Flying Rhino Cafe & Wateringhole

Once again, the Flying Rhino came through with a heavenly meal! We went out for our anniversary and chose to sit outside since it was such a beautiful night. We began with a delicious calamari appetizer; it had Asian notes and was prepared with an apricot sauce and served with arugula. For entrees, my husband had scallops and I had the Sesame tuna; both were exceptional! The watermelon salad and corn bread served before our main meals were wonderfully delicious and perfect for the hot evening. My only suggestion would be to leave more time before bringing out the entrée; we felt rushed, as we were still eating our salads. However, this was a minor complaint, and the utter deliciousness of the meal more than made up for this. We can’t wait to go back. Service was great without being obsequious; all in all, a great night!

Food is delicious and the service is better! My favorite place to go in the Worcester area.

I’ve been here twice and both times it was delicious. The service is wonderful, they are attentive and friendly. Their veggie burger is one of the most flavorful ones in Worcester. My boyfriend had their chicken and waffle sandwich and ate it within 5 minutes– said it was incredible. Would definitely recommend trying The Flying Rhino. If you go in the summer try to sit outside, it is a lot of fun people watching. Great place!

I love the often changing menu which has so many different creative choices but not weird at all. The Cajun swordfish sandwich is excellent. The sweet potato salad has an unexpected kick to it. The mojito is delicious and I love that they offer Sunday brunch now. I had the steak and eggs with arugula and it was fantastic.

Went for lunch today with my girlfriend, the atmosphere is great, I love the look of the place and the staff was friendly. We started off with the fried pickles. I love fried pickles, but these didn’t do it for me. I was not a fan of the cornmeal coating, the texture and flavor wasn’t great. I would have preferred a batter or flour coating. For my meal I have a special which was a chicken panini with rep peppers on naan. The naan was great for the sandwich and the flavors all went together well. It was a good sandwich, but nothing special. My girlfriend ordered and special consisting of roasted corn, tomato, and pasta with a garlic butter sauce. As soon as they put it down I could smell the smokyness. I’m not sure why the flavor ws so smoky but, we didn’t recall seeing it in the description. She couldn’t eat it because it had a hotdog like flavor and she is a vegetarian. The waiter understood and took it off the bill and brought her the veggie burger instead. That tasted great, it was full of vegetables and flavor, it had avocado and roasted red pepper on top. All in all I gave it 3 stars because I wasn’t wowed and it leave me wanting to come back for more. I would return if invited by someone, but I don’t know if I would just go there with my girlfriend for a bite to eat.

A busy restaurant on the weekends, however, that doesnt stop this restaurant from giving quick service. I would recommend the chicken and waffles over here if your’e coming for breakfast or brunch. They are the best chicken and waffles around the area.

We were a party of four, with reservations for 5pm. we were seated promptly, our server took our drink order and served our beverages quickly. We were in town from CT to see a show, the food was really good, the courses delivered in a non — rushed fashion. we ate of the specials menu, all of which were tasty. the menu offered a broad spectrum of selections, which is why we chose this spot, since we were from out of town, but based on the friendly service, the easy parking, and the nice prices for the meal, we would drive back here for another meal, even without a show!

I absolutely love this restaurant! It’s super cute, both inside and out, with a happy, classy atmosphere. The food and drinks are always EXCELLENT and the servers are efficient and very friendly. I highlyyyyy recommend ordering a slice of Reagan’s homemade pie for dessert too! Delishhh!

Different, fresh and overall a very good meal. Neat atmosphere that is bright and lively. The neighborhood has seen tough times but looks to be coming back around. Cool place!

This place has quite a varied menu. One of our party had the wild boar, I had the BBQ brisket with the Louisiana BBQ sauce, I wasn’t sure what to expect so I asked for it on the side and it was very tasty.
We shared an above average pitcher of Sangria, the girl child graduated today and she had one of the salads that they quite agreeably substituted hummus for the chicken and it delighted her vegetarian palate.
The chicken and waffles were also well received.
It’s not a big place, it was reasonably comfortable and I found the staff very responsive.
It’s spendy, but a great place for a celebration.

Food was very good and our waitress did a great job attending to our big group and separating the checks even when they were really busy.

I have tried to understand the appeal of this place. I been going since my college days (a century ago) and although the food is not terrible, its not great either. Their service and prices does not make it a worthwhile experience. Every time I go it seems to get worse. Little food, incomprehensible prices and sub par service. With so many eateries in Worcester i don’t think the Flying Rhino is nothing to rave about. I would not take people I love here. the ones I hate is another story…

Amazing Easter brunch! Up front The Flying Rhino’s Easter Menu stood out among the others with Sashimi Tuna and a corned beef carving station on the menu. We had a couple of kids in the group and the hustle-​bustle of the busy room made for a lively experience for everyone. The food was superb in that every dish was carefully thought out and the room had a great vibe but the service in this case was the brightest star in the sky. From the start Allie our server engaged us with a huge smile and instilled a confidence that everyone was going to have a great experience. I can proudly attest to having a delicious meal and appreciate the attention of a great server. This carried over to the bar as well with Tory handling the mixology with a smile.
Great people…+
Great food… =
Happy people

Revisited The Flying Rhino after some
average experiences, and it was excellent.

My husband and I went to dinner at the Flying Rhino last night. We made reservations, party of two and they sat us next to the trash, coffee pots and a family of 16. The kids from this party were running and running around the place throwing things and acting like monkeys. They hit our table and were throwing stuff everywhere. Now the parents are to blame I get that, but candy wrappers everywhere, you see as if dinner wasn’t enough the parents yayed out the kids with the free candy from the restaurant exit. Unfortunately the restaurant seems to encourages this (crayons, sippie cups etc.) family style, so if you want a romantic date, forget it completely. Please be aware the atmosphere for $ 25 to $ 40 dollar entrees was honestly more like chuckie cheese with old 80’s Olive Garden décor. $$$ Far too overpriced menu without a matching environment. The music was blaring and I mean blaring 1950’s Motown, as loud as the kids seemingly, trying to drown out the rowdy bar crowd which is practically on top of you. Very very noisy. Oh and good luck trying to get to the bathroom located through the cattle laden bar without getting oggled or getting a whif of a drunk, wasted on some designer overpriced cocktail.
Now the food: The appetizers were awful… The Korean tacos we’re gristly and the guilty tots had watery gravy, not braised but burnt chunks of pork and unmelted cheese. They took away most of that plate. The Cesar salad dressing was like ranch not even real Cesar dressing.
The cornbread was great we took a piece home but had to pay extra for that. ($ 76 dollar meal for two and we took home a corn muffin gahh.) The $ 29 entrée we split was good, scallops cooked perfect, but no flavor to them just set on the side of good risotto that was a little too sweet due to an over abundance of sweet potato with wilted bacon and arugula. Nothing I couldn’t have made easily at home. We purchased a piece of the special cherry pie to take home and share, and we apparently got a piece with no crust on top? Pie with no crust a foodie nightmare. So just some stewed cherries in a foam box not even remotely sweet or juicy. In kinda we won’t be returning, unimpressive, unromantic and overpriced. The wait staff gets my one star, they had to quickly repair the tornado/​food hurricane that jerk family left behind. God I hope they tipped that poor girl well. Our waitress was prompt and responsive. The food and atmosphere we could get cheaper at TGI Friday’s. Sorry but the truth.
Updated: I got sicker than a dog last night. So insulting injury some sort of stomach sickness due to what I ate there, awesome.

Between the quality, price, portion sizes, and staff, this place is a huge win. I don’t understand the lower reviews. I guess some people don’t appreciate hand-​prepped food?
Anyway, came here on Jan 1 to start off the new year like a fat pig with the family. The menu was quite varied. We all got something different, and everyone was very pleased. The beer selection was also quite good. I’ll be coming back often as I can when visiting family (it’s over 2 hours from my home).
The only down side is parking, but it’s Shrewsbury St.

Let me start off with saying this… I hate giving bad reviews!!!
I didn’t have a good feeling when we got there, it’s friggin loud in there! We usually go right to the bar and eat but it was so loud in the bar area you could hear the bar crowd throughout the entire restaurant and then the restaurant tables would get louder to talk over the bar noise. That’s my first gripe.
Second is our food was less than yuck. Well not all of it; the buffalo chicken wontons were good. Not out of this world, but good. The guilty tots. I personally didn’t like them. A gooey mess of too much cheese and wet tater tots from the freezer. I mean I could open a bag of tater tots and put on some cheese and meat and nuke it for less than 5 bucks. Not 11 bucks or whatever they charged.
Our main meals no one was happy. One person had the steak tips with hummus and tabouli. I am Lebanese and the was the worst hummus and play on tabouli I have ever tried. The hummus was chunky and you could literally feel on your tongue the casings of the garbanzo beans. Seriously. Where has this chef ever had hummus like this?! And tabouli is not and should not ever be made with quinoa… Ever. Steak was under cooked to a rare when it should have been medium. Another meal was the Cuban panini. And it was SOGGY! He said it was the worst sandwich he has ever had. How can it be toasted on the outside, soggy on the inside of the bread and then the meat cold! Fail. My meal was a simple cheese burger. No frills. The bun was twice the size of the burger. I mean my bib lettuce looked like an over sized blanket on it. Now I know I said I like it as rare as they are allowed to cook it and the waiter said «so a medium rare» fine. But it was raw, like just out of the cooler and slapped in a bun raw. And I like my meat mooing and this was too much for me not knowing the grade of meat that’s used.
Pricy for the meal quality. I would rather a bean and cheese burrito from Taco Bell for the amount of money we just spent on a dinner. 2 small sized apps. 3 meals with 4 drinks. $ 111 bucks not j clouding tip. And no one enjoyed any of it.
Lastly the service was slow. Waited for drinks. Waited to pay. At one point there was not one single wait staff on the floor where the tables are.
Basically this place is a local bar trying to turn into something it’s not. Stick to what you know. Bar food and drinks… Maybe.
Dissatisfied and disappointed tried it once and never again.

Great brunch! I had the steak and eggs! So good! Girlfriend and friend had sandwiches. Coffee and drinks were lovely. Service was prompt and attentive and not intrusive which I find to be the perfect server. We made reservations for 11:30a on a Sunday knowing it was a small place. No one was there. By 12 is was packed so be smart about arrival time if you don’t like to wait. We will definitely stop here again!

Interesting menu. Great service. Only ding was the time we were there the music was just a dull throb mixed in with the background of everyone talking. I enjoyed my amazing chili Benito, and the veggie burger the last time I was here. My partner’s salmon was a little under done but they took care of it very nicely and just took it off the bill.

Completely random how we ended up here. Had a late flight at Worcester airport, and needed a quick dinner for the family. Got off a few exits before the airport and pulled out Unilocal.Scanning through didn’t turn up anything that appealing. until that is I saw Flying Rhino. Interesting name, let me dive in. Reviews look good… let’s go.
We walked in and and noticed is was moderately crowded (it’s not even 5 pm at this point) and had a funky atmosphere. We told the hostess we needed to eat quick due to the flight, she said she would tell our server and definitely try. Spoiler alert: We had a crazy good meal and somehow did it in about 20 minutes!
Cold dreary day outside… wanted a soup. Had the creamy tomato with feta. Holy, this was delicious. Even my two kids who aren’t necessarily picky (but still choose the chicken fingers and mac n cheese) loved it. Another taste daddy!
I had the BIG SHORTY ~ $ 14: Whiskey braised short rib on a brioche roll with goat cheese, caramelized onions, sweet pickled tomato, arugula and a dab of mayo. Oh, oh, oh my. Outstanding. If i’m gonna offer some construction c, it was just a dab too much goat cheese. But I was truly, truly impressed.
My kids did have the chicken fingers off the kids menu. I tell you what, these weren’t just chicken fingers… this was seriously good fried chicken. Was delicious.
I tell you what… i wouldn’t hesitate to go back next time I fly into the airport.

I first «discovered» this restaurant about a year ago on the Shrewsbury shuffle and have been several times since and each experience makes my top 10 restaurant experiences in Worcester.
Some that come to mind are, going for a three course meal during restaurant week, discovering their bucket of beers, going after their menu change. And in fact I recommended to it to a fellow student who took her parents and all of them loved it!
Their menu is always fun and exciting and I always have trouble deciding what to get but have yet to be disappointed.

From start to finish this was a wonderful experience. I think the most unfortunate piece is the location. Tables on the sidewalk with rushing ambulances, motorcycles etc. are not afforded the charm and ambience that the restaurant offers. Indoors is quite eclectic, vibrant and refreshing. Wait staff was friendly, efficient and personable. The food was delicious. Everything was cooked perfectly and served delightfully hot. I will definitely be going back to try other tempting items on the menu!