist of late.
I think that maybe you guys went there on a “bad day” if there ever could be one. I’d give the place another chance. That’s just me though. =)
Kind of an old article by now. Maybe they’ve take the review to heart because our service was cheerful and the food was top notch.