Rubbies Southside Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Louisville

I’v visited this establishment twice. Both times we had a “larger” party of 7-8 and they were Sunday afternoons (coming from church). The first experience the atmosphere definitely stood out, celebrity posters and memorabilia vibe of 50-60 years ago. The restaurant definitely finds itself extremely comfortable with these decades as its interior design is as dated as the posters. However we heard the food was good and you don’t need a stunning or fancy atmosphere to deliver that. Excited to sink my teeth into a good steak, and this being a BBQ joint, I order the rib-bye. If memory serves me right I think it was priced around $40. Not top shelf pricing by any means but with it being what it is I was excited. I ordered my steak the only way any American should….and it came to me Well Done. Normally I understand but the food took well over 1hr to come out and I was not about to wait another so I asked for a switch to a hamburger which did come at a reasonable time but an underwhelming burger. Which is going to be the common them of this review, underwhelming. Every one else in the party thought the food was ok but by the time they got it so much time and hunger had gone by that the stomach was shrunk and Togo boxes were had. I will say I agree with a previous comment which is if the servers didn’t have a stressful/overwhelmed demeanor you would think they were someone walking to their table. The second visit was the 2nd chance. Everything still looked the same as it has for I’m sure many many…many years. The crowd was a little more this time but due to it being a tiny dining area I wouldn’t say it even has the ability to be “packed” just under staffed. One patron wanted coffee and there was a whole side conversation with our waitress about how the coffee may be too many hours old so would be best to not order it. You could tell the idea of brewing a fresh pot was not going to surface. Everyone else got Teas, water, lemonade..simple. Our waitress who I believe just clocked in was already frazzled and messing drink orders up but alas it’s understandable after all simple mistakes are easy in rare occurrences. I made sure to order the appetizer with the drink order in hopes we may enjoy food just a tad sooner this time, unfortunately I was wrong. We waited a growling long time for something as simple as chips and dip. When our waitress takes our order I could not believe how she haggled about how this or that may cost extra and are you sure you want to’s after I said I had the check covered. Who knows how much money that has cost the restaurant over the term of employment. This time I played it safe with the cod sandwich which was over cooked, so were the kids tenders. Dry and underwhelming. I can see how this place used to be great and I’m sure it was. However now if you are not a local who is a regular customer who has acclimated to the slow decline I really think you can spend just a tad more at a restaurant with modern amenities, identifiable staff, correctly cooked food and an overall better than “meh” experience. I wish this place luck but will not return...

First time visiting 12/18/24, met with a small group of coworkers. It was about 12 of us, it was reserved ahead of time. Experience wasn’t great, left me with the impression that we weren’t welcomed. When I entered inquiring where my party was, the employee pointed and said in the back and walked off. I shouted that I’ve never been here before and don’t know where the back is. A customer or maybe employee said to go straight back you’ll see them. There was no way to distinguish who worked there and who didn’t. Then when I sat with my group I saw the server bringing drinks and such, she never greeted me even when I smiled at her and said hello. She walked up to without a smile, proper hello, never did give me her name even. She seemed frustrated and in a rush. I asked for a water with lemon and she returned and plopped down a styrofoam to go cup. I looked around and asked was everything ok, the vibe was way off. I shrugged it off & observed the whole restaurant, the interactions with the patrons, the obvious regulars, the staff. The regulars were treated way better. This place came highly recommended for the food, it WAS good actually but the service and how I read the room— BAD. Even paying for our meals was a hassle. It made for an uncomfortable Christmas Celebration event. I figured the group size was overwhelming, the storage was tight and anxiety inducing, so much going on in that room— an old Planet Fitness mage chair, junk everywhere and some small booths, it was dark, it was a lot to take it. We were there from 12:30pm until about 2pm, maybe that employee was having a bad day? The morning of I was Reading the menu & information about the place online and seeing they have karaoke there gave me such high hopes. I’m not totally sure when or if I’ll go back. I don’t remember the name of the chicken sandwich I had but it was delicious, the portions were huge, I only ate half of the meal. Coworkers did tell me they had to wait to be seated about 30 minutes even though we reserved days ahead the area wasn’t ready. I’m interested in seeing others reviews, I didn’t read any before going. Hopeful they’ll improve! There was another side to the building that I didn’t go into. I think it...

Wanted to try some local food for dinner after visiting Churchill Downs. There was plenty of parking, although it's combined with other businesses. Not sure if the share or if you need to be on a certain side of the parking lot. This is a restaurant and bar. Approaching I only saw the bar and was thinking this was a bad idea with our youngest with us. At the door there is a sign that says bar use right door, restaurant use left door. We went in the restaurant side and were met and seating immediately. The décor was all over the place. A lot of older cool pictures' and knickknacks. Look around you'll see some cool things. This is a small eating area, about 4 booths, 4 tables and 4 high tops. The service was good, although appeared disorganized. I think there is 1 server, but the woman who seems like the manager/mom runs table to table helping as well. The wait for the food was a bit much. We ordered brisket, pulled pork and a cheeseburger. It seemed like everyone was waiting though so I assume maybe just 1 cook in the kitchen. I watched others get there food. Some got what I think was steak, still sizzling and smoking up the area. Kinda wish I would have gotten that. 1 person got a salad that was hands down the biggest salad serving I had seen my entire life. Our food portions were also large. Both the pulled chicken and brisket could have made up 2 sandwiches. The side of fries were massive thick cut fries and there had to be about 2 pounds of it. These meals could have fed us for 2 days for under $50. The only thing a didn't like was the brisket and pulled pork were a bit fattier than I prefer. Please Rubbies, don't stop what your doing! Finding places like this is why we like to travel and eat at...