Ruby's Cafe

Ruby's Cafe has grown to be one of my favorite spots in NYC – an Australian restaurant just as Dudley's but without the bad service.  Yes, Dudley's has horrible service, so I'd recommend Ruby's over Dudley's. 

This was only my second time at Ruby's but I fell in love after my first visit and am still in love after my second.  The first time, my friend and I ordered the Creamy Chicken Pasta – rigatoni, sun dried tomatoes & cream for $13.50 and the Chicken Schnitzel Salad – bibb lettuce, sweet chilli & mustard dressing for $14.  I am a huge pasta fanatic (if I had to pick only one food to eat for the rest of my life I would choose pasta) and this pasta was BOMB. It was so damn good. The chicken schnitzel was also super tasty. We also ordered a side of truffle fries because you can't go to an Australian restaurant without ordering a side of truffle fries because they are scrumptious as hell.  I've tried it at Dudley's and there it's a bit more sour + mustard-y but at Ruby's the mustard flavor is a bit more subtle, which is more to my liking. The piece of chicken they give is also quite generous.

My second time here we ordered the Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta – rigatoni, baby peas, tomato sauce for $13.50 and their crispy rice dish (not sure of the name because I don't see it on the website).  I think crispy rice is an Australian thing because I've tried it at Dudley's as well. It's a bit sour because of the sauce used but it's a very light dish, minus the enormous block of (halloumi?) cheese that I mistaken for a piece of chicken.  The spicy sausage pasta was not as good as the creamy chicken one but it was still delicious. I can't wait to go back to try new dishes because they haven't let me down!

The set-up of the restaurant is super simple yet cute and the service is great. I think a requirement to work at Ruby's is to be Australian because all the hosts/waiters I've encountered have an awesome Australian accent! I highly recommend this restaurant, mates! ;)