Rustic is an overstatement. The place smells like a moldy, musty basement. A patron convinced us the food was great. Had to eat outside to avoid getting asthma attack. Food was so so. Not much flavor in the burrito. Parmesan scallops a little undercooked and no flavor from what appeared to be bread crumb crust. Certainly no parmesan present. Stay away! read more

This place was okay, but nothing really stood out to warrant the great reviews I read prior to going. Everything was more expensive than I expected and took longer than expected (at the expensive end of "moderate"). When the food came it was okay, but nothing to write home about. We had mostly seafood and while the portions were large it was in general pretty bland fare. I agree with others that the decor is fun, but it's annoying to be right on the side of the road with cars passing all the time. read more

Tight space. Cute though. Went with a friend and it was a busy night. I had the salmon burger which had potential to be so much greater than what it was but nonetheless it was delicious! The beer was good but slightly pricey compared to average craft beers. read more

What a pleasant surprise! A hometown rustic bar with a simple and delicious menu. Rhode Island Clam Chowder was good with the addition of pepper and honey butter corn bread came steaming hot from the oven. The monster burger was a half pound of fresh ground meat cooked perfectly accompanied by an upgrade of garlic parsley fries. The lobster roll was small but perfectly cooked with a drizzle of fresh drawn butter. The Italian lemon cake was delicious-light, fluffy and flavorful! read more

Take a hit off of a raw lemon and sit down with Teresa! Boy! You're in for a ride! Great place, great food and bartenders (except MICA ) who make the place really special! Ask for Teresa and she tell what she thinks. It's a great ride. read more

This place was a pleasant surprise for a small Cafe on the roadside. Stephanie was incredibly friendly and the food was delicious and plated great! We would def stop by again if in the area. read more

Love this place! Atmosphere, food, and drinks are great! Just wish it was bigger. Especially when they have karaoke...

On our way home from an estate sale my wife and I stopped at THE RUSTIC CAFE. Lunchtime anytime is the right time to visit this Cafe. Saturday noontime place filled up fast. 1960's Pop music ,Uconn Georgetown men's BB game on. Now it's time to eat. RUSTIC BURGER cooked to perfection sweet potato fries (sweeter than sweet). I had a bowl (a cup wouldn't cut it) of N.E. Clam chowder.(full of clams) excellent!!!! Angus beef chilli dog (knocked it out da park) Hot Dog (HUGE!!!)perfect combo of spices/meat/black beans (for fiber) topped off with shredded cheddar made this one healthy dog to eat. Dessert KEY LIME PIE was a slice of heaven. Our service was excellent ( Thanks Jen)."One cool waitress." read more

have ridden past for 3-4 years and on Sat. 8/13/11 my sister & I stopped around noon, parked the bikes and went in for lunch. I had grilled cheese w/tomato and fresh basil . Sister had a BLT. The sandwiches came out on what looked almost like home made bread! Both were delicious and the check w/2 sodas was $14.05. By the time we left, the restaurant was full. There is also outside eating if you like. We/I definitely will go back when riding Route 1. Have mentioned the place to several of my biker friends to check out. read more

i just had the most unpleasant restaurant experience ever at The Rustic Cafe. We are a local couple who has eaten at this restaurant on many occasions in the past. However we will not be back due to the incredible rudeness of the owner. We both ordered corn chowder, prime rib and two sides. Though we were the only customers at the time , 8PM on a Monday, who were ordering dinner, the waitress forgot the soup She later offered to bring it out with the meal or to go. I skipped mine but my husband said his was not very good. When the prime rib came I found mine , which was ordered medium to be tough and hard to cut. My husband had an end cut which he also claimed was tough but he managed to eat half of it. The waitress did offer to take the food back but I decided I would just eat the sides and since I did not eat the meat at all I assumed that they would take it off the bill and I could pay only for the side dishes. Instead the waitress said because it was cooked to order they could not take it off the bill. The owner then came out and started arguing with us that there was nothing wrong with the meat, that it was a personal choice and that they serve hundreds of these. He refused to acknowledge that the meat was unacceptable and kept arguing with us. We told him that we were local customers who would not be back. it is hard to believe that a small local business would rather make people pay for an unacceptable meal and lose customers over a $16.00 charge. read more

Cozy little place. The indoor area is small, but there is a nice patio for the warmer months. The food is always good ( I personally love the black bean burger and the deep fried green beans), but everything we have ordered has been good. I would recommend it! read more

Really great food but the service was horrendous- it was my second time here and I excused the ignorance the 1st time but it's a shame that I will never return - as good a the food is the woman at the bar is an absolute bitch ! read more

This place has excellent food, friendly waiters and great atmosphere. We ordered clam chowder, even my picky kids loved it, lobster rolls, steak, wings, burger - all was good, but the best of all was an amazing strawberry-rhubarb pie. Waitress, I forgot her name, was a real character and very friendly. Definitely made us feel very welcomed, kids enjoyed helping preparing fire for the dragon (fireplace made ouf of steal in shape of a dragon's head). Next to us, and I don't know if this is normal or not, was a group with two guitars that kept playing songs and we soon joined in, borrowing percussions from the restaurant. All in all we had an amazing time and will definitely stop by when road takes us in that direction again. read more

Don't think I have ever been treated so rudely at a restaurant. My family has been coming here for years, after my grandfather passed away I came back with my mother, husband and two kids. The short brunette bartender/server was extremely rude from the outset. When I asked if they had a high chair she acted very inconvenienced. We waited for 15 minutes for menus, eventually my mom had to go up and get some. We asked her for a small glass for my daughter to drink out of so she wouldn't spill and she snapped at us and gave the dirtiest look, then complained to the other waitress right in front of us. Eventually she snatched the cup out of my daughter's hand yelling "this was a bad idea!" That's when we left. The table next to us said, "we thought it was just us!" Clearly this woman has a bad attitude and shouldn't be working in a customer service role. Needless to say, we and the rest of our family will not be returning. read more

This was our 1st time at the Rustic Cafe. They were celebrating Cinco de Mayo. We both had the Chille Relleno Stuffed with rice and shrimp. I don't think I had a total of one shrimp in whole dish. Service was bad. The waitress tried to serve me somebody else's food. Food was bland. I had to go to another table to get some hot sauce. The waitress might've been drunk. Needless to say we will not be coming back. read more

Heading to NYC from Boston and grew hunger around New London. The wife quickly located this place close to 95 and we ventured in on a Thursday night around 7:30. There was a spot at the bar so we planted ourselves there. The Pomegranate Martini Deb got was too sweet (made with Puckers) - I just stuck with a couple PBR's (at $2 each you can't go wrong) - of course I had to finish her martini while she got the gold margarita. Much better. We couldn't decide on the New England or RI clam chowder - so we got a cup of each. it was clearly home-made but both were only average in quality and although plenty of clams just lacked flavor or uniqueness. Things improved dramatically with our main courses. Deb got a Seared Scallop appetizer with a corn salsa and a side of green beans - she said it was delicious and perfect for her appetite. I got a half rack of the ribs. It only came with the cole slaw but that was OK by me because both were outstanding. the ribs were a dry rub that had a nice smoky flavor. The slaw was also home-made and this was unique. And delicious. Not sure we'll ever have the opportunity to return but would not hesitate and I would think it a much higher probability the 3 stars would go to 4 rather than drop. If I lived in the area I wouldn't hesitate to frequent much more often. read more

The regular menu has a great selection and the ever changing specials are creative and super! Good prices for really good quality and choices! Even better, Jen is back so it's fun too! Highly recommended. read more

Had an early dinner here and the food was delicious. The NE clam chowder was full of clams and potatoes. Perfect consistency, not too thick, not too brothy! The prices are reasonable and the atmosphere was nice. We will go back! read more

Rustic is a hidden gem. Such an amazing time! Pickle Backs are Aaaaaammmmmzzzziiiinnnnggg. We live an hour away, definitely worth the trip. We'll definitely go back again. Can't wait! read more

Great place...stumbled upon this joint on the way home after a weekend at Block Island. Our server was terrific and lit up the fire pit on the patio for us. My wife and kids and I enjoyed the atmosphere and the food was great. read more

Tiny but worth the wait. Great food, fun owners, and it attracts a great range of people. One of the coolest things about it being so small is that you always end up talking to someone new- that's not an easy thing around here! The sweet potato fries are so so good too! read more

One night we finally decided to check out this place since we live right down the road. After waiting for an hour for a table (we were told we were next by the bartender!) our table was given so someone else since another waitress promised it to someone else... We waited for another 30 min to finally sit down. At this point we were really looking forward to finally eating dinner at 9:30 so we ordered their "special" mussels. They came dry (no broth that I'm used to) with a side bowl of water to rinse the sand out of them! I have never seen this before but was willing to give it a chance since we were starving. Regardless of how much we "washed" the mussels, we couldn't eat them since they still had a ton of sand in them. After getting down two of them, we left the rest in the bowl. We mentioned this to the waitress/owner but all she said was that other people love them... I'm not that picky with my food but these were truly INEDIBLE! The rest of our food wasn't much better with my buffalo chicken sandwich only containing chunks of fried chicken inside a dry roll with nothing else in it. We ate it since we were starving but when it came to our bill, the waitress wouldn't even consider taking the mussels off our bill. This was the most miserable experience! read more

Although it is a small venue, it works! The menu had something for everyone including me, a vegetarian! The servers were great and very pleasant even though they were jamming! read more

Wonderful place. They do the basics well, the fried seafood is great, sides are good, soups are very tasty. Very friendly service, and the owner is a doll, she brought my daughter some lobster meat when she heard she had never tried it. Accommodating about all sorts of things. Great ct beers on tap, and the place is full of locals, not day trippers. Nothing super fancy, exactly what you want at the end of a day on the beach. read more

When I visit my old college roommate down in East Lyme I am always asking if we can go to The Rustic!!! The food is awesome the atmosphere is great and the staff are always so friendly. It's like everyone knows everyone and its a huge family. In the summers they do whole Lobsters which were just delicious and just this past weekend I had BBQ chicken egg rolls that were on the specials board that I'm still dreaming about. Not sure why a few people are writing that the staff are rude to anyone who's not "a regular" cause I have never experienced that and I wouldn't say I'm a "regular" as I live an hour away. also know one starts out as a regular so something made them keep coming back! In my experience people just complain when they don't get what they want. If they can't split your check just pay for your friend and she can pay you back...it's not that hard! I'm not 100% sure but I think the owner also works as a server/bartender which I always like to see since they are there keeping an eye on things but also helping do the grunt work. Rustic Cafe you get 5 stars in my book any day! read more

The significant other and I stopped in on a recent Monday night; I had discovered the place when looking for a venue to host our upcoming rehearsal dinner. I was intrigued by the positive reviews here on this site, plus the menu looked like just what we were looking for. What a nice experience; the food was great, the decor is truly "rustic" but not in a worn out backwoods bar sort of way ( nice knotty pine covers the walls and ceiling), the staff was attentive and friendly answering all my questions. The lobster bisque was some of the best we've ever eaten, our entrees were delicious, and since the weather was pleasant the side door was open offering us a view to the large side lawn where we were able to see a wild turkey stroll across. Overall I would definitely recommend this restaurant, and we will return soon. read more

Was lucky enough to land in this pub for the Jets win over the patriots. Although the outcome of said game would usually have me leaving early to grieve. Not on this occasion! Stephanie was tending the room expertly and the food was cheap and good. My Burger was perfect. Chowder also seems to be a big hit here and an order of wings is only three bucks. read more

We love this place. The base menu is very good, both the prices and quality, but they usually have a theme menu too, which has been excellent each time. It's small, but I've never had a problem getting a seat. Always have good beer on tap. read more

We stopped in today for a quick lunch after a day at the Connecticut shore. We found it through Yelp and are glad we did! My husband had the whole belly clam basket and I had the Caprese salad. We were both very happy with our choices - the clams were right off the boat and mine had home grown basil and a wonderful balsamic reduction on the side. Even better than the food was the terrific waitress, Sarah! She was efficient and charming! We'll be back! read more

I've been to eat here twice. What I can tell you is that it is small, very small but they make it work. Seemed like there were a lot of regulars. Smoking area and fire pit out the side door so that is a lively spot, try avoiding sitting near that door. Food was good both times no complaint there. The prices were expensive and that is what has kept me from going back more. Like I said it is intimate, you are going to be close to other people. There is no spreading out there so know that. Also, both times I was there the waitress/bartender ran the whole show; serving drinks, taking order, delivering food, cashing people out, all of it so you know how that can go. I drive by it all the time and they always have good looking specials posted on a board on the side of the road. I'd say it is worth a try. read more

The food is always good and the price is reasonable. It is always very loud and you have to sit too close to the other tables. Cannot have a private conversation in there. Always busy! read more

I have eaten here several times and never had any issues with the food, whatsoever. Although our table was literally inches from the next table, that is what one would expect in a tiny bar, so you cannot expect any privacy...which is perfectly fine if you know that going in. What I have a great issue with is the bar tender with the long dark hair. She is not very friendly and is rather curt, like you are bothering her. We barely looked at the menu and she was already asking us what we wanted and later, when we were not even finished chewing out last bite of food, she snatched our plates away. Fine, that is easy to deal with, but what we witnessed with how she handled serving other people is what really turned us off. She, of course handled money, as all bar tenders typically do. However, when she picked up beer glasses for refills from patrons who were seated at the tables, she had all of her fingers INSIDE the glasses as she picked them up with one hand. So, here she has handled money and now has a fist full of fingers inside several glasses that she is refilling with beer. That is so freaking unsanitary that it made my stomach flip to see her do that, fill the glasses with beer and return them to the patrons. Gross. read more

I loved the atmosphere here at the Rustic Cafe. There are great patrons that are regulars that visit during the lunch time hour. I highly recommend the tuna melt it is absolutely delicious read more

A good local beer selection and fun atmosphere. The people I went with enjoyed their burger and Tijuana dog (hotdog deep fried in bacon lathered in mayo afterward...) and the tacos I had were a large portion but not outstanding. Next time I'll go for the burger since I think that's more of a specialty. read more

It is made clear that if you aren't a regular, you aren't really welcome. Not an atmosphere that someone new would really want to be in. The amount of attitude from the bartenders was enough to make you not want to come back again. Maybe if they actually gave a shit about all their customers and not just the ones who are always there, they might get more business. They are the perfect example for how not to run a bar. read more

On our way home from Boston we stumbled upon this quaint little restaurant. At first we were a little weary to try it, but as the old saying "you can't judge a book by its cover" definitely applies to this sweet gem. The inside was very clean and warm feeling. The waitress and local folks were extremely nice. The food was incredible. I had a hot lobster roll. It was delicious with an overflowing amount of real lobster meat. My husband and son had a cheeseburger. They said it was the best they ever had! If you're ever up in the Mystic/Lyme CT. area, I suggest you stop at the Rustic Cafe!! read more

Food was good service needs a lot of retraining. Young waitress needs a lesson on how to treat people did not even ask how our meal was ok if we wanted anything else. read more

Had dinner outside by the fire tonight - great experience. Our server Kimberly was delightful, welcoming us to The Rustic Cafe with complementary shots of Jack Daniels & Home made pickle juice chasers. Try the Cornbread! Burgers & specials (especially the pulled pork) are home runs. Leave room for dessert. Had the 3 berry pie - excellent. Will come back soon. read more

My home away from home but the food's better here! sometimes chill, sometimes crazy busy, but always fun times.

Stopped in to have lunch on a Saturday with my daughter & my niece. When we walked in we were greeted rudely. We sat down at a table and had the menus thrown at us. I guess there only nice to the regulars...even though the food was good, I will not be patronizing that establishment again. read more