Ruth's Chris Steak House — Restaurant in Northfield Township

The host at Ruth's Chris in Northbrook is rude, obnoxious, and incompetent, and should not be placed at the front of the restaurant unless he receives proper training.

I placed a carryout order directly on Ruth's Chris' website, and when I arrived to pick up my order around 30 minutes later, the host who was in-charge of carryout orders did not place my order with the kitchen. He told me to come back in 20 minutes and it will be ready. I returned 20 minutes later, and he said that my order is not ready yet, and that the manager was going to come out to speak with me.

I asked him whether the kitchen has already started to prepare my order, to which he said, "I don't know. My manager is in the kitchen and will be coming out to speak with you." 10 minutes later, the manager still hasn't come out to speak with me, so I checked in with the host on how much longer this was going to take. Would it be another 10 minutes or closer to 30 minutes? He said, and I quote, "I've already asked her to come out and speak with you. It's not my problem if she isn't coming out."

I did not expect such rude and obnoxious customer service at a high-end steakhouse. One, I did not ask to speak with the manager, and two, all I wanted was an answer to the status of my order – a request that I think is perfectly reasonable given that it had already been an hour at this point.

Since the host was unable to tell me whether the kitchen has started working on my order or how much longer my carryout order was going to take, I requested to have my order canceled. I had already been waiting for an hour and was not willing to continue waiting indefinitely. The host responded, "I don't have the ability to cancel orders. My manager has to do it."

At this point, I was helpless. I stuck with a host who was obnoxious, didn't know anything, and wasn't willing to assist me. And mind you, this problem was a result of his mistake in the first place where he was negligent and did not communicate my carryout order with the kitchen. So I said to the host, "Okay, since you're not willing to find your manager again, can I go in to look for her?" He said, "You're welcome to do whatever you want." I asked him to direct me to the kitchen, to which he said, "I don't know."

So I approached a server and asked her if she could have her manager come out as soon as possible, and the host, who has acted obnoxiously and indifferently this entire time, stepped in, but just as he was about to speak, the manager finally appeared with my carryout order.

The steak itself was not worth the wait. The sear was uneven and the steak was oddly lacking in flavor. The steak was also closer to blue rare than medium rare, which may be the result of the kitchen rushing the order.

The other dishes, however, like the crab cakes, side of mushrooms, and bread pudding for dessert were well-executed. The crab cakes were not made with lump crab meat, but that didn't matter because it had little to no fillers. Given that the steak was lacking in flavor, the sauce that accompanied the side of mushrooms gave the steak a little bit of a flavor boost – think of it like a mushroom...

TLDR; Go to gibsons/mortons/perrys/ditkas for the price! SOOO not worth it.. Service was the last straw…

In terms of flavor, the first bite of my 16oz boneless ribeye reminded me of movie theater popcorn butter. DEAD on that flavor. I make a point of getting/making a nice steak every 2 weeks at least, anyone, myself included, makes a better steak meal. Also, mid-rare steak was tough, like they’re selling choice black angus under the guise of prime…Brussels undercooked, bland sides overall. For the price, complete rip off.

$217 split bill for a filet, 16oz ribeye, and shared 2 apps and 2 sides (table of 4 – only 1 person had 2 cocktails). Got a single shrimp and like 6 pieces of calamari when sharing everything, and a half scoop of each side. I didn’t finish my steak, which is rare 😉

We were connecting w/ friends we haven’t seen since their wedding day, so yea, we had a lot to chat about. As we were approaching a 2 hour 45 min dining experience, the general manager literally came up to us and effectively said they had another reservation for the table and they would appreciate us leaving! We didn’t even finish our coffee and there seemed to be an open table behind us. This was after leaving a $50 tip on said bill, and I know my buddy isn’t cheap either.

For a place w/ valet, enforce a damn dress code. Clientele was a joke (not trying to be mean). Finally, 3 of the 4 people are reporting that their stomachs “aren’t agreeing with something” the morning after. Being asked to leave is hilarious. My girlfriend currently is working at Coopers Hawk as a side hustle to wrap up her student loans. 2 nights ago she came home frustrated saying that a group of 6 walked in 2 minutes before closing. They were still sat, and kitchen kept open to accommodate. When the people were idling at the table, people were frustrated, but still served them with a smile. When they asked for desert almost 2 hours after kitchen close, they were properly served. I’m sure they could have easily said “please take the desert home on the house, the kitchen is closed” – BUT THEY DIDN’T DO THAT. Plates there are 20-$50.. You’re in the service industry, and the service at the end of the meal by the manager soured everything. Our waitress/bus staff was attentive and very nice, so nothing against them at all.

Attached a pic of my last steak dinner made at home, for comparison. My steak was $27. I would have taken a pic of the Ruths Chris steak, but it wasn't photo worthy..

UPDATE Management clearly reached out to address the situation, and seemed to be very genuine in the concern. Glad they are friendly and candid in addressing the situation.

Updated to 3 stars overall just for the service alone. THE GM was awesome, she gets a 5...

Update on the review posted below. The manager, Andrea, reached out to me very apologetic and we discussed the days before incident thoroughly. She stated she wanted to make my night a good experience and was mailing out a gift card since I refused to revisit this location. She stated it would go out the same day and weeks later I still have not received nothing. So once again, poorly managed location. Call me high maintenance but expect more from a Ruth Chris.

We have dined here previously with a great experience. Made reservations for 5:15 and upon walking in the hostess did not great us and spoke ill to other staff regarding an issue in front of us and again, before even acknowledging us. Upon being seated, we ordered drinks and an appetizer which arrived timely. We than order our entree and my husband and I talked and enjoyed each other's company. Tick tock, tick tock...6:30, we ask our waiter, Miguel, what the status was on our dinner and he stated it shouldn't be long. Mind you, he never once checked with us regarding drinks nor to apologize on the delay of our meal. Finally, we got up, closed out and left. If you review my Yelp, you will see that we search and dine at Ruth Chris all over the U.S. and internationally. This location I will never visit again. Morton's is next door and will go there. Not impressed at all and Ruth Chris corporate should be visiting Northbbrook and should polish their staff or do an evaluation of their employees. Sad that on my birthday, we had such a disappointing experience from a internationally known, upscale restaurant. They should honestly expect more from their employees. Would be nice if their employees put forth just as much as customers expect from their...