Rustic Kitchen Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Plains Township

The quick and short version- for the price the food wasn't fantastic. The best part of dinner was the fantastic calamari.

We dined here on a Friday evening with a reservation at 7:30pm. They were busy, as expected, but our friends were already seated upon our arrival.

3 of 4 adults ordered steaks (each a different cut) and one ordered scallops. We were served a free appetizer of some bread with a mystery dip and oil. It was interestingly kind of bland and gross to say the least. Maybe just not our taste.

Each couple ordered an appetizer; one calamari and one spring roll. Our friends seemed to enjoy their spring rolls and we absolutely loved our calamari. The calamari was cooked perfectly and not rubbery. The breading was sufficient. We really enjoyed the jalapeno aioli sauce, it was just the "icing on the cake" that made this an excellent dish.

Back to the dinners- we waited well over an hour and a half to receive our dinner. A table that was seated long after us received their meal before we did. When the waitress brought out dinner she came with two plates and then we waited some more. And waited. And waited. Finally the other two were brought out. I think the first two plates were cold by the time the other two came out. Moving on. Our friends are ordered one of the steak dishes and the scallops. They didn't complain about their food but didn't gave about it either. Our two plates were the late ones and where the major disappointment came in. Our steaks were ordered medium well and medium rare... and they cooked them backwards (mine was supposed to be more done and my husband's more raw). My husband's steak was so over cooked I even had a hard time eating it. What made my steak edible was the sauce it had on it.

I will say the manager checked in and when we told her about the steak and she offered to have another cooked. But we weren't about to wait another hour, nor did we know how bad it was. She ended up taking $9 off our bill. The discount was not enough for how little of the steak was eaten or even edible.

While the food wasn't horrible, with the exception of my husband's over cooked steak, we felt it's not worth the exuberant cost. There are many other restaurants to try before...

When you have a night out it's supposed to be special. Regretfully I can't think of anything special at Rustic Kitchen.

While I understand that Rustic Kitchen is part of the Casino experience you'd expect that even so they would have their own bathrooms. They do not.

Anyone who needs to go to wash their hands or for any other reason must leave the restaurant re-enter the casino circuit and find bathrooms outside and away from the restaurant.

The service was adequate but I did not feel that the servers were the customers advocate. Case in point I was not warned that the "home made" pasta would be let's say different from their boxed counterparts...

I ordered meatballs and "home made" linguine. I found immediately that the linguine was nearly inedible. There was a strong taste. Something that was indescribable but very bad Something like advanced freezer burn with a heavy chemical/metallic after taste.

I alerted my server who then initially blamed the flour used to make the linguine. Then, the manager came and insisted that the linguine could not have been freezer burned. But the taste remained.

They did replace the meal with a boxed pasta. I'm not sure what variety. It was better but they shorted me two of my four meatballs with the redux. They also took my fork and I had to ask for a replacement.

Remember, this meal was $17.00. it would have been $9.99 at any diner or family restaurant around.

I hate to say this but, I found the service wanting, the food terrible and the price high . Literally no value for the money. Next time, I'm going to go to Cracker Barrel.

I don't like trashing a place in a review but here we are. I wish...

Let me start by saying, it only gets one star because there is no -2!!! So, her we go... First of all, I stop in early in the afternoon and asked if they had GF pasta, that could be paired with there $11.99 all you can eat pasta dishes. The answer , a definite yes- no problem. When we arrived a little later we were literally the only ones in there. The waiter came and took our wine orders. I asked him if they had GF pasta. He said no. Then he said he doesn't like to tell people they do. Then he said he would go ask his chef , "if he would cook it". Okaaaay? Then he said he could. Now the pasta dishes were lame noodles and sauce. He then tells me he Has to charge me extra. We ask how much. He started throwing out several different numbers. Suspicious. I said, "well, what is the upcharge?" Again, had to check with chef. He comes back and it's a $11 upcharge! By now, I'm not really feeling like eating there, feeling more like an inconvenience, and literally being Attacked verbally by the server! So we tell him don't bother, we are leaving. He then gets mad and tells me I will have to pay for a random fetucini and meatballs, we didnt eat or order!!!????? What!!!!and Why?????. Ask to see manager, they never appear. Nope. Left. Got good wings and margaritas around the corner at Bar Louis. Super friendly service, tasty,and cheapish. I would stand outside RK and tell everybody to not go in , if I didn't live 3 hours away! And by the way, never got our wine! TERRIBLE, DISGUSTING SERVICE. HOPE THE SERVER IS FIRED AND THEY GO OUT OF...