Ruby Sunshine — Restaurant in Knoxville

First time here after coming back to Knoxville for a few weeks. I was surprised when I saw Blue Coast was gone. Ruby Sunshine is a great little brunch spot on the corner of Market Square. I'm judging based on atmosphere, staff interactions, food, and beverages.

The atmosphere is a nice, warm modern feel with exposed metal ventilation and metal beams painted a nice charcoal color. One wall of the downstairs also has some nice exposed brick. The other walls are painted a nice Ruby red or banana pudding color. The chalk signs look really nice displaying the specials and the booths have a nice black and red sponged paint on them.

Other than a psuedo awkward interaction with the host out front, the staff interactions were great. I had Pamela as my waitress. She's from New Orleans and has a funny and engaging personality without being overbearing. The rest of the staff seemed welcoming and happy the entire time I was there.

Food-- the food was very good. I had the Chicken St. Charles and Corned Beef. Both were plays on the Eggs Benedict. The Chicken St. Charles had a perfectly poached egg that oozed all over the biscuit like it should. The fried chicken was moist, but could have used a touch more seasoning. The hollandaise sauce had a nice kick, which really added to the dish as a whole. The Corned Beef Eggs Benedict was nearly perfect. The Corned Beef was tender and obviously already salty, so seasoning was not lacking. The sauce was delicious, and the egg was still good while being slightly over poached. I also tried the pig candy bacon, which was good, and the Eggs Cochon (another Eggs Benedict dish), which was probably the best of the three I had.

All of this before now would have ranked at a 4.5 star for me because I think 5 stars should be hard to earn. Google doesn't let me do that though, and the drinks changed my mind anyway. The mimosa I had was great. My girlfriend had the Brandy Milk Punch and the Boozy Iced Coffee, which were both also delicious. I might riff on the Brandy Milk Punch for my eggnog this Christmas.

All in all a place well worth the visit. They got us in in about 15 minutes on a Farmers Market Saturday morning, which is a feat in itself in Market Square. It is a bit pricey, so be prepared for that...

The experience started with my cocktail not having all the ingredients listed on the menu. I was not informed my drink would not be complete until after the bartender gave it to me.

My two friends each ordered the breakfast burrito and we ordered a dish to split as an appetizer. When the meal came out, the server said they didn't have any rice and beans, which were supposed to come with the meal. Instead, she assumed they would each want a cup of fruit. The server said she could bring a side of potatoes to which my friends said they would prefer. The server immediately brought to our table one of the side of potatoes that were cold and said the other side of potatoes were being prepared.

When one of my friends went to start eating their breakfast burrito they chewed hard on what ended up being a hard piece of black plastic. The manager came and offered to replace the meal. The manager started listing off several menu options while noting what they were out of to which I asked what do they actually have all of the ingredients for. It seemed as though the only safe option was pancakes and french toast.

The manager talked about how they were closed for the holiday and since they prepare everything fresh, they were out of a lot of menu options. While I appreciate things being made fresh, a modified menu of what they actually have available should have been prepared for today and/or the server stating what they were out of when we ordered and ways to substitute.

After we ate, I went to use the bathroom and they were out of paper towels. We were not at the restaurant during or after peak which leads me to believe the paper towels weren't replaced before closing or opening.

When the bill arrived, the server charged me for half of the appetizer instead of splitting it 3 ways and put my extra side on my friend's bill.

The cumulative events lead me to this poor review. I do not recommend...

Went here today for lunch! We tried to go for brunch but it was packed so we ended up getting seated around noon (our wait time was about 25 minutes). Make sure you go early if you want to be seated sooner!

Food & Drinks: For our appetizer, we got the Fried Green Tomatoes, and this was probably my favorite dish out of everything I tried. The tomato compliments the saltiness of the fried shell perfectly, so I highly recommend ordering it if you want to order something tasty but not too filling before your main dish. For my main, I got the Shrimp & Grits, which I wasn't the biggest fan of. The shrimp itself was good, but I wasn't a huge fan of the grits. I feel like most of the flavor was soaked into the shrimp but not so much in the grits. I did enjoy eating the shrimp and biscuit that it came with though! Although I didn't finish the grits, I was still pretty full after eating. I also ordered the Lavender Paloma for my drink and it was so wonderful. Very pleasing aesthetically too.

Service: Our server was really nice! He was also very personable. Although it was busy at the restaurant, he was still very good about checking in on us frequently. I have no complaints at all regarding service!

Atmosphere: Nothing super extravagant, but this place is cute and has a relaxed environment. I'm not sure if it's only busy on weekends, but it was definitely very packed when I was there. I didn't mind that at all though! The outdoor seating is also quite spacious and is also shaded, so you won't have to worry about the sun. Overall, cool place to hang out and grab a bite. It is a bit on the pricier end but...