Rubies on Five Points — Restaurant in Durham

I was hesitant to write this as I’ve had many good nights at this establishment, but last weekend I stopped in to meet some friends on Saturday night. I arrived early and after being ignored for ten minutes, ordered a tecate ($4-5 tops right?). I drank it, linked with my friends and, conscious of the sign that says, “open tabs will be charged a 25% tip”, left and got on with my night. Couple days later I check my credit card statement and see a $28 charge from Rubies. Unfortunately I’ve heard similar stories from others about blatant theft of this nature (ie. them charging people tips that are equal or greater than the cost of their tab). The worst thing about this is that they’re this divey, townie punk type bar which is exactly why I dug this place. I’ve seen probably 10 shows here, happy to pay cover, tip well etc but this is unacceptable and I won’t be coming back or recommending this spot to others even though until this point this was my favorite bar downtown. Truly a shame. Get...

Perfect bar to spend an evening in. When you walk upstairs the bar is to the right and a stage, booths and empty space are to the left. There was a really fantastic dj this past Saturday and eventually, the empty space turned into a pretty poppin dance party. There's a partial wall between the front and the bar, so it's significantly quieter back there if you need a break from the music, and because part of the wall looks kind of like the roll up window on a concession stand, there was a big audience watching and clapping during the dance party. They also do live music, which I'm excited to check out.

Great bartenders, and possibly the cheapest Topo Chico's I've ever seen... Maybe even cheaper than at...

Since opening last year Rubies is an instant Durham classic. It is a classic dive bar with good, cheap and strong drinks in a VERY COOL environment. There abstract royalist artwork and red lighting makes me so happy. The bartenders are so nice and it really feels like a family. There is a LARGE EVENT SPACE that is SICK. In the past month I've seen the best DJ set ive seen anywhere in the triangle, a solid drag show and a live band who beautifully blended hip hop, jazz and classic rock. Durham's Steely Dan, if you will. Rubies is simply the...