I only leave reviews if things were really good or really bad. Blue Ruin was a delightful discovery for us. The food—oysters Rockefeller, duck confit, crab cakes—were fresh and tasty. The crab cakes sat on a delicious succotash and the duck was on lentils. Both dishes were among the best we have ever tasted. In addition, my old fashioned was expertly crafted. We enjoyed the “speakeasy” vibe and the owners daughter took great care in asking about our experience and explaining the history of the location. We look forward to returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
dan nicol
Blue Ruin rocked it! We had a large party of about 24 for my wife's birthday dinner. Heather went above and beyond to help make sure everything was setup prior, answering all the questions I could throw at her.
The room was perfect, the servers were very attentive and accommodating, especially for a group that size where everyone was paying on their own. The food was delicious and timed perfectly.
Nothing but positive feedback from our group. Thank you for making it a memorable evening!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Lankford
One of my favorite spots in Cambridge- food, service, and atmosphere is always impeccable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dana Sims
Came in for dinner and cocktails, and left with a great experience. For dinner I had the ahi tuna, which was phenomenal, especially with the mango salsa. My partner had the burger that was also delicious. We had two rounds of drinks, which were hit or miss. The old fashioned wasn't really balanced and their garnish-game wasn't top notch, but overall better than expected in a small town. The variety of cocktails on offer was pretty impressive. Our server was also a star - I believe her name was Ruth. She was helpful, sweet, and knowledgeable. She made recommendations about where else we could sightsee in town. She offered to take a picture of us and it turned out great with her coaching :) While it was not inexpensive, it was a good value.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sarah Jones
We made reservations more than 2 months ago to dine here on Thanksgiving with family who are in from out of state. We just received a call, a week before Thanksgiving, telling us it was a mistake and they wouldn't be open. We are now in, too from out of town, with nowhere to have Thanksgiving dinner.
J S
The Rittenhouse old fashioned and the pork chop special were exceptional! Well done!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
varun sondhi
Best crab cake sandwich I’ve ever had. 5 stars here. But, and this is going to be disappointing, vegetable stir fried noodles were extra salty. When I say extra salty I mean the PF Changs sodium heavy recipe. We asked for this to be fixed but the chef politely refused stating that these were pre made and he couldn’t make them any different. I’m not sure what in there was pre made but whatever it was, it should have been fixed. Great drinks, great crab cake and good service but overall a bad experience due to this surprising response to an inedible dish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Rhonda Miller
Food, wine, and service was great. Friendly atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sandra Walker
Traveling from out of the area we arrived at an empty restaurant but took a chance because of the great reviews. We were not disappointed. Terrific crabcakes in a bed of succotash in a white wine sauce. Just superb! Excellent, friendly service. An historic building with exposed brick made for pleasing ambience. Other guests came rolling in while we dined. I would definitely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
oclaceygirl
My boyfriend and I had dinner reservations here for our anniversary on Thursday night. Our reservation was for 8:30 and we let them know it was our anniversary. We were trying to get an Uber from our hotel, The Cambridge Hyatt but the rides kept getting canceled so when we finally got a driver hired from Hyatt to take us downtown we were 15 minutes late, arriving at 8:45. Upon entering the entire bar was full and we were told we could take a seat anywhere. We let the bartender know that we were the 8:30 reservation and what had happened with our ride situation. The server came over to the table a few minutes later to inform us that the chef had actually closed the kitchen already. At this point it was 9:00. We walked around to all the restaurants and every place closed their kitchen at 9:00 so we were left with no special anniversary dinner. We were left spending $50 getting to and from downtown back to our hotel and starving!! I can't attest to there food but very disappointed with their customer service!!!
Very cute place. Small but delicious menu. We had a great time at the bar for dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Olga Chatfield
Delicious food and drinks, amazing desserts and great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Barry Tull
We were in the area and gave Blue Ruin a try. We're very glad we did! The Maryland crab soup was exquisite and the crab cake was delicious and exactly as pictured on their website. Everything arrived hot, and the pace of our meal was perfect, choreographed by our friendly, knowledgeable and professional server. We'll be visiting Blue Ruin every time we're in the Cambridge area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leah Goodwin
I hate to give this place a bad review but I have to be honest. I made a reservation here while my family was here on a staycation. From the outside, it was kind of hidden. No elaborate sign or anything but when we walked in, my fiance and I love the vibe. The colors and the exposed brick were beautiful. We were greeted by who I'm assuming was the owner/manager and you could tell she was expecting us (from our reservation) and that made me feel special. They saved a cute booth for us which was perfect for us with our two small children. It was the day after Valentine's Day so there was still roses on the table. Beautiful touch! Our waiter was very nice and knowledgeable, telling us all about the specials so we ordered the appetizers, crawfish etouffe. It was flavorful. Then we ordered our entrees and that's where things went downhill. It took 2 hours to get our food! When we asked about it, they said they have a small kitchen and there was a large party ahead of us. Two hours still seems to be extreme! With small children, that is miserable to wait for two hours and we were all hungry. We did order drinks in the meantime and they were good but it didn't hold us over for two hours. Once we got our food, it was underwhelming and not even hot. The steak tasted more like pork chop. My fiance was so disappointed we decided to not even eat. We were highly disappointed and hungry. The owner ended up leaving so we didn't speak to her but our waiter ended up compensating our meal
Amanda Woodruff
**Update** We received a call from management after reading our review. They were extremely apologetic and offered to try and make things right. We plan to be in Cambridge this summer and will revisit the restaurant to allow them to redeem themselves. We again appreciate them reaching out and will hopefully have a much more enjoyable experience this summer.
We made a reservation of 14 a month out, which gave the restaurant enough time to prepare for us to come in. Our friends were so excited to bring us to this establishment as they had a wonderful time last year. Little did we expect the not so wonderful experience we ended up having… We were seated right away and drinks came out fairly quickly. With in 30 min all of our orders were placed. After about an hour (we were trying to be patient knowing we were a large group) of no food to the table we asked our server where the kids ordered were as they ordered right when we sat down. Come to find out, the kid orders were never put in, which included the drinks (they had water for the table). The server quickly got them an order of fries for the table. After waiting 2.5 hours our food finally started coming out. The quality of food was just okay, a squash salad with only 4 pieces of squash, fish was under cooked, burgers were nothing to brag about. Once we were done eating we asked to speak with the manager as I believe they served the entire restaurant before bringing our food out. She proceeded to tell us I a very rude manner our table bogged down the entire restaurant and was not super friendly. We had a $1200 bill and told us she was glad we were leaving so now she can go pull her hair out. It was extremely unprofessional & we as a group have decided to never return to the restaurant. Use caution when making reservations to this establishment especially when you have a large party as you will not be treated with the same respect as if you were a smaller group visiting this establishment by management. I must add, our waiter was extremely professional and apologetic.
I only leave reviews if things were really good or really bad. Blue Ruin was a delightful discovery for us. The food—oysters Rockefeller, duck confit, crab cakes—were fresh and tasty. The crab cakes sat on a delicious succotash and the duck was on lentils. Both dishes were among the best we have ever tasted. In addition, my old fashioned was expertly crafted. We enjoyed the “speakeasy” vibe and the owners daughter took great care in asking about our experience and explaining the history of the location. We look forward to returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Blue Ruin rocked it! We had a large party of about 24 for my wife's birthday dinner. Heather went above and beyond to help make sure everything was setup prior, answering all the questions I could throw at her.
The room was perfect, the servers were very attentive and accommodating, especially for a group that size where everyone was paying on their own. The food was delicious and timed perfectly.
Nothing but positive feedback from our group. Thank you for making it a memorable evening!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of my favorite spots in Cambridge- food, service, and atmosphere is always impeccable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came in for dinner and cocktails, and left with a great experience. For dinner I had the ahi tuna, which was phenomenal, especially with the mango salsa. My partner had the burger that was also delicious. We had two rounds of drinks, which were hit or miss. The old fashioned wasn't really balanced and their garnish-game wasn't top notch, but overall better than expected in a small town. The variety of cocktails on offer was pretty impressive. Our server was also a star - I believe her name was Ruth. She was helpful, sweet, and knowledgeable. She made recommendations about where else we could sightsee in town. She offered to take a picture of us and it turned out great with her coaching :) While it was not inexpensive, it was a good value.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We made reservations more than 2 months ago to dine here on Thanksgiving with family who are in from out of state. We just received a call, a week before Thanksgiving, telling us it was a mistake and they wouldn't be open. We are now in, too from out of town, with nowhere to have Thanksgiving dinner.
The Rittenhouse old fashioned and the pork chop special were exceptional! Well done!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best crab cake sandwich I’ve ever had. 5 stars here. But, and this is going to be disappointing, vegetable stir fried noodles were extra salty. When I say extra salty I mean the PF Changs sodium heavy recipe. We asked for this to be fixed but the chef politely refused stating that these were pre made and he couldn’t make them any different. I’m not sure what in there was pre made but whatever it was, it should have been fixed. Great drinks, great crab cake and good service but overall a bad experience due to this surprising response to an inedible dish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Food, wine, and service was great. Friendly atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Traveling from out of the area we arrived at an empty restaurant but took a chance because of the great reviews. We were not disappointed. Terrific crabcakes in a bed of succotash in a white wine sauce. Just superb! Excellent, friendly service. An historic building with exposed brick made for pleasing ambience. Other guests came rolling in while we dined. I would definitely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My boyfriend and I had dinner reservations here for our anniversary on Thursday night. Our reservation was for 8:30 and we let them know it was our anniversary. We were trying to get an Uber from our hotel, The Cambridge Hyatt but the rides kept getting canceled so when we finally got a driver hired from Hyatt to take us downtown we were 15 minutes late, arriving at 8:45. Upon entering the entire bar was full and we were told we could take a seat anywhere. We let the bartender know that we were the 8:30 reservation and what had happened with our ride situation. The server came over to the table a few minutes later to inform us that the chef had actually closed the kitchen already. At this point it was 9:00. We walked around to all the restaurants and every place closed their kitchen at 9:00 so we were left with no special anniversary dinner. We were left spending $50 getting to and from downtown back to our hotel and starving!! I can't attest to there food but very disappointed with their customer service!!!
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Very cute place. Small but delicious menu. We had a great time at the bar for dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food and drinks, amazing desserts and great service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We were in the area and gave Blue Ruin a try. We're very glad we did! The Maryland crab soup was exquisite and the crab cake was delicious and exactly as pictured on their website. Everything arrived hot, and the pace of our meal was perfect, choreographed by our friendly, knowledgeable and professional server. We'll be visiting Blue Ruin every time we're in the Cambridge area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I hate to give this place a bad review but I have to be honest.
I made a reservation here while my family was here on a staycation. From the outside, it was kind of hidden. No elaborate sign or anything but when we walked in, my fiance and I love the vibe. The colors and the exposed brick were beautiful. We were greeted by who I'm assuming was the owner/manager and you could tell she was expecting us (from our reservation) and that made me feel special. They saved a cute booth for us which was perfect for us with our two small children. It was the day after Valentine's Day so there was still roses on the table. Beautiful touch!
Our waiter was very nice and knowledgeable, telling us all about the specials so we ordered the appetizers, crawfish etouffe. It was flavorful. Then we ordered our entrees and that's where things went downhill. It took 2 hours to get our food! When we asked about it, they said they have a small kitchen and there was a large party ahead of us. Two hours still seems to be extreme! With small children, that is miserable to wait for two hours and we were all hungry. We did order drinks in the meantime and they were good but it didn't hold us over for two hours.
Once we got our food, it was underwhelming and not even hot. The steak tasted more like pork chop. My fiance was so disappointed we decided to not even eat. We were highly disappointed and hungry. The owner ended up leaving so we didn't speak to her but our waiter ended up compensating our meal
**Update** We received a call from management after reading our review. They were extremely apologetic and offered to try and make things right. We plan to be in Cambridge this summer and will revisit the restaurant to allow them to redeem themselves. We again appreciate them reaching out and will hopefully have a much more enjoyable experience this summer.
We made a reservation of 14 a month out, which gave the restaurant enough time to prepare for us to come in. Our friends were so excited to bring us to this establishment as they had a wonderful time last year. Little did we expect the not so wonderful experience we ended up having… We were seated right away and drinks came out fairly quickly. With in 30 min all of our orders were placed. After about an hour (we were trying to be patient knowing we were a large group) of no food to the table we asked our server where the kids ordered were as they ordered right when we sat down. Come to find out, the kid orders were never put in, which included the drinks (they had water for the table). The server quickly got them an order of fries for the table. After waiting 2.5 hours our food finally started coming out. The quality of food was just okay, a squash salad with only 4 pieces of squash, fish was under cooked, burgers were nothing to brag about. Once we were done eating we asked to speak with the manager as I believe they served the entire restaurant before bringing our food out. She proceeded to tell us I a very rude manner our table bogged down the entire restaurant and was not super friendly. We had a $1200 bill and told us she was glad we were leaving so now she can go pull her hair out. It was extremely unprofessional & we as a group have decided to never return to the restaurant. Use caution when making reservations to this establishment especially when you have a large party as you will not be treated with the same respect as if you were a smaller group visiting this establishment by management. I must add, our waiter was extremely professional and apologetic.
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