Ruby Tuesday

Service could have been more attentive, but At least it wasn’t chatty. The food was great. I had Brussels sprouts as a side… very yummy. And the entrée was excellent. After avoiding Ruby’s for years, I’ll go back soon.

Oh my. I still come in hoping it’s going to get better. I’m rooting for you RT but you aren’t making it easy on me!
My visit today was to try this new enhanced Garden Bar. Okay. It’s expanded. Four different kinds of greens. 12 different dressings. Hummus and pita bread. Croutons or tortilla strips or skinny bread sticks. Various pickled items. Various sliced veggies and some chick veggies for dipping. Black beans, green peas, wasabi peas, grilled broccoli, and a few pasta/​potato salads and fruit (which isn’t really in season right now so it’s kind of pathetic).
Plates are now square. They are clean. They are cold.
The bar is clean! That’s huge!
My favorite crab cakes are off the menu. Bummer.
The music playing swings from one decade to the next but at least it isn’t overbearing.
Uniforms are now jeans and a button down solid. Argh! Jeans!
The host was kind. Not overly friendly. A shame. But honored my window seat request without attitude. Props!
My server was great. Thank you Malia for being a no nonsense server. I was a dine and dash guest. You made sure that happened and I had hot, fresh decaf to boot!
The lunch crowd was average. Lots of servers. Not enough guests.
Here’s the deal folks. The garden bar lacks flavor! There was nothing that stood out which is such a disappointment. Proteins were minimal. Stuff was clearly frozen and thawed rendering it mushy (onions). Some stuff was so cold it curled up (radishes). Some stuff needed a good rinse (black beans).
I want to say good things. I do. Every time I come. RT you are the home team! Please figure this out! Your competition has!
P. s. Say goodbye to guests when they leave. Thank them.

First and last time at this location.
We walked into a busy lunch service but they still had many tables available. And yet they had a wait. A man was complaining about how he’d been waiting over 30 minutes to what appeared to be a manger and she was being passive-​aggressive to him and he got upset and then he and his family left. We were then seated (we got his spot apparently).
Our waitress came within a reasonable amount of time. I’m still wondering why there was a wait. Anyway. I started to order my usual steak, garden bar and zucchini. I noticed that prices were $ 2 – 3 more than other RT locations but I looked past that. I was then informed by the waitress that I couldn’t get the garden bar with my entrée unless I paid $ 3.99 more. WHAT!!! She said since they had an «extended» garden bar, the «rules» were different and the garden bar could no longer be a side dish. I looked at that salad bar, there was nothing extended about it except maybe a little fruit. And nothing was fresh or full. At this time we walked out. Absolutely horrible what they are charging people. You are not Ruth’s Chris, you are Ruby Tuesday. A casual restaurant. Seriously, price accordingly.
I’ll stick with the RT on Northshore in Knoxville and hope they don’t change.

This is a review for the FURROW ROAD location of Ruby Tuesday and NOT the one inside the Knoxville airport.
My husband and I were returning home from Thanksgiving weekend in Cleveland Ohio when our car left us stranded on top of Rarity Mountain, Tennessee. After calling AAA and having the car towed to a Nissan dealer in Alcoa Tennessee, we checked in to the La Quinta Inn & Suites, got settled and headed next door on foot to Ruby Tuesday.
I’m gonna say right up front that at our advanced age and having spent over 20 years in the food business, we’ve kind of become food snobs. Well maybe not *snobs* because we’ll eat a LOT of places, but we just really want good food no matter what the establishment.
I honestly can’t believe I’m going to say I LOVED this place. We’re just not that into chain type restaurants well because let’s face it, a lot of ‘em aren’t very good. I’m eating my words on this one though. First of all, kudos to our server Miranda, who was kind and sweet and funny and provided us lovely service. Thank you!
Secondly, I couldn’t believe how great the new salad bar is! (They call it the «garden bar»). There are really good items to choose from including roasted red bell peppers, marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and a bunch more interesting selections that most salad bars wouldn’t have. There are four different kinds of greens to choose from (baby romaine heads, spring mix, raw chopped brussels sprouts and kale, and one other that I can’t remember.
Every item is clearly marked by a diagram on the wall behind the salad bar so there’s no guessing at what you might be putting on your plate. There are four or five kinds of cheese to choose from, the veggies all looked fresh, plus there’s fresh fruit and other yummy toppings. I was really surprised at how good it was. OH and the whole deal is just ten bucks! Whaaaaat? Loonytoons.
Finally, hubby got the Triple Prime Smokehouse Burger and OMG. It was truly delicious. Cooked to a perfect medium it comes with cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce and onion rings but the best thing is that the roll tastes like a brioche bun, which is SO delicious on a burger!
The sweet potato fries were delicious too — crispy rather than floppy — they come salted as opposed to some places that season them with sugar and cinnamon. (I prefer them savory, hubby prefers sweet.)
We enjoyed our dinner so much that before we rented a car to drive home the next day we went back to Ruby Tuesday again for lunch and got the same thing we’d had for dinner the night before. I got salad bar again and hubs got the Triple Prime Smokehouse Burger but this time with brussels sprouts instead of fries, which were also shockingly good. This burger has a ton of flavor and fills you right up. It’s actually enough for two people, in my opinion.
I don’t know if all of Ruby Tuesday has upped its game but the one in Alcoa TN sure as heck has. It helped make what was a crappy situation a lot nicer! :o)

Very clean and new, good food, and good value. However, just a quick lunch takes much longer than it should even when the place is just opened and slow because it looks like there’s only one poor guy in the kitchen! I’d eat here more often if they’d get the food out faster and would be a bit more attentive with the service.

Across the street from the Knoxville Airport, this is one of the better Ruby Tuesdays I’ve been to the in the last two decades. As we know, this chain can be hit or miss with service and our server was so good he belonged at a high end restaurant. Our drinks were refilled before we could finish them. The order came out exactly how we put it in. Exceptional.
As for the food, the salad bar was up to par, all the sides were fresh and most were filled. Our turkey burger and bacon burger were cooked exactly how we wanted, hot off the grill and tasted great. For a large chain, consistency is vital and whether you’re in solo to eat a late dinner, with friends or the entire family, there’s good service and fair chain food waiting for you here.

The portions were kinda small considering the amount you pay. The only good thing is the salad bar. The waiter was very standoffish. The food was decent. The tilapia tacos were pretty good. Overall an average place.

Parking lot had more cars than Applebee’s, so came here. The food was good and the service was great! If you’re looking for something close to the airport, this is probably your best option.

This location delivered to my hotel across the parking lot.
Just straight up good food.
Everything was cooked well and tasted good.
I’ll order here again when/​if I come back through the area.

After spending Saturday evening in Alcoa’s sister city, Maryville, my date & I decided to stop by Ruby Tuesday’s for a late dinner. We elected to go to the Alcoa restaurant instead of Maryville’s flagship restaurant, which is located in the heart of Maryville’s downtown. Ruby Tuesday has been a long-​time favorite & a family tradition until now.
When we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by the host, who turned out to be the most singularly helpful person of the evening. She was very polite & we were seated promptly. Our table was comfortable & clean & we could see that the dining room was moderately empty for the evening. Our initial thought was perhaps there was training being conducted for the wait staff, as the majority of the staff were wandering around & going to the bathroom in groups. It was a rather curious thing to watch & a little disturbing. The ratio of staff to patron was very high, but our service was lacking tremendously.
Our waiter (name withheld) was lacking sophistication when queried about the menu, specifically the steaks. We were not offered water beyond our initial glass. The salad bar looked as if it had not been attended to in several hours. The preparation time for our meal was very reasonable, but one of the entrees had a hair on the plate under the fries. My date, who is a gentleman, did not make a public display of the situation, but rather elected not to eat his meal. I did the same as my appetite was removed at that point.
Our waiter left us waiting for our check for over 10 minutes while he escorted friends/​family/​customers out to the parking lot. I have to only imagine that he was still on the clock while he hung outside to talk to his company. I don’t claim to understand or possess the knowledge to operate a restaurant, but common sense tells me that this place isn’t efficiently managed & the wait staff need stronger leadership & direction.
We had an unpleasant experience & strongly advise those seeking a restaurant to expand their choices beyond this establishment.