Expected the best but it wasn't even close The dry aged prime ribeye was neither dry aged nor prime, it was a select grade at best and very tough. The manager was very arrogant and tried to tell me that the chef says the steak was fine. WTF. The risotto dish was very disgusting, a pile of over cooked mush. Will never go back The server was great though read more

Food is always amazing. French toast is a must try! Service is always impeccable! Waitstaff is always prompt when taking orders and come back and check on your frequently. Love the location (heart of downtown Birmingham) and it's inside of the Townsend hotel which is nothing short of amazing !! Walking distance to local shops. Must try this place and have a mimosa ;) read more

The food is only outmatched by the service. Although the dinner menu is tad too rich for my palette, the brunch is amazing - arguably, one of the best experiences in the area. Try the beignets and the smoked salmon eggs benedict. read more

The BEST Birmingham has to offer! If the entrée' or even their famous burger doesn't knock your socks off, just try their Sundae or other exclusive desert! Service is ALWAYS excellent and the inner room is a warm and comfortable atmosphere. Always glad we went to the Rugby! read more

Disappointing. At an upscale restaurant, I expect them to be more sensitive to food allergies. Not so here. I had to send back my lamb chps three times because the dish contained ingredients I was allergic to...will never go back. read more

My hubby too me to Rugby Grille as my birthday dinner this year. We ordered duck tacos as appetizers, which were amazing for being tacos! The duck was crisped up very nicely and the waiter kindly showed us the piece of jalapeno pepper (in case we weren't spice lovers & wanted to remove it). The only thing is, you only get 3 tiny tacos, and it's not easy to split the 3rd one, since the shell is so crispy. For our entrees, we had the rack of lamb and scallops. We each ate half our plate then switched, so we could enjoy both. The food was phenomenal and the presentation incredibly artistic. For dessert, we shared creme brulee. The meal was amazing, but most notably that night was the very helpful, knowledgeable & friendly waitstaff. He gave us suggestions of appetizers & sizes, as well as after dinner drinks and desserts. I think we will put this on our list as a place to revisit for special occasions! read more

Had brunch here with my Dad the other day. Food was fantastic, I got an egg white frittata with feta cheese. I seriously have never seen eggs cooked so perfectly, they tasted amazing. $14 which really isn't bad considering the restaurant. To start they brought this cute basket of pastries and biscuits which my Dad devoured. Definitely worth it. read more

The Rugby is a great place for breakfast and a meeting. They will make whatever you ask for and make it well while giving you the space you need to have a private business meeting. Oh, and the bagels and lox are delicious. read more

My husband and I went for an early dinner and drinks. Anthony our waiter was kind and courteous. My husband had ceaser salad, the steak, loaded baked potato and brussel sprouts. I had salad and French onion soup. The soup was the best I've ever had. The salad was cold and crisp. Delicious. According to my husband, the steak was not the greatest. His loaded baked potato and brussel sprouts and salad were top notch. After dinner we had coffee and the cinnamon bun cheesecake. It was outstanding! Thank you to Anthony for making our dining experience a wonderful one. We will be back! read more

We went into the Rugby Grille for a post dinner drink. It was sad that there were not any patrons in the establishment and the bar area was lacking in people or a fun and enjoyable crowd. During our time at the Rugby Grille the manager said that everyone needed to be more quiet and just enjoy being there. Since there were very limited patrons it was quite humorous that they didn't want people having fun and enjoying some libations at the bar. We left and went to many of the other establishments in the Birmingham area. If you do not want to have any fun, visit the Rugby Grille. We will never go back and recommend to our friends in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills to never go again. read more

Quite impressed for a hotel restaurant. The food was quite good and service was tops.

Service was good, atmosphere was lacking. We had a bottle of wine, fish tacos & two entrees. Couldn't stand stay any longer for desert. The duck taco's were very good but quite small. The veal was overly fatty & undercooked. The salmon was good. Uninspiring menu for price. Total tab 175. Should've been 90. We were parked next to the very loud bar & the table next to us had a 50 pound dog that wouldn't stop sniffing me. Not a seeing eye dog, not a purse dog. Overall there are many other restaurants for less that are better. We walked to another restaurant for desert & coffee. Should have sooner read more

Downtown Birmingham is Terrific but the Rugby Grille was FANTASTIC!!! the place blew me away! It was pretty late after 11:00pm so I really wasent expecting to have dinner but to my surprise they had a burger on the menu.... a little pricey but I will tell you that was the BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD and worth every penny! we will be back! Thanks for a great night! read more

Total bill for 2 $256 I found the food to be very good and the portions good for an upscale restaurant. Had a special bone marrow appetizer that included toasted/seasoned bread and a great salad. Had Dover sole for dinner which was very good. For a small upcharge, they allowed a change in the 2 side dishes. 3 gellato dessert was excellent. Leslie, the server, was top notch. My only complaint was that the wine list was almost exclusively California. I would have liked to see more French and Italian Red choices. Had a Pomerol (Boudeaux) Merlot that was good (not $70 a bottle good but restaurant markups are expected). We were going to have it corked until we saw the fee on the menu - $35.00. Fortunately we were sitting in the main area and not the hallway - the same hallway where people go from the lobby to the bathrooms. read more

If you visit Michigan and you are in or near Birmingham try the Rugby Grille, we like the late night service best : )

The wait staff is awful. The place was empty, yet we could never find the waiter. He didn't even introduce himself. The food was so-so, but I definitely expected much more for the price. read more

Overpriced but high quality and very tasty. The French onion soup is out of this world and their burger is one of the best around. Also great ahi tuna appetizer. Haven't had a steak but a guy at the bar was raving about it. The bar is often an entertaining scene. Lots of old white rich dudes hitting on women 1/4 their age. Not as creepy as I'm making it sound but entertaining nonetheless. read more

Was in the Rugby Grille on Black Friday with friends for lunch. Obviously it was a busy day. Unfortunately they were woefully understaffed and having difficulty providing even marginal service. (No menus, long waits, no service clearing...all restaurant 101 stuff) A group of women at the bar asked a waiter where the bartender was. He replied that they didn't have one "today," and that he and the other waiters were "taking turns" and would be with them as soon as they could! Amazing; thought he was being facetious! I usually like the Grille, its new look and the Townsend's new management, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this day was an anomaly. They need to be careful. read more

My husband & I went to celebrate our anniversary. I was in the first trimester of my pregnancy & battling HORRIBLE morning sickness. No matter what time of day it was or what kind of food I was eating, I was sick! For this reason, I was nervous about our dining experience. Everything ended up being AMAZING! The service was incredible ~ our server even treated us to dessert. The steak was cooked to perfection ~ melted in your mouth. The best part of the meal? The pureed potatoes. THEE MOST HEAVENLY TASTING POTATOES ON EARTH!!! Fantastic! read more

Dined here last minute last weekend. They were able to accommodate us with a reservation within 30 minutes of our call. Very helpful staff. I had the dover sole. Probable the best I have had in the past decade!! My wife enjoyed the filet, also outstanding. Would highly recommend!! read more

Very disappointed in the dinner last night. We frequent this restaurant often. It is one of our favorites. I have to say we will not be coming back. I booked this on open table. No where did it say this was a fixed menu. When you called to confirm no word of it as well. The portions were small. The main course was a size of one piece of an appetizer. With the 4 of us we spent over 500 dollars and we ended up eating at a friends house. We felt we were being taken advantage due to New Years. Bari Beckett read more

Live close by and visited twice recently. Both times service was slow, but especially for brunch today. My regular brunch with friends will be looking for a new location after today. read more

This place was very overpriced for the mediocre food. Overall it was not a good dining experience. The hostess was not friendly and most of the food was cold. We felt packed into the overcrowded dining room. The hostess couldn't even fit between the tables, knocking a patron's drink off the table trying to squeeze passed it. Overall a very expensive disappointment for dinner. read more

Love this place. Cute, fun and amazing service! Go and enjoy Bham!

The Rugby Grill was recommended by a friend who grew up in Birmingham. The ambience is lovely, with a dark, clubby sort of feel to the room. We were seated in a roomy booth near the bar area. We were slightly turned off by the server who greeted us and immediately inquired if we were there for a "special occasion." We had already been asked the same question when we made the reservation on the phone the day before. The answer was no, we were simply guests of the hotel and didn't want to venture out again after a long travel day. She proceeded to review the menu and pushed the dover sole, which she said was plated table side and one of their signature dishes. Never mentioned the price. We had to ask. $55. That's a lot for dover sole, thank you. I had the black cod, which was good, though the portion size was small. I was glad I had an excellent soup du jour made with smoked gouda to start. Husband loved his caesar salad and had the steak tartare as an entree, even though it's listed as an appetizer for two. Good wine list and the bartender makes a decent martini. read more

Our first time here was in Valentines Day and it was great. Jessica was our server and made us well informed of our choices on the menu, gave us complimentary champagne, made suggestions as well as ensured we had everything we need. Will ensure every time we're there we are seated with her. On top of everything the food was amazing! We had a fruit and cheese plate, shared a berry salad and both had the strip steak followed by fondue. read more

Hostess didn't record my visit with Open Table; therefore, I received a no show. Chicken caesar salad was very bland almost devoid of flavor. This is definitelu a restaurant to skip. read more

I like the food, it is creating and tasty! The service is great! I am coming from Shanghai and as a food lover, I tried almost all the top restaurants in Shanghai! This one is good as the shook or Char in Shanghai. read more

i have had dinner off of the menu, new years eve dinner, but breakfast is the power move here. whether it's tuesday morning with ceo's and coo's or sunday with fieger there is always a power play at the rugby grille. read more

Brunch here can't be beat. The complimentary pastry basket is delicious. Incredible service. Really above and beyond.

We dined at the Rugby Grille on Sunday night. Service is typically top-notch, but on Sunday, it was not. After our server took our order -- cheese plate, appetizers, and main course -- we saw her twice more. Once for a perfunctory "how is your meal" and the second time to deliver the check. She had so little interest in our table that our entire meal was served by the busboys, who were excellent. Instead of serving our table, our server was busy - not serving but chatting with another table, who apparently were far more interesting than we. Overall, a disappointing experience. read more

While the Dover sole was incredible, overall this was not the experience i would have hoped for. Our server served dinner while my husband was away from the table, they did not have lids to keep dinner warm while I waited. We were seated in the middle of the room at a small table, even with a reservation made weeks in advance. Even our valet guy, he went to give my husband the ticket before opening the door for me. I could go on and on. All of these things would have been acceptable were we not spending hundreds of dollars for dinner. The food was good, the service was deficient for the caliber of restaurant it thinks it is. read more

Great food, great service and a great atmosphere. We reserved for 8 for a graduation lunch/dinner and we all enjoyed the food. Our parents wanted a dinner dish but they were only serving brunch, but they easily accommodated with a salmon dish, mashed potatoes and asparagus that was wonderful. I ordered breakfast and loved it. Will definitely be going back! read more

An outstanding experience from every perspective. We were greeted and seated promptly. Our server was very professional and friendly. The steaks were perfectly prepared. And the prices are in line with similar venues in other cities. We recommend this restaurant without hesitation. read more