Reviews of Rusty Rudder (Night Club)

Gracie Mazz

Nice place to go in the evening during the sunset! I've came here two years in a row now and the service and food have been excellent! Definitely making it a tradition to stop here on my beach trips!

Amalia Antonelli

Rusty Rudder is a must, while vacationing on Dewey Beach. It was wonderful watching people in the water enjoying themselves, listening to the singers on the stage, all while having a nice dinner. You truly feel like your on vacation. And the best part is they provide parking!! When you enter the parking lot you pay 10.00 however, they give you a 10.00 coupon towards dinner. It's a win win.

Ryan D'Ambrogi

Great beach bar. You can always find good drinks and music here.

Deanna Flynn

Great place to eat but took a bit for food to come.

Ryan Porter

The best party of our 120$ meal was the fries

Devin O. Stewart

Great bar, good service, lovely spot on the bay. One of the best spots in Dewey to spend a sunny afternoon.

Tyler Keck

Lots of food, good food, but service is not very good.

Jim Radcliff

Last time to RR we walked out as it seemed empty and we didn't get service.. This time our experience was very good. We got seated in a big booth lots of room, our server was awesome! The food was good!

Sergio Baltazar

This place has got to be the best seafood I've had within the area! Courteous service and delicious selections to choose from!!

momgolushka

We travel here just about every year to have the buffet and this is the first yr we came that they didnt have it. We were told that it had actually been gone a couple of years now along with the Air conditioning and glassware...it was so hot in the inside dining room that we may as well had been outside at least we would have had a breeze off the water...we took photos as we do every year but this time we knew it would be our last. Very disappointed!

LaKrisha Thomas

Great location, good food, and good live music but the food is a little pricey though

Andrew winters

What no longer has a seafood buffet, high prices, average food, small portions, and long waits? The rusty rudder!

Amber Lee

My husband was excited to come back to this restaurant with family memories and such and wanted to bring his family here. So it’s $10 to park and they give you a ticket you give to your waiter/waitress and they will take it off your bill. We were sat on the deck over looking the harbor which was nice. We sat for about 10mins waiting for our server to come. She came took our drink and appetizer order as well as our 2yr olds dinner meal. 10-15mins goes by and my husbands appetizer of steamed shrimp comes out as well as my daughters mac n cheese with corn on the cob. We place our dinner order. I ordered the steak medium and my husband ordered the tuna medium rare. 30 plus minutes goes by and no food. I’m annoyed and again I’m hungry. Finally our meals come. My husbands tuna is over cooked and cold as well as his corn salad. My steak was over cooked and cold as well as my baked potato and corn salad. We ended up leaving. Myself hungry and angry.

Mary Butler

Great atmosphere. Menu does not offer enough selections. Service is ok.

Bob Zaretskie

Service was so so. Draught beer selection only 4 choices? Tuna and mahi dishes were decent. I'll choose elsewhere next time. This was probably our third time there for dinner.

Paradyse Nowlin

I just went to this place because it is beside the hotel I'm staying at. I thought it would be a nice place to eat and drink. It probably is, unfortunately I was greeted by a young lady who's customer service was terrible. Maybe that's how they talk to people out here. Regardless the young lady was rude which made me decide to go across the street to Nalu instead. Sucks because I really wanted to try this place but she made us feel unwanted here. I pray it's not a color issue. Maybe she just has poor manners. Smh.... I'll never go again.

Lauren Gibson

I will never go to this place again. I do not recommend it to anyone. Food was ok but the service was terrible. We stayed after we ate to listen to the band. They were fun! But at the end of the night they were literally pushing people out a minute after they closed. It was pouring rain and they wouldn’t let us stand under the awning for our ride to arrive in 6 minutes. One of the employees was screaming inappropriate things to someone. I saw one guy be pushed down the stairs by an employee. one girl just asked to use the restroom was literally pushed away. I still can’t believe how rude all employees were.

Martin Lambert

Great atmosphere drinks a little pricey.

Rick Pomponio

Ugh! Don't get the crab dip. Drinks are weak. Waiters' cologne wad overpowering. You're kind of a captive audience, if you're waiting for people to come back from parasailing. There aren't too many choices down there. The day we were there, there happened to be a couple of guitarists playing live. They were actually very good.

John Woodfield

It’s rare I feel the need to take the time to leave a bad review but this one I couldn’t avoid. There were a number of issues with my visit which will certainly be my last but I’m going to limit it to one thing. My six year old daughter was served applesauce covered in mold. Not just a little but all out stinking nasty green turn your stomach mold. My wife couldn’t eat her food, all of our stomachs were doing flip flops and no manager ever appeared. I have never asked for any consideration on a check at any restaurant but if ever there was a time it was this one. No manager, no consideration for something that could have put my child in the hospital, asking for simple things like old bay fell on deaf ears and their buffet is gone. I certainly won’t be back and I can’t imagine why anyone would decide to put their family at risk and eat here.

BD Chaney

Beautiful location, fun relaxed atmosphere. Drinks not the greatest but the sunset made up for that!

Christopher Reynolds

Open air bar on dockside with cool and relaxed vibe for a good night out.

Audrey LeVault

Went to dance... The dance space is great, it's huge and has a big bar right there. The DJ was eh when I was there. But there is another outdoor concert area right on the bay, it's really nice.

Carmen M Viera

Great place to hang out at. Good beer and amosphere.

denise roesch

No reservations Blackened grouper was ACTUALLY breaded grouper taco and on DRY side. Cream of Crab soup ALL cream, SCANT crab. Salad was very good, Mahi Mahi good flavor, nice size portion but OVERPRICED, 27.00. 3rd star ONLY flavor of food and we had an awesome waiter!!!

Caroline Bruder

So much fun! I love the DJ in one part, live band in another. No matter what vibe you want you can get it here! The staff was friendly too. When it was time to leave they were nice and helped people get out instead of rushing us out like most places.

Jason Konley

Nice beach restaurant bar. Live band playing acoustic rock was really good. Got the grouper tacos and they were wonderful. Open air place with a nice view of the bay. Definitely have to go back.

Amber Owens

Food was good. Place was jumping. Staff on their game. All good.

Rusty Barr

Atmosphere is terrific and my fish tacos were great, but my wife and sisters fried shrimp were fried too hard.

Bill Russell

Very disappointed. Ordered lobster tails as appetizer. They did not mention battered and deep fried. Watered down drinks too. Should have had just water.

Grace Silicato

My friends and I had a larger party of about 25-30 people. The manager made us all sit separately at tables of four because they said they couldn’t sit us together, which was fine. The hostess sat us at tables and the manager came over and rudely began to yell at us because we were “picking our own seats” when in reality we sat where we were told. She forced us to go back up to the hostess and be reseated and was very curt and rude about the whole process. Shortly after, a table of ten people was seated all together, despite us only being able to be seated in groups of four. If you want to come here with a large group, I would not recommend. They are very unwilling to accommodate your group and we all had to sit across the restaurant from each other. They seem to be disorganized when it comes to cleaning up and sitting tables, especially for younger people. The staff has no respect and has a lot of attitude with younger people. Would not recommend.

Kerianne Hofsiss

Great space on the bay. Gorgeous sunset views

Ren Couchoud

Food was very pricey for what you get, both the quality and quantity. Asked for a medium-rare burger, and got very rare. Couldn't finish it because of how rare it was. Service was slow as well. Only good thing I can say after being here was that it has a great view on the water, and makes for a cute date.

Ted Mooney

Great food they had a 2 person band that was great. We had kids and dog staff was awesome 7-11-19 . Will be going back soon

Gia North

First time. Good seafood. Beer a bit pricey. Large salads.

Tyler Copan

A little expensive but the food and drinks were decent. It has good views of the sound and there is typically live music during the day and night during the summer tourist season.

Ernie Ropp

The food, music, and views were amazing! I would highly recommend trying this restaurant.

j ward

Good food, good drinks, good prices, good music. A fun place.

Jennifer Shearer

Nice and fun atmosphere. Food was okay but expensive for bar food.

Anne Lebo

Have been coming to the Rudder for years mainly because of the location of the bar but was so disappointed this year with everything! What a shame to have such a great location and spoil it with over priced bar food(not so good) and skyrocketing beer prices!!! Also, the bar tender was more interested in the TV then customers. In the past I have ordered their special drinks for $10.50 and at least could taste the rum & it was smooth tasting not now - all I could taste was the ice!!!! I asked the bar tender that my drink should have milk in it and was told no but the menu clearly said it should have.... yelp doesn’t have a place for NO STARS !!!!

Harrison Kanarick

A fun outdoor bar with live bands. There was food catered which were mostly bar food (chicken fingers, meatballs, bacon wrapped scallops, fried shrimp, chicken wings) and they all tasted fine. They have a pretty good selection of beers too.

Thais Silva do Amaral

The drinks were good but the food... Rancid taste for the fish and meat. Expected more for the price.

Sepehr Asadizadeh

Awesome! We had a great night here, although it was rush hour and at its busiest time of the year, service was great. We sat by the bar for 20 minutes had couple of drinks until a table was ready for us. Food is great, Appetizers: fried lobster tail & steamed shrimp and clams were delicious. We ordered a seafood lovers plater and shared it (2ppl) it was fresh, delicious and satisfying. Waitress was really kind and friendly. Highly recommend

Stephen Meyer

Heard the live music from the street and ended up staying for quite a while! Awesome outdoor venue.

Donna Gonzalez

A fun relaxing place with a tropical beachy setting. Good eats, all day long live music & great local orange crush cockails! Easily accessible by water as well!

JJMV

Lots of room here. Good drink spot on the boat.

Rachael Schaper

We went here with 4 people. Upon entering, The hostess took our name but wouldn’t give us an estimated wait time. When we asked about going to the outside bar while we waited, she told us no because it was too busy. After waiting for a half an hour and noticing that most of the inside tables were empty, we asked for an update. They had 2 large parties and were only concerned about them and were refusing to sit other smaller parties. Literally, the hostess said she was told to not sit anybody. This is fine; however, they should have communicated this when we came in so we could make a decision on whether or not to wait. The topper is that we went for the seafood buffet that google says they have - they haven’t had a buffet in 2 years. Horrible experience overall.

Kathy Cramer

Great local place for special events. The staff are friendly. The Food is good. It is a great location.

Debbie Grier Hall

Had to search for someone to get a seat since nobody was out front to direct us. Didn't have to wait long for the food which was good. Nice having a live band playing during the week.

Margaret Matlock

Wonderful staff, delicious food, beautiful views. Great for family's, a night out on the town with friends or a romantic dinner for to.

Kathleen Morouse

Music and food! What could be better?

Amy Arent Leonard

Good food, really great live music venue. Parking easy of you don't get there too late

Robert Bruffey

Overpriced for food that is not good at all...Super disappointed in you rusty rudder. Do better.

Neeteesh Baghel

Party ? Yes Relax ? Yes Good food ? Yes Amazing view ? Yes What else you need near the beach. Outdoor patio by the bay for lunch in the day time with live music. Bands perform here after they clear the tables from this area and it gets crazy. They also have indoor DJ area. Great location with sunset view in the bay.

Joe Shmoe

I got the fried seafood plater and it was so so delicious. I was pretty drunk though but the food was really amazing. The music and atmosphere made it an amazing experience. Bartender was great.

Michael Graff

Good food, most of the time able to seat large parties inside with relatively little wait. Both kid friendly food and more good options for sophisticated adult tastes. They serve Pepsi products, so 5 stars from me.

Kyle Frampton

Great location, basic beer and food, good live music venue

James C. Price

Not all that impressed with this place. Although they were at less than 50% capacity when we were there, service was very slow (I left before I got a refill of my drink) I had the "boom boom shrimp " appetizer and seriously could not find the shrimp, only breading. We sat right at the edge of the "marina area" where folks pull up and anchor to enjoy the knee deep water so we enjoyed the view while I waited for initial service, appetizers and my drink refills. My wife loves orange crushes but said her drink was blah. Maybe it's better at night, can't be sure but I'm not rushing back. As a note: they do have live music on Saturday afternoons and it was ok if you like that kind of thing. For me it just makes it difficult to have a conversation. I would recommend it over Johnny's Hot Dogs down the street but not much else.

Karen DiNolfi

We went on Labor Day Sunday and they were only seating on the deck. The wait time was too long. With all the seating they have and didn't use, they lost a lot of money that day! We had one cocktail and left.

Jane Maloney

Food was sub-par. Service good. Saving grace is view of the bay. Entertainment (band) also sub-par. Seems like a place for the younger crowd.

Jennifer Hippensteel

If I could give a negative star I would. We ate here offseason this year and the food was mediocre at best, smallest crab cake I have ever received at a restaurant and I was charged over $20 for it, it came with a bag of chips. Then our server took my debit card into the back and was gone like 10 minutes. We left and not 20 minutes later my bank called to say that just a few minutes ago someone had tried to wire transfer cash from my checking account. With further investigation with my bank, it was confirmed that the breach happened at Rusty Rudder. I canceled my card and called the manager the following business day. They didn't care that I could prove it happened at their establishment and I even wrote a letter to the owner and received no reply. In conclusion, I will never give my money to a business again that doesn't support a customer when it is known that my card numbers were stolen at their business. I believe that this is the first bad review that I have ever written as I am not one to usually complain. But this was a criminal act that if my bank was not on alert would have cleaned out my checking account.

Arlene Hall

One should not have to fight with flies to enjoy your food.....and we were inside. For a $500+ bill, it should come free of flies. I know we're near water and all, but my goodness we couldn't even enjoy our food, which was mediocre at best.

Jamie Strunk

My husband and I always enjoy coming here for lunch/dinner. Food, drinks, music & service are always great

Kenton Foor

If Google allowed for zero stars that is what I would rate this place. FOOD = TRASH Jumbo, more like tiny. Coleslaw was disgusting. Tacos were super dry. Serving sizes were super disappointing for the price. Don't expect an easy departure. Ever go somewhere with friends and ask the server to split the bills? Yeah you can't do that here. It's one bill or be charged for things you didn't get, didn't make much sense to me. Don't expect this place to give you good service or food. Heavens blessings to the next person that gets the $31 Fried Seafood Platter and expects a good meal with a lot of variety because sadly I made that mistake.

Albert Alain Chin

My second time here with my car club aficianatos and all had a great time here. Some great live local bands and cool tiki bar overlooking the bay. The tiki bar may be closed after the summer season the restaurant is still lively year round and a nice boardwalk to stroll is nearby.

Mark Cyr

Food was OK, drinks were good. Noisy but luckily not crowded.

Kristen Quesinberry

Won't be going here again. Bought a drink and tipped my bartender the first drink. Bought a bride from a bridal party a drink and the bar tender didn't give me my money back. She said, "Thanks for my tip" and proceeded to flip me off behind my back. Talked to the manager about her and he said, "he would address it". He didn't seem too worried about it. Poor costumer service and very disrespectful. Left and went else where after that. Won't be giving my money to a place that doesn't care about their customers. When my sister-in-law tried to confront her about it, she played dumb and had her kicked out. Wow, just wow.

Denise Thompson

Had a wonderful time, great atmosphere in a wonderful part of town!

Todd Carini

Was there on a non-busy night...our party of 12 was the only one in the section. The waitress did not touch the table until we complained. For a tourist attracting business not the way to have return business. Couldn't even process payment correctly.

Andres Mendoza

Decent bar with open floor for bands and dancing. Plenty of bar space to get a drink and bathrooms are decent as well.

Julia Talasky

The service was excellent despite my party moving around several times in the restaurant. Food and drinks tasted delicious and the live music sounded fantastic after our long day at the beach!!

Sarah Valentine

after being here last year and back in june, we were very excited to show our friends a restaurant we really enjoy. We had a group of 10 and after we were finally seated, waited another 10 min for the server. Another 15 for the drinks we ordered and even another 10 to order just the appetizers. So after 45 min we were ready to order. Between the 2 times the server came to table, she NEVER came to check on us. Finally ordered food and that took another 30 min to receive. One person ordered the beyond burger with blu cheese, thinking it was blu cheese crumble. No it was a slice of purple marbled cheese that soured her appetite. Never have any of us seen sliced blu cheese. Extremely disappointing after we were very excited to come.back here.

Kevin Norton

The food was great.... in and out door seating

Lisa Brandquist

Nice bar right on the beach with a good food selection and great DJ on one side, live band on the other. Best of both worlds

Rochelle Fry

Ordered Mahi Mahi, was overcooked, it came with Rudders street corn, which was cold. 3 of us did not like it all. Waitress was not very friendly at all. We had often come here as we liked their food and enjoyed the all you can eat seafood, which they no longer have. This experience has made our party of 6 not want to eat there for the price of the food and quality. We will not be returning for any future meals or recommending them to anyone.

Chelle H

Really not impressed with all the hype. Came in later, 8pm or so, band was going to start playing so they started to move tables from the dining area to make room for the dance floor, couldn't help but to think we had to hurry up and eat so our table could be moved. Food was basic, overpriced in my opinion.

Robert Irwin

Good food, good service and LSMJ rocked. Good live rock n roll is alive and well in Dewey Beach!

Crystal Knaub

Great food and drinks! Family friendly. Our waitress, Autumn, was awesome!