Road Runner Express Espresso & Cafe

Maybe Im not the best person to write a review about this restaurant, after all, I’m vegetarian and this joint boasts about its roasted chicken. This place serves up comfort foods (read I crave fried chicken jo-​jos, mac-​n-​cheese salad… you get the picture). My vegetarian grilled cheese sandwich was ok, there was no fancy cheese or bread, just something I’d make at home when in a hurry, 2 slices of cheddar on a sourdough bread. I also got a side salad, that had all the simple ingredients (again nothing fancy, just diced tomates, diced onion, shredded cheddar) neatly arranged in little piles on the plate so I could mix and toss it up as I wished. My colleagues ordered the pulled pork, fried chicken and other items off the menu and they seemed pretty pleased with their meal.

Amazing fun service first of. The food is amazing. Especially the breakfast burrito. It was so good we came back two days in a row.

Went for breakfast. The hobo breakfast bowl was delicious! Great little spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Friendly staff.

Went here tonight for the first time and we loved it. Small but cute. When we first came in the waitress greeted us warmly and after we sat down she told us all about the menu. She was super friendly. Took our order without writing anything down and it came out right. My husbands chicken strips came out a little darker which she drew our attention to, but told us that if we tried them and they weren’t good they’d make us a new batch. We did ask for a second batch and they had no problem with it. I feel like some places give you a hard time if you don’t like their food but they were on top of it! I had the chicken breast which was super moist! It was very good but to me the Mac and cheese stood out. It was super tastey! Tasted homemade and was a decent sized portion for being a small side. The service was excellent. The food was great and the service was awesome. They made you feel very welcome. I even noticed the waitress hugging a few other customers when they left. We’ll be back!

Nice place to go for Roasted Chicken. Good place for breakfast. Gets crowded and loud quick. Takes a little extra time for your order to arrive, but it is worth the wait.

This is our chicken stop when we are too tired to make dinner. Good hot food. Not fast but made to order and served hot and fresh. The ribs are excellent, too.

Chicken is really good. It is fairly juicy but I prefer just a little more batter. Mashed potatoes and gravy are obviously from a box but still quite tasty. The Mac and cheese is clearly homemade and it is fantastic. The biscuits look excellent but are so dry and flavorless… Total let down on the biscuits. We got our order to go and we didn’t realize until we got all the way home that they forgot the beans that we ordered…
Still 100 times better than KFC.

Yum!!! Love this place! Dine-​in is comfortable and the drive-​thru is awesome. Top notch service, too!

Sigh… Tried this little rinky dinky joint after having a terrible experience just down the street. Service was subpar– we placed our order of only a hamburger and a fish basket, meanwhile customers came in just after us and received their food before us. Waiting, waiting, and waiting, watching everyone else be served, the waitress comes and professes that she is a fish lover and is asking the cook to recook the fish, lol, «but, he knows what he’s doing!» She proclaims. What a joke. Zero professionalism. Terrible service. Never going back!

Sometimes the body will be depleted of a certain vitamin or mineral and that will spark a craving. Now I don’t know what vitamins/​minerals are in chicken fried steak and eggs but I needed it like a junkie needs their fix and on this fine day my dealer was Roadrunner.
I’m constantly listening to radio, podcasts, and music and as a result have become hyper aware of the sounds around me. I will be tortured by a person who talks like a valley girl, a HVAC unit that has a squeaky fan, whiny/​screaming kids, and most often really lame music. Like all art, music is suggestive. It is impossible to please everyone with a musical selection but I’m pretty sure Mixx 96 isn’t even remotely hitting the demographic of a greasy spoon in Yelm mostly being patronized by retires. As I got my chicken fix on I listened to Miley Cyrus, the song from Frozen, and a whole host of garbage fit for a thirteen year old girl’s Ipod.
The chicken fried steak was great, the eggs were sunny side up, the toast was sour dough, the hash browns were a tad under cooked, and the music was like eating in Forever 21.
I shall return, but next time I’m bringing ear plugs, a head set, and an ice pick to jam in my eardrums in case the previous two don’t work out.

Food takes a little bit longer but is well worth it. I had the shrimp and The rest of the table had the chicken. We all agreed they were both very good.

Great chicken and Jojo’s. Not a fan of the biscuits but the Potato salad was a wonderful side.

Probably the most juicy chicken I’ve ever had. The ambiance was very comfortable. The service was attentive. I will be back.

The food was really good and so was the service. The waitresses were very friendly and made sure we had anything we needed quickly. The portions are large and delicious. Wanted to go back for chicken but didn’t have time.

My first comment, is get food to good. The dowdy middle aged waitresses were having a whiny fight, with one incessantly saying «why are you soooo meaaaaan to me?», and the greasy cook kept coming out to cajole the two. Made for an uncomfortable dinner in an empty place.
The broasted chicken was juicy, but had no real flavor, major disappointment. the JO JO fires were EXCELLENT, unfortunately, I only got TWO. I wanted to love this place, but I won’t be back.

My two favorite food categories are breakfast and barbecue. This place does both to perfection. I have been coming to Roadrunner Express ever since I got stationed at JBLM and I have yet to leave unsatisfied. As previously stated, the food is great, but what really brings me back every time is the excellent service. Everyone here is very friendly and always makes a tremendous effort to ensure the customer is happy. That’s all we really can ask for. As long as I’m here in Washington, Roadrunner Express will be my go-​to place for my two favorite types of food.

Let me start with the positives: the food is fantastic. My personal favorite is the Broasted Chicken Strips with JoJos. Really juicy and the perfect meal, especially since I work close by.
However, the real problem for me is the service. There is one (as far as I know) waitress that is short and rude to you whether you are new or a regular. I usually order take out, and eat at my work, but once I went on a weekend with a friend and that same waitress was talking to another customer that seemed like a family friend for a good seven minutes while holding our food. Regardless, I still order out on occasion and still have negative experiences with only that waitress, but the food keeps bringing me back.

Just had the best chicken! From the outside you wouldn’t know what a gem was inside the place. The food is wonderful, everything was made homemade style. I had the chicken and Joe’s and my hunny had pulled pork and Cole slaw. It was delicious and didn’t have to wait too long. The best part of this place is the waitress, should have caught her name darn, my bad, anyway she was so nice, made sure we were happy with the meal and we had full glasses. The food is great, but she is be the reason I’ll be back.

Not great, but not horrible. The chicken is moist and tender, but the wait is horrendous if they have a lot of phone in orders. The broaster is limited to a certain number of pieces, and if your order misses the boat, you have to wait and wait…
The chicken coating could use more spices, it is a little bland. The jojos are a little too big and undercooked. The mac and cheese is good, homemade and cheesy. Good comfort food but pricey when the options add up. I’ll go by occasionally because I like to support mom and pop type places, but it isn’t a must go to place for me.

Key to my stars is customer service! I was blown away with the quality and attentiveness our family received.
Our food was great. I had a burger with fries and the special sauce on the side. They were quick to accommodate to my requests and use all fresh ingredients.
I didn’t want a refill because we were close to leaving and I hate wasting something after only a couple sips, she must have read my mind because she brought me a to go cup of tea!
One humorous part of our lunch was the JoJos, we were expecting a plate of a handful of JoJos and he got 2 giant ones! Lol :-) still good but gave us a laugh.
Do plan time because they cook the chicken to order which takes about 15 minutes. It’s nice to know your food is fresh and not sitting under a heat lamp!