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All Reader Reviews of...

Rubirosa

235 Mulberry St., New York, NY, 10012
nr. Prince St.
212-965-0500

Avg. Rating

7
Food: 7
Service: 6
Décor: 7
"Recommended"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

56% would go back.

 Write your own review

My Favorite Spot to wow out of towners

By hightopchucksandbuttonups on 2/20/2013

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

Ive been coming here since day one. and i have never had a bad experience. everyone i have brought feels the same way. the pizza (vodka sauce) is terrific the meatballs is a side you must order and if you have more than 4 people get the dessert platter. they also only do slices at lunch and its a good restbit from the rest of the neighborhood to sneak have a beer and a vodka slice. my only complaint it is a bit loud. ive taken dates there and i now have learned to ask for a table in the back.

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2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

What? Rubirosa is Excellent pizza & really good food too

By Freshpeetza2 on 1/20/2013

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

After reading the above reviews I had to put my 5 cents in. I am a native NY Brooklyn girl. I've been to Rubirosa several times. Each & every time I've been there the staff has overextended themselves. Example. 6 of us went there without a res. we were starving. We get there & they say the wait is forever. The hostess tells me they take reservations but I read online they didn't so we just showed up. Sadly we left.. Not 2 mins later the hostess comes running down the street after us & says, come back we will find you a table. HELLO? That's never happened anywhere before. The pizza... Oh, the pizza. The crust was a bit crunchy and just enough chew. The sauce was perfect. The cheese complimented the sauce perfectly. Overall? Excellent pizza. We ordered a few appetizers, a pasta dish or 2 and all of it was really really great. I recommend rubirosa to everyone and all the reviews come back like mine and its a hit. Oh, yeah, I'm Italian too , so it's to like I don't know good food... You naysayers stay away, it makes it a little easier for me and my party to get in next time...

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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

total disappointment

By cmurray918 on 12/26/2012

  • Overall Rating: 2
  • Food: 3
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 3
  • No, I would not go back!

I ate at this restaurant with a friend of mine who heard great things about it. Boy was she wrong! After traveling to the end of the earth go get there we were served bread and water in dirty glasses! Then the waiter brought our drinks over on a tray he couldn't quite hang on to as he dropped the tray and the glass bottle of cola all over me. The food was not good. Their idea of crab ravioli was smashed crab cake on a plate. The pizza was soggy. And the worst part was the incompetent waiter didn't offer to comp anything! We had a terrible time!

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2 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

very unprofessional people - total disappointment

By boomergl on 11/19/2012

  • Overall Rating: 1
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 1
  • No, I would not go back!

We were in the process of booking a small party here for my daughters 16th birthday. We wanted to take the kids for some food after doing Accomplice (which btw, I TOTALLY recommend! - www.accomplicetheshow.com). Just before we finalized everything, they went and booked another party instead (probably more people for more money). No apologies. No response when questioned about it. Nothing. EXTREMELY unprofessional!!!. We ended up at a different place (more mid-town area) who took us in with open arms and REALLY did a great job. I would absolutely recommend this oplace to anyone instead of rubirosa. go here, they are GREAT!!! Capizzi http://www.capizzinyc.com/

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3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Great food, including gluten-free options

By Food_Reviewer on 1/4/2012

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

Been there a few times with the family and have always had great food and very good service. Not sure why other reviews had a bad experience, but my many visits have all been great. Highly recommend the gluten-free pizzas.

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10 out of 24 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing Experience

By kidintheback on 12/11/2011

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 4
  • Décor: 6
  • No, I would not go back!

I have been to Rubirosa a few times and always had a good meal. Unfortunately, I took my family there to tonight and we had a very disappointing experience. We were placed at a table in the very back the restaurant -- this table was not only ill-shaped for 6 people (it was too long so we were spread out unevenly making it difficult to have any kind of conversation), but it was also right between two speakers playing very loud music, making it hard to hear anything. To top it off, it was directly below an air vent, which was blowing freezing cold air (it was 30 degrees outside tonight, so this was not welcome). Keep in mind - I booked this reservation weeks in advance, so I was expecting a preferred table. Throughout the meal, the service was fine - however after we ordered dessert our waiter disappeared. After waiting over a half hour for him to check on us to get the bill, one of us had to actually get up and look for him. We found another waiter (ours was no where in site) to get our check. When we got the check, there was already a 20% gratuity added to the bill. After the sub-par service (and overall experience from the restaurant) this just added to my overall disappointment. When we walked out of the restaurant - there was our waiter! Folding napkins at the bar. What was that 20% for again? The pizza is great - but unless the service picks up, I won't be coming back.

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19 out of 36 people found this review helpful.

Respectfully disagree - NOT the best slice in NYC

By treemonkey on 4/28/2011

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

My boyfriend and I stopped in for a late lunch today after reading the New York Mag profile. Have to say, I disagree big time with the Best Slice Award and more generally, we were really disappointed with the entire experience. Here's my take: 1/ Staff was a total buzz-kill. We overheard multiple conversations about forgetting to register orders and not knowing who was supposed to manage which tables... 2/ We waited for nearly 20 minutes for appetizers. See point #1. 3/ Food generally lacked flavor. We ordered the special risotto ($17 for a small dish) and it was undercooked, watery, and had no salt or spice. 4/ Slices were bland and unmemorable. Definitely crispy and thin...but nothing special. I think the only thing Rubirosa has going for is the charming decor. The ceilings are beautiful. But unless you plan to look "up" during your entire meal, you might be better off waiting in line for a table at Torrisi's down the block.

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22 out of 45 people found this review helpful.

Delicious & Great Atmosphere

By betagamma on 1/22/2011

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 10
  • Yes, I would go back!

Definitely a good rustic vibe inside here, cozy, and delicious thin crust pizza. The bar tenders and wait staff were all attentive and friendly in my experience - not sure what happened to Charleston_41, but everyone around me seemed pretty happy to be there and content with service.

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26 out of 53 people found this review helpful.

A wonderful addition to Mulberry Street

By CercleRogue on 12/28/2010

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

I live on Elizabeth Street and had wondered what was replacing Lulu at 235 Mulberry Street. The papered windows finally came down to reveal Rubirosa, a new Italian place in an area that was once ONLY Italian places. I went in with my co-worker at 9pm on a Tuesday. The placed was packed, and buzzing with activity. Luckily they were able to seat us immediately since we were just two people. We split a small vodka pizza to start, which is vodka sauce and fresh mozzarella. The crust was thin and crunchy, but didn't collapse under the weight of the sauce and cheese when you're eating a slice folded in half. It was delicious and we had no problem polishing it off. For the main course I had the chicken parmigiana and my friend had the pappardelle with sausage ragu. The chicken parm was about the size of a big steakhouse steak, it took up the entire plate. It also comes with a side of spaghetti, in case the massive piece of chicken (and not to mention the vodka pie) wasn't enough. The chicken was juicy and tender, and obviously steps above the quality of chicken parm you would get at a corner pizza place. I only managed to steal a bite out of my friend's pappardelle, but it was very good and the noodles were definitely homemade. The table next to us ordered the cannoli and it looked amazing, but we were too full for dessert. Between Rubirosa and Torrisi across the street, it's nice to see a resurgence of some good old fashion Italian food in Little Italy.

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41 out of 70 people found this review helpful.

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