Rongbranch Cafe

Overpriced & slow rude service. For a small tourist town restaurant they sure don’t welcome new customers. I know our family won’t be returning.

The building looks awesome and has great signage that promises a tastey dinner. Yet everything we had was just horrible. Hubby ordered the beef ribs and half chicken and the ribs were so old and over cooked or reheated, that you couldnt eat what was left on the bone. Itwas 5 times more chewy than jerky! The chicken was terribly dry. No taste. Thank god for the baked beans that came with the meal, as we dunked the chicken in the beans just to add moisture. The beans were good. Sweet and tasty. The coleslaw was just average. The verbage, ‘made fresh daily’ was not the case today. My order of Rong branch wheels (deep fried dill pickles) were just ok. A huge order. Enough for everyone to share. But somehow, even the pickles were tough!
We chose to sit on their patio because we had our dog. The patio is nice, but the view isnt. You ate seated within 5 feet of parked cars and a lovely view of their dumpsters. No ambiance. No music playing.
The two stars are for being dog friendly. And they brought our dog out a bowl of fresh ice water. And the other star is for the friendly staff. Now if they could
Just fix their food, we will be back.

Decent, fulfilling meal here on a Tuesday late afternoon when the rest of the town closed up for the day. Nice portions.
Had four people in our party with only two other tables occupied in the restaurant. Waiter forgot a couple small things but was quick to remedy, all in all pretty excellent and friendly service for a small town place. Food was good. Not gourmet or out of this world dining but good and decent, I’d definitely come back. When I see some of the other reviews for places in town, I’d definitely take my chances here again.
Small gift shop and home-​made fudge is a nice plus as well.

The food is good and the helpings won’t let you leave hungry. The BBQ sauce is really good.

BBQ is poor quality. Ribs and chicken do fall off the bone but not in a good way. Just bland fatty pressure cooked meat that all tastes the same. For us, literally inedible. The BBQ sauce itself has promise but the food preparation is awful.
The servers are very nice.

I cook a lot at home and I know when something doesn’t taste right or it’s not made fresh. Food here is Pretty bad are meal tasted like a hungry man TV dinner, we had ribs and mashed potatoes and veggies, The ribs were old, mashed potatoes there old and reheated I’m guessing frozen they had The exact same taste as a frozen microwave meal, the veggies were old and soggy not fresh. we also got chil cheese fries and the fires where not fresh made, probably came from a bag. It’s obvious that they’re not cooking to order or using fresh ingredients. People don’t want frozen microwaved prepared meals. I don’t even eat that crap when I’m at home. Very disappointing.

I did not eat dinner here because the reviews were not good. But we had some fudge samples and decided to try some. The fudge was pretty good and they have quite a few flavors. We sampled some but opted for the chocolate. It was decent but the service was lacking. Too many customers standing in the way of each other and the wait just for a piece of fudge was around 15 minutes.

What can I say. This will be my first complaint on here and I wish it hadn’t come to this. I have been here about 3 or 4 times and each time I wasn’t satisfied. The only reason I tried again and again was because I figured I would give it another shot. After this last time tho I will not be coming back.
My husband and I stopped in for dinner on a Friday night. We ordered the nachos to start. They were good. Nothing fancy, but tasted fine. Then I got my soup. It was beef vegetable. Let’s just say for the longest time I stared at it. It was canned veggies with what tasted like left over steak that they cut into it. I had only one bite. Then came the famous pot pie. It was crispy and looked dry but I decided to plunge the spoon it. The pie fell apart and inside was some dry chicken that had been reheated to a crisp. There was no moisture in the pie whatsoever. I couldn’t imagine feeding this to my family had I cooked it myself yet here I was paying good money not to eat it. I cannot possibly understand how they could pass that off as food. I couldn’t eat any of it, and I’ll eat just about anything. This place has to be stopped.

Was having a day out with friends touring Julian. We ended up at this place looking for a nice meal before heading home. What we received was poorly cooked food (dry fried chicken; cold «grilled» sandwiches; awfully cooked duck liver) at steep prices ($ 13 for 3 pieces of fried chicken; $ 25 for a small steak) accompanied by very poor customer service (waitress was unattentive and rude).
Even after such a disappointing meal, we were all met with bills that had an 18% gratuity counted into the total (last time I checked, tips are optional and represent gratitude, of which I had none). I told the cashier to take the tip out of my bill because they absolutely didn’t deserve it. Everything about this place was underwhelming.
If you’re in Julian looking for a bite to eat, please heed my words and save your hunger for a more worthwhile meal. This place survives off of tourists, because no person with taste would ever come to this place a second time.

One star only because zero is not an allowable option. This review is based solely on the coffee and service.
On a busy Sunday morning it was the only place in town without an hour wait. Should have been our first sign but we ignored it because we were cold and hungry.
Coffee was terrible! To say it was watered down is an understatement. It tasted as if they use the same coffee beans for an entire week and just keep adding hot water to it. It was THAT bad!
We overlooked the coffee because we really wanted to eat. Unfortunately never had the opportunity because we were completely ignored. Finally flagged down server for the check to pay for our coffee.
Went to pay the cashier, asked to speak with a manager. Without any hesitation or even an attempt to look for manager the cashier, with attitude, says she’s not available because she’s busy. Talk about customer service. When giving the change, rather than handing it to us, she tosses it on the counter! At that point we demanded to speak with a manager. Cashier said she would go check for her…
Rather than actually do what she said, she cleaned a table directly in our view, then walked back to us and claimed she checked and manager was busy cooking!
At that point I walked straight to the kitchen and asked to speak with manager. The server walked me in and introduced me to the owner…
I have never met a more inconsiderate, rude, and disrespectful individual in my life! Rather than take one minute to address a paying customer, she complained that if she walked away from the food it would burn. When I questioned her ability to provide customer service, she threatened to call the police!
By far the worst experience ever at a restaurant!

Not sure why their average is only 2.5 stars…
Let’s just say this place is old rustic but well worth the visit not only for the gift shop but for their food.
I’m picky when it comes to pot pies and I might say theirs was delicious! The flaky crust crumbles into the warm center that is so rich and tasty!
I also was able to try their country fried steak with mashed potatoes… Mmmm
Our server was very friendly and came by several times to check on us and cleared out plates.
This spot is easy to get to and leave and is walking distance from other famous restaurants in Julian.
I recommend requesting a seat by the window.
I’ll be back for sure! Maybe when it snows.
Visit this place!

Rongbranch is the wrong place to go if you’re looking for a country style warm up on a cold day. My cider was luke warm & my cup of chilli was chilly ;(
The lighting is also weird, cold & harsh … unless you sneak around the corner behind the gift shop & then you’ll find a nook with warm tiffany lamps & sticky tables
The service was warm & friendly but I concur with the 2.5 star rating.

Terrible service. My daughter didn’t get her drink until her food came which is 45 minutes after we ordered she never came back to refill our drinks and she forgot my soup so when j finally got it it was cold. Not to mention the haystack sand which is 10 $ and includes 3 super thin pieces of ham

Went here for dinner I had a cheese burger it was pretty good but the service was not that good they could do a better job in taking care of the people

This place was a ghost town on a Friday night (literally – we walked in and there was no one –diners, restaurant staff – to be found), which really excited me because that meant they probably still had their famous chicken pot pie left (which they did!). Last time we came, they were all out (devastated). The pot pie ended up being pretty good. I’ve had another item or two on the menu and didn’t like them as much (sorry, I can’t remember what I got before – long story short – stick with the pot pie). Our server was friendly and our experience was good. Will stop by again.

This place is actually not that good. My family has been coming to Julian for the Apple Festival for over 20 years. The only reason we eat here is because the other restaurants are JERKS and won’t accommodate a large group (meaning over 4), even if you request to sit at different tables. They will simply tell you a big fat «NO» and TELL you to go here.
The service here has always been slow, and the food is just OK. The last time we came here we sat on the Patio. The server completely forgot about us. The food was cold and not very fresh at all.
Eat early because the town is small, and the lunch lines are long.

I would have given 1 star but our waitress was awesome. This place used to be really good but standards have been lowered. The apple pie crust tasted greasy, the pot pie was greasy as well. The worst part was my bowl of chili had a whole chicken nugget in it that must have been in the chili for a while becuase all the breading was boiled off, also there was a random french fry in my chili… totally gross. It is as if the chili is next to the dirty dishes and other peoples leftover food fell into the chili or that the cooks are careless and whatever falls out of the fryer falls into a open pot of chili. I informed the waitress and she apologized and took the bowl away. We have come for here for years and this is disappointing.

My Family and I have been coming to The Rongbranch for many years as we have property in town so we’re here every month or so and have seen it change very little during that time. You hope that people who operate a business, especially in a tourist town, that they would eventually listen to the customer suggestions or read the reviews, but I think that the folks who run the Rongbrach are just used to what they do and are settled in their ways and are not going to do anything differently that what they are doing.
We still drop by occasionally if it’s too late to go to the other cafes in town and I personally like the chicken wings and always get those, as well as the country fried steak and fried chicken, but as previous reviews have stated, the burgers are over-​cooked, the ribs for kids are giant bones with very little meat on them and the service is what it is, people who are comfortable being who they are and that does not include friendly people who greet you and make sure they provide good customer service. They are people who are just going through the motions to get through another day. The little store with jewelry and caps and shirts and things is nice but it doesn’t overshadow the lack of charm for the rest of the place. We will continue to drop by occasionally when we didn’t make it to the Julian Café in time, but we know going in what we’ll be getting when we go there.

Pros: It’s one of a few restaurants on the Main Street. Portions are huge.
Cons: Food– ordered honey dipped fried chicken-​liked the outer coating but it was sooo dry. Daughter said the fries tasted dirty. Lol. Not sure what she meant but it did taste like maybe the oil they fried it in was overused. Son’s ribs looked like a huge portion but it was more bones than meet. Boyfriend said his burger was just ok. The restaurant is a mix of restaurant, a fudge shop and some souvenir things. Waitress was not very inviting, Hardly smiled and the place just reeked of cigarette smoke. Overall I don’t think I’d return.

Great Historical Setting, and Great Food !
My wife and I visited Julian, Ca. last week and stopped into the Rongbranch Restaurant for lunch. The Rongbranch features a wide range of menu items from, Bumsteer BBQ, to Burgers, Salads, Steaks, and famous and delicious Julian Apple Pie for dessert. Dolores our server explained all the items on the menu, and suggested the Chicken Pot Pie, and the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich with homemade coleslaw. They make their own BBQ sauce, which is very tasty. Both meals were delicious, but the Chicken Pot pie with the flaky and buttery crust was magnificent ! The atmosphere and décor in the restaurant brings you back to those historical Julian Gold Rush days. Next time you visit Julian, Ca. give the Rongbranch a try, you will not be disappointed !