Ruffino’s On The River

Went for Sunday brunch. I ordered eggs Benedict. Bread overdone to a point of being inedible as was the Canadian bacon. Hollandise sauce was almost non existent. Service was fair.
I sent the Benedict back and they replaced with boudin in a biscuit. Revolting. I will never go back. Wife’s meal was not quite as bad but nothing to brag about. We had to wait forever for our check. The only thing that was kind of a treat was the bread pudding different from the norm but good. Wife ordered the crime brûlée. Stay away from that.
We eat out quite a bit and there are several better restaurants in town. This was our first time at Ruffinos and to say we were disappointed would be an understatement.

Food was really good I think a bit over priced but you can’t beat there steaks! I also plan to attend a cooking class they offer through out the year. I also love the scenery and the staff was very attentive.

The perfect place to get a nice dinner. If you have the money to spend go here!!! I love the cotton candy at the end of your meal too!

We attended a rehearsal dinner last Friday in the outside space. The passed items were delicious especially the boudin balls. The buffet items were excellent too, especially the beef short ribs with polenta. The beignets were amazing too. The bartenders and servers were friendly and competent and eager to help. We loved our experience and would definitely come back. Even the parking shuttle was awesome.

Visited restaurant 10÷28÷15. We were a party of 4. Employees all greeted us with a smile. The bartender made a margarita to my liking, it came out great.
We ordered, the crab dinner special, steaks and the Cobia fish.
They were all excellent. We are still raving about our experience. Looking forward to the next visit.

«Trendy,» but in a cheesy way. The food is dingy and bland and the service is unorganized, impersonal, and unapologetic.
Don’t waste your time or money.

Bad service… Upon arrival I was asked to wait for a 2 top table. I was told the wait would be around 30 mins. The hostess asked that I wait at the bar with my spouse. While at the bar area I noticed three empty tables so my wife and I sat at one of them. I was asked not to sit at the table because they were being held for reservations. The tables at the bar were never used. After 45 mins I walked up to the main dining room and noticed 6 empty tables. My wife asked about the wait time after 45 mins and was told another 15 more mins. We left, and they lost out on a nice tab because we went elsewhere. If Ruffinos did not want my business, they should have just said that at the onset without ruining my night. If you want dinner with a nice bottle of wine, there are other places to go, and I will.

I had dinner on Saturday night at the bar with a friend during a busy time and was very happy with the service, food and overall experience. The sensation salad was perfect. The pork cheeks appetizer I had for my main course was excellent. My friend had the filet and was more than happy.
This was my best dinning experience at Ruffino’s so far and might opt for the bar service instead of the table service from here out.

Not 100% sure why this place is till going strong. I guess the spot is cool and the interior is trendy.
Overall the food is super pricey and not really that good. I had a pizza that was tasty, but Papa Johns taste better. The last time I had chicken parmesan and the sauce was globbed on there like they had gotten an extra shipment in. This last time I ate there the service was borderline terrible. Like the kind where you want to leave a $ 3 tip but feel a little bad cause this is this dude’s living. But then you think well why doesn’t he go to Olive Garden and wait tables there because he clearly shouldn’t be in the fine dining business. The manager was a little ditzy, clearly not into her job. Though I didn’t talk to her, just watched her creepily from afar.
Price wise the food is a few bucks below Ruths Chris, but if you go to Ruths Chris you get excellent service, food is always good, the manager goes by your table and is clearly on top of things. I mean 36 bucks for what is basically chicken with gobs of tomato sauce VS 38 bucks for a prime choice of steak with excellent service.
Another weird thing is when they bring you your food. If you have more than one person in your party, like a group of people they put the plates in front of you in unison. Which seems good presentation but the place is run so badly half the waiters don’t get there and the other half are just standing right next to you, holding your food, waiting to put it down until their other waiter kin come. So you’re just sort of waiting for your food, hungry because it took so long to take your order.
I would probably never eat here again for the rest of my life, but since there are about 3 restaurants that are «nice» in the whole city I’m sure I will brave through the bad experience one more time.

My wife and I had a quality dinning experience here. There was plenty of food. Starting with bread and a dipping mixture, I was eating from nearly the moment I sat down. The wait staff was excellent, just there when you needed them, but not too often and they made some good recommendations.
The food was great. There was nothing I had that I didn’t like. The price is upscale, but matches the food and service. This would be a great date spot or great for a celebratory meal.

Had once tried to go here without a reservation, had to wait one hour, and the host was really rude at that time, so we left. Then we decided to give it a shot again, this time with a reservation. The same host, totally changed, he was really nice and helpful this time! The ambiance is nice, but this place is really noisy. so if you’re hoping for a nice and quiet dinner, this is not the place. The waiting staff is very awesome and nice. The food however, is pretty decent, had a couple hits and misses, we had the following:
— Bread & Dips — they have a variety of dips offered with the bread, and the dips and oils are amazing! I wish I had more bread at that time to eat up all the goodness!
— Amuse bouche — for those who don’t know, this is a complimentary from the chef, bite sized «snack» to have a glimpse of the chef’s style of cooking — I’m sure there is a different one every time. maybe.
— Braised pork cheeks — 48 hour braised pork cheeks with Benton’s bacon jam, pork jus, butternut squash purée —
— Diver scallops (not on the menu) — this was on special that day, and it was really amazingly delicious. Diver scallops were cooked perfectly on a bed of risotto
— Rib eye — rib eye was cooked to perfection, however. they need to do something with that potato they put on every beef dish, it is so bland and plain!
— Prime rib — the prime rib lacked so much. not enough flavor at all, again, the potato was so dry, bland and not appetizing at all!
— White chocolate brownie — delicious white chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream, delicious.
— Birthday cake — it was my significant other’s birthday, I called in and told them while I was reserving, and they brought this cake out for her — it was complimentary, and they were really nice about bringing it out, however, it did not taste that great, but it was a very kind gesture for the business to offer this
I also want to mention, I’m not sure if the cotton candy was free or not? But our waiter did not mentioned it being on the menu at all when he was going over the dessert menu with us, and if it was free, we was not offered any cotton candy, I was so looking forward to having some cotton candy. I did not want to ask the wait staff, because if it was free, I did not want to have to ask for it, but for them to bring it out to me, even if I ordered other desserts.
Nevertheless, some of the food we ate we really outstanding, and then theres some that wasn’t up to par. Would we come here again? Maybe.