Ruffino's | Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Prairieville

I took my family to dinner tonight and thoroughly hated the experience. As soon as we were seated, we were greeted with dirty glasses. It looked like grass had been in them. So I can only assume they'd been "cleaned" with a dirty rag. From that point I should have known things weren't going to be good. My husband and I had the 15 oz ribeye. We both asked for medium. Mine came out fine, my husband's was well done and dry. My daughter had a cheese pizza but only had one bite. The servers were very nice but the food is definitely not worth the price. We had the full pizza and steak packed to go. We paid and left. As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, I realized we'd left our to go bag. I called and explained to them what happened. They told me they would hold it at the front while we turned around to retrieve it. We got there 5 minutes later. My husband walked in and I stayed in the car. As my husband was inside I received a call from the manager, basically saying the bus boy saw the food and thought we didn't want it, so threw it out. WHICH, I completely understand. I mean we were gone and there's no way to contact us. My problem is with how the "manager" handled the situation. When he stated they threw it away, I asked if they could make a new steak and pizza. Considering those were barely touched. He said no he could not. So I asked if we could have a refund. Again he said no. So I asked how he could fix this and he said unfortunately there is nothing he can do because the bus boy was doing his job. So I paid $200 for nothing. I understand that the meal was left at the table, which was my fault. But for you to just say ," sorry there's nothing I can do about it", is unacceptable. If you're a manager, your job is to manage and problem solve. None of my issues were resolved. This place used to be great, but these last 2 years have been mediocre. I kept giving them chances because i used to love it here so much, but this situation helped me make my decision to never return to Ruffinos on...

This was my second visit to Ruffino's and my wife's first. It will most likely be our last visit. We were seated quickly by the hostess and we're provided menus with the information about our two servers names. In no way was the restaurant crowded, but neither was it empty.

One of our main servers only showed her face at the beginning in order to fill our drinks - never again. I was completely open to drink and food suggestions this night as we were looking to cut loose and have a little fun. After making it obviously painful I was having a hard time deciding on a food and wine pairing the wait staff failed to notice or even provide any recommendations. We were not provided specials or any additional information. There were no questions/communications received other than .. What would you like to drink? Any appetizers? Would you like the check?

We choose to order a filet and the 45 day dry aged ribeye. With a glass of wine and a martini. The filet was dry, lacked any flavor and overall was just a poor attempt at a steak. The dry aged ribeye might have spent 4 or 5 days aging not 45. Additionally this dry aged "chef's cut" was composed of approximately 50% fat head and gristle. I'm fairly confident that I only received a regular ribeye. I could have cooked a more flavorful piece of meat in my oven.

After emptying my glass of water and glass of wine. I did not receive any attention or refilling of my glasses. I had to take my wife's glass of water. I guess I should have ordered the bottle for myself. Maybe then I could have refilled my own glass.

I understand now we should have went to any of the other spot in Baton Rouge. We could have enjoyed ourselves much better. This must be the reason why none of my business clients, associates or local teams ever recommend or even want this location. We are literally minutes from here and consistently have business dinners and lunch. Ruffino's will remain off the list.

Unfortunate that this night ended with...

So we decided to go here for our anniversary / Mother's Day. We have been many places both in Baton Rouge and Acadiana. The service here was definitely worth every bit of 5 stars. We had three waiters waiting on us, each one with their own duties. When they realized we had our anniversary in a reservation book, it's like everyone in the restaurant seem to know it was our anniversary. Are drinks never went empty, the table was always cleaned, and they were very very attentive. What can I say about the food? Bar none, some of the best food I've ever had when dining out. We have been to Gino's, L'Auberge, Kona Grill Texas de Brazil, and none of them came close. My wife got the 16 ounce ribeye with the garlic rosemary potatoes. I got the chicken parmesan, with the lollipop lamb chops for appetizer. Although the bread they serve isn't top notch it was still a good baguette. They did bring us a small sample of some calamari they had which is excellent. And the cabernet they sampled that night was great, they complimented both the lamb and the ribeye both very well. Between dinner and dessert, they brought out a fresh spun thing of cotton candy, which completely caught us off-guard but was a delight, is it is a childhood favorite of mine. The desserts were absolutely delicious and very filling. Definitely five-star chef quality. On top of all this as if it wasn't enough, they brought out a plate with a piece of what they call sin chocolate cake, then also had a raspberry heart, and used vanilla syrup to write happy anniversary on the plate. It was a beautiful way to end the night and a great way to celebrate our marriage as well as Mother's Day. I want to give a special shout-out to Jared who was our main server and provided some of the best service we've ever had. Thank you for making the night special.

If you're celebrating your birthday anniversary whatever, or just have a hankering for seafood Italian or steak, make this your next stop. You will...