Ruston Cattle Company — Restaurant in Ennis

Driving 40 minutes to Rustan Cattle Company for an excellent steak dinner, amazing entertainment, and wonderful service wasn’t too much to ask of these diners! A chance encounter with an employee of Rustan Cattle Company, close to my home in Lakewood, and his certainty l’d find their steaks as delicious as places I pay double the price, is what lead us here. I must admit, this Miami guy wasn’t familiar with Ennis, but I’m open minded. We made reservations for a Friday night, to enjoy their live entertainment. This is definitely a restaurant with a diverse clientele, that enjoys their Country, and Blues, and one where you’ll feel comfortable coming with family, and friends, or a date. I suggest coming hungry, because they do feed you here! Arriving, the staff immediately makes you feel at home. We enjoyed a cocktail the bartender Garret created for us with our favorite Japanese Whiskey. You’ll be able to enjoy a great cocktail with your meal thanks to a generously stocked bar. Our sever, Savannah walked us through the menu, and the perfect cuts of meats for our taste. We ordered a few things, and shared, that might be a great option for you too. Although we loved the fried green beans, and Mac & Cheese, the menu really didn’t offer great healthy options for sides, just yummy. Our steaks were amazing, and yes I would agree the quality, and flavor was equal, or superior to places I’ve spent much more, for much less. We had to try the deserts, again choosing to share the Banana Pudding, and Chocolate Cake, another great decision. Over all our final tab was less than $150 with cocktails, so not bad at all. Heads up! If you’re shy, make sure you use the restroom at home! Enjoy your meal!...

We went to Ruston tonight and while the food was very good, the service was terrible. They were not very busy when we arrived. Our drinks were almost always empty, we kept having to ask for refills and the waitress seemed to have an attitude and acted inconvenienced every question or request we had. On one refill my husband got sweet instead of unsweetened tea, and when he asked her to fix it, she sat there for a good thirty seconds looking at him like he was stupid or she didn’t understand the problem. The food took forever to come out, but when it did arrive it was hot and tasted good. The tomahawk was disappointingly small for the large price tag. Was also disappointed by the tiny kids menu. 2 choices; grilled cheese or chicken tenders. You could do better.

Over all we were impressed with the quality and flavor of the food, but very put off by the service. It ruined our dinner. When I’m paying over $400 on a meal, I expect to be wined and dined and treated like you are at least happy I’m there. Especially when you add gratuity (we had 7 people) and get more than $50 tip for subpar service.

Also when I took my daughter to the restroom, our waitress was in there visiting with (I’m assuming) another waitress in the stall. When we came in our waitress told the person in the stall “ok I’m gonna head back out” and then left without washing her hands. Then the person in the stall finished her business, flushed, and also exited without washing her hands. Disgusting and unacceptable. I don’t think we will be back. I can go other places with the same quality food and price tag, and actually get treated with concierge...

I was finally able to eat at Ruston Cattle Company after trying three times prior and being told there would be a 1-2 hour wait for a table and they were out of several items on the menu each time. I was not impressed, after all the hype. Brisket was decent, as were the beef ribs. Chicken was flavorless and overly greasy. Sausage had chewy bits throughout it. Green beans were so undercooked they were almost raw and the ranch style pinto beans had no flavor but pepper. And speaking of pepper, there was WAY too much pepper on everything from green beans to Cole slaw. You couldn't taste the food for the pepper. Bathrooms are very small and lack privacy, the men's one stall only has a curtain where anyone can barge in, women's are two small stalls with saloon doors with a large gap between them and hardly room to wash your hands. I did not see any handicapped accessible restrooms, perhaps they are somewhere else. The decor and ambience seems to be lost between a barn, bar, saloon with a dance floor and a few attempts to look upscale. Overall it is not cohesive and a bit confusing. They nickel and dime items on the menu and pricing isn't explained very well. Sides are $3 each but if you want a $6 salad as your side they take both sides plus upcharge you $2 so it becomes an $8 salad in my estimation, and neither the waitress nor the menu stated anything about the upcharge. Between small portions, lack of true flavor and running out of food daily I wonder how they are so busy all the time, but to each their own. Overall it isn't worth the money and there are much better options a few minutes up the street with better food...