Ruby Reds Restaurant

Man, I hate to do it but the 5 star rating I gave this place a few years ago is just embarrassing now.

I was here last night and I got a steak burger with cheese and steak fries. I ordered the burger cooked medium and it was way over-cooked. There wasn't even a hint of pink in it at all. AT BEST it was cooked medium-well and that's being generous. My boyfriend's burger was overcooked as well, though not to the extent that mine was. Service was slow and it took forever to get our check at the end of the meal. I can't totally blame the waitress, because she is working the entire dining room alone, but please hire another waitress to get things moving along a bit. Also, this place is dark- really dimly lit. I feel like I'm eating dinner in an old bar room.

I don't know, I really liked them the first time I went after the reopen, the second time I was underwhelmed but chalked it up to an off night, but last night was the night that I finally had to put my foot down and say "enough is enough".

First trip here today. I was a fan of & regular at Richard Dixon's original Ruby Red's on Esplanade across from the U S Mint.

This place was somewhat of a disappointment. For one, NO COLDBEER ! Not even any hot beer !

Peanuts becoming stale, place looked dirty, table condiment racks deficient.

OTOH, the beef patty was pretty good, cooked properly.

The original was such a wonderful place.

I say: Try Dino's, Gattusso's, Charcoal's, or Houston's for better everything !

Rick

For burgers on the Westbank, it is as good as it gets. Well maybe not as good as my stuffed blue cheese bacon burgers at home but when I dont wanna cook and I want cheddar cheese......I mean lotsa cheddar cheese...... this IS THE PLACE!

Aside from the short move to Belle Chasse, which I never had the chance to check out, this place has remained unchanged for decades. That is a good thing!

The menu has recently expanded greatly but I have never had anything else here except for the 9oz steakburger, loaded with cheese and cheese fries. Never anything else.

Its easy to compare this place to Port of Call. Similar menus and kinda similar atmosphere but they are not alike in taste. I love PoC hands down, but on this side of the river...where I live, this is it for me. This place does not have baked potatoes but they have some seriously kick ass steak fries and the kid behind the grill is heavy handed with cheese. Yasss!

Dont come here if you have peanut allergies...you might swell up the second you walk in the door.

The staff has also remained unchanged over the years. Very friendly and chatty if you feel the need. They get your order out to you pretty fast, especially for lunch, so that is a plus. I got burned at Vinnies for almost 2 hours for lunch, so never again, but this place, when crowded is a safe bet that you will get out on time.

If you are a cheese lover, ask for the yellow plate boom!

Ruby Reds has re-opened their doors just 3 years after closing down and it's pretty much the exact same as it was before. They are still currently in their soft opening with their grand opening scheduled with a big party for next weekend, Saturday, December 6th.

For my lunch I ordered the newest burger addition to their menu called The Brunch Burger. It's a big juicy steak burger topped with a fried egg and loads of crispy bacon. It is both delicious and overly filling. Since its so big, the leftovers from my brunch burger ended up as my dinner burger, and it's just as good reheated too. (Note: I did take it off the bun to reheat).

The ambience is very "neighborhood hole in the wall/ funky dive", with mismatched tables and chairs and it's a bit dark even during the middle of the day, but it kind of works and is part of the overall charm. There's peanut shells everywhere and adding to the shells on the floor is basically both encouraged and expected.

The staff is very friendly. I was greeted by one of the cooks immediately upon walking in, and the owner Mary was working the room too. She was buzzing all around. She was waiting on some tables, but she made a point to introduce herself to every table whether she had taken their order or not.

This is the kind of place that once you go, you feel feel very welcomed and want to return. I wish I lived closer and could pop in more often. Next time, I'm going for the Mean Mary, which I believed was described as the spicy version of their chicken sandwich. Oh, I almost forgot to add that the fries are thick and crispy steak fries, which were so delicious but I didn't get to eat too many of them because I was so full from that Brunch Burger.

Been here s couple of times. Went to the grand reopening and it was packed. Ordered a mean mary grilled chicken sandwich and it was huge, char broiled to perfection with lots of toppings. Steak fries were good too. Service was good and the wait was not very long considering how busy it was. Bill for 2 was about $30. Not bad at all.

My second visit, a month or so ago, was just as good. Burger grilled to perfection and the staff was great too. Im in metairie and don't often get to the westbank, but when I do, I know where I'm going to eat. I will be back.

Food was ok. Fries over cooked.
Main issue is that there was no heat in the restaurant. It was under 60F while we were trying to eat.

Good food great people.
This was at one time a great place to eat at a reasonable price there food is still very good the burgers are a lil small.
There prices are just to high for a family place to eat.
I mean you through pinut shells on the floor kinda place.
We stopped going due to there high prices.

Would it kill you to at least post a menu with prices on the wall? We tried this place for the first time in about 5 years and being a local I know the menu but what about somebody from out of town?
First off the prices here are too high. We ordered 1 steakburger with cheese and fries, 1 grilled chicken sandwich with fries and 2 drinks. With tip $35...I can go to Five Guys in elmwood, get two much better burgers, fries and drinks for $10 cheaper. I always like to support local ownership but for the price of a burger here it just isnt worth it

Not the experience I'd hoped for. Should have expected as much though as soon as I walked in.

Place was dirty, and no, I'm not referring to the peanut shells on the floor. It was unclean, dark and looked run-down. Bathrooms were INSANELY unclean without necessities such as paper towels, so it's hard to believe the employees abide by the sign marked "Employees must wash hands."

Average burger that tasted worst after I got the bill, considering there were no menus or prices listed for anything. Two orders of burgers and fries ran over $35!

The meager drink selection (no tea, only soda) wasn't the most alarming part of ordering the drinks with our lunch. It was the waiter's need to smell our drinks as he poured them at the bar before serving us. It's a shame because I enjoyed this place the last time I went a couple years ago.

This review is since they've reopened.

FOOD: Burgers and fries are still excellent here...taste just like before they closed. Best burger on the Westbank.

PRICE: Prices are definitely higher. I would call this place expensive! Cheeseburger with fries is $10-11. Add chili and cheese to the fries...an extra FIVE freakin' dollars! That's insane. Yes, they do load on the chili and cheese, but MAN $15-16 for a burger and fries with toppings is pretty high.

SERVICE: Both times i've eaten in they've messed up the order. Both times i only got cheese on the fries when i ordered chili also. The second time, my burger was switched with the other person in my party's burger. (but we didn't realize it until a few bites in because the only difference in what we ordered was the done-ness of the meat)

CLEANLINESS: The only thing that turned me off was when i went the second time on a Saturday at 11:30am. Our table and all the ones around us were dirty and sticky...still had a lot of crumbs, cheese, etc on them. And, that had to be from the night before unless they had the whole restaurant full before 11:30am, which is doubtful.