Surprisingly marvelous despite external appearance. Shrimp and grits my fav.
Vanessa C.
Best food during my trip south, super yummy and fantastic service. The view was amazing and the staff was easy on the eyes
Aizha A.
Have you guys reopened yet? I will be driving 2 hrs and stop by! Love your food. And recommend to everyone!
Jorden Gamble
Trying to figure out what happened to Rutabega. We’ve made reservations online twice within last 2 months and finally after no response we drove down and discovered a locked and lonely building.. is the restaurant closed for good? We would love to be able to buy Red Velvet Cheesecake!
Henry W.
I went here on a jetski trip with a big group of friends. After our ride we called around trying to find a place to eat. We called Rutabaga Café to see if we could get a reservation and they laughed and said under normal circumstances...no... but they had a wedding party cancel so they could accommodate the 22 of us. It's in an old house and at first I thought I had the wrong place. Inside we all ordered different items to try things. Everything was excellent. Service was great and the food was even better. We liked it so much that when I go to see my son in the panhandle we get a hotel and make this a stop on our way. I have never been disappointed here. We'll see y'all next time....
Gt L
0/10 place and management is horrible. The boss is a notorious scam artist that plays this nice guy roll. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes under soon. Go at your own discretion.
Joe W.
My wife and I dine out on a frequent basis and we especially enjoy trying new places. Our dining habits range from the small Mom and Pop restaurants to the upper scale, all in hopes of finding that "must go to place". We had heard of this restaurant from some friends, so we decided to give it a try. Not knowing the volume of customers for an evening service we made reservations to ensure seating. The restaurant is an older fifties style wooden home and the seating is limited to what once was two separate bedrooms and the small living room. Upon entering the restaurant the first thing that we noticed was the heat. It is mid-February and the temperature inside was overwhelming, so much so that my wife and I had discussed leaving. Instead of leaving we asked to be seated in the back room where is wasn't as hot, which the staff obliged. After asking several questions about the appetizers, entrées and sides, we placed an order for an appetizer, fried green tomatoes (pictured). About fifteen minutes past and the server returned to the table and we placed our entrée and salad order. We thought that our entrée would be served shortly after having placed the entrée order, but that didn't happen. The hostess that seated came by our table and asked if we had ordered salads, we informed her that we had indeed ordered salads as well as an entrée, but had not seen either. The hostess informed us that there was an issue with the fryer and the cook had left to get tools in order to get the stove working again. Our server could have informed us of the delay and offer to bring the salads, but as it was we waited. By now about forty minutes have passed and we were getting a little antsy to say the least. The food was so-so and the service wasn't as good. We always give a restaurant a second visit just in case the restaurant and staff were having a bad evening. We will definitely post a second review once we try it again.
Chuck Wray
So I decided to accept my wife's offer for a father's day dinner and try the Rutabaga Cafe. The sign outside said cash only, not a good sign, and it only got more interesting from there...We walked in and waited a good 5 minutes before other patrons told us to sit where we liked. We sat down for about 5 more minutes and the only waitress took our drink order. About 10 minutes later, our drinks arrived, but 20 minutes in we still didn't have a menu.I ordered the special, Key lime shrimp, my wife had something called red velvet chicken and my daughter ordered shrimp and grits. At first we were told they were out of grits, then we were happy to learn they found some. I attempted to order a side of mushrooms and onions, but apparently they were out. How do you run out of that?When the food arrived everything was hot and looked good but I was missing something, shrimp. In place of it was a steak? I was told the shrimp were frozen and to keep the steak while they try to get my shrimp thawed and cooked.The steak was cooked medium and was tender and seasoned well. The shrimp and grits were good if a bit under-seasoned. I spent several years in New Orleans, so the bar on that is pretty high.The red velvet chicken was on the sweet side, not my preference, but was cooked well and my wife loved it.Eventually I did get my shrimp and they were good. In total we spent 1 hr and 45 minutes here and probably waited on something for an hour of that.All in all, the food was very good but I don't think I will be coming back any time soon.
Timmy Goodman
I attended a ticketed event that this restaurant catered (so they knew 60 people). It was awful to say the least. They were extremely disorganized and took way to long serving folks. They had to send someone back to restaurant to get more steak. They were cooking and preparing plates in the dark so an attendee pulled there car up to shine the headlights on them. They only had wine or water to drink, they ran out of appetizers so less than half the people didn't get any, the portions for the main meal was more like an appetizer plate, and they had only 1 of 2 advertised desserts which was enough for only 15 people. What was supposed to be a filet steak was the size of a sausage patty. The blacked snapper was literally two bites (about the thickness of a pencil) with three medium size shrimp and six skinny asparagus. The risotto wasn't prepared correctly, it was like a thick pile of mashed potatoes. There was suppose to be a fried tomato side also but wasn't. For $75 a person, I left extremely disappointed and hungry. I do not recommend Rutabaga's for catering.
Debbie Glover
Don’t trust this scam artist! I was totally deceived and misled by Billy Austin. He comes off as a caring wonderful man who wants to give you the world. I should have known better. He totally ruined my wedding dinner for my family of 12. Which turned out to be $100 a head for what was probably $10 a plate. He will completely take your money and claim that he will reimburse you but beware it will never happen.
They were two and a half hours late to a catered event. The order was placed for 40+ people and when he did decide to show up there was hardly enough food for 20 people. He was putting things in the microwave. He should really be ashamed of himself. The food wasn’t near the quality that it was supposed to be. Nothing about his services were satisfactory! I would never recommend him or his food to anyone after this experience.
Lauren Peterson
BEWARE: FRAUD. Rutabaga & Soiree are in a downward spiral and shouldn't be trusted. My aunt was recently married and hired Rutabaga Cafe to cater. They showed up 4 hours late and the food was awful - frozen items purchased at Wal-Mart. (Found packaging in the trash later). They didn't show up for the meal promised for the following morning. They later promised to pay all of the money back to my Aunt and he gave her a cancelled credit card and a bounced check. The lies and excuses are constant: "I've never been late before", "Multiple family members at different times were in the hospital", "I broke my hand", "My Aunt Died", "No service on my cell phone", "My car broke down", "My accountant, Georgia is going to send you the money", "My accountant Jen is going to send you the money", "Venmo isn't working", "PayPal isn't working", ... all of which are lies that you can see below in other reviews. The 5-star reviews on here aren't trustworthy either. Facebook? Deleted. Website? Deleted. A quick google will show you who Billy Austin truly is. Please don't let this toxic business continue to defraud person after person. We have contacted law enforcement and are going to end this.
Marilyn Register
Returned 2 more times after calling and being told they were open. No one was there. Others were there as well. They said a man came by and said they had no electric. We waited 45 minutes but no one showed. Drove by 3 other times but no one there. I think they have gone out of business.
michael knotts
Extremely polite and attentive. Food was excellent, especially for such a rural town. This joint in Mobile, AL or Tallahassee, FL would charge twice as much for such a wonderful dinner.
Anita Hyskell Gaston
Quaint, little cafe; tremendous service from Cindy; wonderful food. Will be back again when we’re in the area.
Surprisingly marvelous despite external appearance. Shrimp and grits my fav.
Best food during my trip south, super yummy and fantastic service. The view was amazing and the staff was easy on the eyes
Have you guys reopened yet? I will be driving 2 hrs and stop by! Love your food. And recommend to everyone!
Trying to figure out what happened to Rutabega. We’ve made reservations online twice within last 2 months and finally after no response we drove down and discovered a locked and lonely building.. is the restaurant closed for good? We would love to be able to buy Red Velvet Cheesecake!
I went here on a jetski trip with a big group of friends. After our ride we called around trying to find a place to eat. We called Rutabaga Café to see if we could get a reservation and they laughed and said under normal circumstances...no... but they had a wedding party cancel so they could accommodate the 22 of us. It's in an old house and at first I thought I had the wrong place. Inside we all ordered different items to try things. Everything was excellent. Service was great and the food was even better. We liked it so much that when I go to see my son in the panhandle we get a hotel and make this a stop on our way. I have never been disappointed here. We'll see y'all next time....
0/10 place and management is horrible. The boss is a notorious scam artist that plays this nice guy roll. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes under soon. Go at your own discretion.
My wife and I dine out on a frequent basis and we especially enjoy trying new places. Our dining habits range from the small Mom and Pop restaurants to the upper scale, all in hopes of finding that "must go to place". We had heard of this restaurant from some friends, so we decided to give it a try. Not knowing the volume of customers for an evening service we made reservations to ensure seating. The restaurant is an older fifties style wooden home and the seating is limited to what once was two separate bedrooms and the small living room. Upon entering the restaurant the first thing that we noticed was the heat. It is mid-February and the temperature inside was overwhelming, so much so that my wife and I had discussed leaving. Instead of leaving we asked to be seated in the back room where is wasn't as hot, which the staff obliged. After asking several questions about the appetizers, entrées and sides, we placed an order for an appetizer, fried green tomatoes (pictured). About fifteen minutes past and the server returned to the table and we placed our entrée and salad order. We thought that our entrée would be served shortly after having placed the entrée order, but that didn't happen. The hostess that seated came by our table and asked if we had ordered salads, we informed her that we had indeed ordered salads as well as an entrée, but had not seen either. The hostess informed us that there was an issue with the fryer and the cook had left to get tools in order to get the stove working again. Our server could have informed us of the delay and offer to bring the salads, but as it was we waited. By now about forty minutes have passed and we were getting a little antsy to say the least. The food was so-so and the service wasn't as good. We always give a restaurant a second visit just in case the restaurant and staff were having a bad evening. We will definitely post a second review once we try it again.
So I decided to accept my wife's offer for a father's day dinner and try the Rutabaga Cafe. The sign outside said cash only, not a good sign, and it only got more interesting from there...We walked in and waited a good 5 minutes before other patrons told us to sit where we liked. We sat down for about 5 more minutes and the only waitress took our drink order. About 10 minutes later, our drinks arrived, but 20 minutes in we still didn't have a menu.I ordered the special, Key lime shrimp, my wife had something called red velvet chicken and my daughter ordered shrimp and grits. At first we were told they were out of grits, then we were happy to learn they found some. I attempted to order a side of mushrooms and onions, but apparently they were out. How do you run out of that?When the food arrived everything was hot and looked good but I was missing something, shrimp. In place of it was a steak? I was told the shrimp were frozen and to keep the steak while they try to get my shrimp thawed and cooked.The steak was cooked medium and was tender and seasoned well. The shrimp and grits were good if a bit under-seasoned. I spent several years in New Orleans, so the bar on that is pretty high.The red velvet chicken was on the sweet side, not my preference, but was cooked well and my wife loved it.Eventually I did get my shrimp and they were good. In total we spent 1 hr and 45 minutes here and probably waited on something for an hour of that.All in all, the food was very good but I don't think I will be coming back any time soon.
I attended a ticketed event that this restaurant catered (so they knew 60 people). It was awful to say the least. They were extremely disorganized and took way to long serving folks. They had to send someone back to restaurant to get more steak. They were cooking and preparing plates in the dark so an attendee pulled there car up to shine the headlights on them. They only had wine or water to drink, they ran out of appetizers so less than half the people didn't get any, the portions for the main meal was more like an appetizer plate, and they had only 1 of 2 advertised desserts which was enough for only 15 people. What was supposed to be a filet steak was the size of a sausage patty. The blacked snapper was literally two bites (about the thickness of a pencil) with three medium size shrimp and six skinny asparagus. The risotto wasn't prepared correctly, it was like a thick pile of mashed potatoes. There was suppose to be a fried tomato side also but wasn't. For $75 a person, I left extremely disappointed and hungry. I do not recommend Rutabaga's for catering.
Don’t trust this scam artist! I was totally deceived and misled by Billy Austin. He comes off as a caring wonderful man who wants to give you the world. I should have known better. He totally ruined my wedding dinner for my family of 12. Which turned out to be $100 a head for what was probably $10 a plate. He will completely take your money and claim that he will reimburse you but beware it will never happen.
Restaurantji Recommends
They were two and a half hours late to a catered event. The order was placed for 40+ people and when he did decide to show up there was hardly enough food for 20 people. He was putting things in the microwave. He should really be ashamed of himself. The food wasn’t near the quality that it was supposed to be. Nothing about his services were satisfactory! I would never recommend him or his food to anyone after this experience.
BEWARE: FRAUD. Rutabaga & Soiree are in a downward spiral and shouldn't be trusted. My aunt was recently married and hired Rutabaga Cafe to cater. They showed up 4 hours late and the food was awful - frozen items purchased at Wal-Mart. (Found packaging in the trash later). They didn't show up for the meal promised for the following morning. They later promised to pay all of the money back to my Aunt and he gave her a cancelled credit card and a bounced check. The lies and excuses are constant: "I've never been late before", "Multiple family members at different times were in the hospital", "I broke my hand", "My Aunt Died", "No service on my cell phone", "My car broke down", "My accountant, Georgia is going to send you the money", "My accountant Jen is going to send you the money", "Venmo isn't working", "PayPal isn't working", ... all of which are lies that you can see below in other reviews. The 5-star reviews on here aren't trustworthy either. Facebook? Deleted. Website? Deleted. A quick google will show you who Billy Austin truly is. Please don't let this toxic business continue to defraud person after person. We have contacted law enforcement and are going to end this.
Returned 2 more times after calling and being told they were open. No one was there. Others were there as well. They said a man came by and said they had no electric. We waited 45 minutes but no one showed. Drove by 3 other times but no one there. I think they have gone out of business.
Extremely polite and attentive. Food was excellent, especially for such a rural town. This joint in Mobile, AL or Tallahassee, FL would charge twice as much for such a wonderful dinner.
Quaint, little cafe; tremendous service from Cindy; wonderful food. Will be back again when we’re in the area.