Customers Say This Fancy Steakhouse Chain Has Lost Its Quality

Ever since it opened its doors in New Orleans in 1965, Ruth's Chris Steak House has evolved into a franchising giant with a reputation as premium as the USDA Prime beef it serves at over 500 degrees Fahrenheit — and equally hot prices to match. With over a hundred restaurants peppered across North America, it has become renowned for its custom-made, distinctive broiling method, as well as its convivial, refined dining experience. But not everyone is feeling the sizzle: Complaints have been pouring in from some diners who have been unimpressed with the restaurant's famed quality.

Ruth's Chris has long been a darling of food critics and restaurant reviews, even making it onto our own list of the U.S.'s best steakhouses. All of this has still not made it immune to more unflattering commentary from customers who have taken to online chatrooms to air their gripes. This comes in as cost-of-living concerns are recently putting high-end restaurants under increased scrutiny, especially when even an 8-ounce "Petite Filet" at some Ruth's Chris locations can set you back $76.95.

"They charge high[-]end steak house prices for what is essentially an above[-]average steak," one reviewer on Reddit noted. Another saw it as part of a broader industry trend afflicting restaurant chains. "They start with great quality food for a reasonable price to get a customer base," they wrote. "As it gets bigger, they look to cut costs, which always ends up making the food worse." A similar Reddit thread saw an unflattering picture of a served steak garner the response: "if sadness [were] a picture".

While negative feedback is part and parcel of the food business, it can hit especially hard for Ruth's Chris, which has toiled to build its name as one of the U.S.'s premium restaurant chains, competing over the years with other steakhouse titans, like Texas Roadhouse. In spite of its mammoth presence, it has humble origins within Louisiana's culinary culture: founded in 1927 by entrepreneur Chris Matulich, it was bought 38 years later by a divorced single mother of two, Ruth Fertel, to help fund her children's college tuition funds. Following a fire in 1976, the upscale steakhouse was forced to relocate and expanded rapidly by the 1980s and 90s, opening locations across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Since then, it has distinguished itself for its distinctive cooking method, in which its steaks are cooked in 1,800-degree Fahrenheit infrared broilers and then served on 500-degree ceramic plates.

Ruth's Chris was eventually acquired by Florida-based operator Darden Restaurants in 2023, joining a portfolio of large franchises like Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, and The Capital Grille, among others. While this does not inherently guarantee a decline in the steakhouse chain's quality, it adds context to some of the online complaints, especially as such corporate decisions are a long-running complaint among customers who feel it detrimentally affects their favorite restaurants. Ruth's Chris's may still cling to its high-end reputation, but prospective diners can check the reviews and feedback in specific cities to ascertain if the quality of the overall dining experience is worth the price, especially when compared to other local steakhouses.