Cock Robin is the newest restaurant addition to The Barlow in Sebastopol and revitalizes the building once home to Seismic Brewing Company, with classic Midwest diner vibes in a fast-casual setting. Cock Robin provides their guests with great classic food, but should consider deepening their roots within Sebastopol instead of solely relying on their connections to the past.
Both the quality of produce and the price point of the menu at Cock Robin should appeal to Santa Rosa Junior College Students. The simple meal of a burger, fries and milkshake felt like a step up from fast food without breaking the bank at just under $25.
Cock Robin is a safe bet for those in the mood for a classic burger and fries. It offers standard single or double-patty burgers and other specialized classics like a bacon cheeseburger, or a portobello mushroom burger for veggie-inclined folks.
Get “all the fixin’s” on your burger of choice for added House special sauce, shaved onion and iceberg lettuce. The burger patties are hearty, roughly the size of baseballs. Served with a trio of sides — pickles, pistachio romesco sauce and pizza joint-worthy ranch — it’s a choose-your-own adventure of flavors.
Burgers aren’t your thing? Cock Robin also offers hot sandwiches, fried chicken and a variety of salads featuring local ingredients.
Being located in Wine Country, one would assume Cock Robin would have some of the local wineries and breweries on their beverage list. They had a few, including Sonoma County titan Golden State Cider, but the majority of their beverage list hailed from surrounding places such as Ukiah, St. Helena and Boonville. This was disappointing, given Cock Robin’s proximity to so many great places just in The Barlow alone.
The burger joint has a storied past. It started as a chain of Midwest ice cream shops, called Prince Castle Ice Cream, owned by friends Walter Fredenhagen and Earl Prince in the greater Chicago area until their working relationship ended in 1955. Fredenhagen moved on and created Cock Robin — which served burgers and “One in a Million” malt milkshakes until it closed in 2008, according to Cock Robin.
Now under new management in West County, Cock Robin offers an updated menu and new branding to breathe new life into its classic burger-joint identity while still holding to its Midwest roots. These roots mesh perfectly with the industrial space of The Barlow.
Walking through the entrance feels like stepping back in time to a modernized, chrome-coated, burger-slinging, diner fever dream.
So SRJC students, the next time you want a taste of decades past, consider making the 15-minute drive from the Santa Rosa campus to the sole surviving Cock Robin, in Sebastopol.
