Went here for a late lunch today. Drinks were great, totally worth the price of a restaurant drink, which is unusual. The food was really good as well... only reason for the 3 stars is the service. I ordered an entree for which they happened to be out of an ingredient (said ingredient was the reason I ordered it). Once the waitress came out to check on us, I asked for a side of the missing ingredient. The waitress admitted she noticed that it was missing as she brought our meals out. Yet she served it anyways? (What...?) And even before that, why would the kitchen staff not mention this to her once the order was placed, in case i wanted to change my order? The definition of good service is not to try and sneak things by your customers. Be up front about it. The manager came out to apologize, not for that situation, but just to apologize that they were out of it. No discount offered, nothing. I'll probably try them again, but I'll make sure it's not the day after a holiday weekend or after a lunch rush, which were the excuses offered for the missing ingredient. Smh. read more

Nice restauant in Emerald Isle. Not ancy but the food was decent and very reasonaly priced. Service was great.

Got seated quickly. Very busy a lot of families. I got prime rib. I could eat it all not much grizzle. Servers were good they helped each other which is a plus when busy. read more

Food was very expensive, small portions and average quality. This is one of those places that thinks its OK to serve side dishes in those tiny dipping sauce cups. If I'm paying 20 dollars for a meal, I expect much better value. read more

This place was strange but good. The decor is a little...brown. The plates are plain and the presentation is basic. The menus may be from 1975. However, the focus is obviously on the food. We started with the crab fingers and the calamari. My 3 year old ate most of the crab fingers but the couple I was able to snatch away were very tasty. I don't eat cephalopods but the consensus from the table was positive on the calamari and they liked the marinara side. I ordered the fried shrimp, mac and cheese and slaw. The mac and cheese was just okay. But, I am very hard on mac and cheese as I feel it is it's own food group. I also didn't love the slaw but that is personal taste and not objective. The cabbage was actually pickled. My mom enjoyed it because she likes pickles. But, the shrimp was close enough to perfect. They were light and crispy and delicious. Dad had the ribeye and it was as good as any steak I've ever tasted. Two things: first, when the waiter suggests that you mix the hot bacon dressing with the honey mustard for your salad, do it. Second, order croissants. They are spectacular. We have a bakery in my hometown that's owned by a French baker and his croissants aren't this good. The prices are reasonable for steak and seafood, then add $3 Killians and our bill was less than I expected. I'll eat here again when I visit the island. read more

We ordered lots of odd things and it all was great. Our server was new and seemed a little confused about our drink order, but she asked another server to help (she was young and we were ordering specific cocktails.) Everything came out quickly! No waiting around. Great experience. read more

Bacon mustard dressing is the bomb.....we were seated right away. Server took our order quickly. Salads came in 7-10 minutes.....then we waited for 35-40 minutes for our entrees....3 of the 4 were already cold. The food was OK.....I've can do better. The waitress was obviously covering too many tables.....we will not be back. read more

Get the crab dip!!!! Amazing!!!! The servers are so friendly and accommodating. The buttered croissants are mouth watering. Also they serve the food how you like. You want steamed, fried, or whatever seasoning...the chef preps it. That's because it's not frozen. Will def be a regular. read more

Trying to give this restaurant a change, we decided to have dinner there one more time (it was our 3rd time there). Our party had 6 people and a baby. We had to wait a long time to get any service at all, the waitress was annoyed for having to serve us, she came to our table twice, once to take our order and second time to re-fill our drinks when we were ready to leave. We didn't get all of our side orders until we "chased" the waitress down and asked for them, only to receive them after our dinner was halfway eaten. in order to get our drinks re-filled or any condiments with our dinner, we again had to go and find the waitress. This is the type of service we have received EVERY time. Fool on us for returning, NEVER again. read more

I will start with the positives. The staff for the most part was very supportive due considering that our party grew more than expected and the manager went out of his way to accommodate us. On the other hand, some of the waitress' frustrations and temperaments were very apparent, not good for business. Now to the food. I chose the Island Chicken (being a South Florida boy) with loaded bake potato and fried apples. The chicken was at best a 99 cent chicken patty with some pineapple chunks and bits of other stuff thrown on it. They charged me over $12 dollars for that! They did not even try to and some sauce or spice it up any! They must have made about $8 dollars profit! In talking with others that were there, they themselves said that this place would not have been their choice of venue. If you are a tourist that is famished and looking for a place to eat a burger and pay an inflated amount of money for something you can get at a fast food restaurant, this is your place. read more

3 stars at the most and only because it is in an area with no competition, 21/2 stars any where else. No special food just descent and service is questionable at times. read more

After we got seated on a busy but not jammed evening it took an hour and a half to get our food except for one of our party whose meal did not arrive until we were leaving. Average food for most, for two people very bad. Some of the food was comped but when I talked to the weight lifter manager there was not a hint of concern for the customer. I have eaten at this restaurant since 2001 my worst experience ever. Do not go there. the quality has dropped below the price charged read more

The food is not super exciting, but the atmosphere was nice, and the staff were all welcoming. I enjoyed the Salmon Salad, but my husband's steak was overcooked. We'd both probably go back, though. read more

Good location if you're going to the movies. Poor quality fried crab claws. Average salad. Good tuna entree. Good baked potato. Friendly staff. Good Mahi sandwich. Was my first time, will try other menu items, has potential to be a regular spot for me. read more

Pretty good food! Nice staff! No problems while at the restaurant very clean! Very good sweet tea

The last two visits to Ruckerjohns had me leave because of a long wait. Today we arrived to be told there would be a ten minute wait even though there were empty tables everywhere. When finally seated we waited another ten minutes with not one server coming by or even acknowledging our presence. Only when we decided to leave did someone decide to speak. I spoke to the manager and told him of our experience. Last time to Ruckerjohns even if I have to eat a PB and J. By the way the health grade was a 92....,not very good for a high end restaurant. read more

The food was ok. In a pinch, I would eat there again, but it would not be a destination for us. The waitress was very friendly, and the service was quick. read more

I always come here for dinner at least one night during our annual trip to Emerald Isle. This year was a little disappointing. My husband and daughters were at the movies and due to get out within 15 minutes, so I went ahead inside to see if there was a wait. I was informed by the two hostesses (and a manager standing by) that there in fact was not a wait at the moment. I asked if I could just put our name on the call ahead list as they were at the movies due to get out within 15 minutes and I was told "no, we can when your whole party arrives." Then the manager asked if I could come later as he had "two big parties coming about 6:30". I found this very interesting for a manager to suggest, as I'm sure he is aware that I could pick just about anywhere else to go eat and was not obligate to eat there. I walked outside and within 7 minutes, my family was done with the movie and we entered to be seated. We were seated right away because again, no wait and it was not crowded. The waitress didn't seem to be very knowledgeable about the menu and the questions we asked her were not answered very well, but left us with more questions about the menu items. The food was mediocre at best. Not the best, not the worst, but not worth the $100 spent, either. We were in and out within an hour. Our order didn't seem to be bothered by the "two big parties" that came in while we were there. read more

Well the only bad thing I can say negative about Rucker Johns this year is that the air condition was not working well. But, me and my family love Rucker Johns! I really do not understand what the rest of the guys who wrote bad reviews are talking about! Me and my family have been visiting this area for over ten years, always leave Rucker Johns pleased! read more

We ordered chicken tomato basil and Alfredo dinners they were very good . Croissants are out of this world . And as busy as they are we were given super service. This was our first time but we will be back . read more

Very disappointed. Bathroom was not clean which should have been the first sign that this restaurant was sub-par. The food was okay. Salads were good and yes the honey croissants were delicious. But the "platter" of nachos was much smaller than how it was explained to us -- good taste but there were about 20 chips on the whole plate. On to dinner... Most of the kids ordered the macaroni and cheese as their second side. When the food arrived at our table the mac n cheese was cold and it looked and tasted completely processed (i.e. the box of velveeta shells and cheese sauce). No one ate their mac n cheese which is a first for them. I ordered the red snapper - it was ok. Thank goodness I had a plain baked potato - hard to mess that up. I was disappointed their "seafood" menu was very limited - I was hoping for more options. My son ordered the BBQ baby back ribs which came WITHOUT BBQ sauce (???). He had to remind them and they brought the BBQ sauce to him in a cup. The server was very nice and attentive. Unfortunately, the food was very disappointing and left me wishing we had gone somewhere else for our last night at Emerald Isle. Definitely not a "do over" for us. read more

my all time favorite restaurant by far! everytime i go i have the best food, service and just an overall great experience. i am a regular when i am at the beach! love, love, love rucker john's emerald isle! read more