Russell’s Restaurant

Kiss of death, once again horrible. Slow service, bad food. Took 90 minutes to get our meals. Medium done prime rib was pure grey leather. Worst I ever had! Run for the hills and avoid this place. 2^nd straight trip here with a bad a experience.

Pleasant surroundings… waitress super#
Food yukky. served rank spoiled clams. Twice…
Salmon.crabmeat dish unedible.

Had dinner here for the first time and was very impressed. Very friendly and courteous service and the food was delicious! Will definitely return.

Great food and I love the atmosphere. The owner always goes above and beyond to make you feel welcome.

Russell’s is hands down my favorite place in Scranton! I’ve been here many times and the food never disappoints. The atmosphere is super cool, old school Italian (reminiscent of Peter Luger in NYC), but the menu is ever evolving and freaking delicious. Last night I had the halibut special and not only was it fresh and tender, but the presentation made it even more decadent. My husband had seafood angel hair pasta with homemade marinara sauce (well, everything is homemade but the sauce is totally yummy) and our friend enjoyed the salmon au poivre — amazing! Needless to say, we all ate too much!

Wow absolutely outstanding food! I’m somewhat of an Italian snob and I am in love with their food! Huge portions, Rich flavors. The antipasti for two we couldn’t finish. So much food! The chicken piccata was so flavorful. Highly recommend

The appetizers are unbelievable. Try the sausage stuffed mushrooms very unique.
I had the NY steak with the light cream sauce. This steak rivals Ruth Chris any day. This is the best steak house for counties around.
My dinner mates had the sea bass and loved the texture and citrus flavors. I can understand the impatience of the other reviews but this place is a must eat when in town.

We had THE MOST disappointing experience at this restaurant for my nephew’s graduation dinner. We were seated promptly but then waited almost 30 minutes for someone to come over and serve us and that was after my nephew went to find out what was wrong! We were then served our wine and bread but waited again. Our reservation was 6:30 yet appetizers did not come until 7:45 and dinner came a little after 8PM! It was obvious to us that the place was overbooked and understaffed. To add to the disappointment, the two haddock specials were basically not edible and the 3 of the clams in the appetizer were not opened so again were not able to be eaten. The other entrees were lukewarm. It was a disaster but not the worst. When we asked the waitress to speak with a manager, she returned alone. They had sent her back to deal and only agreed to take the clams off the bill. No owner/​manager ever approached us to apologize etc. The waitress was beside herself.
Steer clear of this place.

I agree with the other reviews indicating that there is nothing special about Russell’s but there is nothing inherently wrong. The food is fine. The service was bland. The wallpaper is horrendous.
It was my friend’s 40^th birthday and she has been going to Russell’s since she was a child. The waitress seemed like we were a hassle since we debated dessert and when I said the birthday girl needed cake, she sighed and said she would come back when we decided. There were three tables in the place! We ordered our cake. It was the worst cake I ever tasted — whipped cream icing on a layer cake of white and chocolate cake. It was called chocolate tuxedo cake. That is a very liberal description of what could have appeared at a picnic. And we were charged for the cake — not a problem but so tacky. She did put a candle in cake so that was exciting. It was really a let down. I’ve heard about Russell’s for years. It’s a run down little place and everyone there seemed unhappy to be working there — not a place for celebrating.

Family-​feel, friendly service, nice ambience, amazing food. You can’t go wrong.
For three people ordering an appetizer, 3 entrees, and 4 drinks, it was $ 135 with tip, which for the quality and portions of the food is totally worth it in my opinion.
Be warned, the menu is gigantic and the list of the day’s specials our server rattled off was even bigger– it was so hard to pin down something when it all sounded so good!
Quick rundown of the food:
–Appetizer: we split the Arrancini which was essentially a heavenly, moist ball of rice and cheese in a bowl of their delicious homemade tomato sauce. To-​die-​for. I would order like 3 of these next time just for myself.
–Entrees: the two other people in my party got the Sole special, which came in a Grand Marnier glaze topped with halved green grapes. I ordered the Scallop & Shrimp over Linguine in a Pinot Grigio sauce topped with cherry tomatoes. The opinion on the Sole was that it was cooked perfectly and fresh, but a little sweet with the Marnier sauce. My linguine entrée was fantastic & plentiful. The sauce was perfect and they didn’t skimp on the seafood– huge, buttery, and delicious. Our entrees also came with a salad and it was a nice touch– leafy romaine with blue cheese crumbles as an option (yes, please!)
–Bread basket! You’ve gotta give it up for those restaurants that still give you baskets filled to the brim with breadsticks and italian bread with butter packets. Love it.
Overall, I’d love to try something on the actual menu that’s not just a special of the day.

Russell’s was good. Very personalized service was a highlight — we did not feel rushed at all, and had a nice meal, with lots of wine, and lots of food. J. Lohr cab — good price point, and a good wine.
First of all, the antipasto is amazing. They marinate the cheese, olives, artichokes, in some special balsamic mixture that makes every thing taste so much fuller. Tuna on the antipasto was unique, but also marinated in delicious. The large plate seemed endless, and I think the four of us left a few artichokes behind.
My main course was the Eggplant Parm, and the portion was a full eggplant. Lots of breading, and lots of cheese. Cheese ravioli was also good, and added sausage was a bonus.
Sadly they were out of black tie cake, but our friends reported that it’s amazing, so will have to go back.

I like Russell’s but it is the epitome of my problem with food here in Scranton. It’s just fine. I mean, I don’t have anything to complain about but there is nothing I would right home about either. My family and friend continually tell me, and as I’ve sampled around a bit find this to be true, that Russell’s is at the top of the food chain around here. Like AV, I’m underwhelmed. If there were better restaurants in the area I wouldn’t go back to either, but it seems like this is what we have.
Service is consistently good. My last meal here was with a party of 26 and I was really impressed with how well a group that size was attended too.
All that said, I would pick Russell’s over most everywhere else.

I left with mixed feelings. I really hoped Russell’s was going to be our Italian go-​to spot in Scranton (we have found nothing to replace our Philly area favorites so far!). First off the service was painfully slow so if you are in a rush or really hungry forget it. We were neither, so we were willing to be exceedingly patient. Here’s the breakdown: Bread was good, not great. Florentine chicken soup was excellent (big chunks of chicken), salad was just ok, clams app just ok, veal chop incredible, breaded eggplant good but not how I like it. I specifically asked if it was very thin and I was told yes. It arrived with skin on and was cut thick. I cannot eat it like that. I also ordered manicotti which I frequently order at Italian restaurants and it was extremely bland. I also asked for them to go light on the sauce but both the eggplant and manicotti came swimming in it. I asked for an empty plate and scooped my food out of the sauce which sent no signal to the waitress’s brain that she screwed up. Her service could be best described as swooping. She swooped in and out. If you didn’t act fast you had to wait 20 minutes to see her again. We declined on desert which consisted of several flavors of lush (???) and a few other unappetizing things. No rum cake, no ricotta cheesecake… The place was packed and the quality of the food was good so I will eventually give it another try. Will update when I do,

The food was solid. My husband and I both had the nightly specials. My chicken with mushrooms and sun-​dried tomatoes in a white wine sauce had the perfect balance of flavors and textures. Definitely recommend this place.
Our server wasn’t quite as attentive as I would have hoped and after one particularly long absence, he returned smelling like cigarette smoke. Other than that, a great experience and a great meal.

I love Russell’s restaurant. Owned and operated by a local family for many years, it has a comfortable, hometown vibe. Perfect for an evening where you want a delicious meal over a bottle of wine with close friends and family. You can’t go wrong with anything on the Specials board, and the manicotti is my classic favorite.