Ruby Tuesday — Restaurant in College Park

I only get to eat at Ruby Tuesday when I travel, since the one in my hometown closed. It has always been one of my favorites, and I even worked there years ago in Colorado, so I know what the standards are supposed to look like. That is why I was really excited to see and to stop at this location near the Atlanta airport.

The salad bar was fresh and well stocked when I first visited it. I can't speak to the mayo-based salad items but all of the veggies were amazing. By the time I was able to snap pics, it definitely needed attention but I assume the kitchen was also prepping for the after-church crowd so they may have been too busy to check it yet.

The only thing missing from the start were the croutons. Ruby Tuesday croutons are unique, made from pumpernickel bread, seasoned with garlic and butter, crisp outside and soft inside when fresh. The ones I was eventually brought were stale, which took away from what makes them special. When I initially asked, they told me that they were 86ed (out) for a few hours. That was disappointing but definitely not a deal breaker for a great salad bar!

When the same manager realized that I was taking photos because I was reviewing them, he said at least three times, “I’m sorry we’re not up to your standards." That really hit me in the gut. My standards are not higher than his! He was clearly doing an amazing job despite what looked, from my own experience, like a lack of support from the top down.

The building itself needs investment from corporate or ownership. The bar top was sticky from age, not dirt. The lighting was dim, the furniture cracked and needing replacement, and the space generally felt worn down and old. The staff were clearly working hard, but the environment made it difficult for their efforts to shine. I'm willing to bet that the Back of House needs even more of the TLC that only comes from the owners or franchisees investing dollars back into their restaurant.

The food overall was pretty good, and the salad bar was still the highlight, having been restocked less than two hours prior to my arrival.

The issue here is not the staff, but they seem to be left apologizing for a location that, with more support and attention to the facility, could be a much stronger example of what Ruby Tuesday can be, for random travelers like me, for the local regulars, and for the employees for whom it could be a place at which they are actually proud to...

This was a very unfortunate experience for my family and myself. The evening started off very strong with the hostess quick seating us. She was a truly a breath of fresh air to the environment because she was quick responding, mannerable, and very apologetic for anything improper. Our waitress, was very over confident in not having a writing pad to take our orders and she was very slow getting everything to ur table from the drinks to the to-go containers. We had been sitting for close to forty minutes after receiving our appetizer and drinks she walked by and apologized that our food was taking so long, offering u free salad bar that we had already ordered. She was very difficult to get back to the table once she left. Another thirty minutes went by and we still had no food. I enlisted the hostess to find our waitress. She apologized again and said that she had been asking the manager (Mr. Atkins) to come out to speak with us. When she finally brought the food, it was ALL cold so I enlisted the hostess again to find her and Mr. Atkins. Mr. Atkins came out and raised his voice to say, "I'm busy!" He stated that we see all these people and he only had two waitors. This was not true! It was not busy when we arrived and when it did get busy there were more than enough waitors after we had already waited nearly two hours for our food. He was very unapologetic and lacked any customer service skills. He is not adequate to manage this location, he appeared in street clothes (No ruby Tuesday attire at all) with absolutely no remorse or willingness to rectify the situation. He confidently walked away from the table, offering no accomodation for our time or poor experience. It is his responsibility to properly staff his shift, not ours. It is unacceptable to punish the customers because you are unable to functionally run a business.

The philly Cheesesteak posted with the Mac N' Cheese was completely cold and uneditable...

Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m just shocked at how bad both the service and food were. I’m not sure if the staff was just having an off day or if this is the norm for Ruby Tuesday, but the experience was far below even my lowest expectations. The last time I ate at Ruby Tuesday was when I was a kid, so decades have passed—and this visit left me regretting giving it another try. After an event, my friend and I decided to stop by. We were seated quickly, greeted, and got our drinks. The food also came out fairly fast, which turned out to be the only real positive of the visit. From that point on, everything went downhill. Anytime we needed help, we couldn’t get it. Items we requested never arrived. The waitress was unhelpful, and strangely, she kept refilling my drinks without me asking, yet ignored my friend’s repeated requests for his. It felt careless, and while I don’t want to assume the worst, it came across as if she either couldn’t be bothered to pay attention or simply didn’t care. The food itself was equally disappointing. We ordered an appetizer and our meals. I had the chicken tenders with macaroni and cheese. The mac and cheese was dry, the appetizer wasn’t even fully cooked—the cheese wasn’t melted and still came out in clumps. Everything tasted subpar, and the atmosphere of the restaurant didn’t help either. The space feels very outdated, which only made the overall experience worse. I went in expecting at least an average meal, but instead it was tremendously below average. Unless major changes are made—both to the food and the staff—I wouldn’t recommend Ruby Tuesday to anyone. I would only consider returning if the restaurant was restructured or under completely different management to see if things improved. As it stands right now, though, I’d strongly advise...