Roy Rogers Restaurant located on the East Side of Cincinnati near Eastgate, at 474 Roney Lane in Mt. Carmel is a must visit if you are in the Eastgate Area! This little restaurant is one of the last Roy Rogers Restaurants in the country. This is a delicious place to go for fast food done right and the building is almost just like it was when it opened more than 30 years ago, so don’t expect an upscale modern dining experience. Instead, you’ll find the best burgers and roast beef sandwiches around and be taken back in time to how things used to be.
The roast beef sandwiches here are made of fresh not pressed roast beef like you would find at Arby’s. The beef if hot and thin sliced and served juicy so that the bun sometimes gets soggy from the au jus they baste the meat with before piling it on the bun. You’ll find delicious toppings for your sandwich too including Frisch’s tartar sauce which is actually quite good on these sandwiches .
If you aren’t a local Cincinnatian you’ll not understand Frisch’s tartar sauce but trust me and give it a try. Frisch’s is a local Big Boy restaurant that makes a unique tartar sauce that those in the area crave on everything from fish sandwiches, burgers and even French fries and at Roy Rogers in Eastgate it’s great on Roast Beef. Roy’s also has a fixings’ bar where you can get horse radish sauce, barbeque sauce which is delicious here, and of course plenty of sliced tomato, shredded lettuce and dill pickles to top your sandwiches.
I love the Burgers here so it is a hard decision whether to order a roast beef or a cheeseburger. I recommend you go to Roy Rogers when you are really hungry and try one of each! Other Roy Rogers specialties include the Double R Bar Burger and fresh Fried Chicken. The Double R Bar Burger is a hamburger topped with shaved ham which sounds weird but is actually quite good.
For those of you who don’t remember Roy Rogers you’ll find faded pictures and mementos of this Cowboy from the past on the walls. Roy Rogers was a film star back in the 1950’s who was famous for having a wholesome image and later went on to open a fast food chain. Few of these stores remain standing but the location in Cincinnati is a great place to visit and is an independently owned franchise restaurant.
This restaurant is usually pretty busy and is a favorite of locals. Seating is limited and the atmosphere is not the best as the building is old and hasn’t seen any major changes in the many years it’s been standing. The drive through business here is booming and driving through is a good choice and they’ll gladly pack you some Frisch’s Tartar Sauce to take with you in the bag.
I moved away from Cincinnati years ago but I visit several times a year and I nearly always find time to go back to Roy Rogers for lunch. This is a place you’ll likely find yourself returning to again and again.
