RÜT Bar & Kitchen — Restaurant in Spokane

This review started out as 5 stars. It was a good place to eat, the chairs were a bit uncomfortable, but not terrible. A bit loud, but not amazingly so.

But then things happened that when taken into context, I can't give a 5 star review for. But let's talk about the good things first.

The food was fantastic. The faux cheese was quite good and tasted like cheese. The burgers, you would swear were meat. The chicken sandwich was tasty and like the burgers, they tasted true to form. Most everything there was very tasty (I didn't try everything, but what I did try was quite good).

There was a very hipster vibe with the place.

One of the owners (Hazel) was walking around greeting people and she made me feel very welcome.

The ketchup holders were chilled. A nice little touch that made me smile.

For the bad parts though..

First and most important was the fact that when I got home, I found that several items had nuts in them. My date is highly allergic to them and it's startling that nothing on the menu mentioned nuts (they mention things like "cheese", but found out just today that the cheese is made sometimes with cashews). If my date had eaten that, it would have been pretty bad for everyone in the restaurant. They really need to put "nuts" on their menu or at least flag it somehow that nuts for sure are in this (I understand about cross contamination, but when nuts are a thing for sure in there, they needed to make mention of that). -1 star.

They bill themselves as "100% plant based". However, they use salt. I know, I know. Asking for 100% plant based food is asking for a lot. However, being on a "No salt" diet, I was surprised that a place that advertised just plant based foods would be serving salt. -1/2 stars.

The portion sizes are good. However, the desert (Chocolate brownie with coconut ice cream) is served in a huge bowl making it look like a little scrap of nothing. I know it's probably for the looks of the thing, but when serving a smaller portion, you want to make the bowl smaller, not larger. Also, served with forks. Ice cream. Forks. I will let that settle in. I feel like I left half the good stuff because I couldn't scoop it up. -1/2 stars.

So the total is 3 stars for them. I will visit again and if things have changed, I will readjust my review. But for now, it has to...

A must for everyone to enjoy, whether vegan/vegetarian or not!

I'm traveling cross-country (from NC) and thanks to the Happy Cow app I've had the opportunity to try vegan options at several destinations. After a day of travel, the last thing I'm finding time to do is to write reviews. However, my dinner experience today at RÜT Bar & Kitchen in Spokane, has prompted me to specifically set aside time to write this review.

RÜT Bar & Kitchen in Spokane is the first 100% Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) restaurant which I've found matches the taste and quality of any meat-eater's bistro. The chef has mastered exuberant flavors with artfully paired spices and vegan cheeses to satisfy my long-forgotten guilty pleasures!

I started with the RÜT GREENS salad which is perfectly tossed with a mouth-watering vinaigrette. Next, the BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER WINGS reveal the chef's secret in somehow achieving a crunchy breading while respecting the structure of each florette, coated with a spicy buffalo sauce and balanced with a delicious Bleu "cheese" dipping sauce. For my main course I ordered the FRIED NOT-CHICKEN SANDWICH which left me baffled by its chicken-y texture and flavor. The sandwich is served with French fries, which I requested "dirty" to enjoy the sprinkling of spices, pickled onions and parmesan "cheese" topping. Finally, I indulged in a slice of their delicately-flavored matcha "cheesecake" paired with a sweet hibiscus drizzle.

Moreover, they offer large portions so that I was able to take half of everything home for tomorrow's lunch.

Additionally, and not to be overlooked, is the wonderful staff and my kind, courteous and knowledgeable waitress, Diana, who expertly extolled the intricacies of each dish I ordered.

I offer a standing ovation to the team at RÜT Bar & Kitchen for achieving gastro-excellence for their...

I went the day after they opened so this is just a rough review as I'd definitely would like to return after things have been ironed out.

I've been very excited to try Rüt (pronounced like root) as they're a plant-based restaurant so everyone, but especially vegans, vegetarians and lactose intolerant people can rejoice!

The interior is clean and modern in aesthetics. The seating is slightly cramped, but that really can't be helped as the space is not that big.

For food, we had the buffalo wings which were made with cauliflower (those were delightful and I could've had another plate - good flavor and not too much breading), the white bean queso dip (I liked it, but I like normal queso much much more), fried not chicken sandwich (the "chicken" had a good texture and I really enjoyed the flavor probably because of the coconut buffalo sauce and the potato bun), the jalapeno mushroom burger (the Impossible burger patty paid homage to a beef one well and I love pretzel buns), truffle mac (I loved the broccoli with it and the truffle was not overpowering), coconut ice cream (holy cow what a huge serving) and brownie.

It was really packed and I have to say I was really impressed with our service. I’m bummed they didn't have the tacos which I was really looking forward to. They've been having to close early because they've ran out of food do try to go early! Again, will definitely be back. I'm excited for things to come and see what they do for brunch (which a menu doesn't seem to be available at...