Ruby's Diner

 

6

18

Carrie O.

Boulder, CO

I'm in the apparent minority here, but I really like Ruby's! It's definitely not GOURMET dining or anything, but what can you expect from a place that calls itself a diner? I think it's great! And I've never noticed any problems with the atmosphere... it always looks very clean, and the bathrooms are spotless. The waitresses/waiters have never been anything but attentive, and are generally pretty good/fast with orders. I'm fairly picky when it comes to how I'm treated at establishments, and I've never had any qualms. Everything I've ordered is always delicious. I love the Ruby burger, both with turkey & beef. Their "Ruby sauce" is pretty delicious. I also love that they have lots of healthy options as well (salads, light fare options, etc). They make a wonderful cherry coke the old fashioned way (with syrup, no machine cherry cokes there!) Also, to those of you who've complained about the food, Ruby's has a "love it guaranteed" policy, so if you really hated your food, you should have just sent it back and ordered something different! They're very great about customer service as well. I recommend this place to people seeking a dining experience that is not like many others in Boulder (inexpensive, not uppity/snobby).

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0

1

James T.

Boulder, CO

When Ruby's Diner first opened, I enjoyed the experience tremendously. The food was good, the service was great, and it had an over all fun theme. Having not had the chance to visit for several months, I decided to take my family in for dinner.

Cleanliness:
One of the first things that I noticed on my current visit was the floors. They seemed to be permeated by a layer of visible grease, and the overall cleanliness that I had seen when the restaurant first opened was no longer there.

Management:
Despite the apparent lack of other patrons, my food seemed to take twice as long to arrive. Additionally, the new management was terrible. A chubby manager with a Caesar-style haircut was yelling orders in 'Spanglish' at the workers in the kitchen, and seemed to make the entire wait staff uncomfortable. (I have a feeling that his micromanagement of the employees was essentially causing the delay on our order). He would begin nearly every sentence with "Amigo favorito!" and then he would proceed to disparage the cooks in a condescending voice. (He frequently made sure to do this at the top of his lungs). My wife suggested that we move to a table further away. If we had, perhaps our experience would have been a bit more pleasurable.

Food Quality:
The quality of the food seemed to decline as well. I ordered the fish and chips. My fish (supposedly halibut) was terrible. And the fries tasted like they had been sitting under a heat lamp for several hours. My wife ordered a cheeseburger, and it was literally dripping with grease. I wasn't too impressed by the quality of my children's food either. For the price we paid, I really didn't think that we got our money's worth.

Service:
While the service itself was "good," the overall feeling reminded me of the corporate formulas (reminiscent of most chain restaurants) that companies force their staff to repeat. I couldn't blame it entirely on my waitress though, I suppose that if she doesn't follow the cookie-cutter nature imposed by her superiors, she'd likely get into trouble.

Another manager, a tall man wearing a red shirt walked by and asked if everything was well. After voicing a few of my concerns, he seemed ignore my suggestions/problems entirely and rapidly suggested that I "fill out a comment card." He then hastily (and rudely) moved on to the next table. He didn't offer me one, and despite my best efforts, I couldn't find any of these fabled "comment cards."  

I don't plan on returning again... With all of the other good restaurants in the Boulder area, I don't see why anyone else would either.

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Elite '08

99

183

Harmony O.

Boulder, CO

Update....April 6, 2008....the new review by James reminded me that I, too, had experienced a few disappointing subsequent visits to Ruby's after having fairly decent experiences closer to the time they first opened.  I won't go into detail other than to say that these franchise restaurants can only achieve a certain degree of palatability, and with mismanagement they can go downhill very quickly.  I hope Ruby's will consider this and take a look at what's happening at their Boulder restaurant.  Like James, I, too, have stopped patronizing Ruby's.

Original review:

After frustration at the Mac Store (not the Mac Store's fault) I was strolling at the 29th Street Shopping District in Boulder to get in at least some of my daily walking, and noticed that Ruby's Diner, which had been in the process of construction at the time of my prior 29th St. excursion, was completed, and was fairly full of people at 2 in the afternoon.  I was not particularly hungry and probably should have continued my walk so it would be at least 1/2 hour, but that's beside the point here.

Anyway, walking into Ruby's is like stepping into the past...like the 40s or 50s when drive-in diners dotted the American landscape.

Ruby's does really well with setting the retro scene.

Their menu offers all kinds of burgers, and you can get any of them as beef burgers, or with chicken breast, or as a turkey or a veggie burger. They are fairly affordable, considering prices of burgers in the Boulder area--average 6-7 bucks.

They keep the condiments fresh and full which is a nice touch.  Although they were crowded, the service was reasonably fast and efficient.

There are lots of milk shakes on the menu, and fries prepared in healthy oil w/o salt, and onion rings of course.

They do serve alcohol including all the nostalgic drinks of yesteryear such as Harvey Wallbangers.  They serve smoothies too.

This is a chain, I know, but they do pretty well for a chain, I think.  I'll look forward to hearing other Yelpers' opinions.  I've been wrong before...and not in my ego about admitting it...

Honestly, going to Ruby's made me realize how much I have missed Boulder's L.A. Diner with its roller-skating waitpeople and photo both and delightful diner food, which thrived on 28th St. for so many years before whoever owned the property decided it would be better utilized for big box stores and parking lots.

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