Ruins Restaurant

Finally stopped in for lunch and ordered the Banh Mi and tomato soup. Having spent the first 45 years of my life in the south SF Bay Area, home to a huge Vietnamese population and the greatest array of Vietnamese restaurants imaginable, I know good Banh Mi! This was a GREAT Banh Mi sandwich! I will likely request a little heavier on the jalapeno next time, my personal preference, but overall it was simply delicious with much more meat than you would normally ever get on a traditional Banh Mi! My companion got the egg salad sandwich and said it was delicious. Another friend, a vegetarian, also ordered a Banh Mi, but with tofu, and he loved it, too! The service was excellent and the atmosphere very relaxed. Used the restroom, my test for restaurant cleanliness (if the restroom is filthy I am out of there!), and it was perfect. Just happened to be in the area at lunchtime and so glad I dropped in!

Had a large dinner party and they gave us the side room so we had privacy and a really enjoyable experience. The food was delicious and unique and everything was prompt and fresh. Enjoyed our experience and I’m excited to go back!

After hearing great things about Ruins from multiple people, I was excited to check it out during Restaurant Week last night with my partner and two other couples. Though the ambience was nice and our server was friendly, the meal was a huge disappointment. Why? - Disappointing Course 1. I ordered the roasted carrots, as did a few people at our table. As someone else commented, "I've always wondered what it would taste like if you made chili using mostly baby carrots." I had never wondered that personally, but now I know. - Disappointing Course 2. None of the Course 2 options were gluten-free, which I knew beforehand. Our server offered me another Course 1 item instead, so I requested the hummus, which according to table-mates was quite good. But when it arrived, I was informed that they had run out of hummus and had substituted some kind of bean puree instead. Unfortunately, my stomach gets almost as unhappy about beans as it does about gluten, so that was a bust. At least they threw in a plate of cucumber slices and raw baby carrots. - Disappointing Course 3. My girlfriend, who's a great cook, once marinated some chicken for about 24 hours, and the texture got... weird. Strange and rubbery, with some kind of skin-like outer layer to it. That's exactly what arrived for my final course, along with decent mashed potatoes and... steamed baby carrots! Their general menu might be great, but my meal wasn't. In fact, nobody at the table chose to box up anything, and we left as quickly as we reasonably could. And if I never eat another baby carrot again, that would probably be too soon.

Bartender/waiter was excellent and really made the meal even more enjoyable. The food was very very good! We will be back

Pretentions of quality at a quality price level, but the food is only average good. Nothing wrong with the food, it was decent, and nothing wrong with anything else there either. But for the price we paid, I'd prefer there be something a bit more. Also, the seating wasn't very comfortable. They paid no real mind to sourcing info nor had much in the way of real vegan options. Again, something I might expect at their price level. Straight up new American w/ a few slight twists.

Not a big "leave a review" type of feller but holy smokes - this place is fabulous. The food was incredible. After reading about Chef Tony Brown's James Beard nomination in the Spokesman review, I knew I wanted to take my folks here when they visited and it absolutely didn't disappoint. Do yourself a favor and take an uber so you can enjoy the great craft cocktails.