Gary K.
Yelp
OK, so here goes Colin. This was probably my fourth time here in 15 years and the second in the last year.
I was getting my car inspected at the car dealership and I thought I'm nearby to Schwabl's, no kids, I'm going there for lunch.
I decided to read some yelp reviews before I went and was disappointed to see that they were mostly negative as far as quality and portions, however, I decided I'm gonna give it a shot. The restaurant is a throwback to another time. It is all very charming , however, I saw things, and the way that I was treated, was a real turn off. They are very smug there and I don't know why? They were training someone to carve roast beef and it was ridiculous how rigid it was. As someone who knows how to cook And likes roast beef sliced evenly I watched them hack up a top round roast, or whatever the cheapest cut of roast beef is, into little teeny shreds.
I saw the senior "carver" later on making a sandwich for somebody, put it on a scale, and took a piece of roast beef off because it was too heavy! Can you imagine? Throw it on the next order I guess.
The place was about 80% empty when I came in. I really couldn't see to my left or right as the building is sideways and their interior walls were blocking parts of the dining room. But I had a clear view to the training of the new "carver". My waitress was nice but incredibly loud. Perhaps she's used to an older clientele with poor hearing, but it was annoying to be yelled at. As the restaurant started to fill in at around 12:30 PM on a Saturday I realized I was one of the only people who wasn't drinking, so perhaps that's why I was treated Slightly, and I mean slightly rudely they had trouble with their soda machine and they offered to give me a bottle diet, which I didn't really want. Perhaps that upset them. I waited about 15 minutes in a basically empty restaurant and didn't receive any food yet people who received it after me that I saw Were served. I stood up because I was going to leave. I was not comfortable there in the first place wait walk by and I said look. I've been here for a while. Other people who came in after me being served. If I'm wrong, then I'll be quiet and sit down. And she shouted at me that I was wrong because there were people around the corner that I didn't see who were seated before me. Perfectly acceptable answer so I sat back down. I ended up getting a rare roast beef on Camelback with the potato salad upgrade. An extra $3.99 with a pickled beat. The portions were fair. The taste of everything was good but the roast beef was so tough that every time you took a bite out of the sandwich the meat would pull out of the roll and you left with the piece of roast beef hanging out of your mouth. So tough. But it tasted good. I can seed on the "bottled" sprite, which taste just as bad as the Diet Coke so I didn't drink it and I was charged $3.50 . I left the five dollar tip and my entire bill was almost $38 for a roast beef sandwich. At best it was a choice cut of beef. That is ridiculous to spend on a sandwich like that. I probably will never be back because of that. However, it did taste good! But not worth 30 bucks. They are probably gonna survive without me. But they should be a lot nicer to people who aren't regulars and drop some of their smugness. I probably could've gotten just as good as sandwich sandwich at Arby's for a third of the price. But the atmosphere is cool, the carvers wearing their white aprons and all the waitresses dressed in their white uniforms, is also cool. I wish them success, but an old Western New York tradition needs to be realistic. And if you're going to charge that much use better quality beef. I would like to go back, but I think if they see my review and they recognize me it'll be even worse.