Ruby's Soulfood & BBQ — Restaurant in Gastonia

It’s super hard to find a solid food spot in Gastonia that’s considered “soul food” or heck just great seasoned food similar to what most of us real cooks cook at home! I’ll add this, I NEVER go into any food place with super high expectations and they were no different so my review will always be super fair!!

I got the Jerk Bbq Tips Entree, it came with 2 sides and I chose Mac n Cheese, Baked Beans and added a 3rd because you can’t have those 2 without some good ol potato salad!! I also got a jerk eggroll to try, because why not!!

Aight here goes:

Jerk Bbq Tips: 15/10 each piece was tender and very flavorful, very very close to authentic jerk (Jamaican not Americanized) so yea that’s a hit mixed with their bbq sauce!!

Mac n Cheese: 4/10 it was weird because it looked great, the consistency looked like it was about to go crazy but it lacked flavor this day. I would honestly give it another try because I know sometimes we don’t always get it right.

Baked Beans: 10/10 great flavor with the beans, thick almost as if they added a lil bit of molasses. Definitely did their thing, only thing I didn’t care too much for was it was not enough beans, way more bean juice in the container than it was beans but I was still able to get the message:)

Potato Salad: 10/10 because this is a side that very few people can get right. Usually Grandma holds on to this recipe because she don’t want people messing up her dish…lol well they got some Grannies recipe and made it theirs because they got it right and I’m very picky when it comes to this dish. It was fresh, not too sweet and definitely not bland!! You shouldn’t be disappointed by getting it!!

Cornbread: 7/10 because too me, if your cornbread ain’t got sugar, butter and no fluffiness then it may as well be a lil brick…lol This was almost a miss imo, it could’ve used just another 1/4 cup of sugar, some butter and I feel like it would’ve been savory. I’ve had worse from other places.

Jerk Chicken Philly: 12/10 yea this thing smacked no cap! Can’t really mess these up though unless you simply just suck…lol

Atmosphere was dope, it was a couple eating in there and they seemed to be enjoying their food! The staff was dope, the lady taking my order was super nice, pleasant and patient thoroughly explaining the menu. The cook was cool as fan also, he even stepped out to talk about his favs and introduce himself and also the owner (husband) was there. He seemed very personable and down to earth but he messed up when he told me he was from Texas (home of them cowgirls)….lol

Will be back fasho!! Go support this restaurant and good ya some good eats and Gastonia please let’s keep this place here and in business!!! They’re actually worth it...

I've visited Rubys twice this week, once on Sunday (my first time) and again yesterday. Both times the staff was friendly & helpful. On Sunday I ordered the wings dinner with mac & yams and the catfish dinner with mac & greens. I also ordered a side of greens, & a jerk taco/eggroll. The catfish plate and the eggroll/taco was for my fiance he was not a fan. He said the fish and greens was good but the mac, eggroll and taco was basic. The wings dinner was mine overall i’d rate it 7/10 the wings were really good and seasoned well, and the yams (my favorite side) was good, but the mac & side of greens that I added wasn't the best. The mac was 5/10 and the greens was 6/10 I wasn't really impressed. I also ordered an Arnold Palmer but was given straight tea. I figured its Sunday and they're busy so maybe it's just an off day

I Went back yesterday and was the first person to order! I figured I'd be getting super fresh food and also beating the rush. This time I ordered the lemon pepper wing plate with yams and fried orka (figured since the first wings was a good experience, this time would be too. && im also someone that’ll order the same thing just because im familiar with it and know its good). Sadly my fiance didn't want to get another plate because he was disappointed with his first one and says he didn't plan on spending that much money on something that's not good (mind you we spend $50-100 on food for just the two of us often if we find a spot that's good so the cost isn't the issue it's the quality of the food for him)… Unfortunately I now have to agree. I don't like chicken that's too big just because it creeps me out but when I say this time I was given little baby wings it was just that! They were soooo tiny that I honestly thought about returning and asking for fish instead but I don't really like complaining so I kept it. The yams were mush this time like maybe they overcooked it, but definitely wasn't like what I received the first time around. & there's really no way to mess up orka but a lot of pieces had the little stringy things that I had to keep spitting out. && I added a slice of pound cake to receive a really small slice which was disappointing. I don't mind spending the money when I know the food is great but when I spend the amount that I spent just to be given pretty much a kids meal, with the quality being a hit or miss it becomes not worth it. I was already turned off by the plate when I opened the tray which takes away from the enjoyment of the meal. I hope they continue to thrive and I also hope they really look into their feedback and have consistent recipes & better portions for the amount that...

Customer Service was good. I will note that the lady who was cooking/frying the chicken brought my order out to me and was more pleasant and lively than the person who took my order. 🫣

The first time I went, I had chicken wings and fries.

Chicken: The skin crust seasoning was amazing, but didnt seal to the chicken. All the crust was falling off and one of my wings was slightly undercooked (the bone was still pink). The other three wings were good so no need to really fuss there.

Fries: They placed the chicken on top of my fries which caused my fries to be oily and inedible.

Dessert: The menu had about 5 or 6 different deserts listed but they only had 2 (banana pudding and pound cake) I really had my mouth ready to try the cheesecake, sweet potato pie, or cobbler. It wasn't even noon yet so it couldn't have been sold out that fast.

From that first visit, I would have gave 4 stars (taking half star off for the crust and slightly undercooked wing and the other half for not having the desserts advertised).

Here is how we get to 2 stars. I believe in supporting so we went back!!

Yams - Good. Missing cinnamon and on the sweeter side of things. More like candy yams then just yams but still GOOD! Collards - Nice and tender (I had to add vinegar to mine) Catfish - Same like the chicken, the crusted seasoning just fell off when I picked it up but it was yummy.

Cornbread: DRY

Now..... that 4 cheese mac and cheese truly sent me through the roof. Out of 4 types of cheeses, the cook didn't even use cheese 👀 How do you make butter elbow noodles and say its mac & cheese; it was so oily🤦🏾‍♀️ and here we go again, why list 6 different desserts if you're only going to have 2 (pound cake and banana pudding)

I know they're just starting out so I WILL be back and give them some time to iron out the kinks.

They just need some effective cooking methods, make those desserts and ask Big Momma for her mac &...