Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse - Lexington — Restaurant in Lexington

This restaurant boasts the best steakhouse in the area. It's not a franchise, but there are several across the country. When you enter the restaurant, you feel as if you're in the Great Gatsby movie. The decor is 1920s and very eccentric. The bar behind the host stand is over the top with a piano and live pianist set up on a stage behind the bartenders. The chandeliers are beautiful with backlighting in blue, and the piano has the UK logo on it. Beyond all the visual and auditory ascetic, a restaurant's brand is represented primarily by the employees and how they provide service to the guests. The hostesses are the welcoming committee. They can make or break how a customer starts the experience. The hostesses did not greet us and acted as if we were an inconvenience. Our reservation was for 6:30, we arrived at least 5 minutes early. We had to go to the hostess stand at 6:38pm to ask what was happening. There were at least 6 hostesses, 2 talking and ignoring customers, 2 on the floor, 1 getting a personal drink from the bar and the 6th actively ignoring any customers coming in except regulars that she recognized. None of them seating us! For $658, before tip for 4 adults, I expected a different level of service and greeting. Maybe a, " your table isn't ready, would you like to have a cocktail at the bar while you wait?" The restaurant was not busy with about 50% of tables open. I also want to note that when we left the restaurant, the hostess that was ignoring customers when we entered was now on her phone. She never looked up from her phone as she casually said goodnight to our backs after we passed. Upon being seated, we were greeted by our server Aiden, and things were much better and on par for our expectations. The ham board and Oysters Rockefeller were both tasty. The wedge salad and onion soup were plentiful and delicious. The slab of bacon on the wedge salad was huge and perfectly cooked. I like that you can order a half salad so you don't fill up too much. The main entrees we ordered were the burger, Steak Diane, and the cowboy ribeye. The burger was tasty, but the fries were rather ho-hum. The steak Diane was prepared well and very good. The ribeye was supposedly dry aged. It was an ok cut, nothing spectacular for 22oz, and we think it probably didn't dry age as much as stated on the menu. For sides, we ordered the mushrooms, brussel sprouts, creamed spinach, and mac-n-cheese. None of these were super memorable. The restaurant claims to be in the top 10 rated mac-n-cheese in the country. I've had much better at other restaurants. While the cheeses were rich, the cheese was not well blended, and the pasta wasn't aldente. Let's talk about the drinks. A friend ordered a glass of wine while the rest of the table ordered cocktails. Aiden comes back to report they are out of that wine. Our friend orders a different glass only to be told they are out of that too. Aiden brings 2 tastings of others which quickly right-sided the situation. Now, my tequila is another issue. I saw Clase Azul reposado when I toured the bar area. It was not on the tequila menu so I had to ask how much it cost (Clase can vary from $20 to $64 a shot in US restaurants). The cost here is $54. I'll pass when I can buy the bottle for $159. So I go to the tequila menu and order the Gran Don Julio resposado. Next thing I know, the bartender is at the table explaining they don't carry that bottle anymore. Please, please, pleeeeez update your menu to reflect the bottles of high end liquor you are currently serving. I ended up only having 1 drink as no one asked me if I'd like another during our 3 hour dinner. Finally, dessert, this was the best course of the night. We enjoyed carrot cake and homemade strawberry sorbet. The carrot cake was very moist. It's made with pineapple. The sauce for pouring on the cake was buttery and sweet. Perfection! The sorbet was velvety, sweet but not too sweet. Aiden brought over bourbon cream for us to try, just like Baileys only with bourbon. $200 pp with tip, I'm not sure if it's...

On Wednesday the 19th of April, my friends and I decided to get together for what seems to be a every-six-month excursion to a nice dinner. A week or so prior I had booked reservations using OpenTable, my choice app, and planned in advance. For reader reference, I go to Jeff Ruby's multiple times per year and enjoy other locations when visiting other areas, like the Precinct in Cincinnati, and love the experience. I am biased towards that, and base my experience on previous experiences!

On arriving nearly 45 minutes early, we were promptly greeted by the hostess and she recommended we go to the bar with open seating. The outdoor bar, being a beautiful night, was a great option, and there were two ladies sitting there holding up about six seats. The bartender instructed that we wait to see if their remaining seats came back, and after the answer was no (about 10-15 minutes), we sat down. Not his fault people didn't let him know they were leaving! We ordered drinks, and the only negative of the night is our attempted order of food. I had asked for six oysters, and asked if they would be presented in the next 20 minutes, as that was when our reservation was at that point. I was told that they would go check on wait times, and when the bartender came back, he let us know that when he asked his chef for wait times on shucking oysters, he said "don't even ask". For comparison, when we did get seated, I promptly got oysters in just a few minutes with our waiter. It would have been nice to have had them with appetizers. The oysters themselves were Chesapeake Bay Oysters, and were large, juicy and succulent.

When we were sat down, our waiter was incredible, and attended to our every need. I got the bone in strip topped "Burrow", with the crawfish sauce. It was incredible. The cream sauce reminded me of an "Au Poirve", as the flavorful, well spiced, and decadent sauce worked well with the juicy and flame kissed steak. I asked for the Freddie salad, which is always incredible, especially with the pound of bacon and house made ranch that they include. My friends got some sushi rolls that were based around the Lexington area, which they seemed to enjoy.

The steaks came out perfect, mine Pittsburgh rare, and my friend's medium. For sides (which are sharable!), we got the creamed spinach, which was just okay, the mac and cheese, which always is amazing, and asparagus, which is my personal favorite. After dinner, we finished with a nice cup of coffee, and after about two hours headed out.

Overall, I would say this was one of the more plain-ish experiences I have had at Ruby's. I wasn't blown away by the service or hospitality, other than the host, and the food was great. However, with that said, the meal and night were still incredible and so I think it still warrants 5 stars. I just think Ruby's generally comes out to 6 stars.

Per person, with an adult drink from 15-20, appetizers at 15-30 depending on what you get, and steaks ranging from 60 to 150 (with cheaper options like chicken or fish available), expect your Ruby's bill to run 150-250. Tip of 20% at least should be standard at a place like this, where you have two servers looking after you at every turn.

Overall, I would rate the restaurant in the following categories as follows: Service: 4/5 - Hostess and Server were amazing, but my Bartender's lack of want to serve us when we asked for food, or at least the way he portrayed him being backed up, made me feel like he didn't care to provide the service that I have grown accustom to. Food: 5/5 - Ruby's is always incredible! Tried the Burrow for the first time, and it was great. I went into food choices above. Will say that the creamed spinach was just okay, but its a classic. Ambience: 5/5 - Beautiful Gatsby-esque feel I have came to expect and love. Place knows how to show a good time for dinner. Cost: 150+ pp, depending on food selected, drinks, sides and tip. Mid range meal total with tip...

UPDATE 10.14.24: Management called me, rectified the situation, and I will absolutely dine at this location again. We had an amazing experience at Jeff Ruby’s after Keeneland last year, but this year (Keeneland opening weekend 2024) was disappointing. Despite booking two tables and looking forward to a similar ambiance, our server rushed us out once we closed our bill, claiming the table was needed for a larger party, which felt unfair after spending a lot of money. Additionally, my drink order was mishandled, and the wine I received was stale and served in an unappealing glass. However, after discussing our concerns with management, they addressed the issues, and I appreciate their efforts to improve. Grateful for them and offering to make good.

We like to go to Jeff Ruby’s after Keeneland opening w/e. In 2023, we had a table of 6 in the bar @ 6PM & the ambiance was perfect. Our server was incredible, the live band started earlier & we ate & had the most memorable time. This year, we booked 2 tables of 6 @ 5:15 on the patio, thinking we’d have the exact same experience as the previous year. No big deal that the band started way later than last year (8pm), but our server did not encourage us to stay & keep ordering drinks & food once we closed out our bill. Upon hearing that the band was going to start about 30 minutes after we closed out, we expressed that we wanted to open back up our tabs & continue to order appetizers & food. My table of 6 was rushed & hurried out of our table by a rude server who stopped being nice to us once we closed out our bill. She told me “we’re trying to get you 2 leave b/c this table is a part of a party of 80.” Had she mentioned that to us b4 the meal, maybe she would have come off less rude. But after spending almost $800 collectively @ our table, you would think she would have been more accommodating & figured out how we could continue the evening there w/friends @ the other table. During dinner, I asked for a cappuccino martini, which (I thought) was a signature, off menu drink I order @ this particular location & it’s incredible. I was served a curdled espresso martini that did not look nor taste like the beverage I’ve had historically. The server made me feel like I was being such an inconvenience by sending it back. Lastly, when my husband & I did manage to find two seats @ the second table (which was moved to another table on the patio after my friend had a conversation w/ mgmt. explaining how we were never told there was a time limit on tables), I asked for a glass of wine by the same server who made us feel rushed, & I was served a very, very bitter & stale red in an ugly glass that looked nothing like the other wine glasses in the restaurant. It felt intentional - like sending me a message “please leave or you’re going to continue to get mediocre service.” Terrible time. Next time, if I do decide to come back, I’ll sit in the bar. It seems like that’s...