Ruths Chris Steak House - Albany (NY)

5 /5 Tony Blair: I was quite taken aback when I was denied access to a section of the restaurant simply because I wore a turban; that really isn’t good for business. However, the overall dining experience was fantastic. The Caesar salad was absolutely phenomenal, along with the crab cakes and spicy shrimp. Our server, Matt, was an awesome guy—very patient and accommodating. Plus, I loved the music selection; R&B played all night, creating a great vibe.

3 /5 Andru Karnayge: Sub-Prime Experience Service: 4/5 Drinks: 5/5 Food: 2/5 Overall: 3/5 We were traveling through the Albany area on our way to our final destination and, because our Thanksgiving plans changed unexpectedly, we stopped at Ruth’s Chris for dinner. The restaurant was extremely busy, but service held up well and the bar delivered excellent, generous drinks. We ordered ribeyes from the main menu (neither of us are turkey eaters). Although listed as USDA Prime, the steaks that arrived were not Prime by any meaningful standard. The cuts were unusually lean with very limited intramuscular marbling, broad unbroken muscle sections, and none of the dense fine “lace” fat that defines true Prime ribeye. These were Choice-level steaks at a Prime price point. Photos attached make that clear. With the national beef shortage and reduced availability of true Prime, I suspect this is a sourcing issue more than a kitchen issue. Still, when the brand advertises Prime and charges accordingly, the product needs to match. A simple menu disclosure explaining temporary supply limitations would go a long way toward setting expectations honestly. Strong service and drinks, but the core of the meal didn’t meet the brand’s historical standard. I hope the chain tightens quality control as supply stabilizes.

3 /5 Nirav Chaudhari: We ordered our steaks well done. Both our steaks were charred like in the photo. Mine was the less charred of the two. You can cook well done without this amount of charring. That’s all I could really taste. The mashed potatoes were good. The creamed spinach was not enjoyed. Since seafood makes me sick, I asked if there were anchovies in the caesar salad and was confidently told no. We tasted it and it’s in there and confirmed by another server. There goes the salad.

5 /5 Galen Gomes: My wife and I went for our anniversary, and we were treated with such regard in our celebration. A message was on our menus. Flower petals were on our table. Happy Anniversary was written on our plate, and a happy anniversary sign was placed on the table. We felt celebrated. The food was great and our server was very engaging and attentive. We very much enjoyed our experience.

4 /5 Lisa Molloy: We went for Christmas dinner and the reservations were backed up, it seemed overbooked. Dinner itself was pretty good but slow to arrive. My crab cakes did have some cold spots in the center. Deserts and drinks were good and our server was clearly trying his best. A fairly good first experience there....just a bit slow