Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse — Restaurant in Columbus

Went as a group during Origin there were 4 of us. Service was magnificent, a standard in which in my perfect world this would be it. The server and team were on top of filling glasses and not getting in the way or disrupting. The server Mark engaged in as much as perfection can be achieved. Very attentive, listened to each of us, made wonderful suggestions while also finding out something about us before doing so. Confirmed allergy issues with compassion and grace which is often not the case in other restaurants. The atmosphere was interesting, and not bad interesting. Stained glass windows were a treat as well as the chandeliers. The music playing was a great pairing for the mood and ambiance not too loud to disturb dinner conversations but loud enough to enjoy. The food... Honestly didn't know they had sushi until we got there. But that was a must for an appetizer and it did not disappoint. I had the Miami roll. Nice much but not spicy, did not need soy sauce though I did ask for a side of eel sauce and it did enhance but ultimately was not needed. We also tried the godfather roll, that was truly unique an odd combo for sure but also tasty. I also had an oyster for the first time, it was not what I was expecting and was an enjoyable experience especially with Mark explaining the different types of oysters, I had the Chesapeake oysters. I had the porter house steak aged 30 days medium rare (how else could it be ordered?!!) the intense flavor was great, it has a good earthy creamy profile and incredibly rich flavor with the seasonings, of course had to use A1 sauce on it. Just kidding... If you ever see me do that, you shoot me and don't ask questions because that would not be me. Though out of shear morbid curiosity we did ask and they did have A1 and it was the only appropriate time for the waiter to have rolled his eyes. The sides were ok, not spectacular. The mashed potatoes were underwhelming, they were good, but felt like that forgot to season it or flavor it. The Mac and cheese was good not great nice and creamy with a baked top which was good. The carrots were quite delightful I would recommend then as a break out from the normal sides you can get. Desserts Creme Brulee was fantastic and likely the best I've ever had. The Woodford chocolate cake was a perfect marrying of Woodford and chocolate cake and the balance was damned near perfect. So 100% will return. Thank you Jeff Ruby's this was a great experience. Next time I'm try to not forget pictures after eating...

I was in town for a music festival and decided to spend my first night, a Thursday, with a nice dinner splurge. Came in and was able to sit immediately at the bar. There was piano entertainment which set a nice classy vibe. Olivia at the bar served me and was great. Took care of everything and was very attentive. To drink, I had the house Manhattan which was on the sweeter side but that's how I prefer mine. I started with an order of the Otoro shashimi. It was very good and it was pretty cool to finally try some real wasabi along with it. Do keep in mind it is a very small serving. Wasn't a problem for me, it was worth the experience. For my dinner I ordered the A5 Wagyu NY strip with a side of mashed potatoes. I ordered my steak medium rare. This is where I had my one and only problem with this whole experience and the reason for docking a star. It was served cooked black and blue. Well-seared on the outside but still cold and raw throughout. It was nowhere near medium rare. This did not get in the way of the enjoyment of this steak because a piece of steak of this quality can and absolutely is often consumed in such a manner. Basically I was served seared A5 Wagyu shashimi and you know what it was still really good. To Olivia's credit as well she did ask if the done-ness was to my liking and I let her know that I was fine with it. However, there are two major problems with this result. 1 - at a $160 price point, it should be cooked exactly how it is ordered, no exceptions. 2 - This prime cut of beef is not being treated correctly as evidenced by the way it was prepared and served to me. I can assume that this was a half of a strip that was kept thick for some reason (probably because that's what Americans usually expect) but it should have been cut the other way as to keep the whole muscle but left thinner for more even cooking. The way you guys did it left it too thick to cook properly through and with the way Wagyu fat melts at a much lower temperature you just throwing it under the salamander or over direct fire caused the outside to basically fry and cook way too fast instead of properly rendering the fat all the way through. All I'm saying is maybe do a little more research and treat this meat the way it deserves to be treated and you'll get 5 star results every time. Hopefully this feedback is helpful to you. As for me, I'm just going to have to go to Japan at some point to experience these...

At a $400+ check I wanted to be super critical on my review, but the dinner experience led largely by our waiter, Eric, far outweighed a few small negatives that I could drum up for here. Let’s start with the negatives: Bathrooms only in the basement, not an issue for us but does require stairs or an elevator. Their old fashioned drink is just plain. Very little depth of flavor and they use a very subpar woodford bourbon in it. They also have a roughly 9x up charge on their bourbon pours so not a place you want to come to try new things bourbon related.

The mediocre: Cesar salad. Great portion size. Good salad overall but nothing that wowed us.

The good: Miami roll. It’s a fresh tasting roll without being overly fishy. As a sushi purist I didn’t think their sushi menu was overly appealing other than their tuna flight which looked great but didn’t end up trying it.

The great: We split their Japanese A5 ribeye and it was everything you’d expect from a wagyu steak. The butter-like texture was superb and flavor was great. We both decided that it’s something we likely won’t get again because we want a bit more firmness to our steaks but that’s a preference thing and not a JR thing. The Brussels sprout side was also delightful with great flavors.

The excellent: Quite literally everything else we had. The ruby slipper drink was fantastic even to me who doesn’t like gin. The crab bisque was likely the best seafood bisque I’ve ever had. The Mac and cheese with lobster was fully deserving of its title of best Mac and cheese from food network. Their cookies and cream ice cream was a perfect ending to the night.

Star of the night: Our waiter Eric was hands down the one who brought this review from 4 up to 5 starts. His knowledge of the food was immaculate but what really made the night was him offering to take what we had ordered and then he created a custom wine by the glass pairing to what we had to truly complement the night. His attention to detail and stellar pairing recommendations are something to be commended and I would absolutely tell you to request to be at his table if and when you come.

Final thoughts: We come to Columbus yearly for our anniversary and always go to a different restaurant largely because we never really felt like we found “the one”. That search has stopped and as long as Eric is working here, we’ll be back every anniversary for the...