Ruby Tuesday

To me Ruby Tuesday seems liked an over priced version of Frankie and Benny’s, with far less tasty food. Personally I try to avoid eating in restaurants in complexes like St Davids 2 as to my mind they always seems too much like cafeterias — noisy, over crowded and tacky. My party and I (there were four of us) we’re sat on the balcony, and the noise level rising from the shopping centre was unbearable and we had to shout to hear one another; hardly condusive to a relaxing lunch. The food took along time to come, despite the restaurant only being about a quarter full, and not all of the meals arrived on time or with the correct accompaniments. The food itself was edible enough but nothing to write home about, and to be honest I would probably prefer to go to GBK for a burger next time! It may have improved since my visit, but I don’t think I’ll bother finding out.

I was super excited for this place to open and pleased that they had chosen Cardiff as the venue for their first UK restaurant. Despite delaying opening three times, I still persevered and visited soon after opening. I was not disappointed.
The menu is vast, perhaps a bit too much choice if ever there was such a thing, but the food is really delicious. I ordered the lobster carbonara which from memory was about £16. There was plenty of lobster meat through the dish and despite it being one of the more expensive on the menu, I still felt like it was good value for money.
Almost everything you order is refillable. A drink will set you back £1.99 for unlimited refills and they offer not just your usual fizzy drinks either, here you get non-​alcoholic cocktails which are very tasty indeed. If you order a dish from the menu which comes with fries you are assured they will be ‘endless’ and you can eat as many as you can squeeze in. Same thing goes with access to the salad bar.
The portions are huge, as you’d expect from an american diner but this is well worth a visit. The only thing preventing it from receiving five stars is that the staff are a little unattentive.

This reasonably-​priced American restaurant shows off its roots in a number of ways: the type of cuisine (obviously), the portions (generous), and the bonus ‘bottomless’ deal on soft drinks, fries and salad. The salad is always fresh and crisp, with loads of variety, and the cooked food is carefully prepared and well-​presented. You can choose from ribs and platters, ‘handcrafted’ burgers, pasta dishes, steaks, chicken, and lots more.
In a Marks & Spencer-​type fashion, their website declares: «Quality means freshness. It’s fresh 100% USDA Choice or Prime ground beef formed into perfectly grilled, Handcrafted Burgers that redefine an American classic. Quality is seasonal vine ripened tomatoes and crisp leaf lettuce still glistening with garden dew. It’s applewood smoked bacon and premium cheeses and an uncompromising commitment to providing you the best.» I can just imagine Dervla Kerwin’s voiceover relaying all that… it’s not just food, it’s Ruby Tuesday food.

The St David’s 2 food court has filled up nicely and Ruby Tuesday is one of the newest additions. I’d never heard of it before and only went here after a friend recommended it to me but I was very, very impressed!
The restaurant itself is very nice, the seats are comfy and the tables are fairly large. They don’t do reservations so it’s a turn-​up-​and-​be seated affair, which wasn’t great for the large party of men in the queue before us (think it was a birthday) but was perfect for our little foursome. It wasn’t that crowded when we were there either, but it was getting on to mid-​afternoon so it might be busier at lunchtime or dinner time. Once we were in the staff were really helpful and our waitress was particularly good. We didn’t even know the drinks had free refills but as soon as the first of us had emptied their glass she was right there, unprompted, with another full tray of drinks. Brilliant stuff.
The food was excellent. The salad bar is huge and full of good and varied stuff (and it’s unlimited, always a plus in my book), and the menu itself is jam-​packed with choice so pretty much everyone is guaranteed to find something they’ll enjoy. Our main meals were really top notch and some even came with unlimited fries (another excellent idea). The dessert menu, though smaller, had really good stuff on it too and the desserts themselves were decent sizes rather than the teeny-​tiny puds you get in some places.
Another brilliant touch was that the bill comes divided into who had what, with a helpful little sub-​total for each person. Frankly everywhere should do bills like that! It wasn’t expensive either. I payed no more than £20 and I was very satisfied with my meal. And even after we’d payed they didn’t mind us staying at our table and just chatting for about 40 minutes after we’d finished eating.
My only niggle was that the air conditioning over our table was on a bit high and two of our party put their cardigans back on halfway through the meal, but I didn’t really notice it myself and I’m sure they’d have adjusted it if we’d said anything. Otherwise though it was a perfect dining experience and I’m definitely going there again!

Another American chain has landed. This time, it’s Ruby Tuesday, offering a range of seafood, burgers, salads, sandwiches, and ribs to the Welsh public.
The Yankee touches are rampant — behemoth portion sizes (even the «appetisers» are enough to leave you satiated), friendly servers, the 48-​item salad bar (YES!), the hostesses parked on a podium outside the restaurant, ready to shuffle in hungry customers, and £1.99 fizzy drinks with as many refills as you can stomach — unlimited Diet Coke — yay! If you want something a bit stronger, premium cocktails are only £4.79, all day every day.
The only downside is the lack of vegetarian dishes. Unless you’re a die-​hard salad eater, there’s little in the way of a substantial offering, unfortunately.
In any case, when I’m feeling a bit homesick, Ruby Tuesday is my first stop (or Wally’s for some American sweets, it depends). What my fellow Welsh citizens think of it has yet to be determined.