Is Restaurant Associates a good company to work for?

Restaurant Associates has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 712 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 10% over the last 12 months. 71% of employees would recommend working at Restaurant Associates to a friend and 74% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Restaurant Associates have been left by employees working as General Manager , Executive Chef and Assistant General Manager .

Does Restaurant Associates pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Restaurant Associates employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.7 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Restaurant Associates. This rating has decreased by 12% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Restaurant Associates?

71% of Restaurant Associates employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Restaurant Associates 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 4.0 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Restaurant Associates?

Executive Chef (35) , General Manager (34) , Butler (25) , Cook (21) , Director (20) , Cafe Manager (19) , Manager (19) , Sous Chef (18) , Catering Manager (17) , Line Cook (13) , Chef (12) , Assistant General Manager (11) , Food Service Director (8) , Regional Director of Operations (8) , Catering Attendant (7)

What are the pros of working at Restaurant Associates according to real employee reviews?

"Good benefits when in union unit" ((in 68 reviews)); "Great pay Weekly pay Free food" ((in 39 reviews)); "Great people to work with" ((in 37 reviews)); "Great leadership and systems in place to succeed." ((in 18 reviews)); "Great support and training!" ((in 12 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Restaurant Associates according to real employee reviews?

"Poor management; corner" ((in 37 reviews)); "Managers are horrible, they look for a reason to fire you before you get into the union" ((in 19 reviews)); "Little to no work life balance" ((in 14 reviews)); "Long hours and you pay for parking" ((in 14 reviews)); "Staff are being payed bare minimum and often work long hours above average 9" ((in 12 reviews))

What are employees saying about Restaurant Associates layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Restaurant Associates layoffs and their outlook for job security at Restaurant Associates in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Restaurant Associates locations?

New York , Washington , Boston , Kennett Square , Cambridge , Philadelphia , Atlanta , Wilmington , McLean , Chicago , Jersey City , Weehawken , Hyde Park , Ann Arbor , Knoxville , Kennet Sq , Richmond , Leesburg , Clifton Park , Los Angeles , Baltimore , Tysons Corner , Bound Brook , Newark , Princeton , Trenton , Blacksburg , Arlington , Lorton , Albany

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Restaurant Associates

Part of Compass Group USA

Restaurant Associates reviews

3.9

71% would recommend to a friend

(683 total reviews)

Ed Brown

73% approve of CEO

74% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Career opportunities

3.9

Culture & values

3.9

Work/Life balance

3.7

Compensation and benefits

3.4

Senior management

Restaurant Associates has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 683 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Restaurant Associates employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restaurants & Food Service industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

683 reviews

1.0

Jul 31, 2021

Just awful

Butler

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule means you could set your own hours. Even though they never raise your pay if you take on additional duties, you can still choose when to work.

Cons

Some of the worst people I've ever worked with. I remember several shifts lasting over ten hours, ending at 2:00am, not getting a meal break at all, and the captains would say you could grab food on the way out. Pretty sure they violated OSHA regulations on the regular. I witnessed a lot of microaggressions towards Black employees about hair. Some weren't even that micro. Sexism was rampant. Tip theft wasn't just regular, it was the company norm. I burned my uniform when I realized I didn't have to go back.

Restaurant Associates Response

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. I am sorry your experience with R/A did not match with our Culture of CARE promise. We'd like to learn more about your experience and how we can improve. Please email us at info@restaurantassociates.com

2.0

Mar 23, 2018

RA....times are changing.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

My everyday environment at work is amazing. I enjoy coming into work everyday, I appreciate my fellow workers, I love engaging with the googlers.. My insurance is top notch and I appreciate that I am able to take time off when needed

Cons

It is 2018......New york is one of the most expensive places to live in the country.Rent,taxes,etc....everything is going up. Restaurant associates/compass needs to come up with a realistic financial plan to increase the living wage. $15 is not cutting it to live in New York. Our client google makes over 90 billion dollars revenue and after that is 19 billion in profits. RA, something is not adding up....

Restaurant Associates Response

We also appreciate you taking the time to provide thoughtful advice that can continue to make us a better organization. From the top down our commitment is to our associates; We are continuously reviewing and making improvements striving to ensure our associates have equal access to growth and development opportunities and to provide a competitive salary. In addition Compass Group received a Silver Award for its commitment to improving associate health and productivity. This marks the 6th year, Compass Group has received a Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles® award. Please check out: www.compass-usa.com/national-business-group-health-honors-compass-group-usa-best-employers-healthy-lifestyles-award We encourage you to provide further feedback, so that we can better understand your individual concerns, please email us info@restaurantassociates.com

1.0

Feb 1, 2015

No Raise in over 8 Years for CxRA on-call workers

Butler/captain

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Flexibility of schedule. Easy work for the most part. Workers may be the most diverse group of any catering company.

Cons

No raises have been given to butlers or captains for years. No reviews given either. Company didn't tell 100s of us we had newly-issued paid sick leave for 6 months. No appreciation for employees who have been working there for a while who know the idiosyncrasies of the different locations at which we work. No opportunity for job growth.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 683 Reviews

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Just awful

RA....times are changing.

No Raise in over 8 Years for CxRA on-call workers

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