This is truly an unexpected place for some delicious cajun food. In the middle of nowhereish Akron, a friend who spent 7 years in Nola dragged us into Russo's. He claimed it was one of the best places outside of Nola to find a good southern meal, and he was spot on. The Crawfish Etouffe, Jambalaya, and Oysters here are dynamite. The fried green tomatoes have a nice crunch, and the cocktails are worth 6 stars. (on a 5 star scale) It was the best Sazerac i've had outside of....well, anywhere. Service was friendly and prompt, and the establishment is semi-formal. You can get away with a nice shirt and jeans here, but expect most of the well-to-do clientele to be dressed better than that. There's even a gorgeous back patio for those warm summer breezy evenings. Truly a hidden gem. read more

went here with my family and usually its great service but tonight was just strange. The best part about my dinner was the water and the water was not great either because all of the straws were unwrapped and I watched the lady at the counter touch every single straw, so I did not want to use it her hands and arms did not look very clean either. my mom and dad got their food first. my dad ordered meat sauce and did not get it, so he asked one of the guys working there, that same guy came back and asked what he wanted again 5 minutes later, during that time he stood around and did nothing. he passed by and gave me a very big, creepy looking smile, i looked away very quickly, he did it again and my mother saw and also thought it was weird. My father got the lady at the front's attention and said, "We have been waiting for my sauce and my daughter's pizza," she looked at him with a scowl. The guy who was smiling at me quickly rushed it to me and it was cold, pepperonis were not cooked, and cheese tasted like Velvetta, crust was still doughy. i always order the pepperoni pizza and its always 10/10 but tonight was 0.5/10 read more

Food is good, Pricey. Atmosphere is good, Music related. Specials are horrible or non existent. They have "Taco Night" which a few friends and I went to. For "Taco Night" there are actually no specials except for $5 Margaritas and they way they offer it is shady, Here is what happened. ME: Taco Night perfect what are your specials? SERVER: $5 Margaritas ME: You don't have specials on tacos for "Taco Night"? SERVER: No just $5 Margaritas. ME: OK Ill have a mango Margarita. Later - Check comes, I was charged full price for the Margarita. ($9+) ME: I ordered a Margarita and was charged full price? SERVER: Oh Yeah, If you want the $5 Margarita you have to order THE $5 MARGARITA... I guess my only advise would be to watch what you order and how you order it because they run the menu like a legal contract. (A LOT of small print) Very Shady in my opinion. read more

This place rocks! Everything has always proved to be delightful. I didn't grab a picture of the vanilla peach mousse desert. It was the bomb. Share a salad try the octopus and you can't lose on the entrees. read more

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This is pretty much the best restaurant in the Akron area. I have always enjoyed everything that's been prepared here.

Wow! Our reservation was for 6:45 and it is now 8:45 and still no food. The waitress is great but I'm not sure what is the problem in the kitchen. If I were the manager I would be walking around letting people know why! Even if it is being short staffed or filling call in take out orders before customers seated in the restaurant. But this is insane. read more

First time here and we'll be back! Reservations are a must on Saturday night - make sure to specify what table you'd like (booth). Despite mentioning it was a birthday celebration, the hostess attempted to seat us at a tiny table directly across from open grill. When asked we were told all booths are bespoke - was allowed to move to same table further down. Food is amazing - def get the Louisiana Crawfish Monica with Fresh Cavatelli Pasta $13.99 as it blew us away! Shrimp and grits were nice big shrimp. Filet was also very good. Look forward to returning - possibly pizza in the Bacchus bar out back! read more

The food at Russo's is usually spot on. Lots of good appetizers and entrees. Tonight's dinner was a "miss". Rock shrimp with pumpkin tortellini and snow peas sounded great on the menu. It's a new item but needs work. The dish was swimming in oil. Shrimp were small and few. The tortellini did not taste anything like pumpkin. The snow peas were chopped into very small pieces. Overall the dish was a C minus. Disappointing for Russo's! read more

Really horrible experience. We were seated 45 minutes later than our 8:00 reservation at the bar. The hostess then told us we would have to move our seats once another couple got up. Thankfully our server stepped in and prevented her from moving us. The hostess offered no explanation and no apology for our wait. We ordered scallops for an appetizer. 2 of them were right out of the refrigerator ice cold. We asked the waitress/bar tender to send them back. The owner then came over to scold us and tell me that the scallops are cooked medium rare and that is how they were supposed to be. She was very angry and berated me in front of the other guests at the bar. Our server was kind and attentive, but it was really a negative and very expensive experience. My previous visit was just about 1 year ago. We again had a reservation at the bar. 5 of us were on our way to a concert. Apparently they had booked another group at the bar and the group had arrived while we were still eating. The manager came over and told us we needed to finish up so the next group could sit. We were not stalling, we had ordered promptly, we did not intend to get dessert or after dinner drinks. We just wanted to finish our dinner. The manager could have had his kitchen and server expedite our meals and we would have been done sooner and not been embarrassed. I have frequented this restaurant for years and generally enjoyed the experience and food. I will not be subjecting myself and paying for this type of treatment in the future. They need to get their front of the house and bar reservations organized. Some serious customer service training for management/ lady owner would go a long way. read more

I'll have to agree with most of the reviews. Long story short, Russo's has great food, friendly service, with the downsides of loud crowd noise and a pace of service that's more on the leisurely side. That's OK if you plan for it and don't come here if you're in a hurry. I think the food is worth it, but the pace might not be worth it for some. I love Creole food, which is a rarity here in NEO. I got the shrimp and grits. The rib-eye had a tasty, unique sweet-spicy cajun rub to it, and the veal was delicious. For concert goers: Say, if your Blossom Music event is at 8PM, try to make reservations for 530PM, expect to stay 1 hour and 30 minutes, (maybe 2 hours if you order dessert, which we did not) be out by 7, enough time to last the stop-and-go-traffic towards Blossom parking. It's really 3.5 stars rounded out to 4 for me. read more

I know people love it and others at my table rave ... So maybe its me ... But my veal scallopini and pasta were very light on flavor. Hard for me to tell the profile given the blandness. Even the White French was average. However Judy raved about her pasta and Stan loved the Cajun platter ... Plus the service was very good ... How bad can a place be that serves Lagavulin! So I will try it again, but going Cajun. read more

Extremely overpriced for what you get and the quality of the food. I had the perch with mac & cheese and collard greens and it was absolutely horrendous. You can get a better perch dinner at the boulevard for a fraction of the price and it's way better. The fish had no meat on it, it was super crunchy in a bad way, the mac & cheese + collard greens tasted like they had been sitting out for hours. I also had the beet salad and it tasted like the beets were from a can. Really gross dinner and the servers suck pretty bad too. This place is priced like a higher end restaurant but it's definitely not a higher end experience. Don't waste your time going here. It feels and tastes budget. read more

If half stars were available this would get 3 1/2 from me. I am torn because the food was outstanding but the service was slow and the restaurant was extremely loud. For the prices of the food I figured people would be dressed a little nicer and the restaurant would be more of a semi-intimate setting and by this I mean quieter. This was not the case. I had a hard time hearing conversation from across the table. Our server was very nice but seemed to be a server of leisure. While every table she had was full she made conversation with each table which led to slower service. Thank goodness for the flowing good conversation at our table that didn't make us notice this too much. We actually opted out of dessert because we were afraid it would take forever. The food we ordered however, was outstanding! We started with the Grilled Calamari and it was the best I have had in awhile. Since it was grilled there was no breaded coating and it was cooked perfectly. It was mixed with sauteed vegetables and balsamic. Also, you get a trio of free bread with olive oil for dipping. The waitress sold my boyfriend and I on the Shrimp and Grits- the grits were fabulous! I am very glad I ordered this dish. The flavor packed a punch and the shrimp were large and seasoned well. I even used the bread to soak up the extra sauce- my plate was clean! My dad ordered the Steak Pizzaiola alla Farinacci and said the flavors were delicious. My suggestion for anyone trying to go here is to sit at the bar. You get to watch the kitchen in action and I would think you would get better service. read more

I was surprised to see nobody has written a review of this fine establishment yet, so I decided to write one, even though it has been quite a while since the last time I visited. If you may believe the website, this restaurant serves Italian and Creole soul food. A quick look on their menu tells that they split both cuisines, rather than fusing them. The menu has creole/cajun entrees as well as Italian dishes, which are mostly home made pastas. What I remember most vividly is an excellent New York Strip steak with a heavy, full-bodied red wine. My dining experience, quite honestly, does not require more than that. But Russo's does offer more. The ambience is one of a buzzing, happening, and chattering place. People seemed happy to be there. There is the opportunity to take a booth or to sit at the bar, from where you can see the cooks at work. The same goes for the staff and service. Although it might've been the wine, the waitress' charm left me slightly in love with her at the end of my meal. read more

Cajun? And Italian? Together? Sweet place with history but I've just ingested my sodium maximum for the year. Jambalaya and beignets are fun if you are missing NOLA. read more

Russo's - Beignets - Italian Near Me - Peninsula, Ohio

Russo's is the definition of a hidden gem. It is tucked away behind two high schools and a residential area, which makes the location a bit strange, but it is certainly worth the visit! They offer high-end, Louisiana inspired dishes in the front, and cheaper, bar-style food, such as burgers and pizza, in the Bacchus Lounge in the back. I highly recommend eating at the bar, as you can enjoy great drinks and watch the chefs prepare the food right behind the bar. They offer a very wide variety of food, and I have never had anything I don't like. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a great meal, especially if you love Cajun style food, as it is their specialty. read more

Absolutely amazing food, truly inspired. Lots of really amazing options, can wait to go back and try some more!

This is our favorite restaurant in the Cleveland/Akron area. Our favorites is the Creole quinine. Best Jambalaya north of New Orleans!

I really struggled writing this review. I have nothing good nor bad to say about this place. The food wasn't bad it wasn't amazing the price for the girlfriend and I to eat dinner and desert was around $100 so not out of the question. Service wasn't great but wasn't horrible. Just took longer then you would expect. As you can see I'm still torn on how many stars. It's no 5 star but it's no 2 start review. I hope everyone else has a better finding here. read more

I searched yelp while riding east on 80 from Three Rivers Michigan Thursday and was I happy I detoured to Russo's for Dinner. Gumbo Ya Ya, Drago's style BBQ'ed Oysters, and their house salad. WOW great food, great service, friendly pleasant staff. Great cocktail, local lager, and double Espresso sent me down the road home. A great find and a really cool place. People around me a the bar/open working kitchen were enjoying their food, especially the Italian specialties of pasta and meatballs. Saw a local packing away a steak, big boy, looked satisfied. Real NOLA roots in Russo's too. I did not get to meet the owner but I was told he worked with Emeril Lagasse, There is a tavern in the rear that had quite a few families gettin' down on some sweet looking Pizza. What I miss most of not traveling for business are these great gems out there on the road. I now have NYC to totally immerse my food world in. read more

I arrived at 7:30 with reservations and I'm just leaving at 9:30. The filet my husband ordered was over cooked and dry. My seafood was amazing as well as the appetizer of crab cakes. The service was terribly slow. Suggest the seafood and go with lots of time to spare. read more

I've been here several times now. I've had the chicken, ravioli and filet. All were delicious. My boyfriend has had the meatloaf and lamb shank and loved them both. Especially the lamb. The turtle chocolate cheesecake is delicious! This place is awesome. The service is always great! We especially like our waiter, Dan! He's awesome! read more

Food was delicious! Homemade ravioli, filet cooked perfectly with grilled veggies! The German chocolate cake was the best I've ever had. Our server Cindy was delightful!! Will definitely return when we are back in town! read more

This was our 2nd trip to Russo's - it is a nice meeting place between Cleveland and Akron/Canton. Our first visit was much better - a nice summer visit on the patio! This time, it was still a great visit - food was great - except a little salty for our tastes. Had a wide variety of choices - huge special list to pick from! Will go back. Its great for groups or to sit at the bar. read more

Great combination of authentic New Orleans and Italian dishes with some special menu items based on seasonal ingredients. The etouffee and a steak with the house steak sauce were delicious. Open kitchen design creates a wonderful atmosphere and reassures me on the quality and cleanliness of the place overall; plus it can be entertaining if you sit at the bar. The location is definitely off the beaten path and doesn't match a restaurant of this level but that makes it a hidden gem. Hopefully this keeps the crowds and costs down too. Host and wait staff, while attentive and professional, could be friendlier and less aloof but maybe that because I've only been there on busy weekend nights. Overall - great food though a little pricy but worth it to treat yourself for a special occasion. read more

Food was really good. Unfortunately I took my family and we had to sit next to a young lady and a much older gentleman who she continually "serviced" with her hand. Long story short, management didn't care because "they come in all the time". I had to explain what backpage dot com was to my teenage daughter. Restaurant is a great location to take your hooker before going to the motel across the parking lot. read more

This has been our favorite restaurant in the area for many years. It's a unique combination of Cajun and Italian. My husband and I enjoy sitting at the bar to watch the chefs cook. Everything is always fresh and perfectly prepared. The menu often changes but some of our favorites are the gumbo, grilled octopus and oysters voodoo for appetizers. Whatever fish they have that day made with the crawfish sauce and vegetables is as good as any in NOLA. Their half chicken is always a go to. Also, any of the pastas are delicious. Honestly, you can't go wrong with anything - it all depends on what you're hungry for. read more

Food was decent and service was fast. Very overpriced in my opinion. That being said, portions are generous and the servers are very helpful. We had the jambalaya and the chicken étouffée. Both were authentic and flavorful. read more

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Myself and my girlfriend recently returned to Russo`s after several previous visits on a recent Friday evening. I ordered the Flank Steak Enchiladas while she ordered the Steak and shrimp navaho tacos. Found her tacos as well as my enchiladas heavily deep fried and overly tuff, not what we expected. The flank steak I had was not tender at all and I did not finish it. Prices seem to have significantly increased and the attentiveness of staff was not up to par of past visits. The room our group was in was shared with another making the seating tight, so servers trying to attend to those outside kept knocking my chair as apparently they did not want to walk down the hall to the other door connecting to the outside. Apparently post covid things have changed for the worse, and found our experience dissatisfying. Guess you should not order mexican when at an Italian Creole restaurant. read more

Chef personally served me my entree, cornmeal fried Lake Erie Perch with Louisiana oysters, veggies and mac n cheese. Perch perch perch, I love it and this was yummy with the chipotle tartar sauce. Veggies were great, specially the always challenging eggplant. Mac n Cheese? Loved the sauce, pasta cooked properly but I didnt touch. Hmmm fish lovers generally don't do mnc when they are enjoying the amazing fish! Salad, meh just tossed some mbg out of a bag on a plate, but the balsamic was right on. Oh yes. They get serving NOLA style, meaning cocktails Maitre de Patrick was attentive to a SF, from my online res to my arrival, big props for that! Def a return visit is due on my next trip to the home Land in May. read more

I've been enjoying the culinary pleasures of Craig Russo from back in the days of Liberty Brewery. Russo's is a place I visit with friends and it's fun to watch them discover that we DO know our food here. Really, the only reason for a 4 star and not a 5 is lack of service and lack of friendliness from the staff. Normally I make reservations for the bar. I'm amazed at the churlish behavior by the bartender. The servers are rushed beyond belief. I do understand that getting food to the customer hot and fresh is a concern, as well it should be. Other than that the place is great and mirrors that of New O's proper :) read more

Went to Russo's last night to celebrate my wife's birthday. The food and service was absolutely fantastic. If someone asks for a restaurant recommendation we always send them to Russo's. Thanks again Russo's for helping me celebrate my wife's birthday. Ken read more

What a disappointment tonight. We have had many pleasant meals here and so picked it to celebrate our anniversary. Everything was below expectations from the beginning. We made reservations at the bar, ordered a nicer than usual bottle of wine. The server seemed generally irritated we were even there. Pleasant to others we figured were regulars. Not helpful and just generally surly. Food was not up to usual par. Dropped a bit of coin here and did not feel we got our worth. Probably will not be at the top of our list any longer. read more

Retuned to Russo's on July 31 for first time since the beginning of Covid for a special family dinner. We arrived on time for our 6pm reservation to find ourselves led through the full dining room and shunted off to the lounge- seedy, dirty floor, noisy and uncomfortable. Despite knowing that there was a large group coming in for dinner and that the restaurant was short staffed they took our dinner reservations for the same time that the large group would be occupying the dining room. Service was dysfunctional as the server was overloaded due to short staffing and bookings. She tried to be pleasant but was stressed out. Long waits for drinks, bread, appetizers, table clearance, salads, clearance, entrees, clearance, coffee and desert. One entree was missing a key element and required substitution. Food was pretty good but not as good as on prior dining experiences at Russos. We finished at 9pm not by choice, 3 rough hours is unacceptable. Disappointing. Not likely to return. read more

Excellent food and great service! I have already suggested this restaurant to friends. We had a fig and prosciutto appetizer that was delicious. My husband enjoyed twin filets prepared to perfection set atop homemade mashed potatoes with a rich streak house. I had the New Orleans BBQ shrimp and it was outstanding! The sauce was thick, peppery, and silky with more than enough for the garlic bread provided to dip in it. We took dessert home because we both finished our dinners and did not have room. The peanut butter pie was fabulous with just enough peanuts for crunch! We will certainly return. read more

Russo's - Prosciutto, goat cheese, and fig app - Italian Near Me - Peninsula, Ohio

This place is alway a great place for dinner. Amazing dinner, great atmosphere! The menu is fresh daily. The food is fresh as well. The food theme is Italian/ New Orleans fusion, and chef Dave serves up an interesting dinner every night. Save room for their desserts, get the peanut butter pie. read more

Here for the first time and we are extremely disappointed. Yuengling on tap 16 oz 5 bucks. Very over priced. Pizza was under cooked and the Cesar salad was pathetic. A very small corned beef-sandwich 12 bucks no fries. Just the sandwich alone. We will never come back again. read more

Russo's - Italian Near Me - Peninsula, Ohio

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I thought I would never find a slightly upscale restaurant that delivers great Cajun flavors other than the super-casual Battiste & Dupree. Well, ta-da, insert Russo's. The Jambalaya was so freaking good. Nice heat, lots of flavor. The side salads with dinner, although served on a chilled plate, weren't that great. They are missing something. The hubby ordered the filet which seriously was tender and quite arguably the best value on the menu at $17.99 when ravioli is $22.99. Roasted garlic was on point and the broccoli appetizer was great. Nice wine selection. Service was attentive but definitely felt rushed at times. The open kitchen makes you appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that go into making awesome food. Definitely make a reservation because you will need it. Great dinner experience. Now...time to polish off my Jambalaya leftovers! read more

"Oh no" they forgot service We asked to be seated on the patio. Only 5 tables on patio. 15 minutes with 3 different servers walking by us and they didn't acknowledge us. We ended up leaving - wasn't a big deal we spent our money elsewhere. read more

Great food, horrible service...especially at the bar. Inattentive, clueless, rude, zero personality.