I am not in the business of leaving less than stellar reviews unless really deserving. However, I need to comment on something that has been mentioned repeatedly in the reviews here. First things first, place is cute. Staff is young but attentive enough. Although they all tend to congregate in one area by the kitchen. Bar is decent. However, I got the Florentine pasta with chicken and the chicken was... concerning. And a number of people have said this and still seems to be zero change. It was very inconsistently cut, a lot being very thin and mixed in with the pasta. So it had an appearance and almost texture of the pasta? Which was weird. But very chewy and stringy at the same time? It was just plain gross. With a dish so heavy, a nice grilled, pan fried or even blackened chicken placed on top of the pasta would make a huge difference. My 10 year old loved the pesto. He also had problems with the chicken and said the bread was stale and cold (it was). I'll probably be back at the 10 year old wishes. I'll stay away from the pasta and try the pizza next time. read more

Great modern vibe and a nice addition to Leonardtown .... Particularly on a slow Tuesday night. The steak sandwich was delicious as was the side salad with chili vineggarette (great suggestion by the awesome bartender vs getting the d beef tip salad - which I'm sure is also VG because the salad dressing was so good). Best part of this place .... In addition to nice friendly staff and VG food ... it perfectly bridges gap between more upscale Sweatbay/Front Porch and OTP read more

Rucci's Italian Kitchen & Grille - Side salad and steak sandwich - Italian Near Me - Leonardtown, Maryland

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This review is based on the physical location and bar area. We visited on a Monday during lunch to grab a quick drink. There was plenty of parking in the area and it's a close walking distance from multiple other businesses. We sat at the bar and stayed for a drink. I had the Italian Espresso Martini; it was made perfectly. While there we talked with the bartenders and they were very nice and welcoming. We hope to visit again to be able to try out more than just the drink menu. read more

Rucci's Italian Kitchen & Grille - Espresso Martini - Italian Near Me - Leonardtown, Maryland

Leonardtown Maryland is one of those reclaimed downtown areas where air qoutes are required when you say "hip." It kinda is and has an exploding line-up of new shops, wine bars and restaurants but "hip" is certainly up for debate. Which brings me to Rucci's Italian Kitchen. This blacked-out, no reservations joint has a clubby, upscale feel that delivers a pasta-forward Tuscan menu that punches way above it's weight. I enjoyed eggplant parm over spaghetti that hit all the right notes, especially when delivered by a well-trained service staff that was attentive without being intrusive. For service alone I'm going to stick the landing at five stars but while my spicy sausage was delicious, maybe the huge chunks of potato could be scaled down to human size as they overwhelmed the cup. There's certainly no potato famine at Rucci's. read more

Jan. 31, 2026 My wife and I were heading to Lexington Park to pick up a few things and decided to stop at Rucci's in Leonardtown for an early dinner. The restaurant opened not long ago, so we figured we'd give it a try. My wife called ahead and was told reservations weren't needed since it wasn't very busy. When we arrived, there were a few people at the bar, so we sat there our usual spot. We were greeted promptly and given menus (forgot to take pictures). First let me tell you they have a wall full of different kinds of Bourbon, theres lots to choose from for sure. Looking over the drink menu, there was a section that read "$14" with a list of cocktails underneath, including an Old Fashioned that said you could choose your bourbon. That seemed off, so I asked the bartender. He explained that it was misleading the price is whatever the bourbon costs plus $2 to make it an Old Fashioned. They do have a very solid bourbon selection, with some starting around $11.95 and up. My wife ordered an iced tea, and I had an Old Fashioned with Woodford. For food, my wife ordered the Florentine Fettuccini with chicken and asked for a side salad with ranch before the meal. I ordered the Chicken Parmesan. When the food came out, everything looked decent at first, but my wife immediately noticed her salad hadn't come out first as requested. She mentioned it, and shortly after the salad was brought out glad she asked for it before her meal. Bartender say well I told them to bring it out before the meal. Once we started eating, the issues became obvious. My wife said the sauce was good, but the chicken had a strange texture and was already cut into small pieces. I tasted my Chicken Parm the sauce and cheese were fine, though not very hot but the chicken was the real problem. The texture was rubbery and clearly processed frozen chicken, not a fresh pounded, breaded cutlet. Both pieces were identical in shape, confirming they were pre-formed and factory processed. This is not what you expect at a nice sit-down restaurant. I let the bartender know the chicken wasn't good and asked if it was frozen. She said she didn't work in the kitchen. I told her I didn't want it and was asked if I'd like something else. I ordered the Gotti sub without horseradish sauce and chose a half. I was surprised to find out fries were extra and no chips so the sandwich comes with nothing on the side, which feels odd for a restaurant like this. A manager stopped by and mentioned that all sauces are homemade, which is great -- but the issue wasn't the sauce, it was the chicken quality. The sandwich came out and looked good. The roast beef was thinly sliced and dipped in beef broth, and overall it tasted much better than the dinner entrée. My only complaints were the bread being a bit too thick and the cheese not being melted even slightly melting it would've helped a lot. Overall: We might return for sandwiches and drinks. It's disappointing because the restaurant itself is nice and in a great location, but cutting corners with frozen, processed chicken really hurts the food quality. Fresh pounded chicken, properly cooked, would elevate these dishes tremendously. Same goes for the fettuccini a grilled chicken breast would make a big difference. And microwaving crème brûlée? That should never happen. It's meant to be chilled, with only the sugar torched on top. I originally thought some of the Yelp reviews were exaggerating after this visit, I get it. Extremely disappointed!! read more

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We had such a great experience at Rucci's in Leonardtown! The food was fantastic, the atmosphere was wonderful, and the service couldn't have been better. Phil, the new manager, was our server, and he was absolutely wonderful - so personable, friendly, and easy to talk to. We had some great conversation and truly felt welcomed and taken care of. I had the Florentine Fettuccini with blackened chicken, and my husband had Mama Rucci's Lasagna. Both were absolutely delicious! Everything was fresh, flavorful, and exactly what we were hoping for. We couldn't have asked for better food or better service. Phil was fantastic, and we'll definitely be back! Highly recommend Rucci's! read more

We stopped by for dinner on Saturday. It was full but they found a spot for us. Nice bar and they had the World Cup on monitor. Wait staff was polite and helpful. Two pasta dishes were good especially the shrimp fra diavla. Would come back and recommend. Another decent restaurant on the Leonardtown square. read more

Wonderful meal, perfectly portioned and very savory. Stellar service, polite and with great attitudes. Clean, with a relaxed ambience. The staff couldn't have possibly been nicer. The drink selection was well-curated and drinks arrived timely. Drinks were well-made. A+ all around. read more

I was pretty hesitant to try this place because of the mixed reviews, but I ended up pleasantly surprised. We had a party of six, and everyone thought the food ranged from okay to good. I wouldn't say anything was extraordinary, but we all found something we enjoyed. If you're ordering, I'd definitely recommend one of the meatball dishes--they were the standout item and had great flavor. read more

Rucci's Italian Kitchen & Grille - Caesar Salad and Meatball - Italian Near Me - Leonardtown, Maryland

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We ordered a shrimp, Scallop fettuccine dinner with several appetizers. The food and wait staff were by far greater than we ever expected. Leonardtown now has a stand out restaurant that is worth driving from DC to try. Highly recommended: Amazing food, service and atmosphere. Can't praise Rucci's Italian Kitchen enough. Definitely worth a visit.... read more

This is the 2nd time we were in and bought a few more people with us. Our waitress was Scarlet and she was awesome. The food was very good as the first time. Everybody loved it. One had bourbon salmon, lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, and eggplant parmesan. And for advertiser we had the bread in oil everything was delish. Also the portions are very good. Thank you all ! Definitely recommend. read more

Leaving a review here too since the owners wanted to try and delete my Google review. So we came here for a close friends birthday. We reserved the room in the back. There will be several steps to this. Firstly, we got there early to help set up. I asked if they had an espresso machine, the waitress (who was amazing and overly kind) confirmed they did. I asked if I could have a shot of espresso. She said she would ask. When she came back she said "the owner said they wouldn't do a single or double shot of espresso". What's the point of having an espresso machine and not offering espresso? On top of it, their espresso martinis don't even use real espresso. They use espresso flavored alcohol. What a farce. I was under the impression this was an Italian restaurant. Clearly it's not. I'm from Italy. Gaeta, south of Rome. Any real Italian restaurant/ristorante would offer espresso. It's the furthest thing from authentic Italian if they can't even offer a shot of espresso. Second thing, I asked the waitress if they could do a four cheese pizza, a quattro formaggi. The waitress said of course. What came out was the most abysmal and pathetic pizza I've ever seen. It was bagged mozzarella cheese, spread over canned sauce, and store bought dough. Not only this, but after everyone ordered, every plate was left nearly full, as seen in the photos. Clearly showing the food was far below expectations. Again, I'm from Italy. I was told this was authentic italian. Im ashamed to see this place claim anything similar to Italian cuisine. It's just another cheap restaurant overcharging ($1500 minimum for the room for the birthday) for a room reservation and serving subpar food from cisco with overpriced drinks. Thirdly, their dessert is frozen, not freshly made in house like advertised by the manager. The birthday cake we brought with us was better than the dessert they provided. The ONLY saving grace is the staff. They are kind and welcoming. The owner is clearly masquerading as someone who thinks they know what Italian cuisine actually is, again, who doesn't offer espresso? I'd highly recommend everyone to avoid this place, with enthusiasm. read more

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Good was amazing and plentiful! Everything was delish. Pizza was great! Appetizers could have been my meal. Server was pleasant!

All of our food has been delicious! So far we have tried both their pesto and traditional fettuccine alfredo, chicken parmesan, baked ziti, spaghetti and meatballs, the bourbon salmon, the Reuben sandwich, the caprese salad, and their pizza and doughboys. I would say they could improve upon their pizza, as I was expecting more of a Neapolitan type, but otherwise our dinners were fantastic. The portions are huge, and we usually bring home plenty of leftovers. Our servers have always been top notch too! Glad they're in Leonardtown! read more

2nd time here, both dinners were amazing! Service was top notch too!! They were packed at 4:30 in the afternoon and wait time was like 15 min for the food. read more

Too much food made it less appealing. Also I order grilled Brussel sprouts and they were boiled

So ... this isn't a great restaraunt, and it's certainly not "authentic"-anything. The Italian portion of the Italian Restaraunt's menu equates to less than half of the listed options, and after three visits since its opening I am officially calling last night's trip to Rucci's my last. Once again, the meal was substandard. How? 1. Charred Brussel Sprouts that come out steamed and squishy ... were sent back for an order of *charred* ... and come back steamed, but with a scorch mark on one side to show that they hit a grill surface for a few seconds. Still squishy. 2. The blackened chicken in my wife's florentine pasta (all 4 pieces/2 ozs of it) was folded into the sauce! No way to know if blackened or not, nevermind the child sized portion. 3. The red sauce is adequate, but lacks complexity. This is garden variety sauce you can pour from a jar, and not worth spending night-out money on. 4. Fix the music system, or leave it off. The yo-yo'ing throughout the meal of normal volume talking to having to loudly talk to be heard was annoying and intrusive. There were a couple of positives: A. Service was fine. Our waitress was kind, everpresent and tried to be helpful with orders. B. Drinks were good. I was only person at table to order a mixed drink, but I'm picky about mixed drinks and my Old Fashioned was absolutely solid. Party of four last night, all four people have been to Rucci's multiple times and all four of us left underwhelmed. At least for my wife and I, it will be the last time we go there for food. read more

Great food and great drinks! The service is excellent and the food is consistently excellent. I've eaten there several times and have not been let down. read more

It had great atmosphere, casual but high end experience, great food and staff. Prime rib was excellent, cannoli was the cannoli I ever had. Highly recommended restaurant in Leonardtown. read more

Rucci's Italian Kitchen & Grille - Tiramisu - Italian Near Me - Leonardtown, Maryland

Disappointed to say the least. Our party was eager to enjoy a meal together at Rucci's and the staff was welcoming upon arrival. The waitress was rude when we asked about the beer menu and condescendingly tapped our menu with her pen without speaking. We ordered our food and experienced a short wait time before the food reached our table. The pasta was good, but two in our party received well-done steaks when they asked for medium-rare. Given that the steak is over $30, the expectation should be that the steak will be cooked to preference. Lee Anne, a wonderful waitress was kind enough to ask about our food and responded promptly to our request for two new steaks. The steaks brought back from the kitchen were almost completely raw and it felt like a petty gesture from the chef. We decided then to ask for our check and box our food. The hostile behavior from the other waitresses led my friend and I to leave while the check got wrapped up. After we left, many waitresses began making comments that we were "embarrassed" by our partners and made other inappropriate comments towards patrons. Management watched and took zero initiative to intervene. He watched his staff disrespect paying patrons while he could have easily spoken directly to our party to resolve the issue. Perhaps there needs to be some training on soft skills among staff that will improve the experience for patrons moving forward. Will not visit again Food: 3 stars Service: 1 star Atmosphere: 3 stars Management: 1star read more

From the beginning the waitress immediately made her judgment about our table. She probably saw four young adults and said I don't need to be attentive to them. Her tone, the way she was gesturing at the menu with her pen and her need to constantly be at the bar talking to a couple friends instead of tending to her tables. The other waitress Leigh Anne was amazing she was the only one asking how our food was and even was the one to ask the kitchen if we could make a change to the sides we ordered. We were confused and thought maybe they are pooling tips because Leigh Anne seemed to be helping our table as well. She asked us how our food was my husband and his friend's steaks were overcooked. We mentioned that we didn't want to be of any trouble but they were overcooked (we asked for medium rare) . These steaks cost nearly $40 dollars so it's right to send it back we didn't think there would be an issue the steaks came back again and they came back blue still cold in the middle. Leigh Anne came back and asked how they were this time and we mentioned that they weren't cooked correctly and that if we good just get boxes to take them home to cook them to medium rare temp. Then they brought us our check. ( I am a general manager of a restaurant in dc) usually this is the part when a manager hands us the check and touches the table. This did not happen and the steaks we not comped. I was extremely uncomfortable with the demeanor of our true server and my friend asked to step outside so I followed her out while my husband and his friend waited for the manager. I watched from a distance and they completely ignored them for 8 minutes before approaching them. I then witnessed a situation of waitresses, managers and owners accusing us of treating our server poorly. That was not the case in fact we barely saw her Leigh Anne was the one that was doing her work for her. They began laughing at them for simply trying to give them feedback and express their frustration. The waitresses daughter then joined in on apparently saying the reason I stepped outside is because I was embarrassed of my husband which was far from the truth and I'm appalled at the server also joining in on the heckling. Then a guy from the bar she was talking to all night became belligerent and violent and started ushering my husband and his friend out saying "get the f out" he then proceeds to say he will kill my husband and the owner and servers were all staring at us while this was happening. Disgusting behavior. Learn customer service. Find managers that actually are trained in conflict resolution. I am not one to leave negative reviews but my mind has been blown. I understand the industry is hard I've been in it all my life but that was unacceptable behavior. I guess I maybe expecting too much from a small town restaurant. I'm expecting a smug response from this review as well because no professionals seem to be running this restaurant. If you wanted to be treated less than and have an angry "patron" charge at you threatening to kill you while servers point and laugh and the owner stands by him over a steak then this is your place to dine! read more

Rucci's Italian Kitchen & Grille - Four attempts pictured of a medium rare steak .... - Italian Near Me - Leonardtown, Maryland

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My wife and I went out with some friends to have a nice dinner and we were excited to try this place. Unfortunately this was one of the worst dining experience. My friend and I both ordered the ribeye, which is decently priced at $38 dollars. They came out and they were medium well at best. I hate sending food back but we did and they come out with the re make and it was basically still a cow. Now everyone makes mistakes but when we wanted to talk to the owner they left us alone for about 10 minutes and we visibly saw the owner sitting down not paying attention to us until we heard servers and their friends laughing and pointing at us. Highly disappointed. read more

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Heard mixed reviews so we were going to give it a shot. We called ahead to check on GF options. The girl told us yes and we could view the GF menu online. Nope! I called back 5 minutes later and she recommended salad. lol, um no thanks. It may seem not profitable to have these options for those who need them, but trust us, we tell everyone when we find restaurants with gluten-free options because there are so few that do it. They get our repeat business constantly. Disappointing, we were hoping this would have been one of them. Can't place a recommendation on the food as we ended up, going to one of our standbys right down the street who do you have GF options? read more

We were told they had espresso, only to later be told that the owners were "grumpy" and didn't want to make it because they were busy. That's not a great look--especially when the answer should've just been honest from the start. The food was hit or miss. The chicken Alfredo was mid at best, nothing memorable. Credit where it's due though--the roasted potatoes were actually good. What really stands out is the disconnect between expectations and reality. If you're going to require a $1,500 minimum for the party room, the food quality and overall guest experience need to be significantly better. Hospitality matters, and ownership should be more guest-friendly, not dismissive. read more

Delicious food! Have tried several dishes here and enjoyed each and every one. Will definitely be back!

I had high hopes first time eating here but this was such an overpriced, disappointing meal. The food was bland, pasta was overcooked, and the cheeseburger tasted like it was microwaved. We will never eat here again. read more

my husband and I visited the restaurant on Sunday, March 22,2026 the wait staff was awesome. the food so so my husband had calamari and a Caesar salad. he enjoyed both and said they were delicious I had an Italian doughboy. i was disappointed in my choice . it was suppose to include pepperoni and Italian sausage. it contained a few crumbs of sausage (no exaggeration) and a few slices of paper thin pepperoni all contained in the center only of the dough. it mostly consisted of dough and some cheese. I would not recommend ordering the doughboy if you're planning a visit to Rucci's. read more

Maybe they are going through growing pains but our first visit was disappointing. our food was delivered to the table but we had to request salt, pepper, and katsup be provided. They forgot our salad order and French fries. The Italian sandwich came out without any condiments, the roast beef sandwich was very pedestrian. Hope they improve with more experience. read more

I had the Pesto fettuccine Alfredo. Not what I was expecting. For the price paid. could've done a lot with better grade noodles way over cooked. It was swimming in the heavy cream. So I really didn't get a chance to enjoy the pesto. probably won't be eating there again. I'm giving two stars because the staff was incredibly supportive and helpful. read more

My lasagna was delicious. My husband chose a bowl of cream of crab soup and enjoyed every spoonful. Our server was Wendy E and she was excellent. Our visit was on Saturday during their soft opening, but we will return. read more

This restaurant just opened in Leonardtown. We expected something a cut above Olive Garden but were very disappointed. Very basic, no frills food. The sauces were runny and not very flavorful..... like they just came out of the package! The garlic bread was a joke..... a slice of white bread with a swipe of garlic bread. So disappointing. read more

I loved the White Plains location. I was looking forward to visiting the new Leonardtown location this evening. However, I was a little disappointed in the quality of the food as well as the service my party received. I ordered the Florentine pasta which was brought out as fettuccine Alfredo at first. I had to correct this to the food runner which is no problem however I was brought back a plate with Florentine pasta sauce just dumped over the Alfredo pasta I previously received. I honestly didn't care at first because I understand trying not to waste food however the pasta I received was drenched in sauce and the noodles were very over cooked also our waiter informed me I did not have bread due to them dropping it in the kitchen. (Yes I did receive bread later on) Our server also later checked on us and asked me if my pasta wasn't good enough for me. (Because I did not eat much)The service that was given to our party was unprofessional and we were rushed out of our table without our waiter asking if we would like desert which we were looking forward to. When we explained this to our waiter their reply was that they didn't ask because we had so many boxes. Looking forward to giving you all a second chance after you all get adjusted. Wishing you luck and improvement. read more