A great neighborhood bar with a wide beer selection. The best thing about Rudy's is the frites, which are superb and come with an array of dipping options. Worth the trip just for the frites. I'll admit that I dearly miss Rudy's original location a few blocks away. That venue fit the "dive bar" motif perfectly. The new venue is nice but it's far too bright and spacious. And the carved-up tables just don't look right there. read more

Went in on a Friday and the man at the door (Birth mark on face) was one of the rudest, grumpiest people ever. Really? This is who greets you at the door and w/an attitude?? Not the best first impression. On to the bartenders. Well, one was so inappropriately dressed that I thought perhaps it was some sort of costume.(I believe her name was Molly/Maggie? ) She looked like she should be a sex worker! Not only that, she barely waited on anyone b/c she was too busy flirting and doing shots w/the male customers. She was also rude, surly and down right obnoxious! I asked my friend if this was one of those places where they treat the customer like sh&* as part of the experience. It is not. The ONLY reason I dd not give it 1 star was because of the little blonde (Claire?) who basically worked the majority of the bar while the one w/the black hair ignored everyone but her friends. The blonde was attentive, patient and cordial. I made sure to tip her directly, although the other one could have used the money to buy some new clothes. Where was the manager? Her attire and behavior should be addressed and she should be fired. read more

One of the best spots in NHV. Food is great, service is great. Kim is super cute. Rick is my guru. Kevin knows my order even before I get there. No idea what's up with Chelsea, though. She's a weird one. read more

Rudy's is a DREAM! Came in with a group of friends and enjoyed my time. Ordered a drink at first, that they didn't have, but the bartender said I'll make it for you a makeshift way. Scary, I know, but tasted just as you would want it to. Stayed here for a while and had some awesome conversations with the bartenders that made me feel like I was a regular and have been there 100 times over. The only downfall was a homeless man came in twice asking for money, but the staff had him exit and it wasn't an interruption. To the owner, the 2 bartenders that worked this evening are exactly what is needed in this industry during these times. I will definitely be back. read more

Bartender is very rude. I love the atmosphere. But every time he's condescending, unkind, and mean.

Management completely ghosted us the day of our 50 person private event, leaving guests with no venue. Locked doors, lights off, and no returned calls after reconfirming event details just 4 weeks prior. Avoid for private events and groups. read more

I came here because I referred by Yelper friends. This place had a small craft beer selection compared to other places in New Haven or even Hartford. The good thing was they had $2 off all draft beer from 2pm until 6:30pm. I'll come back here because I know this. read more

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The food was ok but the service was terrible. With an emo hair flip I was told they were out of mussels. And for a while now. Well then, #1 why are they still on the menu and #2 why didn't you say something when we sat down? Whatever. We got our food after what seemed like an inappropriate amount of time seeing as though the place was almost empty. Food was good(at least mine was) but we were never checked on until we were done and my beer had been empty for a long time. I finally got to order another beer and it was going to be all head until I took a pic of it and he thought better of giving it to me. This is what you get when you let hipster kids responsible for your business. read more

Rudys - This was beer I was going to get before I took s pic of it. #shittybeershittypour - Dive Bars Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Hmmm Rudy's just somehow doesn't do it for me personally. Back when I ate meat, I'd tried their wings which were decent along with their fries. They also have an assortment of beer which makes them appealing to many. I even had an event here which was decent but my issue with them is their staff. Aside from the bouncer who I adore, the bartenders and wait staff are just not polite nor personable. The customer service is sub-par and quite frankly, they are only surviving because they've been around for decades because they don't offer much. They need to train their staff five courteous. The expectation is for patrons to treat them with respect and we as patrins deserve the same. read more

Rudy's is the quintessential bar. I'm not a bar drinker. Hell, I can't even drink more than a sip of beer before I'm stone drunk (something about not having the gene to process alcohol; damn asian genes). But when a friend has had a bad day at work and needs a drink, that's where I take him. Fantastic frites. Ohmigosh, great great frites. And more sauces than you could imagine. Wonderful, wonderful sauces. So I sit in the nice dark, cool seats, nurse my diet coke, eat way too many frites and listen to my pal spill his heart out. What could be better? This is the bar of bars. p.s. They don't take credit cards, but there are plenty of ATMs in the neighborhood. read more

Fries and burgers are def 4 star....but lack of table service, where we had to order all of our food and drink at the bar wasn't enjoyable. Chairs aren't the comfiest...for a bar I'm not too surprised, but honestly my back was hurting from sitting in those metal chairs and honestly, I'm not that old! I wouldn't see any larger American people coming to sit at this bar. No way! New Haven burger was extremely tasty and the frites were ON POINT! So many sauces its insane. Blue cheese and siracha one were a couple of my favs, but we tried so many it was hard to keep track. read more

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I do think of myself as a burger person. I will be honest and say I think Prime 16 in downtown New Haven, CT has the best burger in the area. My second favorite place for burgers is right here at Rudy's. I am a big fan of the Voodoo Burger and chipotle ketchup. The french fries here at Rudy's with their dipping sauces are better than Prime 16. It is an even trade off. I like going to Rudy's for lunch on Fridays. It is far enough walk to get some exercise but close enough to make it back to work in an hour. The service here compared to Prime 16 is friendlier. I usually sit at the bar and the young woman has been very nice. I hope things about her passport works out. I have taken some pictures of Rudy's here on Yelp and posted them. Feel free to ask me any questions. read more

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Several great bartenders here- in particular Jordan, Claire, Ariel, and Chelsea, who deal with an enormous amount of college kid crap and still manage to treat visitors with amazing kindness and personality. Especially Jordan- such a kind person. read more

My boyfriend and I came here while we were in New haven a few weeks ago. This was a really fun restaurant. The vibe is very inviting and relaxed. The food is good, I really enjoyed all the different dipping sauce options. The night we went they only had one waitress working the entire room. Not sure if this is typical, but I felt bad for the girl, she seemed overwhelmed. Food still came out relatively fast and our drinks were good. They also have a large beer menu and a nice bar. I would come back to see the live music. read more

The frites deserve some stars, but as a late night spot, Rudy's is fun but not my favorite. It's a real dive bar, so unless I'm in the right mood, it can feel kind of dead. But those addictive frites! New mission in New Haven is to try every sauce on the menu. (Pesto, samurai, mango mania, and honey mustard - all done, all delicious, though the mango in the mango mania was disappointingly hard to taste.) This may take precedence over my old mission of eventual graduation and exit from New Haven. It is QUITE lucky that these two goals aren't in conflict. read more

Great burgers and fries with an array of sauces, interesting selection of quality beers including local brews, and friendly service on the occasions I've been. This is a place to kick back with friends or get a decently priced casual meal to go. I also recommend the grilled chicken sandwich and fried pickles. read more

Love this place. Bartenders are wicked nice, drinks are nice and strong, and the food is great. Claire is a fantastic bartender. On Fridays she asks customers what their favorite drunk songs are and adds them to her playlist. It's a very chill spot with good vibes all around read more

I live across the street so I patronize this business quite often. The new haven burger is maybe the best in the city, does justice to its name. The list of mayonnaise sauces is dizzying but I definitely enjoy the aioli. I must say, experiences with staff vary. I came in on a snow day, place barely occupied and nobody noticed me or attended to my needs. I ordered food eventually and was never offered Anything to drink, while I saw a couple across from me later being served glasses of water. Can you imagine the indignation? Anyways. That's not always been the case and I'll go back because those burgers are worth a bit of thirst. read more

A lot of Yale students actually don't know about this place so when I tried it out, I was very surprised with its good food and beer. I've been for lunch, dinner, and for late night. In terms of food, I really recommend the chicken sandwich. Probably the best chicken sandwich I've ever had. They also have very cheap but good beer! It can go pretty packed, so expect a little bit of a wait. read more

Rudys - Dive Bars Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

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I had a burger phase in late 2017, so I visited a lot of burger joints in New Haven. Rudy's feels like it's beyond the Yale bubble (mainly because its about two city blocks beyond the nearest Yale building), so it feels like a real bar catered to local New Haven residents. I'll say service quality is really sporadic for the several times that I've been here, and they can be understaffed even on a Friday night. I've tried the Voodoo burger (with fried jalapenos and brioche bun), Crusty burger (onions and cheese on an English muffin), and both are good. I think the brioche bun is too thick and it takes away from savoring the actual patty itself. Belgian fries are fine, though I've had them served at room-temperature and they lost some crunch. I usually get the samurai sauce or mango chutney to alongside the fries. I've sampled the mac and cheese, veggie burger, and a bunch of random beers. They're all good, but nothing stands out in recent memory. read more

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Rudy's is pretty darn good. While, for some reason, I never tried it when it was in it's original location, I come to the new location around once a week. It's great people watching....not to mention great frites! The beer selection is definitely impressive. Seating can be a little hard to find on a Friday or Saturday night...but hey, who cares? Good fries, good beers and good friends in a chill atmosphere...what else do you need? read more

As a New York hospitality man I'm going to say this, bbq wings were perfection, the frites were surprisingly good and the bartender was just the right amount of sassy. read more

I would honestly give a zero if I could. My friend and I were coming in to have a bite to eat, we had been driving around looking for a location that wasn't crazy busy. We got carded after we were already inside and we were about to be seated and then we were told to leave because she isn't 21. We didn't want drinks, just burgers. Very disappointing- she had come here before and been served, not sure what changed. read more

Rudy's is the quintessential modern, local bar. They have a fantastic beer selection, which always features a $4 beer after 9PM (it may start earlier, not sure). They have really good frites and enough sauces to keep you coking back to try them. The serving size on the frites is also well worth the price. I've tried the salmon burger (3/5), the shrimp Po'Boy (3.5/5), and the BBQ wings (4/5). The karaoke on Thursday nights is also a good time. The bartenders are chill and attentive, and the atmosphere is very welcoming. read more

Rudys - Shrimp Po'Boy and frites. - Dive Bars Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Sometimes I feel like I write a lot of four star reviews. I worry that I'm not spreading the wealth, but I think that I can justify it here if you read on! Rudy's is a cultural touchstone of New Haven, offering phenomenal food and a variety of delicious beers for the refined palate. It's on the divier side, but I wouldn't necessarily classify it as that. For me, it's a bit to hip and mainstream, and you feel slightly too safe for it to be a dive bar. (A good thing for University students, but it's not the true dive bar feel in my opinion...). The food here is excellent. My favorite is the crispy chicken sandwich. Well-cooked everytime, and the breading just has something special. My partner always gets the salmon salad, which while burning a hole in your pocketbook is also phenomenal. Obviously, their belgian fries that they're known for are also amazing. Always piping hot (most of the time...) and served with the most delicious sauces that you could ever want. Surprisingly, the rest of their food that's not the quintessential bar/American food is also really good. We've had both the calamari and the tacos of the day, and it's some of the best that we've had in New Haven. The calamari is quite similar to Barcelona's, which is quite good; the tacos were just below the tier of the food cart with delectable seasoning. Was VERY pleasantly surprised, so I would go out of your way to try different items on the menu. So why 4 stars? Why didn't you just give them 5 stars and be done with it? Well, sometimes their waitstaff is a bit depleted. You'll have 6 or 7 or more parties eating dinner, but there will only be one waitress for all of those tables. She's normally excellent, but it's somewhat unfortunate when you have to keep flagging down the staff for little things that you'd normally just wait until she checked on you again in the next 10 minutes (which doesn't happen because she's too busy). It also gets a bit loud, which I understand because it's a big, happening bar scene (and I love it for this), but the acoustics are just horrible. You can't hear the person sitting across the table from you, even if you're across the room from the bar. Also, the prices are a bit on the higher side for the food you're getting, which is relatively simple, even if the food is quite high quality. But I don't like to end the review on a bad note since it's an establishment that I do enjoy going to... When I have had complaints about my food (an accidental hair), the waitstaff was extremely apologetic and considerate with taking my food back. They took my drink off of my tab and brought us out extra appetizers while I waited for my food to be recooked. Oftentimes, there are waitstaff that are overwhelmed or frustrated with you actually catching it, but there was just something about how nice and considerate they were about it that made the difference to me, even though you can argue that they should've done that anyway. Overall, a great place with phenomenal beer selection and good food, but it'll cost you a pretty penny (and potentially your ear drums, too...). read more

Have never left a review in my life but it has to be said, the male bartender is truly one of the rudest and most disrespectful human beings. My boyfriend and I used to be regulars but it's actually too much. The vibes are rancid. read more

This is my favorite bar in the world. It's over 70 years old and is a bar full of regulars, which means you always find people you know to chat with. However, due to the waves of students passing through the city, it also has a lot of newcomers, so it's a good mix of oldtimers and new faces. Rudy's is also a beer drinker's bar. I'm guessing it's always been, with it's strong identity as a neighborhood dive bar for regular people. It generally has about eight beers on tap and dozens of bottles from local and regional small breweries like Elm City and Brooklyn Brewery, as well as your classics like Pabst and the Champagne of Beers. It's become even more so with the current ownership, a Belgian team serving fine beers from their home country. You can order long drinks, but they're often served in a beer mug! Order cocktails at your own risk. I saw someone order a martini once in my many years of going there, but you have to catch the bartenders in the right mood for that. If you order something too fancy, you might just get laughed at. It's been known to happen. The right thing to do at Rudy's is a shot of Jameson and a beer, sitting at the bar. The new, Belgian managed Rudy's has also phased in some great food, including real Belgian pommes frites (they're thicker cut than most French fries and properly double-fried). The bar has recently been forced by a rent hike to change locations and now has a much roomier, contemporary look. I'll be curious to stop in on my next visit back home and see how it's changed. Judging from its continued popularity, I'm optimistic. read more

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I had a very chill evening with my friend and boyfriend grabbing a nightcap with some delicious fries at Rudy's. Loved the selection of beers and sauces as well. However, I ended the lovely night in a horrible mood because of the bartender. She was a skinny young woman with long hair. I was patiently waiting to get her attention at the bar to close out, but she was too busy dancing and flirting with guys and didn't notice me staring at her. I understand that's how she may get her tips, but you should pay attention to people who are trying to pay. I walked over to the left side to get her attention and saw her going to the right side so I yelled "can I please close out?" She came back and threatened me that I should be careful because bartenders will f*CK me over but she won't because she's nice. I didn't realize trying to pay for the drinks I drank deserved a 10 minute wait when trying to leave and a threat. As a paying customer, I do not deserve this type of behavior. I will not be returning to such establishment. There should be someone supervising her because she definitely is not professional and requires additional training. read more

I would not call this a dive bar... more like a homey neighbourhood bar where you can eat good burgers, salads etc and bar staff that is very knowledgeable on the beer selection! I had a veggie burger and fries with a great bun and fresh fixings / fries cooked perfectly! Covid clean ..as we watched the staff cleaning as each group left. Also bathrooms amazingly clean! I will go back knowing I can eat, drink and be covid safe! read more

Not friendly to Yale guests. Waitress Claire is a downer and rude; same for the chubby male bartender. Food is decent.

Great customer service , drinks were strong and yummy . Had the fries and 3 sauces , aioli , BBQ and spicy Siracha ! All so yummy ! Then tried the churrasco quesadilla super cheesy and tasty ! Will def recommended read more

Rudys - Dive Bars Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Best burgers, fries, and salads around! Great little hideaway on the corner of Chapel in New Haven

This place should be renamed to just RUDE cos the staff there? really, really rude. The rudest of the rude ones is the bald guy, that guy is *unbelievably* rude. He is the king of rude. One time, he legit hurt my feelings. Also the place smells like a hospital, which for a bar, is unsettling. read more

Since the move, the drinks have gotten pricer, the staff has become douchier, and the food is REALLY, really salty (in a bad way, not in the way where it's supposed to be salty enough so you drink more). The food really sucks here but the frites are still the same so at least they still have that. Rudy's used to cater to gutter punks and poor townies. It used to be THE dive to see and be seen. The atmosphere was just so alive. Before the move it was all "Fuck Yale!" and after the move it's like "Here, Yale, have a seat! We love you now!" If you need me, I'll be at Elm Bar with all the other derelicts. **Edit: Someone totally shat on Rudy's dance floor. Ew!! read more

Average food for the most part. Except the fries are pretty good as most reviewers have noted. It's right downtown so that's nice too. read more

Rudys - Karaoke Wednesdays - Dive Bars Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Best burger I've ever had in my entire life, period. I'm still eating it or I'd write more.

Forget Louis Lunch, or Prime 16, or Shake Shack or any other place you think you may have eaten a "good" burger. This is the holy grail of burgers. I was wandering a little more north of my normal lunchtime loop and walking down Howe St for a new place to try, I almost walked right past Rudy's. There isn't much to draw you in from the outside. I turned the corner and read the menu and decided to saddle up to the bar and try it out. The bartender was friendly & inviting, and started telling the story about the food, and the old place, and when they moved..etc... I guess it's a good thing I'd never been to the old place. I asked for recommendations since the 2lb Moules Frites probably isn't something you want to try and work after eating. I asked about the Banh Mi, and he said he wasn't really a fan, but only because he's not a fan of brisket. So i settled on the classic burger with swiss. Banzai Sauce on the side (sriracha mayo). The burger was presented as artfully as a burger can be. The brioche bun was soft, yet sturdy and had a good toast on the inside so that the burger didnt get mushy. The beef was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was still juicy throughout. The swiss and aioli complemented the beef. The bartender passed me a bottle of ketchup after refilling my water, I pushed it back telling him, "It would be sacrilege to put a bottle of ketchup anywhere near this plate." The frites were delicious, although next to a burger of that level, they become almost an afterthought. The banzai sauce had just the right amount of spice to complement the fries, and would have been damn tasty on the burger. I don't understand the bad rap that this places gets in some of the prior reviews, the service is prompt and courteous, they have a slammin' beer selection (although i chose not to partake). The food is downright godly. The decor is modern and inviting. What's not to like? $11.75 w/ tax for my burger & fries is not a bad deal considering the prices of burgers in the city. I just wish it was closer than a 9 block walk from my work. read more

The frites here are great, the beer selection is varied but the best part- the entertainment. And no I am not talking about the bands, I am talking good old fashioned people watching. I was here one night with a group of friends when we were glued to two girls dancing on the "stage". They grabbed pictures off of the wall and began stomping on them with their bare feet. Then one started bleeding. Yeah- so that's the type of entertainment I am talking about. You can't find that at Barcelona! read more

Yummy Burgers and fries. Lots of beer and alcohol. Kind of weird that they have a DJ when no one is there for a DJ. It's not a club. It's a bar. People are there to drink and chat with pals, and the overbearing music from the DJ didn't seem well placed. Bartenders know their stuff and are cute to boot. read more

Solid food. Amazing fries. Good beer selection. Gets very loud on the weekends (but I guess that's part of the appeal for some). I preferred the divey ambiance of the old Rudy's, but the new (now not so new as its been a few years since they moved) location is larger, more restaurant-like, and has a much more complete menu, so I guess I can't really complain. Some other reviews have criticized the fries. Do NOT believe these reviews. Rudy's has some of the best fries you can get. Period. The New Haven Burger is a good side order for these fries. read more