Rudino’s Downtown

Updating my review because Rudino’s has definitely improved as they have found their footing downtown!
After a month or so, I gave Rudinos’ another shot… now I’m going there a couple of times a week.
I love getting their grinders as a wrap (just want less bread). I’ve tried so many now but some of my favorites are the Chicken Bacon Ranch Club and I REALLY love the Chipotle Chicken Grinder (as a wrap). My colleague loves getting the Greek grinder as well.
The wait time has gotten a lot smaller time! We get our food pretty quickly, and it’s fresh, hot and tasty. The portions are generous as well.
Well done, Rudino’s… see you for lunch!

I don’t often wander around the business district looking for new lunch spots as I typically stick to food vendors right near the James Center. So when I saw that Coppola’s was suddenly replaced by Rudino’s Grinders, I figured I’d give it a go.
–Food: First of all, the food is pretty good. I have gotten a Philly and a Chicken Bacon Ranch Club, and both of them were pretty good. I got them without lettuce and tomato, because those things shouldn’t have those (haha). In both situations, the bread was nice and thin and toasted, and the meat was pretty good. Because I got them without lettuce and tomato, I feel like I might have been given more meat because while other reviews mention a shortage of meat, I didn’t notice this.
The chips are pretty good, and the combo comes with those and a fountain drink.
–Cost: The main way to kill a vampire is a stake to the heart. Rudino’s stake to the heart is how much the actual food costs. The grinder, maybe a 6″ or 7″ sandwich, is $ 8 by itself, $ 10 in a combo (about $ 12.50 after tax and the electronic tipping guilt machine). Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent sandwich, but I’m not sure it’s $ 12.50 good.
–Atmosphere: If you’ve been to Coppola’s you’ll notice the similarities. They rearranged the seating a bit but by and large it’s a similar feel to there. They have tables and chairs, booths, and benches (like part benches). I tried the bench once and wasn’t the biggest fan, but the chairs were plenty comfy.
–Service: The cashier both tomes was pleasant, but the people in the back were audibly loud and it sounded like they were arguing a bit. No real complaints.
–Overall: Rudino’s isn’t bad. The food is even pretty good. But $ 12.50 good, hmmm… I’ll probably give it a couple more tries.

Where’s the Meat?
I ordered the Honey Mustard Chicken wrap and it was 95% lettuce, one tomato thinly sliced, and little chunks of chicken. It was like eating a bowl of lettuce with honey mustard dressing.
Not worth the $ 8.89 I paid for it. Should have went to Simon cart, would have got a bigger wrap with more meat for $ 6.

My wife and I ate here the other day and loved it! Our grinders were awesome and came out fast — no wait. We were both shocked to see the negative reviews. All I can think is that those reviewers were bias because they miss the old joint, and I’m not convinced they gave Rudino’s a fair chance. That’s sad because they actually kept a lot of the old staff.
I had the Greek grinder and added chicken. It was fantastic! For those who don’t know, a grinder is different from a regular sub because of the bread — it’s thinner, really fresh, crunchy on the outside but warm and chewy in the middle.
Awesome food and friendly service! Glad to have Rudino’s downtown!

$ 12.51 for an 8 inch (maybe) sandwich that was light on meat, cheese, veggies and flavor plus a small bag of chips and fountain drink? Probably the worst lunch value downtown. Tasted like the chicken was frozen and thawed in the microwave. Food took a while to come out even though the place was not busy when I arrived.

Another unremarkable sub shop to add to the downtown collection. Wish Coppola’s was still around. From the looks of things, they don’t seem to know what they are doing. Very unorganized.
In all fairness, the did just open up recently and the place seemed clean. However, the food is nothing shy of boring. Will most likely not be going back. Best of luck guys.