The Roost

Two mornings in Lawrence means two mornings of delicious lavender lattes. I was introduced to The Roost on Saturday for brunch with friends while visiting the area for the first time.
While we did have to wait longer than originally quoted, eventually we sat down and were tended to by a friendly and attentive waiter.
I scarfed down my breakfast sammie, which was everything I wanted it to be; thick-​cut sourdough, fresh veggies, perfectly cooked eggs and a delicious aioli. Paired with the above-​mentioned lavender latte, I was a happy and full girl.
The next day I returned just to grab another of the lattes to-​go and start my Sunday off right. Even in Denver I haven’t found such a delicious caffeinated treat.

Just finished brunch here and it was a very tasty meal, indeed. Four stars because even after our wait (that was longer than the time they gave us) it took almost 45 minutes to get our biscuits and gravy. There was probably something that happened but our sever was just not that great and I feel like had he told us about the wait on the food our moods would have been a bit better and I would have given 5 stars. The best part about the place though is the great food and cheap prices, I can see why the wait is so long to get in :-)

Outstanding coffee, above average food, lots of seating. It’s awesome. Just avoid on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The wait is insane when there are a lot of other options.

Delicious food. My fabulous friend Darrel Mooney referred me to this place and I’m SO glad he did! Every time I visit Lawrence I make a special effort to eat here because the food is so delicious and uniquely creative. Bar to boot! Pictured is Eggs Benedict w/​avocado and tomato, roasted rosemary potato’s and half order Biscuits and Gravy. This place is one of Lawrence’s fine treasures!

Stopped on my way to a Chiefs game and was blown away with this place. When was the last time you said something like «That is the best tasting tomato I have ever had»?
The breakfast sandwich (forget which one) was excellent, and the ingredients were fresh and delicious, but the biscuits and sausage gravy made the meal. They were home made and perfectly seasoned. Most of the time I have to add salt and pepper to get any flavor from other attempts at sausage gravy, but this place has it down.
We waited about 30 minutes for a table on a Sunday morning, so plan ahead, but it is worth a wait.

A homely breakfast spot in Lawrence. The food was pretty good and service was on point. I ordered The Rooster. My pancakes were fluffy and my eggs and bacon were cooked to expectation. The bloody Mary menu was impressive and they had a great offering of freshly baked goods and coffee. We had to wait about 30 mins for seating, typical of Saturday morning on Mass.

Fantastic and welcoming! Ordered the corn beef. Best corn beef I’ve ever had. Highly recommend this place.

Oh my! Nothing like this place! We come for the coffee and stay for the food.
I like my coffee pretty basic, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a coffee snob because I am! I like my breve latte strong, flavorful, where the foam is slight and the milk isn’t scalded. The barista, Chelsea makes my coffee PERFECT every time!!! They have a lavender latte to die for.
The food is great, reasonably priced with a good selection. The French toast is large portioned and yummy. Chorizo & eggs one of my favs.
We’ve been following Kenny around town for years now. He is one of the owners and you can see his influence here. We love him! Friendly, a great person and mixologist.
The service is exceptional. From the hostess, to the servers, to the bartenders and baristas… All are professional and friendly. The Roost is a quaint breakfast & lunch coffee house with loads of character and flavor!!! We drive in from out of town weekly for the experience. 5 stars!

Oh boy! Was this a fun joint! We stopped here on our way out west. I love the atmosphere on Mass St. in the morning. The place was humming with activity but we were seated quickly. The breakfasts are delicious. I had half an order of biscuits and gravy. Lots of sausage and flavor. Great corned beef hash. I’d love to come back here again.

The Roost is one of my favorite places to have brunch in Lawrence. The atmosphere, the employees, and the food are all great. The two standouts for me are the barista, Chelsea Rae, who makes a mean honey nut latte (and a delicious iced jasmine tea with honey), and the bacon. You will not have better bacon in your lifetime, guaranteed.
The only reason I don’t give the Roost five stars is that their pancakes and waffles are quite dense. I prefer lighter, fluffier pancakes and waffles. But other than that, awesome.

The dumbest human on earth is the blonde occupying the hostess stand. Empty tables are everywhere and she has 60 people waiting… I counted 6 empty on the way to the half empty bar… she tells people there is a 60 – 90 minute wait! When I complained a server said, «ya I don’t know anything ’bout it… she’s probably just doin her job, man!»… I ordered a large sticky bun (great!) and 20 oz. Americana to go from the counter, got them… Finished them and continued to wait… After an hour, I got a bar seat… The only thing missing is a soup nazi to verbally insult you… No one seems to eat here… They just wait… After sitting at the bar for another 20 minutes… I left hungry!

Excellent brunch place that is worth the wait! Their biscuits and gravy are absolutely amazing, I typically am not a fan or gravy but go crazy for theirs! Also, the French toast coated In custard is absolutely delightful! At first it just looked like another boring piece of French toast but once I bit in I got a full mouthful of scrumptious taste! Definitely recommend going there, the staff is nice and their pastries look so good!

I enjoyed the Fried Egg Breakfast Sammy — 2 eggs any style, chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomato, red onion on sourdough $ 5. I added Avocado to mine & had my eggs fried well-​done. Was hearty & the chipotle mayo was more chipotle than mayo — appreciated. Hubby had a Short Stack of Buttermilk Pancakes & added the fruit for $ 1 — $ 4 total. Pancakes tasted great, however, stiffness gave away that they obviously had them sitting under a heat lamp, probably while waiting for my sammy to be assembled, which was disappointing. Small, but packed fruit bowl contained various fresh seasonal fruit, including raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, pineapples & honeydew.
They appeared to be understaffed for a breakfast/​lunch place on a Thursday @ 10am, since there were at least 5 previously bussed empty tables (4 chairs each) when they informed us it would be an approximate 30 min wait. There were at least 3 parties ahead of us, who appeared to have been waiting for a few mins or longer prior to our arrival. All parties were offered quicker seating at the dine-​in bar, but all opted to wait. I’m pretty sure they seated us w/​in about 15 mins at one of those empty tables I mentioned previously, so still a little confused by that.
The food was a solid 4 out of 5 if you excuse the slightly stiff pancakes, but unfortunately didn’t make up for the unnecessary wait to be seated & our slow waitress, who I had to ask for everything including the check and took 3 – 4 mins to bring the sour cream that I had originally ordered w/​my potato pancake after requesting for a 2^nd time. There’s something about watching someone move w/​purpose & appear to be trying really hard that makes falling short excusable. Unfortunately, our waitress didn’t display these qualities, so I guess she didn’t care that she was not providing us w/​the service that all paying customers deserve.
Would go again to give them an opportunity to provide better service. Maybe just an off day for everyone.

The Roost is my favorite place to get breakfast. When my wife and I get up on weekend mornings, if we decide to go out for breakfast, our choice is The Roost nearly every single time.
I was looking through my reviews and I realized that I had never reviewed The Roost. «How can that be?» I asked myself, «I’ve been there so many times and talked it up to plenty of people. Hell, I’ve even been the Duke there a couple of times (when Mrs. R. doesn’t steal it away from me like a sneaky pixie). What gives?» What I think has happened is that I’ve conflated all of my talking about The Roost into thinking that I’ve already written the review. Well, now I’m going to rectify that.
The Roost is a great casual breakfast /​lunch place in the heart of downtown Lawrence. Lawrencians always love to get breakfast (note to aspiring restauranteurs: open a great breakfast place in Lawrence and the city will beat a path to your door!). The Roost moved right into an open niche in downtown and took some of the elements of what made it great and improved on it.
First things first — The Roost gets busy, and weekend mornings are the worst. If you’re planning to go grab breakfast, either get there early, or be ready for the wait. The wait isn’t terrible if it’s a lazy weekend day and you have nothing else to do, but it can be up to an hour or more depending on your party size and timing. But, if you have the time, then this is the perfect opportunity to grab a cup of coffee from the bar Get a mug, fill it, and hang out on the bench or sidewalk and wait for your name. No need to wait for ordering breakfast to get your first jolt of joe, just dive right in.
As for breakfast — I split my time between the eggs benedict (The Bennys) and the Rooster or Kansan. For the Bennys I go for either the traditional or the salmon — both are great, and both come with a great Hollandaise and breakfast potatoes. Between the Rooster and the Kansan, the Kansan is where I go if I feel I’m about to devour the world, because I’ll get it with the pancake side. I probably should order the Rooster, but the little red devil on my shoulder says «Get the Kansan! You need those pancakes!» It’s all a great breakfast.
Mrs. R tends to go for the biscuits and gravy, which comes out in a big bowl with a generous portion of gravy. I’m not sure how much is in each, but you can get the B&G in a half or a full order. If you’re undecided about whether to get the B&G for favor of something else, just order what you want and then split a half-​order with your dining companion. Or throw caution to the wind and just get a half B&G as a side. Do what you want to do – I’m not the boss of you.
What also makes The Roost great are the drinks. The Roost keeps a slight edge over some other Lawrence breakfast places in that it has a full bar of stuff to have for breakfast cocktails, and the cocktails are pretty good. One of Mrs. R’s favorites is the Old Smokey bloody mary, which comes in a shaker pint, with lots of smokey flavor, and is topped with Parmesan cheese and has a slice of bacon in it. Drink bacon, it’s fantastic. I’m not much of a cocktails-​before-​noon person, but I do enjoy that they have canned beer to go with breakfast. Nothing like starting the day off with an Old Style or a Hamm’s. I’ve also had some of their fancy booze & coffee or booze & tea drinks in the winter, and they’re the perfect warmup for cold days.

Not impressed. First of all, not a kid friendly place. No kids menu, no crayons, nothing.
Secondly, it’s probably the slowest place I’ve ever been to for breakfast. Yes, they’re busy but breakfast food doesn’t take long to make and if you keep your tables full, you can get people in and out faster.
There was a long wait but always empty tables. Perhaps they didn’t want to overwhelm the servers? Then the food took a very long time. Had I known, I would have bought something for the kiddo from the bakery.
As for the food, I got the veggie Benedict. The eggs were way overcooked — pretty much hard boiled eggs on English muffins. The potatoes that came with were not very good. Just not flavorful. The short stack of pancakes was okay.
I would not come here again with so many other great options on Mass.

I would definitely go back here. In general, Lawrence doesn’t offer great breakfast places… you are basically stuck with chain restaurants. The Roost is a nice change. For the same amount of money you would spent at Perkins, you can get fresh local food that is pretty good. The coffee bar is a nice touch, as well as some of the breakfast food you don’t usually find in the Midwest. For example, latkes, bagel and lox. Nice addition to the town.