Ruby

I work in the area and for lunch, told my friend I was looking for something «hearty». Hearty this place was! Quaint little place, nothing extravagant, filled with Italian chefs eagerly waiting to please your taste buds. I got the baked macaroni with chorizo, my friend got the linguini with crawfish, and my other friend got the chicken sandwich. All were superb in their own ways. And LARGE portions for decent prices (£6.50−7). Fantastic. Great service, cute little place, and definitely more than filled me up.

Busy on a weekday so don’t expect to get a table but I had the chicken avocado salad and it was amazing! Love it

So delicious. We happened upon Ruby after first moving into our new neighborhood — looking to just get a quick bite. The location is itty bitty, and super unassuming with a menu of what appears to be daily changes (with some staple favourites). But wow, these guys know what they are doing.
I’m a bit bolongaise fan so went right for the lamb ragu special –by far the best pasta I’ve had in London.
There are various goods for sale (if you want to get some of your pasta for home cooking whilst out) and even the drink selection was impressive for such a small place. If you’re wandering down Great Eastern Street and looking for a place to stop for lunch, this is by far one of the best finds in London.

Very good food, friendly and affordable.

I redid this review after initially giving it 5 stars because I’ve had several quite disappointing visits afterwards. The first thing I tried was pasta with tomato and sausage which had a deep smoky flavour and really hit the spot on a cold rainy day. Subsequent pasta dishes (meatballs, calamari) have been fairly boring and sometimes the pasta I think is too al dente even for Italians. The tortelloni was in an incredibly rich sauce which was a bit much for lunchtime. Overall I think I’m going to stop going here so much because it’s pretty annoying to spend £6 and be disappointed when there are slightly cheaper options nearby. I do still need to try things other than the pasta though — the sandwiches are really popular.

In short: Perfect lunchtime food.
I work only minutes from Ruby, which puts a heavy strain on my finances. My infatuation (obsession) with Ruby became so severe that I set a «one Ruby lunch a week» rule — which still, I seldom achieve.
Ruby is a lunchtime favourite for many, housed in a small location, specializing in takeaway. There are several seats available but the long line of customers down the centre of the restaurant limits the ambience.
The food is straightforward and delicious; fresh ingredients and complimentary flavours. Each day you will find the Ruby staples: Tortelloni in a sage cream sauce; the very popular grilled chicken sandwich; chorizo sandwich; chicken and avocado salad; risotto and a handful of others. But, the very best thing about Ruby is the rotating ‘Specials’ menu which usually features 4 – 5 daily dishes. These range from fusilli with pesto & pancetta; penne with chillies and kings prawns to lamb with couscous.
The staff are very busy but lovely, friendly and incredibly efficient. Don’t be dissuaded by a line that often goes out the door; these guys are quick. The pasta dishes range from £5.50 — £6.00, which feels sensible for the quality and portion sizes.
This is excellent cooking by people who know good food. All we need now is Ruby cookbook.

Very small, but very tasty, freshly cooked sandwiches and pastas. Don’t be put off by the queue, there were four lads cracking through the orders very efficiently when I visited. An excellent steak sandwich for £5.50.

Disons que je vais dejeuner a cet endroit ²⁄₃ par semaine.
Pour 1 – 2 pounds de plus que le Pret a Manger ou Eat du coin, on a un repas chaud et savoureux
Les pates sont toujours excellentes quelque soit les sauces du jour et les sandwich savoureux calent pour toute l’apres midi: halloumi et legumes grilles, Chorizo (TRES consistant), steak et moutarde.
Je me regale a chaque fois.
#miam #lunchbreak

Simply the best place for lunch in Shoreditch. Get there early if you want to eat in — but most people take away. Their specials change daily and if you are lucky enough to be there on the day they have their sausage casserole with mash, don’t consider anything else!

Quality tackle — nice grilled meats, soups, hot sandwiches, pastas, etc. Quick, easy, good service. Easilly best vfm round here, keep it up.

Love it. Best place for lunch. Homemade style, cooked on the spot in front of you so you can see how fresh the food really is. They have daily specials of seasonal pastas and a handful of sandwiches, salads and grilled meats. I love chicken and avocado salad with added grilled vegetables, and the Moroccan chicken and couscous is really good too. Get here before 1:00 though or else you’ll be waiting in line for a while. Eat-​in options available, though limited.

I love Ruby so, so much. A juicy, well-​seasoned burger on crusty bread. A hearty steak sandwich with fresh salad on the side. Chefs who actually know the meaning of medium rare! This is simple, unfussy food that let the flavor of the ingredients come through, and frankly some of the best food I’ve had in London.
In New York City, our regular burger spot is a tiny spot in Nolita — called Ruby’s, funnily enough. That one was run by Australian surfers though! I feel so lucky to have found my London Ruby, so I can have my burgers and chicken avocado salads here, too.
The space on Charlotte Rd is tiny — three little tables and a small counter area — and seems to cater to the local lunch crowd and some regulars that drop by on Saturdays. It’s charming and low-​key. All this, and the prices are great — £5.50 for the steak sandwich, £6 for the burger.
[My only complaint has been that they’re not open past 3pm or on Sundays — but this a complaint no more, as Ruby has opened another branch in Hoxton Square. This location is larger and more like a restaurant, with restaurant hours. It’s currently byob and the menu doesn’t have the burger yet — but my favorite steak sandwich is there, as are the great prices. So, so happy! (Hey, I’m enthusiastic about my food!)

Excellent, home made, healthy, big portions and cheap.
Great coffee, great service, great place to have a baby.

Ruby is always full –a very good sign of quality/​value for money. For a fiver you can get massive sandwiches it’s hard to make up one’s mind as the beef, chicken and chorizo sandwiches are all very good, and my colleagues also say the pastas and other dishes are equally good. Strongly recommended!

Ahh Ruby. As previously mentioned, it is indeed tiny, although to be fair I’ve only eaten in a couple of times. They do in fact have about 6 items that change on a daily basis, usually some sort of roasted/​braised meat with a farinaceous accompaniment, a baked pasta of some sort, plus a couple more pasta and risotto specials. There is also a standard, non-​changing section of salads and sandwiches.
I have had a few of the specials — a roast pork belly salad a couple of weeks ago was fantastic. The pork had been slow roasted, and the juices it was served in had flavours of oil, garlic, tomato, basil, a nice bit of seasoning… it was served on a fresh rocket and tomato salad.
However, I can be a creature of habit, sadly falling into patterns of which I find it hard to break. But it’s not such a bad thing, the reason being that I believe that they have perfected the chicken sandwich, better than any other I have had in my years of living across the globe. I don’t know how they do it — a nice piece of breast, butterflied and slapped on the fiery griddle, thick slices of the freshest, meatiest tomatoes, a healthy pile of crisp rocket, and then just at the end a squeeze of spiced olive oil, all encased in a fresh ciabatta roll. 3 ingredients, one saucy lubricant, one bread roll, and it just adds up to perfection. When I walk in now, the young woman (who is an ace under the daily crush I might add) just looks at me, smiles and says ‘chicken sandwich?’ I have become that predictable.
There are worse things in life I suppose, at least when that sandwich is the reward.

Ruby is a brilliant café/​takeaway fit enough to rival the legendary Franco’s a few streets away. The shop itself is very small with only a few seats by the window and a couple of tables at the other side of the room. Although they’ve made very good use of this space the café is almost completely dominated by the large queue of Hoxton-​ites rushing in and out for takeaway. I was here for over an hour this afternoon and the queue didn’t once disappear– clearly the locals know they’re on to a good thing with this one!
Ruby’s menu changes daily and offers a selection of pasta’s and sandwiches. Everything here is made to order by two very funny chef’s working overtime on an open grill at the front of the café whilst laughing along with the customer’s jokes. I ordered the halloumi and roast veg sandwich which was delicious though I envied my friend for her steak sandwich bursting with rocket and mustard. The pasta is also very popular here and I noticed one customer after another leaving clutching tinfoil containers full of the stuff. Prices seem to fall between £3-£7 which is incredibly reasonable for the quality and speed that food arrives in. I think I’ve found my new favourite Hoxton eatery, 5 stars!