Why You May Want To Avoid This Ruth's Chris Steak House Location

A restaurant known for high prices and high quality, Ruth's Chris Steak House has more to offer than just a confusing name (which resulted from owner Ruth Fertel's contractual obligations that stopped her from using the restaurant's original name in a new location). With more than 140 stores spread out over 21 countries, you can't argue with the success of this iconic chain. However, not all locations are on the same level in terms of quality, and one location in particular has received a lot of bad buzz from customers unlucky enough to dine there.

According to Tripadvisor, the Reno, Nevada Ruth's Chris Steak House currently has a sizable portion of "terrible" reviews, which pull no punches when describing the restaurant. As one reviewer explained, their steaks didn't arrive for an hour and a half, and when they finally got to the table, the diner found them "too done, gristly and not much flavor." Another reviewer wrote, "All dishes were mediocre at best ... Steak was over cooked, low quality ... and lobster was very fishy."

The Reno location didn't fare much better on Yelp. One customer described the restaurant as "a mess for a high end steakhouse," while another claimed that their New York strip was "way too fatty and the steak was gristly, tough and chewy." Plenty of reviewers also mentioned poor service and reservation cancellations initiated by the restaurant at the last minute.

Inadequate staffing and massive menus are just a few of the red flags health inspectors look for in restaurants. Along with dizzyingly bad reviews, the Ruth's Chris Steak House in Reno was also cited by Northern Nevada Public Health in 2023. While the establishment was never subject to closure, the restaurant received a failing grade, meaning it had more than six violations categorized as critical. Critical violations are defined as issues that "pose an imminent threat to public health and have the potential to cause foodborne illness," according to the agency's Food Safety Inspection Field Guide.

The Reno steak house's problems mostly revolved around the sanitation practices of the staff, as employees were witnessed handling food with their bare hands and not washing their hands after touching raw meat. Additionally, inspectors noticed that hand-washing sinks throughout the kitchen were lacking the necessary supplies. It's not clear how quickly Ruth's Chris Steak House corrected these issues, but given that the Reno location is still in operation, it's safe to assume that the violations were sufficiently addressed.

It should be noted that problems at a single restaurant location don't always represent the overall quality of the brand. Ruth's Chris Steak House holds a favorable reputation in general, and many of the chain's locations have decent to great reviews. In the event you want to experience the restaurant for yourself, here's our guide to choosing the perfect steak cut at Ruth's Chris Steak House.