Restaurant review

Roky’s is a large restaurant chain with many locations across Peru. There has been a Roky’s restaurant in Chiclayo on Balta Avenue for about two years. I like this restaurant. It opens early and offers a good breakfast menu including an American breakfast. It also offers broasted chicken (which I prefer) along with the ubiquitous pollo a la brasa served at all pollerias (chicken joints). When we learned that Roky’s had taken over the site two blocks from our apartment of the failed restaurant Chifa Antai, which closed after just six months of operation and a heavy financial investment we were eager for it to open.

Roky’s on Santa Victoria opened for business about two weeks ago. Our first experience with it was disappointing when we walked there for breakfast only to discover they don’t offer breakfast. Their hours are 12:00 noon to 2:00am. Our second experience was last night when we wanted broasted chicken. There is no broasted chicken listed on the menu so we settled for pollo a la brasa.

When Roky’s remodeled they added a children’s play area and party room on the second floor. Good for business…bad for a relaxing dining experience. But it wasn’t the kids shrill screaming or the competing traffic noise from the open front door that torpedoed our attempts at conversation, though they certainly made it difficult. That honor goes to Billy Ocean’s ‘Caribbean Queen’ blasting from speakers in all four restaurant corners (it wasn’t until very recently I learned that the words he was singing are Caribbean Queen. I thought the words were ‘Carrie, you twit’. The next time you listen to that song see if you don’t agree).

And then we saw a waitress delivering to a nearby table what appeared to be broasted chicken.  We called our waitress to our table and asked if broasted chicken was available. She said it was, and in response to my question regarding why it isn’t listed on the menu, she replied, “Everyone knows we have broasted chicken so we don’t put it on the menu.” I started to say, “and everyone knows you have pollo a la brasa yet it’s plastered all over the menu” but thought better of it. It wouldn’t prove or change anything.  

The food and service are okay, and of course the facility is shiny new. Prices per menu item appear to be two to four soles more than similar restaurants including the Roky’s on Balta (???). Though disappointed at the lack of a breakfast opportunity, I might go back to try the broasted chicken…unless I hear the lilting strains of ‘Carrie you twit’ upon my approach.