Rucci's Italian Kitchen & Grille

*Second time leaving this review because they deleted the first one*

So we came here for a close friends birthday. We reserved the room in the back.

There will be several steps to this.

Firstly, we got there early to help set up. I asked if they had an espresso machine, the waitress (who was amazing and overly kind) confirmed they did. I asked if I could have a shot of espresso. She said she would ask. When she came back she said “the owner said they wouldn’t do a single or double shot of espresso”. What’s the point of having an espresso machine and not offering espresso? On top of it, their espresso martinis don’t even use real espresso. They use espresso flavored alcohol. What a farce.

I was under the impression this was an Italian restaurant. Clearly it’s not. I’m from Italy. Gaeta, south of Rome. Any real Italian restaurant/ristorante would offer espresso. It’s the furthest thing from authentic Italian if they can’t even offer a shot of espresso.

Second thing, I asked the waitress if they could do a four cheese pizza, a quattro formaggi. The waitress said of course. What came out was the most abysmal and pathetic pizza I’ve ever seen. It was bagged mozzarella cheese, spread over canned sauce, and store bought dough. Not only this, but after everyone ordered, every plate was left nearly full, as seen in the photos. Clearly showing the food was far below expectations.

Again, I’m from Italy. I was told this was authentic italian. Im ashamed to see this place claim anything similar to Italian cuisine. It’s just another cheap restaurant overcharging ($1500 minimum for the room for the birthday) for a room reservation and serving subpar food from cisco with overpriced drinks.

Thirdly, their dessert is frozen, not freshly made in house like advertised by the manager. The birthday cake we brought with us was better than the dessert they provided.

The ONLY saving grace is the staff. They are kind and welcoming. The owner is clearly masquerading as someone who thinks they know what Italian cuisine actually is, again, who doesn’t offer espresso? I’d highly recommend everyone to avoid this place, with enthusiasm.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 5

Great spot great food great service 👍

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The crab dip is to die for! I ate it before i could take a picture of it. The pizza and the sandwich were also very good! The pizza is not greasy and the pizza dough is perfect.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We ordered to go - spinach and cheese dip, chicken parm hoagie, gluten free pizza, and half-pound cheeseburger. Service was fine and a nice young man took our order at the bar. I would say prices are higher for hoagie, cheeseburger items. We except to pay more for the gluten free crust.

The dip was the smallest I have ever received in this area. 4 chips for dunking and maybe 5-6oz of dip. The cheeseburger was medium and we asked for well done.

The pizza we enjoyed and met the expectations for gluten free crust.

I find good Italian food is so hard to find in the area and was excited for this. Sadly, I’ll stick to making it at home.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 4

My seafood campi was delicious but the Caesar salad wasnt as advertised. I had to switch it for a regular salad which tasted way better. Service was great. The inside atmosphere makes up for the outside exterior.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

We went for dinner with 5 around 6pm on a holiday Monday. The food and service were both excellent!

We were initially told the wait would be 30 minutes, but we were able to find a table and ask if we could sit down there immediately, and they said yes. Unclear why they didn’t offer that table to begin with, and after 30 minutes, we received a text that our table was ready, so we reminded them that we had already sat down.

We were also not given napkins or silverware when we sat down and had to ask for them once our entrees had come out - after already eating a small finger food appetizer.

There are several vegetarian friendly options on the menu, but there could be some more selections, or more variations of existing dishes that could be made without meat. It was pretty good for this area, though.

The wine selection is kind of sparse, with bottle prices maxing out at around $50, and by 6:30 or so, they were running out of multiple bottles (Chianti, Malbec, Moscato - overheard from the table next to us) so we had to choose cheaper wine despite wanting to get a nicer one.

All the food was really tasty, and the marinara had a bit of kick to it, in a good way. I had the eggplant parmesan, and my husband had the baked ziti. Both came with garlic bread, which was also delicious.

The server was very attentive to our table despite the place being pretty slammed with people, likely due to the recency of their opening and the fact that they were open when many other restaurants were closed due to the holiday.

Overall, I highly recommend giving this place a try. The menu is quite large, so we didn’t have an opportunity to try the pizza or their dough boys (seems like a calzone, essentially).

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

I was so excited to try this place when visiting my hometown. I used to frequent the previous diner. The restaurant has a very good atmosphere. Service was ok ,not terrible but, you can tell it’s new. We ordered cocktails at the same time and it was like a game when to see when drinks would arrive. We ordered a lot of the menu items. Meatballs were good but could have been served warmer, caprese salad did not have basil and served in a soup cup with a romaine lettuce leaf, very strange! Crusty bread and oil was basic, cream of crab was good, the Maryland oysters were not bad, the filet was good but the Brussels sprouts were awful tasted microwaved and mushy. The truffle fries , are fries, truffle fries are traditionally string cut fries. Good item for a kid but not what I expected. All of the pasta was mushy and had no good flavor. Almost like buttered noodles. We ordered three different pasta dishes all white sauces and all lacked flavor. I would highly recommend adding truffle to the menu and not fries truffle but real truffles. Having a truffle butter melt for the steak would put a very nice gourmet touch. I would also suggest adding to your cream sauce to add flavor. The noodles should be al dente nit over cooked. Without a few tweaks I would say this is diner level Italian at best.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

Order a cheese pizza . Dough was undercooked. Has entirely 2 much cheese. Domino's has better pizza . So my much getting pizza from the Italian place.

Customer Service was fantastic (Alexis); we had a large party, no issues with separate bills or food. The food temperature and taste was amazing!!! The bar did their thang with the drinks. Will definitely be back!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great service and selection. Wait and cook staff are more than accommodating. Daily specials are always changing. Went in on a packed holiday party, service was smooth. Thanks

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Enjoyed dinner at this restaurant. Lots of heat, lovely Christmas decor, attentive servers and very good customer service. Fresh hot fries, and took home the fettuccine. Nice crap soup, hit just right. Thanks Rucci's.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

We order meatballs pasta the flavor wasn’t the best pizza was ok, this place is pricey and the food quality is poor I believe they can do better

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

We came as a group of 15 people. Atmosphere was great, we were taken care of promptly, the staff was nice and courteous. The food was great in flavor, the prices are not high compare to value. The place look nice and clean, no loud music. We will be back. Thank you for a great dinner with familly and friends.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great experience. Fast service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I really wanted to like this place, but the pasta just didn’t do it for me. noodles were mushy and lacked seasoning or flavor. Definitely expected more from an Italian kitchen. On the bright side, the wings were actually pretty tasty, and our waitress was cool and friendly. The atmosphere itself is nice, but overall the food just didn’t hit the mark.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 3