Russ' Restaurant — Restaurant in Gaines Charter Township

For many in West Michigan's Dutch community, the Russ' chain is something of a holy place. At any given time, at any Russ' location throughout West Michigan, the restaurant is populated by large swaths of Dutch near-centenarians, with a smattering of blonde haired and blue eyed families crammed among the tables. The food is cheap, delicious, and filling.

Presentation and Appearance: 4/5

The presentation is consistent with the Dutch roots of Russ'. Simple, with no pretension, and suitable for its purpose. In an appropriately sized green basket, layered with the standard paper. The appearance of the onion rings is thick, meaty, and demonstrably handmade, as evidenced by the bits and gnarls on the batter. They look immensely appetizing, homemade, and rustic.

However, the gnarly batter bits were a bit excessive (and the shaken off bits littered the bottom of the basket). The hand-crafted imperfections were appetizing, but at the same time, off-putting when taken to an extreme. In addition, the onion rings displayed clear signs of inconsistent fry time (some were overdone relative to others). While most were a delightful golden brown, some veered into darker (and overcooked) territory.

Taste: 4/5

Much like the food critic in Ratatouille, these onion rings evoke a fond nostalgia for my youth, surrounded by a largely homogeneous band of fellow Dutch in family, church, and school. The first bite brings not only memories, hidden deep within my mind, but also a delightful smooth and creamy taste. The batter is well seasoned, the grease level is not excessive (indeed, it's just about perfect for an onion ring), and the onion rings are truly addicting. Soft and smooth, they go down easy.

The onion interior is thick, well cut, and lightly sweated, releasing the crucial onion grease and juices necessary to make onion rings a success. Unfortunately, the sweet Spanish onions which make up the onion rings fail to deliver on a strong onion flavor. There was certainly an onion taste there, and what there was blended beautifully with the other components of the ring, but it was not as strong as I would have liked.

I would also make special note of the accompanying ranch dipping sauce. My insider source for all things Russ', Julie VanVoorst, mentioned "It is worth noting that Russ' makes its ranch from scratch." "But not the batter", retorted Dale. Nonetheless, the ranch was flavorful, with a good mixture of zest and soothing cream, and complemented the onion rings well.

Texture: 4.5/5

Like the taste of the onion rings, the texture was smooth and soft. The batter stayed on the onions perfectly. Even when I cracked the ring to dip into the ranch more effectively, there was no slippage, the batter did not disintegrate, and the integrity remained intact. The onion rings had more crisp than crunch, with a soft (but far from mushy!) onion and soft batter. They were a perfectly executed example of a soft and battered onion ring.

Well, almost perfect. The previously mentioned excessive bits of batter (which marred the otherwise perfect appearance of these fine rings), ebbed and oozed over the onion core, and often were crispier and more cooked than the rest of the batter. This unpleasant consistency was the only flaw on an otherwise terrific texture.

Value: 5/5

As might be expected from a Dutch restaurant, the onion rings were a terrific value. At a normal menu price of $3.99 ($2.49 with coupon, of course), they more than suffice as an appetizer for two. Between the five of us, we were barely able to finish two of the baskets. The quantity in each basket of rings was generous, and the quality was outstanding. I'm tempted to award bonus points in this category for just how good of a value they are (but I'm not, as that would ruin the integrity of the onion ring standard).

Total:...

This visit was a mistake. When we got to Russ’s restaurant for our supper meal we were asked to wait for a table. While we were waiting we checked out the menu to see what we wanted to order. We were taken to our table after about 10 minutes and we were ready to order our meal. The waitress took our drink order but not our food order. We got our drinks and she said she would return for our food order. We waited and waited and waited but she just kept serving her other customers. Finally, I told her we were going and please just get us a to go cups for our drinks. After waiting about 10 minutes for a table and then to have to wait for our waitress to take our food order, I had enough. She said that they were short staffed so why did you take us to our table if the waitress can not take our food order when we were seated at our table? She could have easily taken our food order after bringing out the food for other customers on her way back for other food orders. She was determined to take care of her customers she had entirely first before taking our food order meanwhile other waitresses were taking their customer’s orders and putting them in que before our waitress could find the time to help us which meant our food order would take longer to come to our table with other customers that were seated after us. I am sorry but I expect service at my table when I have been taken to a table after waiting a period of time already to be seated at that table. Some restaurants will even not charge you for your drinks just for the inconvenience that they put you through but this Russ’s charged us for our drinks. I am not going back and I told them there are a lot other restaurants in the area that will want my business. We pay a lot of money to dine out today and poor service I am no longer tolerating it. I am tired of hearing the same story how short on people we are. If you paid a better wage in the first place maybe you would have enough workers that would stay. Your cutbacks of staff will eventually lose customers that finally are tired of paying high prices and getting poor service. Without customers you will no longer be...

Yesterday July 7th 2025, I gave this restaurant another chance. To my surprised it was pleasant, the service was great, the food was good, or waitress was excellent. The only issue was..I had to change my Great Grandson's diaper. Although I am grateful they have a changing table in the restroom, I am 5"4 The table is set for a perusing much taller. This made it difficult to get him up there and a little worrisome as he is a wiggler.

Other that that, for the first time in a LONG time it was a good positive visit. I asked for hot water and lemon, I got ice water with lemon I asked for hot beef sandwich, I got some kind of burger in potatoes, My Granddaughter had fries with Mac and cheese there was a big furry orange thing cooked into the fries The manager did discount or food and got the meals straightened out He also said he couldn't explain the orange furry thing

I was giving this place a second chance after on my last visit got agitated with me for asking question I accidentally left my devise that looks like a phone but actually monitors my heart I came right back, no one else was sitting there, they said it wasn't there.

I don't know what happened to this place, it used to be...