The Rutherford Café — Restaurant in Delaware

Today, my partner and I visited The Rutherford Cafe. We were incredibly dissatisfied to say the least. Before arriving we looked at a lot of their reviews, and saw delicious looking food being served on plates. We ordered the Brie Figgin Happy and the Raging Beast sandwiches. We sat at our table and were served our sandwiches in paper to-go bags. The bread was dripping liquid from the moment our food arrived at our table. There was so much liquidy dressing (that we assumed was going to be a creamy dressing) on my partners’ sandwich, they wrapped it in napkins to absorb most of it. By the time we got to eating, the bread had absorbed all the liquid. I wasn’t happy with it so I went back inside the establishment to ask for a refund for my own meal. The young lady who I explained my situation to at the register was less than understanding. She told me that it was “on me” that I “added three liquids” to my sandwich. I asked what the liquids were and she said the Brie cheese, the fig jam, and the balsamic caramelized onions were all liquids. She explained to me that the caramelized onions I substituted were pre marinated and pre caramelized, came in a bag, and were not made in-house. It tasted like they grabbed the onions from a soggy bag and slapped it on top of my sandwich, which would explain the puddly mess. The only good part of this interaction is that she refunded me. We are both veterans of the kitchen industry and this was just terrible. Word to the wise, don’t order the caramelized onion, and be ready to get your meal in a to-go bag, made by a bunch of teens playing on their phones while they cook. There’s no hiding that in an open...

Gluten Free/Celiac order. I will admit I was quite nervous to eat here. I walked in and there were quite a few people shoved into a pretty small (but adorable!) space. The staff was rushing around and didn’t appear to have the time to answer questions. I walked up with my order and started to ask questions about the gluten free options. I was shocked when the college aged man who waited on me took the time to explain all the steps they took to eliminate cross contaminate. I was shocked! He helped me decide and really went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable. The sandwich was delicious. (It was turkey, fig jam and Brie!) And I was not sick!!!! I will absolutely be back! It is very small so be prepared that you might not find a seat. Parking is paid and on the other side of the BP(maybe?) gas station to the right of the store. One possible improvement- the menu did not mention anything about Gluten Free and that made me very nervous. When I read reviews I realized how much stuff was available for GF. All in all, it was AMAZING and I...

The restaurant, both named after and adorned with memorabilia of Delaware’s most famous resident, 19th President Rutherford B. Hayes, has a cozy, rustic atmosphere. The interior is small with a limited amount of seating, though I had no trouble finding a place to sit as they were not very busy. The café has a good selection of health-conscious breakfast and lunch foods, of which I tried the Gouda Morning sandwich. The sandwich was of average quality and not very filling. The self-served coffee, provided by Backroom Coffee Roasters, was also of serviceable quality. The staff were friendly and the wait time for food was not an issue. In all, the restaurant has a very good presentation while the enjoyability of the food itself leaves a little...