Ruins Restaurant — Restaurant in Spokane

My wife and I have wanted to go to Ruins for a year or two now due to the reputation it has garnered, but I work in the evenings have been unable to. So, with my in-laws in town, I finally had a day off where the four of us were able to finally go for the McRuins night.

We arrived at 5:20 to a packed restaurant, which was a surprise to us since Ruins had just opened at 5:00. I just chalked it up to the previously mentioned reputation that Ruins has gained, as well as the McRuins menu being very popular. I was also slightly surprised at how few tables there, but then again, the building doesn’t look that big from the outside, so maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised.

It wasn’t immediately obvious when the four of us entered whether we were supposed to wait to be seated or to seat ourselves and the two employees that were serving people failed to acknowledge us while we were awkwardly standing just inside the entrance. After a few minutes some of the customers that were seated mentioned that we needed to seat ourselves, which we had already concluded on our own but I appreciated the sentiment anyways. Unfortunately, all of the 4-person tables were already full, so we had to wait for someone to finish their meal.

We were able to snag a table at 5:43 and we noticed that the card at the table says that we have to order at the counter. Glancing nervously at the ever-growing line at the counter, we quickly chose what we wanted on the menu hoping we can get our order in as quickly as possible so we won’t have to wait a long time to get our meals. My father-in-law took our orders up to the end of the line and waited. It was now that we were able to have some time to relax and look around the restaurant.

The first thing that I noticed is that despite the fact that there was a 7 or 8-person line for the counter, nobody was attempting to take orders. There was a tall husky guy that was making in house ketchup in a blender, focusing on that instead of serving customers. The other 3 people working were back in the kitchen, and people were clearly getting annoyed at the lack of service. The curious thing about the ketchup making man was the fact that Ruins’ Facebook page mentioned that they were closed earlier in the day for the lunch hour for maintenance reasons, so why not make the ketchup at that time?

My father-in-law finally made it back to our table after 5-10 minutes. He mentioned that people were indeed getting irritated with the lack of service up at the bar counter. He said that there was one person that went up the ketchup man and brashly asked “could you please help me??” The ketchup man said “sure” and took the man’s order, but then went back to making ketchup. My father in law also said that when he placed the order, he asked for some water for our table and the guy taking his order gruffly motioned with his head in the direction of the water dispenser and said to go get some. A few minutes after my father-in-law came back to our table, the ketchup man finally finished making the in-house ketchup and distributed the bottles to the tables.

Unfortunately, the line at the counter never went below 7 or 8 people the rest of the time we were there. We got our food about 15 minutes after we placed the order, and I thought it was fantastic. The fries were very similar to McDonalds fries, the Big Mac I order tasted just like a fancier version of the real Big Mac. My wife and my in-laws all were less impressed than I was, but they were more upset about the poor customer service than I was and I feel that influenced their enjoyment of the food. When we got our food, we almost felt like we had to hurry through our food, because at this point there were nearly 10 people waiting for table to free up.

Unfortunately, I loved the food, but it was really hard to look past the poor service we experienced.

I am confident I will be back since the food was so good, but I will try to shoot for well after the dinner rush, or go in for lunch.

I would give 2.5 stars, fantastic food,...

Years ago, a partner made me promise to let them be the first to take me to Ruins. I found this request hilarious, but indeed merited, as I certainly have earned a reputation for "getting around..." the local food scene, that is! I happily made that promise. Shit got weird. There was even a whole pandemic wreaking havoc on the food scene! We never made it to Ruins before our relationship ended.

I broke my promise yesterday! Ruins is now open in a beautiful location in Kendall Yards. I had no problems with parking. It felt safe and beautiful and clean... all those positive aspects of gentrification! Are we even in Spokane? Pinkies out, people.

We arrived about 20 minutes prior to dinner service... first ones there! It didn't take long for the patio outside the entrance to fill up with folks ready to order from their renowned rotating menu. I didn't have a reservation! Would I get in? Was that old promise a curse? Haha! I got in. No reservation. I'm here to break promises.

The waitstaff were all adorable... Tattooed and super cool vibes all around. Service was personable and attentive and laid back. Relax those pinkies, friends! I loved the atmosphere. Throughout dinner, you could hear the bartender preparing drinks with rhythm and style... the sounds of that shaker was quite honestly dope as hell. Maybe he's a musician? Rock on man. Well done. I'm amongst my people. The music overhead was amazing, throwback to 80s and 90s. NuShooz. Chaka Khan. Michael Jackson.

Last night's menu. Perfection. There were gluten-free and vegetarian options. I remember this was my old partner's favorite thing about Ruins. The menu rotates, so the adventure is always there, as were vegetarian options.

We shared the Whipped Feta and Flatbread as a starter. The plating was fun with the flatbread standing high in a cone on the plate. This was clearly made in-house, fresh, doused in some kind of lightly seasoned crack... perhaps ghee? The feta was beaten into submission, fully aware of its fate to be devoured. Cool, refreshing cucumber and tangy, zippy marinated red onions were the perfect accompaniment to the crackbread and feta. This shit could be habit-forming!

I ordered the duck. Because I don't want to have to cook duck for myself. If it's on the menu somewhere reputable, I want my fork in it. It. Was. Divine. Those cherries will punch you right in the palate. Are they pickled? They were a respectful send-off for that duck's final destination into my belly, along with perfectly creamy polenta, green beans, and arugula dressed in something royal. Fresno relish... total zinger with a ping of mild sweet heat and a tinge of smokiness. This plate was a 10/10. Didn't even need a speck of extra salt!

My friend ordered the pappardelle... cooked to perfection, wide-cut, thin ribbons. Sauced up in a roasted tomato and fennel ragu, basil and parm... crowned with a burrata blob and pork meatballs that tasted like homemade sausage. Delectable dish, all the way around.

Listen. Some promises merit breaking... "Ruin~ing," if you will. This was one of them! I fully intend to break this promise on rotation with their next menu creation. Honestly, I'm stopping myself from heading up there for brunch right now! They serve brunch, people!

Pro-tip: Go to Instagram to see their current menu if you're the kind of person that needs to know their offerings ahead of time. My advice though, JUST GO! There's something for everyone on that menu. Visit their website to read about how awesome they are for our community, too.

Did you really read all...

I would’ve rated this about 2 1/2, but out of four of us, two really like their meals. My wife had the white bean stew, and our friend’s wife had the pork belly. They were very pleased. Both husbands had pasta, and while they were decent, they were skimpy portions. Here’s where it gets bizarre. The menus and water got to the table promptly. Then it was time to order drinks. I made the mistake of asking a question about the dinner menu in the midst of the drink order. The server replied “I’m not sure, I’ll need to go ask”. I immediately felt bad, as nobody was able to get in their drink order prior to her leaving the table. But, we did figure she would be back promptly. It did appear that she was speaking to someone in the kitchen, then she set about making up place-settings (rolling silverware in to napkins). I’m normally the type to say something, but we were kind of in the mood to see how this would play out. She continued making place-settings, then proceeded to start serving other tables. She took other’s drink orders, and returned with drinks. Mind you, we never got the information that I asked for, and she never actually appeared at our table again. We made a solemn vow not to ask another question for the entire evening, as we were unaware that this could disqualify you from further service. We also made sure that we would have our entire order ready at the off chance that somebody would appear at our table again. After a legitimate 10 minutes, someone that we believe to be the owner came to the table and said “I understand we have some questions?” To which I replied “NO!! NO QUESTIONS!!! We would like to order!” (Luckily Google was there to provide the necessary answers. Remind me to tip them!) Order placed, and it wasn’t too long before I got my dinner. Mind you, I was the only one that got my dinner. Another plate came, but it was the addition to my dinner. Of course everyone encouraged me to eat, as we had no idea when anything else was coming. We just referred to it as “dinner in stages”. Next was our friend’s wife, then my wife...at about two minute increments. Sadly, our friend’s husband was last. Bummer, as it was his birthday. Again, decent food. But an establishment really has to overextended itself not to get a 20% tip from me. They really have to try. This is one of the rare occasions in which they succeeded. Determined that we had had enough entertainment for the night, we had...