Al an’ Ruben’s

In May I finished out my Birthday celebrations at
Al an’ Rubens. This by far was one of the best food experiences Ive had in sometime. Not only was the food good but the comfort of the dining area was as comfortable as if i was sitting in my own house. The food was excellent. We drove from the Eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh a good 45 min but every bite was worth the travel.

Great food! Thanks to Unilocal reviews we stopped here on our way from Nashville to Pittsburgh and were delighted by good food, great service and a warm atmosphere. Flat bread specials are a must! Nice place!

Great Italian food with an inventive flair? Plus a super welcoming staff? Yes please.
Let’s start with the food. Although the more traditional chicken parmesan, cheese ravioli, etc dishes at Al and Reuben’s stand up, the real stars at this place are their more unique offerings. I highly recommend the Reuben balls (they sounded gross since I don’t love sauerkraut, but they are actually really good), the pasta nachos (the Gorgonzola cream sauce is fantastic), and the Italian sausage rolls (rolled manicotti style with tons of flavor). The portions on everything are huge (even the half portions), so come hungry.
As far as service, it sort of reminds me of a place where every member of the owners’ families works there; but without all the lazy, bad attitudes that typically come with that. They love the place and are always very welcoming. While maybe not an overly professional fine dining experience, they are prompt and they drink the Kool-​aid there. It’s not uncommon to have another table’s server overhear you order a dish and stop by to tell you how good it is.
Overall a little gem in an area where you wouldn’t expect to find one.

Back for more good stuff. Celebrating hubby’s birthday and as usual, everything was excellent. The shrimp flatbread was a miracle. So so awesomely good! All our entrée’s were very good. Portions are huge so looking forward to round two of this yummy goodness!

I think they have the best Reuben sandwiches in town. The food is worth going down and checking the place out!

…I must say that the parking alone would scare off most people, but a mother’s day dinner it had to be. Though we were seated quickly that was the last thing that was quick here. The beans and greens was excellent when it did show up and the shrimp po boy was very good after somebody decided to bring it to our table. The wait staff is very good if the object is to make you wait. Good food couldn’t save this venture.

I’ve never had a bad meal at Al an’ Ruben’s. Walk in and you’ll be greeted and seated right away. There are usually several well thought out specials on the menu. It is evident that the chef takes pride in his creations. The regular menu is extensive and features a great variety of appetizers, salads, and entrées. Many of the dishes are Italian inspired. My favorite is the Chicken Parm. The full portion features two breasts that are breaded to perfection, cooked just right, and smothered in tasty sauce and cheese. In the mood for a burger? Their’s are great! The wait staff is always pleasant and professional. The dining room is comfortable with a mix of tables and booths. Dress is casual. Grape tasted. Grape approved.

Great Italian restaurant! Classically trained chef, serving delicious Italian dinners. The sausage roll is stuffed with spicy sausage covered in my favorite Bolognese sauce. Large portions of lasagna, spaghetti. Great steaks, raviolis. The absolute best Shrimp Fettucini Alfredo that will temp your taste buds!!! Nightly Jazz music, great casual atmosphere!

Came on the advice of one of my non Olive Garden eating friends. Yes there are still people who go to Olive Garden for what they think is Italian cuisine. This place is such a good place. Great food and even better service!

Best restaurant in washington. Laid back and classy at the same time. Had most of the menu and nothing to complain about. Usally get the specials now. Always unique. Highly recommend the sausage roll, if you order from the menu. Drinks are a little expensive and not well mixed. Still 5 stars

The Pena with vodka sauce was amazing! Pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was seasoned just right! Best pasta I’ve had in a very long time!

It’s my go to restaurant, if I don’t have any plans. I could live on the greens and beans. There are some things that are not my favorites, but they have live music some nights, an attentive wait staff and if anything is wrong they fix it immediately with many apologies. That’s exactly what you expect.
Someone in the kitchen cares about your meal because it is consistently good. They have a stocked bar and some really nice wines and beer. They always have some homemade ravioli special and usually other appetizer and dinner specials.
Veal Collini is a new favorite and the burgers are the best I have ever had.
My complaints: The bread needs a little work, usually cold inside. Some fancy breads or rolls would be fantastic here. My kids always wonder where the dipping oils are and they just don’t do those here. The side or house salad is minuscule. It’s not your average size side salad, which is disappointing. But the ranch dressing is phenomenal.
(My one suggestion — regular ranch dressing as well as their current one. Kids love ranch dressing on everything but their’s is a little too spicy).

Stumbled upon this unassuming restaurant by chance. If Unilocal hadn’t told me there was a restaurant here, I wouldn’t have known by the façade. Staff was super friendly and the food was amazing. If I’m ever near Al an’ Rubens again, I will be sure to stop.

The buffalo chicken sandwich was really good.

If you want frozen food that some 17 year old assembles, there’s plenty of chains to choose from. But if you want food carefully hand created by someone who actually cares and uses incredibly fresh ingredients… Choose Al an Rubens. Even the special herb butter is delicious and handmade. The help is friendly too. The exterior might scare some away but this is the classic «don’t judge a book by its cover» case.

I don’t know how I’ve worked in Washington and never been here before, but I’ve been twice in the week since I first discovered it.
The best thing about Al an Rubens is the service — friendly, attentive, and welcoming. The food is great — essentially Italian/​American. I’ve had pasta both times I’ve been and both times it has been well-​prepared with fresh ingredients.
I highly recommend the mozzerella en carozza. If your cholesterol is high, you’ll probably want to avoid the instant myocardial infarction on a plate, but it’s essentially a fried mozzerella sandwich in bechemel sauce. What’s not to like?
Al an Rubens isn’t winning any awards for décor, but don’t let the very casual appearance fool you — this is a great place to take a date or for a dinner with friends.

I’ve never had anything on their menu that I didn’t enjoy.
Even the house salads are delicious. With roasted red peppers, olives, peppercini and mixed greens and all homemade dressings you can’t go wrong! Their bread and homemade butter are delicious, too!
Penne Lesa, Eggplant Parm, Flatbreads, Veal and more are all so tasty. A must try.
Because everything is homemade it can take some time to get your food if it’s busy (which it usually is) so I suggest an appetizer to hold you over.

My mom LOVES this restaurant. She has now taken me twice during my visits back to the ‘Burgh.
Al an’ Ruben’s is an unassuming place– not really near a major highway, not much to the front of the building, you could very easily drive by and miss it… you basically have to be a local in the know.
They always start you off with some fresh bread. The bread is yummy (I’m a sucker for bread most anywhere) but the butter is «eh.» A pepper butter, I think? However, I give them kudos for not serving those little packets of butter a lot of places use.
Next up, we had the Fried Zucchini appetizer. I was polite and shared with my fam (there were 4 of us there for lunch); otherwise, I would have eaten the entire thing by myself. Long, thin strips of zucchini with just a little bit of breading… I may or may not have taken the largest piece on the plate.
The first time my mom brought me here I ordered the Stuffed Eggplant Parm and liked it. This last trip, I wanted to try something different and not as heavy so I ordered the Penne Vodka. It was good, but there wasn’t a lot of pasta and it was drowning in the sauce. Now the amount of pasta was probably due to the fact I ordered a lunch size, but the amount of sauce should have been for a dinner sized portion. Oh well, I just asked for more bread and cleaned up my plate.
My mom had the special of the day (some kind of veggie pasta with a cream sauce) and liked it. My brother enjoyed his Ruben sandwich, and my nephew swears by the Penne Alfredo. All the pasta dishes came with a free side salad.
Both times I’ve been here the service was super friendly and spot-​on. This is a cute little restaurant for a family get-​together.

Great place and price. Entrees are well– prepared and seasoned moderately, complementing the natural flavors of the presentation.

After hearing good things about Al an’ Rubens from quite a few people, I finally stopped in for dinner. The place is rather unassuming from the outside and once inside, it’s nice but not flashy. Without knowing any better, you’d think Al an’ Rubens would be the kind of place that serves meatloaf, instant mashed potatoes, and smothers everything in either «brown» or «not brown» gravy and that couldn’t be further from the truth. The food is delicious and surprisingly elegant and the portions are huge. They offer pastas, Italian dishes, some seafood and all kind of specials. Try the Veal Collini, it’s excellent.

We heard about Al an’ Reuben’s from a friend. They knew we loved Bella Piatto and loved the Stuffed Eggplant Parmigiana. So when Bella closed we were distraught. Then came the shining light. We heard that Al the chef at Bella moved to Al an’ Reuben’s and was serving the same Stuffed Eggplant Parmigiana.
When you walk in you walk into the bar area and a little room to the right will sort of bistro tables. That room is spill over from the main dining room. We have eaten in both and believe me it doesn’t matter where you sit because the food is so good. If you want straight in you will be in the main dining room. Decent size with roomy tables.
We started off with the Fried Zucchini appetizer and the waitress suggested that along with the amazing marinara they serve we should try dipping the zucchini in some of their homemade Creamy Gorgonzola dressing, GREAT SUGGESTION. After that we we got our salads which came with our meal. Then came the amazing eggplant. Side note — Al an’ Reuben’s gives you the choice of full or half portions on a lot of their entrees. We love this because my wife and I have to split a lof the times just because you get too much food. Okay, back to the food. We both ordered the half portion of the eggplant and even took some home. This dish is one of my favorite dishes, with it being so cheesy and the eggplant is perfect. Plus, that marinara is to die for.
All and all we are very happy to have rediscovered Al and his cooking.