This restaurant has been reported as permanently closed. Click here if it has reopened.
Monday:Closed
Tuesday:Closed
Wednesday:Closed
Thursday:Closed
Friday:Closed
Saturday:Closed
Sunday:Closed
Delivery
No
Payment
Credit Cards Accepted
Parking
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Attire
Casual
Alcohol
Yes - Full Bar
Reservations
Yes
Cuisines:
American
Price Point
$$$
$ - Cheap Eats (Under $10)
$$ - Moderate ($11-$25)
$$$ - Expensive ($25-$50)
$$$$ - Very Pricey (Over $50)
WiFi
No
Outdoor Seats
No
*This restaurant has closed. If this restaurant is open or has reopened, just let us know.
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10/30/2023 - MargaretAnne
I was curious whether or not Rolandeau's was still open. I read the article in the Sun Journal and the Portland Press Herald that they closed over 5 years ago. I remember going there in the late 70s and one item from the menu was forever etched in my memory, "Les Coquilles Saint Jacques", and I remembered it because I thought that I might never pass this way again, and now it's too late. They closed on May 12, 2018.
The article was written by Kathryn Skelton from the Sun Journal.
Below are excerpts from the newspaper article. The full article can be easily found online. We should be eternally grateful to all the newspaper writers that serve to keep all the restaurants and other businesses that have closed--fresh in our memory.
AUBURN — At age 23, with five years of restaurant experience under his belt, Roland Nadeau bought the closed Phil-O-Mar on Washington Street, remodeled and renamed the place, and started serving escargot, beef Wellington and, the dish he’d become known for, prime rib.
Forty-seven years of working 14-hour days later, he’s coming out of the kitchen.
Nadeau is closing Rolandeau’s on May 12.
“I’ve devoted my life to the restaurant,” said Nadeau, 70. “I’m going home. I haven’t been home in 50 years.”
I didn’t want to have a family restaurant because I worked at a family restaurant with screaming kids,” he said. “What I wanted was a place for couples to go out on their anniversary, more of a fine-dining-type thing.”
Entirely self-taught, he made changes to the menu every few weeks, experimenting with a lot of Julia Child’s recipes.
“I’ve done ostrich, buffalo, partridge, pheasant, duck, rabbit,” Nadeau said. “I’ve done all these different dishes over the years for people because probably 90 percent of my customers are here every week, and sometimes more than that. I have some people who eat here five times a week. Those are the people — it’s going to be hard.”
He said he’s also had an excellent staff through the years to pull everything off. Bartender Nick Talarico has been there nearly 42 years.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Below is commentary about the dish that was on Rolandeau's menu the day I was there. It wasn't part of the newspaper article.
Quote: There is a certain ring of elegance to Les coquilles Saint-Jacques (scallops), and let's face it, any food lover would attest to the delectable taste and texture that have made them a favorite dish around the world.
Another quote: Although coquilles St-Jacques simply means "scallops" in French, in the idiom of American cooks, the term is synonymous with the old French dish of scallops poached in white wine, placed atop a purée of mushrooms in a scallop shell, covered with a sauce made of the scallop poaching liquid, and gratinéed under a broiler. This rich, classic recipe was a signature dish of most of the small French restaurants in New York when I came here in the late 1950s. While working at Le Pavillon back then, I must have made it thousands of times. These days, most chefs, myself included, have moved away somewhat from that dish, favoring lighter preparations. But I'll tell you one thing: last time I made coquilles St-Jacques, it was for students at Boston University. I prepared two dishes for them: scallops cooked in a modern way, served with a green herb salad, and also the classic, gratinéed version. Now, these were not chefs-in-training; they didn't know what they were supposed to like. And there wasn't one student who didn't choose the old way over the new. It just goes to show: Truly good food never really goes out of style. —Jacques Pepin, chef, cookbook author, and PBS-TV cooking series host[end quote]
09/14/2019 - MenuPix User
This restaurant is closed, it is now a church.
09/19/2014 - C.J. Bob LaVe
Rolandeau's is a great place to dine both for lunch and dinner The decor is pleasant, the waitstaff efficient and friendly, and the prices reasonable in today's inflationary market. My wife and I have been dining there for both lunch and dinner over several years and have never been disappointed. We will, in fact, celebrate our 64th wedding annivrsary there. We would not hesitate to recommend Rolandau's to anyone seeking good food in a comfortble, congenial atmosphere.
12/27/2013 - Jen Palmer
I was there with a group of 10 people for a employee Christmas party and we felt very rushed. We had all gotten our salads and our meal had arrived and our salads were not even complete. Our server did not even know what each person had ordered he asked every time what we had ordered and had to ask many times for more water or a beverage. Not too impressed as I know this server has been working here for many years.
07/31/2012 - Tom V
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO Rolandeau's??? Our last two visits have been unfavorable. Last time the haddock had a bad taste and today the saut�ed lobster consisted of a small claw, half of a small tail and one small knuckle. We went with a group of 16 and there were several complaints within the group. Several complained but to no avail. Very few dining at lunch time. What does that tell you. I will NEVER return again.
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