Russo’s

This place is alway a great place for dinner. Amazing dinner, great atmosphere!
The menu is fresh daily. The food is fresh as well. The food theme is Italian/​New Orleans fusion, and chef Dave serves up an interesting dinner every night.
Save room for their desserts, get the peanut butter pie.

Food and the service was very good, but it was extremely noisy inside to the point where it was hard to have a conversation.

I can’t say enough about the delicious food. Russo’s is my go-​to restaurant for a flawless dining experience. I guess I can agree that it’s not a quiet spot, but it is a reflection of how «alive» this place is! The ONLY downside it might have is that is really is not on the main drag, geographically but that’s OK with me; makes it a bit easier to get in without a rezzie!

Hidden gem. For years has been one of our favorite spots. Love going there for lunch also

I arrived at 7:30 with reservations and I’m just leaving at 9:30. The filet my husband ordered was over cooked and dry. My seafood was amazing as well as the appetizer of crab cakes. The service was terribly slow. Suggest the seafood and go with lots of time to spare.

The food was excellent. A very authentic creole food offerings with a twist of Italian.
Tried the jambalaya and loved it.
One of us tried the shrimp and grits
They also have a wide selection of wine
The place is in the middle of nowhere but take your chance in Akron

We all really enjoyed our Cajun dishes and barbecued shrimp. They have a wonderful wine selection and several draft beers to choose from including a raspberry ale for my husband who doesn’t typically drink. We loved our prosciutto wrapped Figs and liked the salads that came with the meals. Our friends recommended the French onion soup which we will return for in November when it gets cold. Our service with our waitress, Marissa, was wonderful. She was attentive and refilled our drinks and water when needed.

I’ll have to agree with most of the reviews. Long story short, Russo’s has great food, friendly service, with the downsides of loud crowd noise and a pace of service that’s more on the leisurely side. That’s OK if you plan for it and don’t come here if you’re in a hurry. I think the food is worth it, but the pace might not be worth it for some.
I love Creole food, which is a rarity here in NEO. I got the shrimp and grits. The rib-​eye had a tasty, unique sweet-​spicy cajun rub to it, and the veal was delicious.
For concert goers: Say, if your Blossom Music event is at 8PM, try to make reservations for 530PM, expect to stay 1 hour and 30 minutes, (maybe 2 hours if you order dessert, which we did not) be out by 7, enough time to last the stop-​and-​go-​traffic towards Blossom parking. It’s really 3.5 stars rounded out to 4 for me.

We have never been disappointed by Russo’s. While it is rather noisy, we’ve never had difficulty conversing. Recently had the shrimp and grits which was outstanding. My husband had a vegetarian pasta dish which was also very tasty. Our daughters were equally pleased with their dinners. Our server was relaxed but efficient.
One of the things we appreciate about Russo’s is that they continually update the menu so there is always a nice variety in addition to their core menu.
While I agree with one of the reviewers regarding the casual dress worn by many of the patrons, I’m afraid that this has become the new normal at many restaurants. We still like to dress up a bit when we dine at more expensive restaurants, and have become accustomed to seeing others dressed similarly but even more in t-​shirts and baseball caps.
Russo’s is a true hidden gem — we love it!

Food was decent and service was fast. Very overpriced in my opinion. That being said, portions are generous and the servers are very helpful. We had the jambalaya and the chicken étouffée. Both were authentic and flavorful.

Dinner was awesome! Had the GF Roasted Portobello, Shiitake, & Oyster Mushrooms on Spaghetti with Shallots, Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parsley, Basil, & Parmesan Cheese dish. Unbelievably incredible! Will visit again next baseball season!

The food was good, the service was good– it was just so incredibly Loud! We couldn’t even hear each other!

If half stars were available this would get 3 ½ from me. I am torn because the food was outstanding but the service was slow and the restaurant was extremely loud. For the prices of the food I figured people would be dressed a little nicer and the restaurant would be more of a semi-​intimate setting and by this I mean quieter. This was not the case. I had a hard time hearing conversation from across the table.
Our server was very nice but seemed to be a server of leisure. While every table she had was full she made conversation with each table which led to slower service. Thank goodness for the flowing good conversation at our table that didn’t make us notice this too much. We actually opted out of dessert because we were afraid it would take forever.
The food we ordered however, was outstanding! We started with the Grilled Calamari and it was the best I have had in awhile. Since it was grilled there was no breaded coating and it was cooked perfectly. It was mixed with sauteed vegetables and balsamic. Also, you get a trio of free bread with olive oil for dipping.
The waitress sold my boyfriend and I on the Shrimp and Grits– the grits were fabulous! I am very glad I ordered this dish. The flavor packed a punch and the shrimp were large and seasoned well. I even used the bread to soak up the extra sauce– my plate was clean! My dad ordered the Steak Pizzaiola alla Farinacci and said the flavors were delicious.
My suggestion for anyone trying to go here is to sit at the bar. You get to watch the kitchen in action and I would think you would get better service.

We went for the cajun food and it was horrible. The prices were high ant the quality of the food was very disappointing. The rice with the creole dish was hard and undercooked. I have had lots of Cajun/​Creole food ant this was by far the worst I have ever had. The staff was functional at best but not welcoming or friendly. We will never go back.

We ate here for the first time in 3 years and were so glad we did! Great food, and service was excellent. Had a really hard time deciding on what to order because everything we saw going past us to other people looked and smelled amazing. Jen was our server, she was very professional and attentive. We will be back for sure. So glad we went!

Went to Russo’s with another couple for dinner on Saturday night ¹⁰⁄₁₈. Had a 7:30 reservation and actually got seated when we arrived at 7:15. We have been many times before and always had a great meal. I love that they have a special menu each night although it’s tough for a repeat of a favorite dish.
Our waitress informed us that they were on their last soft shell crab for a dish on their special nightly menu and asked if we wanted that dish. It sounded good so I agreed to that. It seems though that they should order enough of the items to not run out on a busy weekend. It seemed to be the theme of the evening though. I love Russo’s food but quite a few of my favorites were already out of for the evening. Hello chicken liver appetizer… ran out on a Saturday night? Really!!!
Also on the downside is the dining room noise level. Very loud and hard to hear the conversation at our own table. Also I really object to the tv’s with football games at what I consider a higher end restaurant. Sort of cheapens the experience that I paid $ 150.00 for two people. Bottom line 2 out of five stars in my book based on atmosphere and lack of choices of fave foods.

My husband and went to Russo’s on Thursday evening. It was fantastic. We sat at the end of the bar that overlooked the kitchen and chefs. Everyone was very nice. The chefs took time to talk to you while they were busy cooking. I ended up getting the shrimp and grits. I’m not a fan of shrimp and never had grits. It was wonderful. One of the best meals I ever had. I will definitely be back and I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone.

What can I say about this place, it does not matter if you eat in the front restaurant or in the bar in back and you will be satisfied. I have been here multiple times and never had a bad meal or experience.

Excellent food and great service! I have already suggested this restaurant to friends. We had a fig and prosciutto appetizer that was delicious. My husband enjoyed twin filets prepared to perfection set atop homemade mashed potatoes with a rich streak house. I had the New Orleans BBQ shrimp and it was outstanding! The sauce was thick, peppery, and silky with more than enough for the garlic bread provided to dip in it. We took dessert home because we both finished our dinners and did not have room. The peanut butter pie was fabulous with just enough peanuts for crunch! We will certainly return.

Original review:
I have only had a few things off of the menu as I usually sit at the bar & have a glass of wine or two. I love the buzz about the place: watching the chef prepare meals, the ambience, the energy of the staff & customers, etc.
A little pricey, but worth it. Clean & classy. Would recommend my boyfriend taking me here any time for dinner!
Try the lounge in the back– drink & food specials and low key.
Update:
I stuggle greatly with this review, because I really do like this place and WANT to like it so much to keep going back; however, I have never had good service while dining.
One night, boyfriend and I went for dinner. Our service started our poorly and ended just the same. It took 20 minutes to get water! We debated whether or not we should have stayed. We did, but regretted it.
As soon as our waitress came to our table, we ordered water & food– we weren’t sure if we were going to get another chance. As luck would have it, they were out of their chili rellano, which was a disappointment. I forgot what we ended up ordering– not very memorable, We never even got any bread, or service, for that matter.
Oh, Russo’s, I have tried at least on six occasions…