Local Guides World
This hip all-day eatery offers Latin snacks, wood-fire-grilled dishes & shaved-ice cocktails.
Photos
There are no photos for this place yet!
Reviews — 8
Tried out the Royal for date night. Cocktails are incredible. Unfortunately, we were on the exterior patio (not connected to the restaurant) so that + online ordering system almost made it feel like we weren’t really in the atmosphere. Food is well presented. Overall it was $150 for two rounds of drinks and 3 small plates, with very little interaction with service. Probably better bang for your buck at happy hour than a full on meal.
Great ambiance with quick service and solid, albeit occasionally muffled-flavor, food.
--
Two friends and I came on a Sunday afternoon for a late lunch. We were hoping to get in earlier, but all the times between 10:30 and 1:30 were completely booked. Because of our timing, we had just missed Brunch. I had heard a lot of great things regarding The Royal and was excited to try the afternoon/evening food regardless.
The decor and ambiance inside is fantastic. There's a healthy amount of greenery inside beside the brick walls across the ground floor and the lofted area. The pods outside along the street are also very pretty and surrounded by greenery. A subtle touch I also liked was the use of old church pews as booths (which I wish I got a picture of).
The restaurant has converted to a full digital, order from your phone operation. While I know a growing trend that can assist in speed and efficiency for both customers and wait-staff, I'm a bit more traditional and prefer the direct interaction with the servers. I have also noticed it can sometime make it more difficult to get assistance if they are not checking the floor outside of food runs. That said, I did not experience issues today.
The food situation is small plates a la carte - although there are a mix of plates meant to be shared (such as the fries and sprouts), and others better served eating alone (arepas and sandwiches). My friends and I decided to each order one dish for sharing and one for solo consumption.
For sharing:
- House Fries (solid and easy eating, although not particularly special)
- Cheese Arepa (cheesy and good, but again not very flavorful, more of a snack)
- Crispy Brussel Sprouts (generally I dislike Brussels but I liked these, likely because sprout flavor was minimized and focus was on everything else which was indeed flavorful).
- Crispy Pork Belly (delicious, especially the pork itself! Quite a bit of toppings going on that probably subdued some flavor but was still enjoyable to eat)
For myself, I also got the Hearts of Palm Arepa - a veggie option with a bunch of vegetables served with Chimichurri on the side. While solid, it again wasn't the most flavorful and a bit disappointing. Again, I attribute some of the muffled flavors to the overabundance of ingredients rather than focusing on featuring less ingredients with enhanced flavors. I also had two non-alcoholic drinks from the cafe, both which were solid but not particularly spectacular (although the Lemonade with Espresso was refreshing, energizing, and fun to try).
Overall I had a great time and enjoyable experience, although honestly the food left me a bit disappointed. As $10-$20 per plate and the rave reviews I've heard I was hoping for bursting flavors. I would like to come here again for a cocktail or two (and perhaps in time for brunch), although I don't feel compelled to come here again for a full dinner.
--
Two friends and I came on a Sunday afternoon for a late lunch. We were hoping to get in earlier, but all the times between 10:30 and 1:30 were completely booked. Because of our timing, we had just missed Brunch. I had heard a lot of great things regarding The Royal and was excited to try the afternoon/evening food regardless.
The decor and ambiance inside is fantastic. There's a healthy amount of greenery inside beside the brick walls across the ground floor and the lofted area. The pods outside along the street are also very pretty and surrounded by greenery. A subtle touch I also liked was the use of old church pews as booths (which I wish I got a picture of).
The restaurant has converted to a full digital, order from your phone operation. While I know a growing trend that can assist in speed and efficiency for both customers and wait-staff, I'm a bit more traditional and prefer the direct interaction with the servers. I have also noticed it can sometime make it more difficult to get assistance if they are not checking the floor outside of food runs. That said, I did not experience issues today.
The food situation is small plates a la carte - although there are a mix of plates meant to be shared (such as the fries and sprouts), and others better served eating alone (arepas and sandwiches). My friends and I decided to each order one dish for sharing and one for solo consumption.
For sharing:
- House Fries (solid and easy eating, although not particularly special)
- Cheese Arepa (cheesy and good, but again not very flavorful, more of a snack)
- Crispy Brussel Sprouts (generally I dislike Brussels but I liked these, likely because sprout flavor was minimized and focus was on everything else which was indeed flavorful).
- Crispy Pork Belly (delicious, especially the pork itself! Quite a bit of toppings going on that probably subdued some flavor but was still enjoyable to eat)
For myself, I also got the Hearts of Palm Arepa - a veggie option with a bunch of vegetables served with Chimichurri on the side. While solid, it again wasn't the most flavorful and a bit disappointing. Again, I attribute some of the muffled flavors to the overabundance of ingredients rather than focusing on featuring less ingredients with enhanced flavors. I also had two non-alcoholic drinks from the cafe, both which were solid but not particularly spectacular (although the Lemonade with Espresso was refreshing, energizing, and fun to try).
Overall I had a great time and enjoyable experience, although honestly the food left me a bit disappointed. As $10-$20 per plate and the rave reviews I've heard I was hoping for bursting flavors. I would like to come here again for a cocktail or two (and perhaps in time for brunch), although I don't feel compelled to come here again for a full dinner.
Let me say that the atmosphere is absolutely the selling point of this restaurant. Beautiful decor, great music, and an overall warm and welcoming feeling inside. I came during the day to work and it will be a go-to location for remote working during the day. I got the crispy pork dish for lunch and the flavors were so well balanced and the dish was filling. The only reason I can’t give it a 5/5 is because the pork was more chewy than I thought it should be. The service was okay but you order from an app and they bring you your food, so it wasn’t a highlight here. Overall a beautiful restaurant that I will back to!
Service was very fast and food got came out within minutes of ordering. All the dishes were delicious and unique, we got the burger, crispy pork belly, and gnocchi with a side of fries and empanadas. All were very filling as well. Very chill atmosphere and interesting layout/decor.
My cousin said “Hey, let’s go to this Latino Michelin Star restaurant” and after eating at The Royal, I know why they received the star. Service was great, atmosphere was cozy/private, and the flavor of the food was out of this world.
What I like about Michelin Star restaurants is that you can tell every ingredient used in their dishes and drinks were studied and well thought out. Each bite/sip creates a narrative of flavors that I just can’t get enough of.
Highly recommend. Parking was easy but we did go on a Thursday.
What I like about Michelin Star restaurants is that you can tell every ingredient used in their dishes and drinks were studied and well thought out. Each bite/sip creates a narrative of flavors that I just can’t get enough of.
Highly recommend. Parking was easy but we did go on a Thursday.
Great coffee and breakfast! Bites you can’t find at a typical breakfast/brunch place, and good prices.
Super cute ambiance inside and great outdoor seating!
Super cute ambiance inside and great outdoor seating!
A michelin star restaurant that is affordable? With gluten free options aplenty and the tastiest fries you'll ever eat? Yes please! We were blown away by this place, where we had the most delicious lunch. Celiac safe options available.
