Ruta Oaxaca Mexican Cuisine — Restaurant in New York

We had our anniversary dinner at Ruta Oaxaca on a Monday evening. I made a reservation, which turned out to be unnecessary as we were the only diners in the dining room; there were a few others dining at the bar (we found out later why).

The food was excellent - very creative, tasty, with generous portions. We each had the mixed tacos, which were really good, with lots of choices. We also had the plantains, which were very tasty. Their homemade salsa, which was served with chips, was really delicious.

Our server was attentive and helpful - but a little too much, as he was constantly trying to upsell us on drinks, guac, etc. He did make sure we had everything we needed, as did the young women who brought out the food.

The negatives:

There was a bait-and-switch going on as the website features a prix fixe with appetizer, main, and dessert, but when we asked for it at the restaurant, we were told that was only available at the Long Island locations (two on Long Island, one in Astoria, where we went, one in Brooklyn). We also asked about the advertised Happy Hour drinks specials, but again, we were told we could only have those if we sat at the bar. Since it was our anniversary, we wanted to sit at a table, so we paid $15 pp for sangria vs. the happy hour $9.

The server sat us way in the back, which was not terrible, but not particularly nice. The place was totally emptry, so we could have been seated by the windows, with a view out to Broadway, but the server clearly wanted to service an area that was easy for him. So, while we were at a table vs. the bar, it was certainly nothing special.

Given the above specials that were not offered to us, even when we asked, and the fact that we were not seated in a particularly nice place for our anniversary, we were not super impressed. We paid over $50 pp for 3 tacos, a side of plantains, and two sangrias. Not a good value for the money...

Currently close for several unsanitary violations it looks like they were barely doing any cleaning and have not idea what food handling really is. Shameful!

Listing the current violations 🚨:

⁠Cold TCS food item held above 41 °F; smoked or processed fish held above 38 °F; intact raw eggs held above 45 °F; or reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) TCS foods held above required temperatures except during active necessary preparation. ⁠Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. ⁠Live roaches in facility's food or non-food area. ⁠Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with (FRSA) flies or other nuisance pests in establishment’s food and/or non-food areas. FRSA flies include house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies and fruit flies. ⁠Live animal other than fish in tank or service animal present in facility’s food or non-food area. ⁠Personal cleanliness is inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn where required. Jewelry worn on hands or arms. Fingernail polish worn or fingernails not kept clean and trimmed. ⁠Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. ⁠Wiping cloths not stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses. ⁠Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests. ⁠Non-food contact surface or equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.

Other Violations

⁠Contract with a pest management professional not in place. Record of extermination activities not kept...

SOOOO DELISH oh and of course the decor is my FAV COLOR PINK!! 💖💪🏻💖 first time here and we were SO EXCITED TO TRY!!! the staff was SUPER FRIENDLY and the food AMAZEEEEE 👍🏻👏🏻👍🏻👏🏻!!! This place is NOT your typical Mexican food 😁! Instead it’s Mexican with a gourmet twist 🥰💪🏻!!! The meals were not only DELICIOUS but the presentation and food combination were SOOOO GOOD!! My hunnnies Jeff and I started with the guac!! AND because I LOVE to eat I began by eating about 500 nacho chips that were served for the table! Yup! Wayyy too many but the salsa was sooo good! That wasn’t it tho because I coupled those chips with a tasty beverage! The Flaka (like a margarita 😍)!! It was the drink on the menu with no sugary filler juice nonsense! Why waste the calories when I can just eat more chips…LOL 🤣!! Then for our meals, I originally intended to order brunch but of course I instead go for the hearty Steak Oaxaqueno NY strip steak topped with plantains, queso and I think mole sauce!? You can see in the pic! It was SOOO DELISH and had a bit of a kick which I loved!!! Jeff ordered a brunch item which was the Huevos Rancheros which again was sooo good! What I LOVED most about this place besides it being pink 😜, and the staff being so nice was that the food was different! It was gourmet! It wasn’t your average Mexican food which is why I loved it!! OH and also they gave us a free mini sample of the chicken tortilla soup to try!! what a great idea because it was sooo good I would go back and order next time or even for takeout!! So all in all I DEF RECOMMEND!!! Can’t wait to go back and try the others dishes!! Hopefully I’ll be able to control my nacho chip intake so I can order more apps to try!! ...