The Rusty Rudder

Not worth mentioning as the wait staff screamed at us that there wasn’t any food left ON a holiday weekend. I only acted very surprised at 8:30 pm they were out of food ON a holiday weekend and we get yelled at by Vicky, the waitress/​bartender. What a disappointment as we had been there many times only to get shooed away. What a weird experience. So sad they treated patrons this way. I doubt they will be around much longer.

Wow! If I could do less than one star, I would for Rusty Rudder. Please avoid this «establishment» at all costs. We have frequented this «establishment» because its convenient to our home and allowed us to have a cocktail without driving. The food was fair and the pricing was fair. It was a convenient place to go.
However, tonight everything turned in the wrong direction. We were told, at 8:30 on a Saturday night, on a Labor Day Weekend mind you, that they were unable to provide a menu because they had run out of food, but would see «what was left in the kitchen».
As we had eaten there before, we expressed disappointment. Shouldn’t an establishment on LABOR DAY thats dependent on Summer lake traffic (at least one that’s serious about surviving) be able to deliver food to customers? Isn’t that what restaurants do?
Apparently not. This establishment was not satisfied in leaving a bad situation alone. The bartender (let’s call her lazy eyed Vicky from West Virginia) started yelling at us like an absolute insane person. When our concerns were expressed she told us to leave. Unfortunately, Vicky isn’t bright enough to understand that restaurants serve the public and depend on CUSTOMERS to pay their bills. I asked her repeatedly to show some respect to her customers, and she was incapable of doing so. Telling us to leave like we had never been there before. She is an ignorant fool unfortunately.
Then we had the most amusing pleasure of being followed out the door by the insane owner of this «establishment» because the door wasn’t closed on our way out. The guy was threatening us like an absolute insane person.. My conclusion is that they’re not serious at all about being a viable business, This owner seemed like he would be better suited for jail or perhaps a good insane asylum than offering food to the public. I laughed out loud as he screamed about the open door in front of existing and previous customers.
Other options for food/​drink are readily available. Avoid at all cost!

We had a party of 8 and sat down around 6pm. The service was very slow, we seemed to be the last table on the waitress mind, when we started to show that we where upset she told us we should of got a reservation! (mind you we had no problem finding a table for 8) Finally the food showed up, it was bland, pretty much everything that we ordered had no taste. (Except for the French Onion Soup)

We’ve been on the lookout for a new go-​to at Lake Wallenpaupack. We went here for the first time on a Thursday, and we were a little concerned when we arrived at 6:00 and the parking lot was empty. But we went in, and were immediately greeted and led to a spacious table. Our drink orders were taken immediately and arrived within two minutes. My wife ordered the balsamic chicken, I ordered the seafood medley over angel hair (both were «specials), and my daughter got a Hawaiian personal pizza. My daughter and I each had the coconut shrimp app, which was among the very best either of us have had (my daughter said it was almost like eating shrimp inside a sugar cookie). My wife could not get over how good her chicken was, and she loved the garlic mashed that came with it (along with garlic spinach). My seafood dish was angel hair and marinara (a white garlic sauce was also available) with whole shrimp, clams and mussels. (A word about mussels: 99.44% of places with mussels on the menu end up serving you erasers; not here. They could not have been prepared more PERFECTLY, and I think all other restaurant owners should be required to take a course from the Rusty Rudder on how to properly cook them.) In any event, the dish was incredible. We’re not dessert eaters, so we didn’t order any.
We will be back, that’s for sure. The guy in the kitchen really knows how to cook, and our meal was really quite a bargain at ~$ 67 for the three of us.

Great little place. The décor is clean and neat. The food was great. I had salmon that was well prepared with some nicely prepared asparagus. My wife had the baked flounder which was also good. The service was fast and efficient. They were very attentive and friendly. We will definitely be back.

My review got moved to filter… wonder why, but want to make sure to share this so the restaurant is aware of our issues…
Sad to say but we are rapidly losing interest in this new-​ish place, which as many have noted, we do need some more good places around here.
But of the 6 attempts we’ve made to dine here, 3 of these times, the kitchen has been closed… they keep changing hours, or the kitchen had to close early one time.
I assume they must be doing really well, to be able to turn away business like it sounds like they are doing.
Their food is pretty good, and drinks too. But we’ve seen the same issues when we have been able to eat, like slow service.
Just not getting the impression that they are that motivated to serve customers, and its too much trouble for them in general.
Disappointing.

For those of you living in the Lake Wallenpaupack area, stay away from the Rusty Rudder. I give them one season if they are lucky. Tonight we walked in to try it out. We were met by a waitress who informed us that it would be at least 40 minutes to receive our meal. There were empty tables so this was odd, but we figured sit down, have a drink, and wait. Well, we waited, and waited, and waited. Over twenty minutes and never even ordered a drink. The blond woman who seated us walked by us at least a dozen times, never looking over. The other waitress totally ignored us as well. I believe that since we arrived at 8:30, that she was stalling until nine so that she could tell us that the kitchen was closed. We walked out of course. We live only a few minutes away, so no real problem eating at home, but wanted to try the place since there are only a limited number of good restaurants close by. We were planning on going back to this restaurant with our neighbors tomorrow night. No chance of that. It’s too bad, but you never treat a customer the way that we were treated. Ever.

Been there several times and have been pleased every time. It’s nice to have a good place so close to home. I would like to see an expanded menu. One suggestion, before summer really gets rolling, the service needs to get a little faster, possibly more than one or two people on. I’ve spoken to many local people who like the place and the food, but felt that service needed to be a little better. We’re all hoping they get it together and last up here. There just aren’t enough good places here.

In from Philly, this is a great lunch spot! Husband had the meatball sandwich (they make the meatballs in house) and I had the spinach salad, both wonderful. We started of with the coconut shrimp which were a must have.

Newly renovated. Owners were great. Nice bar but small. I was not excited about the menu (same old NEPA fare) but the quality was better than I expected.
Pizza were pretty decent and the shrimp app was very good.
Party of 8 and all were content with everything that was ordered.

I’ve been coming up to Paupack on the weekends for the last 5 years and know all the restaurants in this area and Rusty Rudder will be my new hang! PERIOD
THE LAYOUT of the restaurant is very well done, and in a way that the dining area feels somewhat intimate BC it has been well thought out having family tables in the dining area and private booths on top.
THE BAR is tucked away in back from the dining areas and is very tastefully done. If you re looking for an upper scale bar scene you ll get it here. There is a TV in it yet It’s not blaring as not to disturb the intimate setting the bar has created.
THE FOOD All freshly prepared, real quality, well presented, generous portions and under priced for this level quality. They DO NOT microwave N’serve as most others do!
Their HOMEMADE PIZZA IS THE BEST IVE HAD in the area and will put Rusted Rudder on the map! and I’m a New Yorker!
SERVICE…Very good, attentive and professional.
The vibe is good… Low level lighting, Sinatra on Saturday, tasteful décor and the crowd is quality. Its family friendly and NO that doesn’t mean kids are screaming or running around in here, they are accommodated.
For those of you that knew what this location USE TO BE… that low-​end dive bar
Rusty Rudder has absolutely nothing in common with it AT ALL!
In sum Rusted Rudder is a real gem and a long needed addition to this area!

Service was friendly, décor new and very clean, food took a long time. but it was delicious! Try it out!