Status of Banjos in Cambridge and Weymouth?

[hiddenboston]

It looks like Banjos Roast Beef might finally be ready to open in the old KFC spot in North Cambridge, if that is indeed what is still going in there. (Last I checked, it was.)

But what about the Banjos in Weymouth? I've been hearing that they might not be doing so well and indeed, someone just emailed me saying it looked closed the other day. Has anyone been by it lately?

[ExtraeousB]

I know the Banjos in Cambridge is open. I think the food is very good but inconsistent. This is normal for a newly opened restaurant but also kind of dangerous just because people that come in when the food is not as good will expect that it is always like that. I love onion rings and they first time i went there they were the best I have ever had. I fear that I will never again be able to have onion rings that good again. The roast beef was fair but they forgot to put the au juis on it. I am fairly confident that it would have been very good with the juis. The next time I went in I had the fish and chips. It was quite good. I have also had their meatloaf which I thought was fantastic (well the meatloaf was good but the sauce what what did it for me). I also think the employees need some lessons on how to talk to customers. They are very friendly which is great and keeping with the southern hospitality theme but they have said some things to me that one should not say to a customer. I cook an I have worked in food service so I know how things go but not everyone is like that. One employee came up to me tonight and asked me how my soup was. I told him that it was great. He then proceeds to tell me that they make up the recipe this morning because they had day old potatoes that they did not want to throw away because they are expensive. I know that restaurants to that sort of thing all the time and it is perfectly OK. Hell, half my recipese I use at home are for leftovers. But there are a lot of people who will be grossed out by that and never eat there again. Also it tells the customer that business is not good. Obviously if a restaurant has just opened it is not going to be making much money for the first little bit but you should never let the customers know that. People like to live under the delusion that good restaurants will always make money and bad restaurants will not. Therefore if you suggest that money is tight then that means that the food must not be very good. Overall the food is very good and it is all home made and made very well, I just hope that they can work out some of the kinks ASAP before it closes.

[scratchie]

Thanks for the review. I'll have to try to stop in there soon.

[cannedmilkandfruitypebbles]

I used to occasionally visit the Banjos in Brockton before it closed. I didn't find it to be anything other than average. My experience in Weymouth was never good. Hopefully they've revamped everything with the new one opened in Cambridge.

[weisner]

Update - I walked by the Banjos in Cambridge (former KFC) last night and saw about 15 people (who appeared to be waitstaff and kitchen staff) being spoken to by an older guy - presumably training. Seems likely the place is about to finally open up.

[Chowzmeister]

Just got an e-mail from Thrillist that Banjos is opening on Monday (Feb 1, I assume).
http://www.thrillist.com/boston/banjos

[hiddenboston]

Guess who's ba-ack! Hard to believe, but work is being done once again on the old KFC spot in Cambridge, and Banjos now has their logos on the windows. Call the place the CF Donovan's of North Cambridge, I guess. :-b

[dianalily]

Nothin' goin' on at the proposed Mass. Ave. location as of five days ago.

[Bob Dobalina]

This week, I noticed that the chain link that blocked entry to the parking lot was down. Which is indicative of absolutely nothing.

[Paul781]

I believe Banjo's in Weymouth has closed. I drive by it every day, as I live off of 3A, and there is a sign on all the windows and it hasn't been open for a few weeks. Also, with this past week's snow storm, the lot was not plowed.

[hiddenboston]

Not plowed, huh? Yeah, that's not a good sign....

[hiddenboston]

We went over to Banjo's today to see what is going on, and there are all these signs in the windows saying "Closed for Renovations." We all know that this can mean many things in the restaurant world these days, so it'll be interesting to see if they actually re-open or whether another place will open there at some point.