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 14% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Restaurant Associates?

69% of Restaurant Associates employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Restaurant Associates 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Restaurant Associates?

Executive Chef (35) , General Manager (34) , Butler (25) , Cook (21) , Director (20) , Manager (19) , Cafe Manager (18) , 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?

"Great benefits and the company encourages growth from within." ((in 65 reviews)); "Great people to work with" ((in 43 reviews)); "The pay is good and reliable." ((in 35 reviews)); "Great leadership and systems in place to succeed." ((in 17 reviews)); "Good work life balance with an abundance of jobs in the more traditional Mon" ((in 14 reviews))

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

"Poor management; corner" ((in 34 reviews)); "Managers are horrible, they look for a reason to fire you before you get into the union" ((in 19 reviews)); "Long hours and you pay for parking" ((in 13 reviews)); "Staff are being payed bare minimum and often work long hours above average 9" ((in 11 reviews)); "Incompetent staff, both upper management and low level employees are super apathetic and are just there for money." ((in 6 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.

Restaurant Associates reviews

3.9

69% would recommend to a friend

(682 total reviews)

Ed Brown

72% approve of CEO

72% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

3.9

Career opportunities

3.8

Culture & values

3.8

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 682 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 Restauration industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

682 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

4y

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

1.0

Aug 13, 2018

STAY AWAY from this people

General assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

only that is monday to friday work

Cons

STAY AWAY from this COMPANY. Managment is people that they didnt go even to school and they dont know how to behave. Lies always and no respect for the employees. Also they still money from your contract too as I discovered with the ACAS. the staff is rude and some of them they dont even speak qEnglish. You have to work as a slave always and always they have to tell you that you dont work as they want. They press the staff for extra hours always and they counting even the minute that you are going to the toilet.They told you that you are not allowed to eat after your shift but for their cousins and wifes that they are working as a general assistants like you doesnt exist. They have always the hours that they want and they doing what ever the want. Their favorites employeers are snitches and they never work. Always on the till doing nothing and smoking outside. I cant spend more time here to write comments from this awfull company just STAY AWAY.

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

8y

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

Viewing 10 - 12 of 682 Reviews

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Jobs at Restaurant Associates

DISHWASHER (PART TIME)

HOST/HOSTESS (PART TIME)

HOST/HOSTESS (FULL TIME)

DISHWASHER (FULL TIME)

DISHWASHER (FULL TIME)