The service and bartenders are great, but the daytime regulars run the "youngsters" off.

wife and I went for drinks and to shoot some pool one evening. around 10 pm all kinds of kiddos started arriving...most were pretty high already so they just came to hang out and see how much trouble they can get into. we won't be back. not to those of you who wanna risk it...when the sun goes down finish that last drink and tab out. the late crowd is rough. read more

AN OUTSIDER OPINION..... "I've been all around the world" Hahaha Born & raised in NYC/CT area, lived in many states, traveled the US & abroad..and my conclusion is.... Rufus's is AWESOMNESS and the BEST mix of VERSATILITY, people, and sound I've found in TX besides Huston! The bartenders don't skimp on the drinks and always friendly, the music is GREAT whether it's a DJ or Mbox ! I found my watering hole & I feel at home now in Tyler TX YAY read more

I went to shoot pool and have a few drinks. Drinks were watered down. The staff was very rude. I won't be back again. There are better places to go than here. read more

Food? They serve pizza...burnt pizza...But , hey, they are consistent. Most people bring their own food here, from outside sources. I only came here for the steel tip darts. I Paid to be in a league, only to find out, they do not play by any league standards! I wondered, is it because the owner and his "friends" can't hit doubles? Also, the owner, possibly due to his Napoleon complex, thinks it's ok to insult you. When it gets down to the nitty gritty in darts, and it is sure the owners team is not coming in at top 3, he will pull any underhanded trick to kick out a team, which puts his or his friends team in, ensuring the money goes into his hands, one way or another. Bathrooms are like dungeons, the doors are so heavy, they could cut off a finger...or two. No one ever smiles, that works there. I think that's indicative of ownership. read more

So, I ordered a pizza from this place through Waitr and I got this excuse for a 14 inch pizza. First of all it's a Digiorno pizza. I don't know who made that call and thought that people wouldn't notice but umm... we can see that. Also... that's not 14 inches. Why are y'all advertising that y'all sell a 14 inch pizza when it's an 8-10 inch Digiorno pizza y'all are basically lying. Misleading customers, and false advertising. There's a reason why most of these reviews only have one star. It's so trash that y'all think it's okay to sell a pizza that people can buy from Walmart themselves so full of sh*t. I want to speak to the person in charge who decided that was a good idea because they obviously do not need to be running a business. read more

Where's Rufus Sports Bar - My " 14' pizza " - Sports Bars Near Me - Tyler, Texas

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Okay I am going to be Petty here - the only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because I had the best drink I have every tasted in my life but the bartender didn't have a name for the drink, he said he made it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHH! This is a nice spot! I was slightly, no that is an understatement - I was astonished that TYLER, TEXAS shuts down at Midnight! Bars closed!!! Yea.... weird, only think open after midnight is strip joints. Yea total bummer, college town! read more

Where's Rufus Sports Bar - Yummy! Vodka something! - Sports Bars Near Me - Tyler, Texas

I would not go out of your way to come here, that's for sure!! I do not know what all the big hype was for on trip advisor & another site I searched, when looking for good, (Fun, & nice), close to my hotel, bars to go to. Where's Rufus kept popping up??? The bar smells, like pinesol, but not the kind of pinesol, that makes you think of clean. The bar personnel, helps all the regulars first, and then will get around to you. The bar is very large, and has an outside patio. There are at least 10 TV's, 4 at the bar itself, 3 very nice pool tables, an area for playing darts, and a big stage with equipment for a band. This bar has so much untapped potential, I guess, Rufus, doesn't care about making money or even acquiring new guests. Good Luck Rufus Se7en7 read more

Where's Rufus Sports Bar - The bar room tables have nice felt. - Sports Bars Near Me - Tyler, Texas

New to the area me and my husband were looking for a hangout the bartender wasn't very friendly visiting with him friends I assume we had told him we were new but he didn't seem to be interested we sat at the bar the smell in the place was unpleasant one drink and we left we felt out of place probably won't be back that's too bad! read more

We stayed the night in Tyler and wanted to go get a beer and a bite close to the hotel and saw Where's Rufus. First, the name cracked us up and secondly, we liked the fact that it wasn't a chain. When we walked in we wanted to walk right out. It looked bare bones with concrete floors and neatly placed pool tables. It was around 5 so there were only a few locals hanging out but we decided to give it a try since we were so hungry. We sat at the bar and to our dismay there were only three choices on the menu. We chose the Calzone and when it came out- holy cow! One of the best I have ever had! I would highly recommend this place for that alone. The service was also great and the bartenders were super friendly. read more

Came here with a friend and BOTH of our debit cards were copied and used to make several transactions at different stores. Thankfully my bank detected the fraudulent charges before they went through and put a hold on my card, but someone at the bar is definitely committing fraud and stealing people's card information. A lot of other reviews indicate this isn't a first time thing so please beware!! Bring cash, don't use your debit card especially at the bar. read more

Trash (noun): Worthless or discarded material or objects; refuse or rubbish. The Websters definition of trash, in my view, pretty much sums up what you'll find at Where's Rufus Sports Bar. In fact, I can think of several other colorful adjectives to describe this armpit of a bar: 1) Cold 2) Dirty 3) Unsafe (possibly) 4) Expensive 5) Unkempt The Mrs. is from Tyler, so she's familiar with this "sports bar," but we've never ventured in. From Broadway Avenue, it looks attractive, as there are fire pits and TVs on an outside patio. This is where they lure you in, and where the voyage into the ghetto begins. Wifey and I enter after having the doorman swipe our ID. Then, you have to sign an authorization that gives them permission to swipe your ID, after the fact, I'd like to add. Once cleared, we grabbed two stools at the bar. The dirty (as in hair, and appearance) blonde, rolled her eyes, purposely (doing absolutely no work) waited about five minutes before greeting us with a "what can I get you two?" Since we had time to visually peruse through the taps, we had our minds made up. When we gave slobby blondie our choices, she retorts {hungover, or stoned demeanor} "our tapsisbroke, butwehave bottles." Yes, she really did speak with her words rolled together, as if it was a real struggle to pronunciate like a normal human being. Since their taps were broken, and their bottle beer selection sucked, we went with two Shiners. $8. For real? Eight f'n dollars for two domestics!? OK, whatever. We stayed for two more, just because it was entertaining watching the diverse group of patrons. Here's a setup: There was initially some DJ (DJ Gimp, I believe) who was spinning country straight off of his Mac. This brought in a bunch of low rent hicks, who ordered mainly bud light bottles. When DJ Gimp country boy, decided to call it a night, rap music began playing loudly throughout Where's Rufus. Like a flick of a switch, the eclipse came over us. The country boys went outside to the patio, and the thug crowd swarmed into the inside of the bar. Lots of pants sagging, and men with unlit blunts in their hands. Twenty minutes into segregation, and the full blown eclipse, {wife clinging on to me out of fear of being shanked}, we tabbed out. On a side note, the bartender watched me the entire time I signed my credit card slip, including the filling in of my tip amount. Tacky, but I'd expect nothing less. Disgustingly rude bartenders. Entertaining crowd, but never again. Just run. Seriously, just run! read more

This place wasn't great when it 1st opened but now its just plain disgusting. The carpet is sticky and smells like drunken dispair. The bartenders are rude and the last and final Time I went he over charged my friends card and refused to refund eventhough we had the reciept showing the discrepancy. Had to dispute it through the credit card company. Its location is nice but such a waste. read more

Shoddy service and did not see service till 20 minutes .... People and employees stared at you like you were "outsiders." Did not offer us a drink even as we stood at bar for 10 minutes....for excellent service I would recommend the Tyler Rose. Though I did make contact with the manager afterwords and he seemed to be a nice guy. Could've been a busy day. Was Super Bowl 2016 a few hours before kickoff... read more

Met a couple of friends here for drinks. We get together about once a year since I moved away. This place used to be jumping but maybe we hit it on an off night. Drinks were good and service was ample. Bear in mind it wasn't terribly crowded so service may suck with an increase in patrons. We had a good time even though the place was an international house of sausage that night if you catch my drift. All in all an ok joint to start your evening out but I couldn't say it would be a place to hang all night. read more

I love coming here on Tuesdays! Tuesday's nights this place becomes like a nightclub almost. They always have JB Special DJ on tuesday nights which always makes me want to come because he's such a good dj! On top of great music, it's fast arrive at the bar even when it's jam packed with people! The crowd is energetic and fun! Tuesday nights is the best night to come and Fridays. Any other day I wouldn't recommend going but try coming on a Tuesday! It's only 5/10 bucks to get in!! Beers are you name it's for 2$ before 11pm! read more

Where's Rufus Sports Bar - Favorite mixed drink Liquid marajuana ! - Sports Bars Near Me - Tyler, Texas

DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARD! This bar puts up too an $85 hold on your card and claim after calling to find out why there's 3 charges on your card separate from your actual tab their response is that it's common practice. This is not a common practice, I have been a bartender for over 25yrs and have never put a hold on someone's card nor have I ever heard of this! even if you attempt to justify this it should be a posted policy as well as informing the customer the moment they hand you their card! it's also apparent from all of the negative reviews this is not done to every customer! it's a pick & choose practice! Horrible policy for a mediocre bar! After several days there is still money being held on my account!! read more

This place sucks. I went in because it was a sports bar around the corner from my hotel. When I got there they charged me a cover, not for a band, but some crappy DJ. I shrugged it off, because I wanted to get a couple beers. As soon as I got in, an employee told me I wasn't allowed to wear a ballcap...in a sports bar. Finished my beer and left. What a dump. read more

I honestly don't know why this place has gotten such bad reviews. Both times I've been here the place was clean, service was good & the prices were reasonable. There's a dozen TV's, plenty of seating, a patio, pool tables, foozball table & Golden Tee. You do have to fill out a membership form your first time here because it's a "private club", but it's no big deal. If you're looking for a local place in Tyler to watch a game, I think it's pretty good. read more

I dropped in with a friend for a quick drink and opened a tab. Big mistake. They charged my card an amount roughly 6x the amount of my total bill, which still has yet to clear my bank account. I called and asked them if they could remove the "hold", but apparently it's in their policy to potentially brick unsuspecting people's bank accounts. Literally no other bar I've been to in Tyler or anywhere else does this. read more

I have been here many times and find it very nice place to hang out at. I have literally been all over the world and it is not the best place I have been to, but it is still a great place to hang out. For Tyler, this place is the equivalent of Club Edge in Vegas. They have a few pool tables, a juke box with a very wide variety of music, plenty of TVs to watch any sports game on, and a really friendly staff. They have a nice area outside with fireplaces and tables where you can go hang out and all the smokers can go. The staff is really nice and will treat you like a human being instead of just a face to a credit card. When they aren't slammed, they will talk to you about a multitude of subjects whether it be sports, politics or whatever excites you. The food here is pretty good and for a bar, I would say outstanding. Really good burgers, wings and some interesting hot dogs. They even have the obligatory eating challenge. Notice you don't see kobe beef on here. This is blue collar bar and so expect a blue collar crowd. However, it seem alike everyone kinda fits here. I have been here on different nights and it changes. Some nights they have poker, some have DJ, some have specialties for sports and others it's just a great hang out joint. I also just realized that with all the times I have gone here I have only seen one thing close to a fight happen and the staff took care of it real fast and without any violence. read more

This place smells like a fraternity house shit itself.. Don't know what that smells like? Picture a fraternity house, fraternity rec room (lots of old sticky beer and vomit on the floor), and 2 women's bathrooms fucked and had a red head child that smelled like barf. Seriously, I went through 4 years of college to come here to feel like my nostrils were being raped by stale meat and old mayonnaise. Go make a drink at home and save your 3rd sense. read more

Very rude bar tender no table service. This place is locals only if your not from america stay away. Bar tender looked like he hated his life and hated customers read more

I don't think they qualify for even 1 star, the parking lot is empty for a reason. Bartender was very rude before I paid her, no domestic drafts and then $4.25 for a miller lite. I gave her a 5, tipped her .75cents took 4 sips of my beer and left! This place sucks!!!! read more

Came here for the first time and last time when I first moved to tyler. Smells horrible and the bartenders don't make an effort at being more attentive. Will not go back. read more

OK, so it just keeps getting better and better with this place. As you can see, I went to this dump, paid Mr. G $20 for the privilege of getting sick, missing a work meeting, being treated like a serf and hours at the ER right? The "owner" was decent enough to try to make it right, but seriously?? Would YOU want to go back into a dive like that? And of course I got negative feedback from a few "customers" that I'm quite sure are staff there. And I use the word staff very loosely in this sense. More like...."gang". Then, tonight actually, I'm sure after they got fueled up, this same person literally stalks me down on my personal FB page and starts giving me static! I mean....how pathetic!!!! All because i voiced my opinion that this place is a backwater dive riddled with disease, horrible food and rude vindictive "staff". Kinda like a "staff infection"! She sets out to lecture me about how there's no way I can get food poisoning from overcooked food. She must be working her way through med school. As soon as I have redacted out my personal info, I'll post the paperwork from the ER. I reckon when she dropped out of 3rd grade they had not covered all the reasons why we wash our hands before handling food. Or wash food prep surfaces. Or tables. Or silverware. Or floors. Or windows. It's called cross contamination, kiddies, and it's the leading cause of death in at least three 3rd world countries according to figures from Amnesty International. Oh, oh, oh! I forgot to tell you about the caddies. Now, when the bald sloppy looking guy attempted to wait on me, he brought over this super cheesy condiment caddy. It was made up to look like a 6 pack holder of Bud Light. Made of metal, I believe. Had ketchup or something red just splashed all over it. The condiment bottles looked like they were from WWI with crust all along the openings, I didn't dare touch them. JUST FILTH! So, just don't eat here. AT ALL! And if you do, don't try to warn others here because you will be get retaliation. me, i don't care, I'm not gonna stand for this BS, but that's just me. DO NOT bring your family here! Not a family friendly environment. Can't wait for their next visit from TABC. Just saying...........;) Later. read more

Best bar in Tyler hands down!!! No matter what kinda atmosphere you're looking for, you can find it here depending on which night you go.... Tuesday's Fridays and Saturdays are the best nights!! Oh and Rufus has the best hamburgers in East Texas and maybe even the world. I've been to bars all over the country, and Rufus has everything you look for in a great bar to hang out at. Tell 'em Hunter sent you!! read more

Lucky don't let you do negative stars people in there was un friendly, look at you and grab there friends a drink while bar back was drinking as much as his friends were while you was waiting then claimed they were busy. Never again read more

Horrible, dirty and rude and pricey! I've been here twice and I was shocked at how dirty the establishment was and rude the patrons and staff are! Only reason I even went back for a second time was because of the pool tables, and the friend I was with isn't picky, the tables are quarters and desperately need a cleaning and/or re-felting, the wait staff are completely rude to you unless you happen to be male, it took me 10mins AFTER I ordered a Corona just to get the bottle opened! The management did nothing about rude, rowdy, plain vulgar customers. I didn't order any food, if the front of house was as filthy as it is I can only imagine how the back of house is. I will not be back, the sad thing is, location is good and they have potential to be a hot spot in Tyler people ACTUALLY want to go to and not treat it as a last resort like I did the two occasions I went. read more

Totally not worth my time. I've been to this establishment 3 times over the past 2 years and nothing has changed. The drinks are always watered down. I expect to at least taste some alcohol in my mix drinks. The staff is not that friendly. They also place huge holds on your credit card without telling you. It takes reviewing account to know. So basically if you purchase a $8 drink you have have a 40+ dollars authorization held on your card even if you don't choose to open a tab. read more

Where's Rufus Sports Bar - Sports Bars Near Me - Tyler, Texas

$18.50 for a picture of Zeigenbock - outrageous! Where are we New York City? staff was not friendly either. Will come back here again.

I have been there when it crowded and the service lacks in that area. I have been there nearly vacant and it was good . The food was good especially the burgers. I believe and had other people tell me that if you give a credit card it always seem like added charges to it. I had a friend tell me he went in there and wrote down every drink he bought for him and a couple friends. Lets just say always pay with cash. read more

I was there last night, nov 6, 2018 around 6pm-6:45pm. I had 2 tall glasses of of IPA, my bill was $11. ++. And tipped $5 cash on bar table together with my bill. But this morning when I checked my bank account, I was charged of $35, can anyone explain how this possible? Thanks read more

I recently just came to Rufus after they just remodeled and it is amazing their bartenders are super helpful and super friendly Mandy is like the best bartender I have ever had I'll deafly come back love the new menu good prices good food good people !!!!! read more

The burgers are good but that's all the good I can say. This place smells horrible. Standing water/ urine in men's room. The area around the bar smells like mold or sewage. Staff isn't always the friendliest but the other patrons usually make it a decent experience. read more

Ordered two pizzas off of Waitr for $30 and they are just digiorno pizzas, not the handcrafted home made ranch or specialty pizzas. If you want to blow $30 on $8 worth of frozen pizzas this is the place to go. I called in to express my frustration and just asked the woman that answered the phone if I just spent $30 on digiorno pizzas and was told "I'm not sure, they get them from Sams" read more

I have been coming to Where's Rufus for YEARS.. absolutely my favorite place in town! They have a friendly staff, daily specials, live music and the ultimate game-day experience! Always reminds me of "Cheers" read more

I'm from DFW. I love this bar! It has a little bit of everything. The staff is friendly and I overheard the food was great. Wish I had more time to come back while I was in town. I showed up alone and everyone was extremely friendly. Great place! Wish we had one in DFW!! read more

Good beer, decent atmosphere, despite the negative reviews, the pizza was pretty awesome. Service was ok but not fantastic for only having 5 other patrons. Would come back for the Dankosaurus. read more

Service was below par. I was charged $25, then another $25 and then $35 in transactions. I was told the reason for this is to prevent people from running up tabs they can't afford, which is fine, but this should be done once, not with every order. My total bill was only $57.00. Also, when I inquired about the discrepancies, the bartender "explained" it to me with an attitude of dismissal. Do yourself a favor; find another bar. You will NOT enjoy this experience. read more