Bertie's on the Rooftop

From the moment you walk into Hotel 1928, there is so much to take in: every detail feels intentional, thoughtful, beautifully put together—and Bertie’s Rooftop is no exception.

You don’t just come to feed your stomach, you feed your eyes too!

Now, let’s talk about the food!

We started with the biscuits, served with jam and an amazing honey butter. The biscuits were perfectly baked—soft and moist, not dry at all. I didn’t even try the jam because, honestly, the honey butter added so much flavor and made the biscuits absolutely delicious.

We also ordered the beef dumplings, which were another great choice. Even though they were steamed they had this crispy bottom without being greasy. The sauce was incredibly flavorful with a bit of heat, be aware that too much of the sauce can become quite spicy.

For entrees, we ordered the kids pasta with butter sauce and grilled chicken, the ribeye steak and the roasted chicken, along with creamy mashed potatoes and crispy sweet potatoes. One thing that immediately stood out was the portion sizes—even the kid’s meal was very big.

Everything was very well seasoned and full of flavor!

A little note about the photos: I somehow forgot to take a picture of the creamy mashed potatoes 🫣! You can spot them hiding in the corner of the steak photo, though. The portion was great and easily enough for two people to share.

My recommendation for couples or parties of two would be to order one protein and one or more sides to share. The proteins don’t automatically come with sides, so everything is ordered separately, and the portions are large enough.

We ordered the rooftop ceasar salad and spinach artichoke dip for appetizers. Would not recommend either, lacking flavor—the spinach artichoke dip was runny and especially bland, although the homemade chips were good. Was almost more like a soup with full spinach leaves in it.

I ordered the ribeye, which again, was disappointing at the price point. Honestly struck me as a $25 steak from a local diner, marked up to $60. The salmon was good but very small portion. Lobster mac & cheese side was probably the best thing we ate all night, large chunks of lobster and decent flavor, although still just a bit bland.

I really wanted to love this place, but my birthday girl and I both felt the same way after leaving, the food just wasn’t even close to matching the atmosphere and price.

I recommend that you take your time when you visit. Bring your cell phone but only for pictures. Step out of the 21st century and be transported to the time your great grandparents were courting.

Allow yourself to revel in a time of elegance and enjoy each other's company.

Overall a nice evening. For me, the atmosphere would’ve been nicer had it not been so brightly lit up. Several other nice areas in the hotel as well.

AMAZING service! The manager was so kind and came to talk to our table. We all got different things and everyone loved their meals!!

I think this would be the perfect spot for a date night.

Service could have been better. We ordered appetizers and they took long to get us small plates for them. They also forgot an entree for one of us in the party and had to rush the order.

If you’re staying at the hotel it’s great for a standard night out (though Waco has lots of more exciting food options to offer). Locals this is worth it at least once for the experience. Would be cool to see them get a more unique chef / menu.

We got the mushroom risotto and the sea bass. Our waiter suggested adding crispy pancetta to the risotto and it definitely took it up a notch. The sauce on the sea bass was very tasty.

Brunch was a similar experience. My chicken biscuit with fries was good. Drinks are fine enough.

The service was fantastic. I had made a reservation online and checked a box to indicate it was to celebrate our anniversary. Upon arriving and checking in, the hostess congratulated us on our anniversary. She showed us to our table, and then our waitress came over and congratulated us. That alone felt special, but truly the whole night was awesome. Staff were very attentive, helpful, and knowledgeable.

Food was delicious, see pictures. We had the Texas Salsa, which is less of a traditional salsa and more of a "cowboy caviar" (just a wonderful selection of fresh things minced up and mixed). We also had the Chicken Paillard and the Cheesiest Cheeseburger for main entrees.

Atmosphere was classy and detailed, yet relaxing. Joanna & Chip Gaines really outdid themselves on this project. Waco really needed something like this!