Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic gave the record two out of five stars, saying the album "evaporated" after listening to it, as no songs were memorable, and because Adams was playing it "safe" with this record, no songs were bad nor good, just "pleasant and professional". He did, however, conclude that long-time Adams' fans would enjoy it but also ask the question; "why he even bothers to record new albums if he doesn't have anything new to say?" British music magazine "Uncut" gave it a rating of 2 out of 10—although while noting the album's "inherently conservative nature", ending the review with, ""Room Service" is still a better record than you might imagine." "Entertainment Weekly" gave the album a C−, writing that Adams was still releasing material which "cuts like a butter knife", a reference to his earlier single, "Cuts Like a Knife" from 1983. Nancy Miller, the reviewer, considered "Not Romeo, Not Juliet" to be "hokey" and "Nowhere Fast" as a "bland power ballad".