茹絲葵美式牛排（台北民生店） — Restaurant in Songshan District

an old school delight

Ruth’s Chris was one of the early premium steakhouse entrants into Taiwan market. With approx 30yrs of reputation and influx of numerous top international steakhouses, Ruth’s Chris has a lot to live up to and keep up.

As with Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris is staunch in American prime beef that serves wet-aged. Signature beef on the top two percent of USDA prime  beef, grilled at 1800 degrees and served on sizzling 500-degree plates.

Service was excellent and attentive. Decor and setting was dark wood throughout with almost no updates since my last visit approx 20yrs ago.

Steaks were less impressive. We ordered medium rare, rib-eye (12 ounces) came medium well. Steak knife looked right out of a dollar store and was tough to cut. Meat were deliciously marbled, the large fats are quite obviously scattered all around, but the meat does not fall apart by the fibres easily. Overall, there wasn’t much to take away from the monotony of a 12 oz meat.

Sides are a little standard though, with the usual suspects like mashed potato and baked potato which in most modern takes of steakhouses nowadays, baked potato seems a thing...

Didn’t live up to the hype. The food is good but not spectacular. Petite filet is tender and you know that the meat quality is superb, but it is under-seasoned (perhaps the meat is too thick). Ribeye is well-seasoned and melts in your mouth, but it’s a bit too greasy.

Raw beef appetizer is alright, nothing special and a bit under-seasoned. Crab cake is delicious - there’s lots of crab every bite. Like the entire meal, it seems to be drenched and cooked in butter.

Service is mid, a bit mechanical. The waitress sounded a bit impatient. She does everything she needs to do, but nothing more. In the US, I would give her a 15% tip, never an 18 or 20%.

The atmosphere is amazing, very historical and classic dining space.

Overall, with this price point, I would expect top tier food, service, and experience. This, unfortunately, is far from perfect. It is decent at best. No wow factors. Everything is standard. This will be my...

Good side dishes, the steak was OK although oily/buttery? I have a major issue with the service - you tell me that you have "western" tipping style, but you do not provide western service. I sat there with an empty wine glass unable to get a refill until I gave up. We waited 15min for our bill, at which point you didn't return change worth over 10% while including 10% on my bill. That's 20% western tip without the service - you need to scan your tables and offer a refill BEFORE the glass is empty. You need to be aware of your customer's meal and step up with the dessert menu as they are finishing. if they dont want dessert, then ask if they'd like another drink or the bill. Other than this, the service was very helpful, polite, and friendly. But, that's not worth a 20% tip.

You must be proactive, don't wait for the customers to wave you over for their needs. That's what westerners pay for...