Phil T.
Yelp
Et tu, Ruth'sChris?
The first visit I ever made to this steakhouse was almost 20 years ago, back when I was living in San Francisco, and, ever since, I've always praised the establishment on the impressively high consistency with the quality of fare and professionalism of the staff. Since then, I've probably dined at Ruth's Chris over 40 times and on 3 different continents. Last night my fiancée and I visited Ruth Chris for, probably, the last time. Let me tell you why...
We arrived and were seated in a nice booth. We ordered a bottle of wine and selected our courses which began with the Cesar Salad for me and the lobster bisque for my fiancée. We finished the first course, still no wine had arrived. The manager came over to our table and informed us that the wine we selected 20 minutes ago is no longer on the menu. No problem, we selected another bottle. Another 20 minutes passed, our steaks arrived, and still no wine. A different manager informs us that the 2nd bottle we ordered also does not exist and they need to update their wine list. No problem, we circumvent the entire wine list and order two glasses of the house red - we don't care what it is at this point as our steaks are now at the table and we only have water.
We both requested our filets be prepared medium rare - mine was perfect, my fiancée's was somewhere between medium and well done - cooked completely through. We're frustrated and tried to get the manager to return. We're left alone for another 20 minutes. Finally, after an hour at our table, we simultaneously get 2 glasses of red wine and the first bottle we ordered - or a facsimile of the first bottle.
Since my fiancée did not want to eat a $57 well-done steak, I also had refrained from eating and my steak cooled. The manager offered to replace our steaks, which was the correct thing to do, however, at this point we had already been at the restaurant an hour and had solely dined on soup and salad while drinking water. The prospect of giving the the staff a 5th opportunity to disappoint while we waited another 20 minutes was a dismal option. We allowed them to replace just my fiancée's steak but during that 20 minute span, we soured on the evening and told the manager we want to leave. Naturally, we were presented with the bill by the manager. They took off several items making the cost a mere $80-something dollars, before tip of course. It's incredibly painful to be put in a situation such as this, having come to expect such quality and service at Ruth's Chris. We stated the we didn't believe paying for our abysmal experience made any sense. The manager left briefly then returned, with a dismissive demeanor, stating to us, "You're free to go" as if we had wronged them and they were giving us "a pass".
I am giving 2-stars for this review because I did enjoy my Cesar Salad and, very much like the dishes namesake, I was betrayed by a confidant, not Brutus in my case, but Ruth's Chris.
A note: this experience took place on 2001 K St NW, D.C., DC on the night of Nov 11th