We don't frequent too many chains (only 13 Rusty Buckets throughout the Midwest) let alone write a review about one. Â However, last Saturday I was blown away by the service. Â There is typically a long wait at the Rookwood location, but since we had a group of 17 we called ahead. Â They had a table waiting for us on a very crowded Saturday night. Everyone's food came out on time, hot, and as exactly as ordered. Â My wife ordered the margarita pizza which looked great. Â Half way through the waiter came up to us and said "we didn't feel like the pizza was up to our standards, here is another free pizza." Who does that! The only flaw was the fried pickles and fried fish were both placed in the basket before placed on a rack in order for the oil to drain... The result was a bit of oil in the basket = soggy breading.
Our go-to's are: fish & chips, nachos, Gary's 3way, and Belly Buster burger.
It took me years of living close to the Rusty Bucket to finally give it a try. A chain restaurant/bar? That actively tries to make me think of tetanus? While still somewhat insulted an establishment thinks associating themselves with rust will impress me, I must admit this is a nice place to eat. My husband and I have been here a few times and enjoy the no-frills food and drink specials (well, pre-pregnancy, anyway). So if you're in the mood for tasty American grub and reasonable service, I'd recommend trying this place out.
Review Source:My wife, our toddler aged son, and I visited the Rusty Bucket in Rookwood for lunch over the weekend. I had visited this restaurant at least once before, though it had been years since my last visit. I remember enjoying the food and thinking the service was adequate, so why hadn't I visited more often? Well the location in Rookwood leaves a lot to be desired. The parking lot section in front of the restaurant is really small, and Rookwood itself can be tough to navigate.
We arrived on this visit just before 1 in the afternoon. A hostess immediately took us to a table in the back of the restaurant, a booth just as we had requested. You have to walk past the bar area to reach the dining area, which is kind of awkward and tight. However the dining area itself offers plenty of space.
For lunch I went with the buffalo chicken sandwich - panko crusted chicken breast slathered in medium wing sauce, topped with crumbled blue cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato and mayo ($8.99). The piece of chicken was very large for a sandwich, appeared to be freshly battered, and was very tasty. The fries were also pretty good.
My wife ordered the "all jacked up burger" substituting a turkey burger for the standard beef. This came topped with spicy red and green chili relish, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo ($9.79). I did not sample the burger but she really seemed to enjoy it.
We choose the kids cheese pizza for our son, along with a side of fruit ($4.95). They also offer a variety of hand tossed pizzas on the regular menu, so this wasn't just some frozen and microwaved pizza. I was able to borrow a slice from our son and I was pleasantly surprised. The dough was actually a little chewy, which I wasn't expecting at all for the thin pizza. After sampling this, I would not hesitate to order a pizza from the main menu.
The Rusty Bucket is definitely a place we should visit more often and we probably would, but the parking situation stinks. Perhaps the experience would be a lot better if we just walked there, like we do for many other Rookwood establishments.
I was surprised by this place.
First off the location is horrible, horrible, horrible. Rookwood is the absolute worst parking in the entire world. Seriously, if you did a pole, this would be it. I came here right when they opened. The waitress was super friendly and approached me right away. I ordered tea, with honey and lemon. She brought out a huge tea box with tons of different choices. I was like a kid in a candy store!
The yelpers said go with chicken fingers, and I did. They were right! Super tender, juicy delicious, and a big portion for the price. My only problem with this place is it's a pain to get to, and it's a chain. But I had a very enjoyable experience here!
Surprisingly good for a chain restaurant! Â
Went in a large group in the middle of Sunday football and had great service the entire time. Â Everyone got the food fast and hot. Â
Some of the standout food options: the slider burger appetizer, the tuna wrap with seasoned fried, and the BBQ chopped salad. Â
Prices are standard Applebees, TGI Fridays level- A little too high for nothing really special.
Not going to become a regular but would definitely go back without complain if a group chose it.
Absolutely love this place. Great place for friends to gather for lunch before hitting up Rookwood Pavilion for a day of shopping. Â The staff is friendly & quite accommodating. Â Only downside to this sport pub-esque restaurant is the beverage choice if you're not feeling the fully stocked bar: they serve Pepsi products....
Is Pepsi okay?
Well, is monopoly money okay?
...Server not amused...
I tried.
I give it three stars, knowing that it's worthy of a second chance.
We went here with a large group(about 8?) for a friends birthday and it was already pretty busy. We had to wait a little for a table to hold our group to open up, which wasn't an issue. But once we sat down, things didn't really speed up. I got the feeling that there was an unexpected rush and they were understaffed. I will never blame a place for this.
Once we got our orders in, things didn't necessarily improve. Our server was very sweet and apologetic for the time it was taking, and she did her best to compensate for that. I got a burger with some promised heat to it, but once I got the burger, it did not have the jalapeno relish I so wanted, therefore, no heat. It didn't make me mad, and she was astonished when I told her, but I promised her it wasn't an issue. I knew it was just a rough night.
Otherwise my burger and fries was very good. I would not be opposed to returning to give it another shot, but I have been once, and had an underwhelming experience.
Awesome place to enjoy Nachos, a Beer, and some football. This sports bar by day, restaurant by night is the best place to grub down on some delicious food. Â With a wide range of food choice, anyone will find this place enjoyable. Try their Double Nickel Salad and a half order of Nachos for a flavor fulfilling lunch while catching your favorite team's game. Wanna catch a bite in between your shopping spree, enjoy a turkey club or a buffalo chicken sandwich. Don't forget they have daily specials and unique drinks.
Review Source:We played a private game of "Who will the server spill on next?" at the Rusty Bucket this past weekend.
The poor lad was pleasant and efficient enough but bless him he couldn't balance a tray of drinks to save his life. We had already seen him tip something over diners at a neighbouring table as well as watched him briefly struggle when a glass of wine similarly slid around, falling with a crash to the floor in the middle of a walkway a few customers away. It was only a matter of time before... yesssss, there it goes... a glassful of Mountain Dew ("nectar of the goats") was deposited over one of the children in our Xmas party group. Apologies and sticky residue ensued, accompanied by good-natured bantering towards the (by now) red-faced server.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, you're looking for a review of the Rusty Bucket itself aren't you? Well, it's a sports bar tucked into one corner of the always-crowded Rookwood development. As such, parking can be an issue at weekends or during busy periods. We ended up several hundred yards away in the main car-park area, outside the stores way over on the other side. This resulted in a somewhat dangerous walk to the Bucket's front door through impatient drivers/cars vying for their own entrance/exit routes.
The ambiance inside the Bucket is OK, that sports bar vibe ever evident thanks to the proliferation of TVs and sundry memorabilia. The menu is nothing spectacular, your usual (what we call) "GFS bar fayre", albeit tweaked here and there to drag it shouting and screaming a tad further from the mundane.
My Parmesan Crusted Tilapia (a good recommendation from our otherwise harried server) was actually very tasty, the crust lovely and crisp whilst the mashed potato and garlic cream sauce proved to be a marvelous accompaniment. My veggie wife's meat-free nachos were HUGE and she struggled to even come anywhere near finishing half of the amount served up. I guess they are a 'sharing appy' as there was enough to easily feed 3 or 4 people.
With reference to the nachos, we were somewhat disappointingly still charged the full $13 menu price despite it being delivered without any of the short rib beef it usually comes with. When my wife opts for this elsewhere almost every other restaurant has the common decency to at least knock a buck or two off considering the savings they make on the ingredients, but not here apparently? A point or two knocked off their rating for that.
They do get a point back for offering their own "personal blend" of Woodford Reserve bourbon. I can certainly recommend this blend, a mix of two unique aged batches of the stuff chosen at a special WR tasting ceremony attended by the Rusty Bucket's owners. What a magnificent event that must have been?! (Hey Yelp - how about arranging a tasting ceremony as a future Yelp Elite event? *hint!!*)
So, final scores on the doors? The Rusty Bucket is an ever-so-slightly better-than-average 6-out-of-10 sports bar with a few pros and a few cons. And a server who provides service with a spill.
I always hate when I forget about sports games and come here. SO crowded! (I also dislike sports so it's a bunch of yelling and cheering for something I don't care about)
The food is pretty good - I love the mac n cheese here - it used to be my favorite until I did fall in love with a few more - but this one is always good. They use rotini (spiral) noodles instead of macaroni so it's even better - that's my favorite kind. And it comes with panko bread crumbs on top - om nom nom. The burgers are good too - well cooked and yummy.
Overall, this is not my favorite place, but I do enjoy coming here from time to time.
A great local bar and grille that's fun and casual. Â The service can be hit and miss but we like to go there for casual lunches more than anything. Â The black bean veggie burger ROCKS! Â I tend to order it nearly every time. Â It's a dense black bean burger with sauteed red peppers, onions and a lemon aioli. Â Hits all the perfect notes of flavor combinations and probably the best veggie burger I've eaten. Â The fries are usually crispy and good but the last time I went they were disappointingly soggy.....oil not hot enough, but i didn't send them back. Â Good place for different beer selections as well. Â Â Overall, thumbs up!
Review Source:The Bucket is great. Â Very good beer selection: Anchor Steam and Goose Island on tap!
The chicken finger BLT, taco salad, and their version of a 3-way are all good choices. Â And of course the burger or buffalo chicken sandwich is always a safe bet.
Great atmosphere and good service. Â It's a shared parking lot, so on a busy weekend night you might have to park in the shopping area and make a longer walk over.
3 of us went for the fish and chips. And our averages were: Fries - 3.5 stars, Fish - 4 stars, Cole slaw - 2.5 stars, service was 3. Â Fish was delicious but very oily. Fries were tasty.
The food was pretty good but service was spotty. The waitress asked if we wanted another beer, but we didn't decide, so she said she'd be right back. 10-15 minutes later, she did come back. She didn't look busy at all, she just didn't look at our table. Pretty disappointing.
Another thing is we wanted to watch the Louisville game, which was closer to Cincinnati and on ESPN. Instead, they had it on ESPN2 for a Florida game. I asked her, and she said she doubted anyone wanted to watch it, and didn't change it. I asked another waiter, and he said he would change it, but never did. Strange.
The place has very good and friendly service and it's in a convenient location at Rookwood. Â The prices are also relatively decent as well, and drink prices are average. Â The food, for the most part, is above average, though not the best, but the buffalo chicken sandwich in particular is awesome and probably the best dish on the menu (at least from what I've had there).
Review Source:I've upgraded this place to 4stars. We have been there after golf about 4 times this year. Good beer selection. The wings are above average. The buffalo chicken sandwich is really nice. Big piece of breaded chicken with blue cheese. Turkey burger customized is my second choice. Golf buddies like the burgers. Staff is usually accommodating. Don't expect too much and you'll be fine.
Review Source:They serve a chicken finger BLT and a giant taco salad that's one of the reason I love this place. The other is the bartenders are friendly and if you inquire about the pineapple in the glass, they will give you a sample (even if you have done it before), which will give you a pleasant kick!
It's not a fancy place and I've always been able to get a table as soon as I walk in. If you sit outside, you'll be looking at the parking lot. If you want a place to gather friends while drinking a Hoegaarden or Anchor Steam while watching sports, this works.
The place looks like a cross between an Applebees and a Buffalo Wild Wings. Â Plenty of HDTV's cover the walls and drink specials every day. Â The service is pretty standard... nothing out of the ordinary good or bad. Â
The best thing about this place is the seasoning on the french fries. Â It's like a cross between garlic fries and ranch fries. Â They could have come out a bit warmer but who cared when the flavor is what it is. Â I actually ate some cold as we were driving home. Â The little woman said her chicken finger BLT was pretty good with huge chunks of chicken. Â The philly..... pretty good but so big that I couldn't eat it with my hands.... had to go with a fork and knife.
The food is good. Â That's a certain fact. Â But it's also definite that the Rusty Bucket is a heart attach waiting to happy. Â The portions are big and the food either fried, dripping in grease, or topped with melted cheese. Â Case in point, the lunch special on Thursdays (the day I recently went on) was lasagna.
This is the second time, so I admit, I'll go back. Â The service was good. Â I felt informed throughout the meal and the check was very reasonable. Â The atmosphere is light, there's plenty of televisions around, and it's everything you would expect from an Applebees, TGI Fridays, Joes Crab Shack, Don Pablos, Bar Louie, Fox and Hound, Red Robin type chain restaurant.
If you aren't concerned about cutting calories or carbohydrates head to The Rusty Bucket Corner Tavern in the Rookwood Pavilion for some good old-fashioned comfort food. Â
Rusty Bucket is everything that Applebee's wishes it could be and more. Â The restaurant is designed to be an inviting neighborhood hang-out and it is already beginning to fulfill that role in the Oakley/Hyde Park area. Â
Lunch today (Thursday) was just starting to get busy when we sat down at 11:45am. Â Our server greeted us within seconds and we were off to the races with refreshing iced-teas within minutes. Â She helped us navigate the menu, informing us that every sauce and dressing served at the restaurant is home-made and that their meat is never frozen. The Bucket's menu has everything from lasagna to to fish and chips...I chose a starter, The Bucket Bites (4 "slider-style" mini-burgers) for my meal, my boyfriend opted for the Codwich (battered cod). Â My burgers were juicy and covered in cheddar cheese and chopped onion, his piece of battered cod was enormous for the $8.95 price-tag attached. Â
I personally can't wait to get back to the Rusty Bucket next week (after I officially turn 21 on Saturday- Happy Birthday to me!) to try out their impressive sounding happy hour specials, each day of the week has a different drink attached to it-check them all out on the website.
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