Ruby's Cafe

   

I went to Ruby's for the first time today because the menu looked amazing, and the food met my high expectations.  We went for breakfast at 9:30am, and it was empty then, but by the time we left an hour later, there was a line out the door.  I would love to go back to try other things but am now intimidated by the line (at more "normal" brunch hours)!

Between our party, we tried the egg sandwich (perfectly runny egg + hash brown in the sandwich!), the BLAT,  chia muesli, and banana bread with passionfruit butter (banana bread was so fluffy).  Everyone enjoyed their food, the portions were large, and the prices reasonable.

*Update:
I enjoyed their breakfast and was intrigued so much by the regular menu that I returned a week later.  Very happy to say that my high expectations were met.

I appreciate how well Ruby's executes on what is otherwise a very simple menu -- salads, pastas, burgers.  Normally, that menu would not catch my attention, as I don't feel the need to go to a restaurant to eat salad, and there's a lot of tough competition for pastas and burgers (plus, I'm a purist, and what kind of place serves both pastas and burgers and does it well?).  So I think it says a lot that I was actually really excited to try the salads and burgers (I hear the pastas are good too, but that's further down on my list).

• Quinoa bowl: all of the salads actually sounded really good, but I opted to try this one (with smoked salmon) since I saw so many reviews and pictures of it.  It was light and refreshing, but very filling.  My friends asked if I would order it again, and the answer is yes.

• Crispy rice bowl: this is not your normal fried rice, they mean crispy when they say crispy.  Great texture and crunch, although my friend said it got to be a bit overwhelming and heavy towards the end (so maybe better as a shared item).

• Cheeseburger: I tried a bite, and now I understand why my friend was raving about it.
• Bronte burger: not served on a hamburger bun (ciabatta maybe?  I couldn't see, as my friend who ordered was on the other side of the table); I didn't try this one, but my friend said it was really good.
• Truffle fries: so good that we doubled down on our order.
• Brussel sprouts: good, but nothing special

Only negative is the restaurant doesn't take reservations and is small, so expect a line unless you get there early.  Noise level was also high given the number of people and crowded space.