Had a great time visiting Rucker Johns on 5/17/23. We had a lovely waitress who was very attentive and we sat outside where there was live music. I ordered the tomato basil pasta (very good), my husband ordered Tuna (which was unfortunately kind of dry), and my son had the kids hotdog plate with the homemade fries (homemade chips kind of). My husband also had some ales which he said were very good. At the end, we got the warm brownie sundae which was 10/10 and was enough for the three of us to share. Other than the tuna being dry we thoroughly enjoyed our visit and will definitely visit again if we are in the area! Also feeding the turtles outside was fun too. read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - Turtles outside that you can feed. - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Solid restaurant. Great atmosphere and friendly service. Food was good all around from the appetizers to the steaks and seafood. Very busy on our Friday night dinner but management was great at handling the crowd and staff. Had a small issue and the manager personally came by and corrected things. 5 stars for him! I Will always come back when in town. read more

We had a nice dinner here while staying for a few days in Emerald Isle. Their warm croissants are fabulous. The salad with hot bacon dressing that came with dinner was delicious. We ate in the bar area. Amanda was our server. She was great. All in all a nice evening read more

RJ is a long time EI restaurant. Family owned & really good. Food is always fresh and tasty. service is great & location is great!

The service was excellent. The ambience was lacking a little. Ordered ribeye steak, baked potato and salad. Salad was great and baked potato was not completely cooked.The ribeye was not good at all. It had no flavor and seasoning on it. It was a big disappointment for a night out. I will not be back anytime soon. Heather B read more

Easy to access restaurant for your beach vacation and very flexible with your large party needs. Be sure to feed the turtles out back!

Went to RJ with as a party of 4 with my baby granddaughter. We ordered specialty drinks and beer right away. The beer was very cold and the "Jack Be Chill" was awesome! We ordered crab dip and kicked up shrimp. Both were served quickly and were delicious. Main entrees varied among the group but my Cajun Shrimp wrap was excellent, as was my wife's skewered shrimp. My daughter enjoyed her salmon salad and everyone was quite happy. The prices for drinks, appetizers, and entrees were in line with similar restaurants in the area. We enjoyed our visit to RJ and would not hesitate to eat there again in the future. read more

Great experience during our first visit! Service was spot-on and drinks from the bar were boozy and festive for the holiday season. My rare prime rib was perfectly cooked and seasoned, but a tad pricey for the portion size - $27.99 for a 12-ounce slice. My wife's crab cakes made up for the steak - she opted for sautéed, instead of fried, and they were perfectly cooked, loaded with blue crab meat and contained very little filler. The RJ Fries are unique, the "fresh vegetables" were simply buttered broccoli bites. The entire team was wearing masks, per the COVID protocols, and seating was staggered in the restaurant to separate guests - much appreciated. read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - Ask for the crab cakes sautéed - they were packed with lump crab and very little filler. - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

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Been going to RJ's for 20 years when in EI for vacation, so good. There is usually a wait on weekends or summer nights so plan ahead. Always have to get a salad with the house dressing (hot bacon and honey mustard) and fresh croissants of course. Usually get the BBQ Bacon Shrimp but changed it up for crab cakes this time and no regrets! Went for my birthday last year and enjoyed a brownie sundae and pina colada read more

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26 years ago when my family started vacationing in the Southern Outer banks, Emerald Isle was a quiet town with a few surf/souvenir shops and a small shopping center that contained a movie theater and a restaurant. Rucker John's . After a long drive with little kids (they are grown up now) we dumped our luggage at the rental house, and always went to Rucker John's for dinner. I'm not sure the menu has changed much. They still have a great mixed salad, delicious croissant with lots of butter and honey drizzle, loaded baked potato and delicious ribs. I've been eating this meal on night one for 25 years and that's what I had a couple of weeks ago while in Emerald Isle. My family is more adventurous than I so they have tried food other than ribs. Steak always cooked according to request. Fresh fish, burgers. All served in a restaurant that has been updated over the years; to a family that has lost and gained new members; some of whom were enticed to move South from NY, (no more rental house its a year round house) it's still Rucker Johns on that first night in Emerald Isle. read more

Rucker John's was a great experience for safely getting out and enjoying some time out with your choice of open air seating or in the restaurant (with spacing between people). We sat outside and ordered some drinks, nachos, and boneless bites and it was fantastic. Everyone working was wearing masks, there was hand sanitizer readily available, and the staff were very friendly and helpful. The bathrooms were very clean and it was a great vibe to sit and relax outside. We would have pictures of our food but it was eaten very quickly lol. Generous portions. We will definitely be back. read more

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Nice, clean, attractive inside. Reasonably priced especially for a shore town. Attentive and informed service. A good selection of good food well prepared. Coldest on-tap beer in town. Highly recommended. read more

The location is nice. Its tucked away from alot of other super busy places this time of the year (4th july). This place has out door seating and it takes less of a wait to sit outside! Less of a worry with the virus sitting outside. This place Has fast service and very nice staff. Food was super good! The french fries are potato cut the short way and thin With seasoning. Super tasty as well. I brought my family here and it has something for everyone. The outside view is nice and you can feed turtles on the other side of the dinning area. Has a few canopies to block sun and rain. The menu is on paper and its online on their website. There is a QR code that goes to their website for the menu as well. The texas burgers do not have buns! It wasn't a big deal to us but it would be to some people if they don't read the menu carefully. This Restaurant is part of an open mall next to some shops. It would a wonderful place for a afternoon with friends! read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - Lots of outdoor seating! - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

They wouldn't seat are party of 15 at the same table even offered an extra 100.00 to seat us all together

I generally like RJ's ! I love their prime rib ! I had ventured off and ordered their Tuna steak and boy what a disappointment! It tasted like a freezer burnt bad fishy taste. I was with family and having a good time so I didn't raise a stink, the fish was enough stink ! The waitress asked if I wanted a box and I said no thanks it was bad, she didn't seem to care. I kept my mouth shut as to not spoil a family evening read more

Nice and clean inside. The kitchen was a little slow, but given these times not surprised with businesses being short staffed. Sat on the patio which was nicely organized and very chill. Food was delicious - spinach salad with tuna (cooked perfectly). Drinks were good too, try the shiner drink with the cranberry. read more

Good food, good service, good value. Dated, but clean and quiet. A good place to dine before a movie just steps away.

The service was exceptionally bad. The hostess was rude, and waiter was also rude. Food is mid, extremely overpriced.

Honey butter croissants are an absolute must! So is the hot bacon and honey mustard salad. I always get the chicken tender platter when coming here and they never disappoint. I will say that the size of the tenders are hit or miss (the photo I posted are very large tenders which isn't always what they give). Overall good service. read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - Chicken tenders - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Was on our yearly vacation. Took party of 10 (3 families) in for supper. 6 adults and 4 children. Same as last year. This year they would not seat us together even though there was an open table on the wall between us that would accommodate us all. We asked our server if we could just take that table. She went to the manager and he refused because the 2 tables he had given us were with 2 different servers. ??? Before they could bring us our water, they had filled that table up. Remind you, they don't take reservations. Obviously, what happened to us would probably never happen to you but it was very upsetting to us. The evening dinner was an important family time for us. Snapperz, Gaffers, Fish Hut and Bills had no problem seating us together. Snapperz even put us in our own separate room. We will never go back. read more

This was a mixed experience... We waited about 30 minutes for a table, and there seemed to be quite a few empty tables inside and outside once we got in, for what it's worth. Maybe that's a covid regulation? Anyway... service was pretty slow, although the waitress was very friendly IMO. The rest of my group seemed to enjoy their meals more than I did. I was truthfully kind of unimpressed, although my meal wasn't "bad" by any stretch of the imagination. It was just kind of lackluster. I got the island chicken and I typically like things like pineapple salsa, but I had to scrape it off. It was not palletteable in this case in my opinion. The chicken itself was very moist and tasted great, but the salsa got in the way. Not good. Also, the RJ fries... WHY? Not a fan. They're essentially potato chips, not fries. If you're expecting fries, you're probably going to be disappointed. All in all, I think 3 stars is fair. I'm not sure if I'd go back or not. read more

Great service. I had the salmon salad. It was delicious. The dressing was great. Portion good. I will be back. My friend had the bbq chicken salad and said it was awesome. Great overall experience. read more

The food here is excellent! We tried the cheesy grits, crab dip appetizer, house salad with hot bacon honey mustard and everything was very very good. Also very good prices and service was excellent read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - Cheesy shrimp and grits - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

8 of us were there while the place was half empty. We asked if we could slide two table tops at the bar together The answer was that they don't allow tables to be moved. $400.00 later the eight of us sat and had a fantastic time at Shark Grill. Rucker Johns, thank you for being inhospitable! read more

Great place for family dining that has some very nice menu features. We felt stuck in our beach house with the forecast being rain all day and almost every gas station around being out of gas. My son-in-law found this restaurant, which was less than a mile away and we decided to eat lunch out! Even though we had a large party we were seated quickly. Our server gave us the daily specials and soup of the day. I ordered one of the specials of the day which was Wahoo that I ordered grilled with Caribbean Jerk seasoning from the options presented. I had the choice of a salad or two sides and went with the salad with hot bacon dressing and the wild rice. Jo (my wife) ordered the Tuna (rare) with the salad and a vinaigrette dressing and their cheese grits. The food was promptly delivered, despite a somewhat busy restaurant. Our salad came first and we were surprised that it came with a freshly baked croissant, the bacon dressing was in homemade and the croutons were made from their croissants making them light and flakey! My meal can shortly afterward and I enjoyed a portion of wahoo that had just enough jerk seasoning that did not overwhelm the fish flavor. The wild rice was good as well. Jo had a generous portion of yellow fin tuna and really enjoyed her cheese grits. Food & Beverage 4 Well prepared food and a good portion size. Service 4 Friendly and efficient. Atmosphere 3.5 Clean and well appointed. Restaurant is hidden away in the Publix strip shopping center and can't be seen easily from the parking lot. Has outdoor seating on a lagoon. Price 4-5 The five star rating is for the children's menu that our grandson had half a dozen large shrimp (tails removed) and wild rice for $4! The rest of the meals were reasonable priced and with the salad option a good value for the money! 4 OA rating may be a 4.5 for families with their service and pricing. read more

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Food was delicious! Service was quick and helpful-Alex was an outstanding waiter! Ambiance was ok-found one utensil that had a little grit on it from dishwasher-need to check that before wrapping in napkin. Overall-wonderful! read more

Emerald Isle location has terrible customer service. Me and a few of my friends decided to come here to celebrate my friend getting engaged. We called ahead an hour before we planned on arriving and they told us we could only call ahead 30 minutes. When we did call ahead 30 minutes before they told us the wait would be an hour. We told them to put our name down and drove 20 minutes there. Then we we arrived they told us the wait was now an hour and a half?? We decided to go take some pictures on the beach while we waited. It had not been the hour and a half when they called us and told us we had 10 minutes to be there or they'd cancel our reservation. We arrived 11 minutes later and they had given our table away. We asked to speak to the manager, Sean, and he was very rude about the whole situation. Safe to say they lost the business of 10 people. Won't be back. read more

Wonderful restaurant with great food, fantastic service and good location. The menu has something for everyone, ribeye steak was perfection that keeps us coming back. I love the croissants served with our dinner, a little extra surprise. If you don't mind sitting in the bar area, you can usually get seated quicker. read more

Love the private banquette setting. Shrimp and pineapple flatbread is yummy and perfect for lighter dinner.

Food: Service: Have been eating here for years and the Wilmington location too. Today the food was still its usual 5 stars! However, the service was 2-3 stars (normally star service). Every person 80% of the tables order was incorrect and when trying to get them corrected we were answered with "ummhmm" & "sure" and a general bad attitude. Empty plates not cleared. No attention to detail. Specific requests ignored/forgotten (sides, condiments, drinks, etc). The manager was nowhere to be found to correct poor service. YES they DO have good covid protocols in place. The food is worth the trip. The beer battered shrimp are delicious, had some yummy pizza, and crystal coast chicken. read more

I was told this was a must try on EI, so I dutifully gave it a shot. I had the campfire ribeye (a sweet sauce with onions and mushrooms) and my dining companion had Texas chicken. The ribeye was cooked well. The chicken was raw in the center. The fries (floppy chips) I got were cold, but tasty. The baked potato my companion had was great. The honey bread was a nice touch. Overall the service was nice and helpful, but a little on the slow side ( and they were not busy). The decor is lacking...seriously, would it kill someone to hang a picture? My dining companion likened the feel to a hospital waiting room. Hard to disagree. read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - Texas chicken - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

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This place has gone down hill. The waiter was outstanding but the food was not good! The pasta was luke warm and had very little flavor. The ribs were small. I would not recommend and will not go back there again. read more

Steaks are good, atmosphere is a little dark but not too dark. Nice enough interior. Service has always been pleasant. Salads and their ranch..oh the ranch. The honey topped rolls are great. read more

The server was great and food LOOKED good. My daughter ate chicken alfredo and got the worst food poisoning I've ever seen. She said when she bit down on her chicken; it tasted weird but we were sampling each others food and she's 16. I called the resturant and they weren't dismissive but nobody returned my call. I left an email with corporate and no answer. We usually go there every time we go to the beach but won't return in the future. read more

Third year in a row of vacationing on EI. Rucker John's will always be visited due to the great service, amazing staff, and delicious food! Not to mention the honey butter croissants... mouth watering! read more

Delicious steaks and salad bar. However, if you have kids or picky eaters it can be pricey. Menu does not have as much for this crowd in a good price range. Will cook to order. read more

The service was very quick and there was no wait time when we went on a Wednesday evening. We ordered the fried mushrooms which were the best part of the night. The reason I'm docking 3 stars is because I ordered the prime rib. I asked the waitress how it was and she said it was one of the most popular things. I ordered it rare, waitress said that was fine and that's how most patrons ordered prime rib. About 15 minutes later the waitress comes back and says "the cook can only cook your prime rib to a medium temperature" my fiancé said "can they not do medium rare" she said "no, medium is all the can serve". Strange, right? Well I said okay that's fine. Not even 2 minutes later my prime rib comes out. Let me tell you this thing was lacking in every department especially the flavor department. It was one of the worst things I had ever consumed. The whole situation sounded to me like the staff in the kitchen over cooked it and didn't feel like making me another one to my liking. For over $30 I expected a lot more flavor, this thing was a tough as a rock. I've had prime rib before, this was like eating a sirloin steak at Applebees. Overall I'm not impressed and to think we drove over 30 minutes to eat here from Atlantic beach. read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - Fried mushrooms - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

How can a place not be serving outside on a perfect evening. Nice weather will be over before you know it. Zero excuses. read more

Rucker Johns Restaurant - New American Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Just went to the restaurant on March 23rd. Everything was going well until I saw the bug in my drink. It looked like a fruit fly in the moonshine cocktail. I would hate to guess if it came from the bottles of alcohol or from the ice. Completely ruined our lunch. Which was a shame because the flatbread was pretty good. read more

I wasn't expecting such amazing quality from this restaurant tucked behind the mall, but I was shocked. The food was absolutely wonderful and I wish I could eat there again and try some of there other dishes. Our server, Crystal, was wonderful. She gave us plenty of time to order, came around to freshen up or waters, and was a great server overall. My experience here was amazing and I would certainly go again if I had another day in Emerald Isle. read more