Hotel Roanoke renovates Regency Room and its menu
STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS | The Roanoke Times
There’s new black-and-white tile in the buffet area of the Regency Room, which could have a soft reopening Saturday.
Good morning!
Today’s Front Burner column is about the renovations going on at Hotel Roanoke’s 74-year-old Regency Room. Expect the same elegance with an update, plus a menu with new locally sourced offerings.
The column begins below.
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Hotel Roanoke is the grand old lady of the Star City, but it recently became clear that one of her most elegant features was in need of a face-lift.
Remodeling the 74-year-old Regency Room, however, required some difficult decisions by hotel management. They had to strike the perfect balance between modernizing its interior and menu while preserving the qualities that diners expect, including a tasteful, formal atmosphere and signature dishes.
Since the hotel reopened in 1995 after an ownership change and a long closure, the main dining room has had only minor upgrades. The menu was reworked in 2007, but changing times called for an overhaul that could showcase the hotel’s commitment to local food sourcing and contemporary preparations.
While the restaurant is widely known for its lavish buffets, the hotel’s executive chef, Billie Raper, wants diners to also be tempted by the menu offerings.
“We are really hoping that a la carte becomes more of a player,” he said.
If R.L. Lucas Construction of Roanoke continues to work at a rapid clip, the Regency Room will have a soft reopening on Saturday.
February 6, 2013 - 9:42 AM
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The Hotel Roanoke deserves huge credit for having the audacity to continually evolve, and in a focused manner. Seriously, there are so many places that would rest on their laurels, but the RR/HR is not doing that. They deserve a lot of credit for maintaining their enthusiasm and desire to provide a unique dining experience. That’s very good to see.
My husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day with the Valentine special offered by the Hotel Roanoke Regency Room (one day early on February 13). I was quite pleased with the renovations made in the Regency Room. The décor is still true to the classic charm of the Hotel, but now feels a bit more intimate and inviting. We enjoyed a wonderful four course meal in an uncrowded dining room. A jazz trio preformed with piano, sax, drums, and occasional clarinet or flute. The music was outstanding. Service was impeccable throughout our two hour dinner. Our first course was a delicious she crab soup. I am a bit picky about she crab soup, having eaten this in some of Charleston’s finest restaurants, and it did not disappoint me. The soup had a wonderful flavor and our server topped it with spoonfuls of fresh crab meat and a generous pouring of sherry. A spinach salad followed perfectly dressed and in the right proportion. Our main course was a filet and lobster tail. The filet was perfectly cooked and it almost melted in my mouth. The lobster was the only slight disappointment of the night as it was a bit tough on the exterior, and lacked flavor. Dessert was a final delicious addition to the meal. The chocolate decadence consisted of a chocolate covered strawberry, chocolate dipped cheesecake with fresh raspberry sauce, and to my surprise and delight, a wedge of chocolate covered bacon with sea salt. The sweet and salty combination was perfect.
I will definitely be returning to the Regency Room soon and hope that she crab soup will be a staple on the menu.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Teresa. I think you can rest assured that the she-crab soup will not disappear from the menu. That’s a standard there, and it sure is delicious!