Have been a customer for 5+ years. The food is decent and it's reasonable. Ordered take out tonight at 6:20. Told order would be ready in 20 minutes. After waiting over an hour beyond the delivery time the order was delivered. Several other very irate customers. No apology, no explanation. I might have understood, but it was just blown off. Over cooked awful meal. Total $90+ dollars. Too many other choices to do this again. read more

Uneven food. The salads and appetizers were good but my husband ordered crab cakes ( market price $25) and got 2 sad looking cakes three pieces of broccoli and 4 baby carrots. Brother in law ordered the ribeye cooked medium and got a steak so rare he couldn't eat it. The apologized but the overall experience was disappointing. Not at all like the other locations I have visited. read more

Meal was very good and the warm croissants especially good! Great meal and the honey mustard/warm bacon dressing was really great!

Honestly, Rucker Johns has positively impacted my life. Every single item I have tried made me cry tears of joy. The croissants tasted like jesus himself baked them. I don't know whose idea it was to drizzle honey on the top but, I would like to tell that person I love them. Basically, I love Rucker Johns and I plan on eating here for every meal from today until I die and am reborn into Rucker John himself. read more

Just terrible. Cold croissants, wilted salad and horrible service. The place looks like its from the 1970s. The only reason people come here is because they dont know anything else at the beach and the location is good. No locals come here. read more

It's ok here, nothing special honesty. I live locally and have heard everyone talking this place up but I was not really impressed. I wouldn't say it is bad here, just mediocre. Other places on the island I would definitely recommend before this place. read more

When we travel to Emerald Isle, we always eat at Rucker John's. It is our favorite restaurant on the island, and we highly recommend it! Tonight, we had a large party of 8, and we each got different entrees. The Island Chicken (grilled) was one of our favorites. The marinade and pineapple salsa gives it a great flavor. The Manhattan Clam Chowder was also excellent. The staff are very kind and attentive. read more

Amazing food. Had the best short ribs with risotto and green beans. They definitely turned ordinary into extraordinary! The staff is always very friendly. read more

Always a great place to eat, great food and reasonable prices. The food is always fresh and delicious! The fried shrimp is delicious! I always make it a point to get the house salad with homemade hot bacon, honey mustard dressing! The croissant are made fresh and phenomenal! A MUST go to!! read more

Good sandwiches and nachos. My wife had the Shrimp BLT and loved it. I had the Tuna steak on sour dough bread and liked it. Kids had nachos and also enjoyed them. Good place. read more

1 WORD: CROISSANTS. Super good food, friendly staff, they recently redid the inside and it's even more of a nice family ambiance. Love the turtles outside. Order the shrimp burre blanc! read more

After our first two choices for dinner were closed on a Tuesday night, we ended up here. It's got a Ruby Tuesdays, chain vibe going on. We started with some mediocre calamari and fried mushrooms. My crab cakes were edible at best. The wife had bbq shrimp which was also not very memorable. Desserts were decent though. read more

A must go to! We went with our three children under the age of 8. They enjoyed feeding the turtles outside, and we did some shopping until we were texted our table was ready. Waitress was amazing and made great recommendations. The hot crab dip was amazing. Kids menu was extensive, and the coloring page kept them busy. The bacon and honey mustard dressing was amazing. Watch the croissants, they are addicting! Tuna was amazing. Good mix of salty and sweet. Keep lots of water on hand though! My husband loved his ribs! Will definitely go back! read more

This is not an easy place to find, but it was really great! For some reason, they didn't have the outdoor seating open on a Saturday night, and that would be our only complaint. Otherwise, our food was really good...blackened tuna steak, crab cakes, grilled chicken, and tomato basil pasta. I would definitely recommend this place if you're on the island! read more

After getting to our beach house at 4PM, we settled on the sand for little while until we got hungry. Around 6PM we drove down to the mall to check our Rucker John's. It's a large chain, surely the food would be alright. Understanding that it's a Saturday, in the middle of summer, in a tourist area, at 6PM; we knew we would have to wait a while. No problem. Our group of 4 puts our name down at 6:45PM after walking around, received a buzzer and decided to explore the mall area. We were told it would be a 45 minute wait. Again, no problem. It's to be expected. At 7:50PM, I went to check on our status. Still two parties ahead of us. Ok, nothing we can do about that. 8:05PM the buzzer finally goes off. We were so excited that we paid no mind to the 91% sanitation rating. "How bad could it be?" we thought. We ordered no appetizers or drinks, just water and ordered our meals quickly. The table ordered 2 Shrimp BLT's, Chicken Tenders, and the Shrimp and Pineapple Flatbread. 9:00PM our food finally arrives. The food was not bad, but not spectacular. We expected a little better for the prices and for how long we had to wait. By 9:05PM we had finished eating as we were starving. It would be nothing short to call the feeding frenzy a blur. By 9:10PM, we were out of the restaurant. Then, as we drove back to our dreamy vacation home, the two of us which had ordered the Shrimp BLT (which consists of basic ingredients: lettuce, tomato, bacon, shrimp, mayo, cheese) started having intense stomach cramps. With the windows rolled down, and our breath held, we made it home none too soon to our one-bathroom rental. The rest of the night can be described only as "explosive". The night was spent between mismatched bathroom trips, foul odors, and rolling around in bed cramping. The next day was also not much better. In short, the service was extremely slow, though all members of staff we encountered were upbeat and friendly, the sanitation leaves more to be desired, the food was nothing special, but the rest of the evening was extremely eventful. We should have gotten up and left when we started wondering if our food was ever going to show. read more

First timers to the Crystal Coast & to Rucker Johns. My husband ordered the Filet & was very happy. The crab dip was delish! Outstanding croissants! Then the check arrived...not really worth the cost. Beware of arriving extremely hungry & ordering without awareness! read more

Poor service. Bland food. Bob Evans' style fair at 3 times the price. The croissants are good, but I don't want sweet bread with my savory meal. read more

I've been Rucker John's 8-10 times, just because I lived on Emerald Isle. They serve good food, but nothing great or anything that stands out. The staff is pretty good for the most part. There's a few servers that aren't very attentive, more specifically the younger servers. read more

Strip mall tourist trap. Avoid if you care about your palate. The food isn't horrible, just bad, lacking imagination and finesse. My next visit will be...never. read more

We came in without a reservation on a busy evening and Natalie at the front was awesome in getting our party taken care of. Once we got seated the food was very good and the prices were reasonable. We will be back for sure! read more

OK my wife has a severe allergy and we always try and give a restaurant a chance by explaining the allergy and then if they say they can't accomodate us we go elsewhere with no hard feelings. We tried this place for the first time on Sunday. They were not busy. The waitress said no problems so our party of 4 ordered. When the food came out one of the diners plates was covered with the offending food item and then eventhough we had asked her to make sure all plates were free of this allergy producing item my plate was covered as well. The manager removed the plates but was not at all apologetic or even seemed to care. No one really seemed to care. So eventhough the food was so so we will never be back. All we ask is to be straight with us when we ask and not make promises you can't keep. read more

It ain't bad for this part of town. Very chainy. The food is not authentic but I enjoyed my wings.

My husband and I use to be big fans of Rucker Johns. Unfortunately, we no longer can say that. We ordered our favorite appetizer the Kicked up shrimp, our entrees the shrimp Beurre blanc and salmon salad. The salmon salad was great as usual and my husband said his pasta was pretty bland. The real issue we had was the kicked up shrimp. The appetizer cost around 9.50, when the waitress brought the plate out there were 7 tiny shrimp on the plate! We are normally very easy going and wouldn't complain but that's 1.30 a shrimp! We have ordered this before and this was not an issue, so we thought maybe it was a mistake. We asked the waitress who was very sweet, and she said they have recently cut the portion in half! That's not a big deal but at least cut the price in half. It was very disappointing. All in all, don't order the kicked up shrimp. read more

My family came to visit and we brought them here for lunch on a weekday. the staff was friendly, the restaurant (and bathrooms) were clean. But we came to eat! We've got all ages from kids to grandparents. A vegetarian, a seafood lover, a seafood hater - you get the point. Everyone found something to eat and everyone said their meal was delicious! read more

Really great since the remodel. Waited about 10 minutes as it was crowded but worth it! Try the crab dip. Hot, fresh crab with toasted baguette and crackers. I had a RJ salad, fresh everything and a good portion size for a meal. The hot croissant is so good! My husband is a fried person so he had the pork chops ( not fried) ! 2 chops, sweet potato fries and fried okra. Service was excellent. We were served quickly and lots of staff working, even noticed little things like sweeping under a table after kids. Prices are reasonable. No rush great family place yet private for a couple. The new outdoor seating with TV is beautiful too. Hats off to the owners for a great new look! read more

Our family visiting from Louisiana was looking forward to a nice meal on our 1st night...However, were sorely disappointed they did not take 'to go' orders after 4pm between Memorial & Labor Day...Hence, I would highly recommend Kathryn's Bistro, which gladly accepted our order during the peak summer season. Food was wonderful... read more

We had a variety of appetizers; fried crab legs, Buffalo chicken bites, fried mushrooms, and the buttered croissants. I would recommend eating outside. The decor inside is reminiscent of a Shoney's/retirement home dining hall. read more

Very poor customer service and garbage quality food. Slow service at the bar....horrible fried foods that took 40 minutes to be served and the crab dip tasted very fishy. The final bill had extra drinks added and then the bartenders argued. We booked a wedding cocktail hour and then canceled it due to the quality of food and service. read more

For the money skip this place and head to Flipperz or The Ice House. I have no complaints about Rucker Johns and I'd certainly go back but there are better places to eat for less (Flipperz) or the same price (Ice House). If you want convenience and a chain Resturant feel go here. But for real coastal food try the other two I mention. If you do eat here the Hot Bacon Honey Mustard dressing is fantastic and the sweet croissants are a little bit of heaven. read more

Have been here many times and for the most part a decent meal. Tonight however was not the case. The tenderloin kebabs were not tenderloin at all but stew beef chunks with lots of grissle . Could not chew and had to spit it out. At least the waitress was pleasant. read more

The Seared Tuna Salad gets the double thumbs up from me. A nice piece of seared tuna served over a bed of greens, add feta cheese, cranberries, apples, roasted red peppers and I'm a very happy camper. Ask for the "Alternatives" menu. Its on the back. read more

Went with friends for late lunch and I had a burger plate with baked potato -$10. New layout leaves you in a booth where the only time you see a waitress is when they feel like coming around. Good potato, but the burger was overcooked and dry. When I inquired of the waitress why well done? She said they always cook them that way, the customer must ask for any other way and walked away. No concern or offer of correcting the problem. The customer is never right??? Returned the next afternoon to express concerns to the manager. He said "well done" is their "policy". This is not noted on the menu and the server did not inquire as to wether I would like it medium or differently cooked. I recommended the employees needed additional training to inquire (like any other steak house) how the paying customer would like their meat cooked. At the very least - medium is "average" and well done or rare are usually a request. Even McDonalds, Hardees, and Burger King do not overcook their burgers. They always attempt to address customer's concerns. I was very unimpressed (irked) with how the manager handled my concerns. As a "local", I cannot inform too many friends or acquaintances of Rucker John's of Emerald Isle disappointing experience. - Sky read more

WHAT A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. I ordered the seared tuna salad, and I was brought out a slab of tuna on a plate by itself. They proceeded to throw the salad together in 90 seconds without the roasted red peppers and very few cranberries and apples. The waitress's personality belongs at Dollar General. Overall, a very poor experience. read more

I had a really nice meal here - I ordered the grilled salmon salad and it was delicious. The salmon had a peppery Cajun rub, and the salad was topped with a corn and bean salad and some crispy tortilla chips. For $11.99 it was an excellent value. The service was good and the location was easily accessible (in the Emerald Isle Plantation shopping plaza). There are even little turtles to look at outside in the pond. I would suggest replacing the vinyl on the booths, however - the cracked vinyl pinches your legs! read more

Service was great, food was great, the restaurant is upscale and it's food matches it. I surely will be back, very unique and tasty food!

This was one of our favorite restaurants on Emerald Isle. The croissants and honey butter are the best we have ever had. I had the spinach salad with warm bacon and honey mustard dressing which was quite amazing. My husband had the shrimp and grits, which was the best he had ever had. The friendly manager was always around making sure things were running smoothly. Even though they forgot to bring our appetizer and a drink, although they were extremely busy and the only reason they didn't get 5 stars, we would highly recommend this place. Even though they do not take reservations, their call-ahead seating worked out very well. read more

Loved everything about this place. Food was excellent, service perfect. A little pricy but that's ok everything was just wonderful.

We had a group of 10 that ate here and it was an excellent experience. Service was very good and food came out timely and hot. Calamari was just so-so but yellow fin tuna was excellent, battered shrimp was delicious. A Couple people got their cheese and grit pasta and thought it was excellent. Ended with some cheese cake to go. The meals didn't break the bank either. read more

We eat here often when we are in EI. The downside is the menu doesn't change but that can be a plus for some people. The food is consistently good and good value, in my opinion. They refurbished this year which took away some of the character of the place but it is a lot cleaner :-) read more

We've stayed at AB several times in the last few years but this was our first visit to Ruckers. We had four adults and two elementary age kids for late dinner on Sunday. It was a little tricky to find. GPS brought us to the shopping center but we had to drive around to find the restaurant. It's inside the little mall behind Michelangelo's pizza. All our food was very good and pretty reasonable for a beach town. We had pork chops, crab cakes, grilled chicken salad, fresh mahi sandwich and kids shrimp. Side salads and chicken salad were fresh and plentiful. Crab cakes were good and generous. Pork chops were grilled to order and just right. Mixed drinks were well made and reasonable. IMO, the star was my daughter's fried shrimp. Next time I'm getting that for myself. Or a burger. Or the nachos. Or Santa Fe chicken. Anyway, we will definitely be back. read more