Ruffage cafe — Restaurant in South Carolina

My wife and I visited for lunch.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: They have done a wonderful job setting a vibe with the decor. It would have been easy to make this place look cheap and uninspiring, however, the owners have done just enough to make it look effortlessly hip and classy. Great job!

THE FOOD: My wife had the RUBYcon (corned beef brisket on rye). She was leery ordering it, being our first visit here and all; corned beef can be done wrong. She was very impressed at the taste. Corned beef is made or missed by what you accent it with. Ruffage's choice of S&S pineapple, cabbage, swiss, aioli, honey basil dijon on rye, was a perfect combination!

I had the Tony Burger Bowl mainly because of the photo on their website; it looked like a fun, complex mess! I have to admit that for my burgers, I tend to be very traditional (meat, cheese, dressing, tomato), but I figured that I would either love this place or this would be our last visit here. I.e. let's jump in with both feet!

Well! This was the most complex and wonderful burger I have ever had the pleasure of eating! It was perfectly cooked. The flavors of the chili were bold, the beef was perfectly seasoned, the bun was absolutely perfect as well.

THE STAFF: Just as we have come to expect since moving here from California, the staff were so sweet, accommodating and efficient. The restaurant was definitely set up by a gourmet chef because our meals were nothing less than what I would expect at a true gourmet cafe.

SUMMARY: We are so fortunate that we found the beautiful quaint town of Pendleton to make our forever home in. There are many little gems that we have discovered here. Ruffage Cafe is the newest member of that list.

If you are local, it would be a shame to say that you've never been, and if you are passing the general area it is worth making a trip out of the way to visit. As for my wife and I: We will be visiting many many times over by ourselves and with friends. I am looking forward to trying the...

My husband and I came here to try a new place while we were waiting to do something later on in Pendleton.

From the branding and website it seemed that we were going to get a higher end take on breakfast/lunch which I thought would be awesome! We pulled up and walking in were a little taken aback by the cluttered and “eclectic” vibe. Not a big deal, just not what I was expecting.

I ordered the Lox on Bagel with GF bread (I have celiac disease ) and husband got the Show Me the Money breakfast sandwich and a pancake. I enjoyed the Lox on Bagel (though I prefer more capers) and they were very accommodating for my celiac by putting the GF bread in a different toaster. Do wish they had more GF options. My husbands pancake (their take on a pancake) came out. He was surprised about this take, though that’s on him for not realizing it was different based on the description. Obviously I couldn’t have it, but he was interested and gave it a chance but not great in his opinion. The crust on top and bottom was very chewy, middle was dry except for the blueberries which gave the impression that parts of it were undercooked. The Show me the Money tasted good overall—potatoes were good, sandwich itself had good flavor, but the sirloin, medium egg, and bleu cheese spread gave an overall wet sandwich. Overall, we decided food was fine, but not exceptional.

Food aside, we were very taken aback by the interior. The fluorescent lighting and paneled ceiling gave a cold vibe.We discussed after that either Ruffage needs to go for the dive-diner vibe on one end, or go to the full other end with seated service. Seems like they are attempting to toe a line between those two things and is creating a little bit of dissonance on our experience. Overall, with the prices of the food I believe we’re just expecting a different dining experience. Would go...

We have been here several times & it has been hit or miss. First, we’ve been here for lunch a few times & I always get the banh mi sandwich. It is always a hit! It is DELICIOUS!!!! Now let’s talk about breakfast. This is where it has been hit or miss. We brought our daughter & son-in-law here who were visiting from out of town. Our daughter got the blueberry panCAKE. We told her it was more emphasis on the “cake” because my husband has gotten it before. She still wanted to give it a try. It was very dry, even after trying to load it down with syrup. Our son-in-law got the “show me the money.” He was expecting steak & eggs, but it’s actually a sandwich. He said it was tasty but had waaaay too many onions. He got potatoes as his side & they were burnt. I got the “son of a biscuit.” I’ve never gotten this before but wanted to give it a try since biscuits & gravy is one of my favorites! The “sunny egg” on top was raw. I know a sunny side up egg is only cooked 2-3 minutes but there’s no way my egg was cooked that long. The egg whites weren’t even white yet, they were still clear. Once I scraped the egg to the side, I was able to eat one of the two biscuits with gravy & it tasted good (good, not great). My husband got the French toast bread pudding. This is always a hit & one of our favorites, but it seems like the recipe had been changed this time. It wasn’t thick like it usually is. Parts of it were dense & gummy. While the taste was ok (not good or great), it was NOT like what we’ve had in the past. Please go back to your old recipe!!! We really want to like this place but today was definitely a big MISS, disappointing, & definitely not an...