Red Ruby Nail Salon

For those of you in the area, you know the options are bleek. Of the available options, it’s either a bad job or super expensive job.
For those of you who’ve been here in the past, it looks like it’s under new management now. It’s still grody — but looks a touch cleaner. The manicurist are also cleaner looking too, haha. Overall not a bad job, but definitely my lady rushed it. Mani/​Pedi was about $ 30 with Quick Dry $ 32.
I might come here if I’m in a pinch again.

Excellent service and great pricing. Love the color selection of OPI and Essie. Get the extra massages!!!

Went there today at lunchtime because it was close to my office and I was in desperate need of a pedicure. In addition to the pedicure, I paid the additional $ 10 for the callus remover treatment. My feet do not look much better than when I went in. Although the woman who did my pedicure was very sweet — my heels are still rough, I have chunks of skin hanging off the side of my foot from an old blister and the nail polish was not applied very neatly and is all over my cuticles that were not trimmed. I should have saved myself the $ 32 plus tip and done them myself, they would have come out much better.

This is the best salon in midtown west for nails and foot massages.
It is completely unpretentious. They are 100percent honest about wait times and what things will cost which I really appreciate. I work in midtown and of course have no time for nonsense or unnecessary waits. They are friendly but to the point and don’t drag out your appointment.
I see a review that complains about $ 1 topcoat which is absolutely standard in this industry.
Also yes, you have to switch on the massage function. Why not be more green and not have things running if not necessary? Their prices are consistent with every salon in midtown west.
Long live Red Ruby!

This is by far the worse place to go for a manicure or pedicure. They are rushing people in and out like cattle just for the money. If you ask how long the wait is they tell you «right now pick color». And all the while you’re waiting upwards of 20min. Then the water for the pedicure is either too hot or freezing. They don’t turn on the massage chair unless you ask them. They truly act like you’re doing them a disservice by getting your feet done.
Then they try and upswell you on EVERYTHING. $ 1 for quick dry, seriously.
They only thing is they are the only game in town so you kind of feel stuck going here.
One thing is for sure I will never go back. What should have been $ 28 cost me $ 42. Horrible.

Pretty bad experience for me– I got a pedicure and the woman repeatedly cleaned off the cuticle cutter in the tub of water. There were also hairs floating in it. Very cheap which is a plus. Just seems like they are rushing you out of here. I would recommend going somewhere else

Okay I don’t normally spend money and let other people do my nails because I can do them myself. But having walked the entire day in New York city, my feet were dying and I wanted a foot massage and pampering session.
After a quick Unilocal search and trying to find the least expensive option, I came upon the red ruby nail spa. The outside (let’s be honest) was a bit sketch. It was in this ghetto alley way and to get into the store, you had to go down stairs and then up stairs through this dark ish narrow hallway. Thank god I had my friend with me cuz I was a bit scared.
The inside of the nail salon was small but pretty clean. The workers are Chinese and asked us if we had an appt. Though we didn’t, they still took care of us plus the store wasn’t busy anyways. They had a huge selection of nail polish colors and most are OPI, Essie, and China glaze… the good stuffs. Being summer, i chose a coral color for my toes and a nude grey purple for my hands.
The girl who helped me was cindy (sp?). Omg my god, the massage chairs were amazing. I could have sat on it forever and tried all the options. They are very efficient and gave a really nice pedicure. My feet felt so soft and rejuvanated after wards! I also really liked the foot soak ahhhh felt so nice. For the hands, I really liked how she shaped my nails so they are perfectly square and I absolutely loved the color. I can’t stop staring at my hands. After all the coloring is done, we go to the dry station and they give a short 1 min massage. That was a bit weird cuz they don’t tell you they’re about to do a massage and they just start and you’re like wow this is great and then they stop… totally, for ped and mani it took about 30 minutes and I paid ~37 including tip. I thought it was well worth it! =) great experience.

I unfortunately didn’t get the name of the lady who did my nails and toes but she was wonderful. I went at 12:30 on a Friday, during the lunch rush hour, and I was seated right away. Throughout the whole mani/​pedi, she was very quick and efficient, while being accurate. She did take the time to perfect the polish application by going back and doing another coat or wiping the sides of the nail beds clean, but overall she did it quickly — which I liked.
The main lady there who manages the cashier was a bit rude and threw my credit card on the counter after I paid, but when I was leaving she nicely said, «thank you, have a nice day» so maybe that’s just a bad habit she has.
I was glad I beat the line because halfway through my session, around 1 pm, people suddenly started showing up. A handful of people were waiting and a couple people left because of the wait.

I was in New York City for a convention and had to get a quick mani, I found Red Ruby Nails closest to the hotel, so I chose this salon. I was skeptical because of the amount of the stars in their reviews. But I was glad I took my chance. My nails came out really pretty. The session was quick and they even added a shoulder massage with the service.

I normally come in during my lunch break and get a gel manicure. They are quick and do a great job. I have always been satisfied with their services. You even get a little shoulder massage and warm towel on your hands, which I like! They do have signs everywhere that $ 10 min for credit cards and tips only in cash. So make sure you have cash for tipping!

I’ve frequented this spot on and off for years. Always greeted by the middle eastern man at the front desk who calls everyone «my friend.» He and his relatives (nail ladies) always did a great job not just with the paint job, which can be some tricky business in New York City, but at making sure every customer felt welcome.
Notice I said DID!
Today I went to get a pedicure only to be greeted by a different group of workers. THEYRE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT and it’s not good management. They don’t speak the best English, the polish job looks like my 3 year old niece did it and I got a 10 minute shoulder massage and again it felt like my niece gave it to me. It was so bad. I thought surely this little Asian woman was about to makeup for her mediocre paint job. Nope! She just kept squeezing my shoulders. Nothing but that. It was clear she hasn’t done much massaging because she sighed during it like she wished the 10 minutes would hurry up. Girl that makes 2 of us.
Long story short: don’t bother coming here. Not worth the time or the money.

This is a tale of two pedicures. Same price. Vastly different. Both terrible. A friend and I were visiting the city recently, and decided to pop in for a quick pedicure after we dropped our bags off at the luggage holding place. We both got the basic spa pedicure for $ 45, which was supposed to include a foot soak, a foot/​leg massage, callus removal, and nail polish. Your basic, run of the mill pedicure. Can’t screw that up too badly, right? Oh, but you can.
So my friend’s pedicure consisted of: a foot soak in COLD water (it was only 45 degrees out, so warm water should have been a no-​brainer), no foot massage, no callus removal, and a complementary pulled ankle when the nail technician repositioned her foot. Both pedicures started at around the same time, but hers finished 20 minutes before mine did.
But while my poor friend was being ignored, I was being nickle-​and-​dimed. My pedicure consisted of: a foot soak in tepid water, a 10-​minute sales pitch trying to get me to upgrade to a more expensive pedicure, a massage that was way too rough, calluses that were filed down until my skin was pink (my feet aren’t very callused to begin with, so this was unnecessary and somewhat painful), and an awkward back massage while I was waiting for my nails to dry, which (thankfully) ended when the nail technician asked «You want the massage, right? Ten dollars.» No, I would not like an uncomfortable ten-​dollar massage while sitting in a rickety kitchen chair, thanks for asking first. Oh, and in case you were wondering, my friend (who was sitting right next to me) wasn’t offered a massage at all. I think that our differing treatment might have been due to our respective races, but I won’t speculate here.
In addition to the above, they charged extra for quick-​dry spray (which most salons offer for free), and charged sales tax, which is not supposed to be put on services.
I decided to pay for both pedicures (cause i’m a pretty okay friend sometimes, and also i felt bad that my friend’s pedicure was so awful), and made the mistake of letting one of them see that I had cash. When asked if a credit card would be okay, she said «that’s fi – *sees cash* – no, cash is better, yeah?», so I had to pay nearly a hundred dollars in cash (sales tax, remember?). Now that I think about it, that’s probably a good thing: given how shifty these ladies were, I’m pretty glad they don’t have my credit card info.
My friend covered the tip, and got glared at when she gave them ten dollars each (which was over 20%, and far more than they were worth).
If you’re looking for a quick relaxing experience while you’re in the area, skip this place and go to the massage spa down the hall; I wish I had.
TL;DR: Terrible; don’t go here; get a massage instead.

In Spanish, we have a saying, «Bueno, bonito, y barato»… «Good, pretty, and cheap»… it’s a small place that I stumbled upon while walking up a random streets in NYC en route to my hotel. I had no appointment, and no plans on having my nails done that day, but in true Laura fashion, I said to myself, «well, why not?» I walked in, and they had no problem accommodating me. I only waited a few minutes. Manicure wasn’t great, but my pedicure was awesome. They offer «extra massage?» and usually offer up an extra 10 minutes… The lady who did my feet, even offered a shoulder massage while I was sitting at the dryer! They were friendly. It didn’t feel like a factory that was trying to get you in and out the door as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t go back for a manicure, but I’d definitely recommend a pedi there.

This place isn’t terrible for a quick mani-​pedi, but there are better deals in nicer places in NYC. Their color selection is limited, especially for shellac. They did a decent job painting my nails, but occasionally missed a coat on the edge of a nail (it’s a pet peeve of mine when they don’t paint the whole nail).
The little free massage actually felt great, as I had been sitting on a plane earlier that day. I opted for an additional 10 mins and thought it was worth it. Not bad in a hurry, but by no means a destination!

If you think, hey, maybe I’ll just pop in here and get my nails done real quick, STOP! Do not do that thing. Go… anywhere else. This is probably the worst manicure I’ve had in NY in 10 years of living here.
I had gel on from Paintbox when I walked in. I knew removal at a cheaper place wasn’t going to be as thoughtful as Paintbox, but I didn’t think their solution was to soak all of my fingers in a bowl of acetone. I said, excuse me, what are you doing and why aren’t you wrapping my fingers? Visibly annoyed, they brought out foil and wrapped up each of my fingers. The process to take off the existing polish took about 25 minutes and cost an additional $ 3. The manicure that followed looked like something I did to myself if I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was doing. It’s not even 24 hours later and it’s all chipping off already. I can’t wait to get it off.
Do NOT go here. Like I said earlier, go anywhere else. Anywhere.

I really enjoyed myself here. I have to admit that it’s not the «nicest» but darned, they’re good, friendly, and well priced.
My favorite though was Dee, the young lady that gave me the neck and shoulder massage. What a total surprise. She was AWESOME. Such incredibly strong hands AND she really worked my knots.
I’m from Houston where almost all nail salons are Asian so I was surprised to see everyone was I think Indian. No biggie, just different.
Again, such a pleasant experience. I feel so different leaving than when I got there.
$ 1/​minute for massage.
Happy customer. Will make it a point to stop in when I’m visiting the city.

After seeing the mixed bags review here, I was not sure if I really wanted to come here, but am pretty glad that I did! For $ 8.50 a manicure, it’s really hard to find a better deal in the midtown area. I’m really not fond of this $ 1 for quick dry top coat deal, I really rather they just include it for the full blast of $ 9.50. But mini rants aside, I was very satisfied with the service here. The nail technician was pretty nice and attentive to my nails. She removed the polish from both the top and under my nails. I definitely appreciated this as I’ve been doing DIY French manicure and getting a whole of polish on the underside. After the paint job she was also meticulous in making sure no polish was on my cuticles.
During the manicure, they also offer you a free shoulder massage in hopes of getting you to pay for a 10 minute one. However… I did not enjoy at all and was really glad when it was over. The manicurist was not the masseuse, just to clarify. The massage might have been enjoyable if there was some lotions or oils, but because there was neither, the masseuse’s fingers were basically burning my shoulders because of the friction. Ouch. But all in all it was free, so I guess even if I want to complain about it, I can’t deduct any stars.
The only negative I would say is there are some bubbles on my nails. I really don’t like it when I see bubbles, but all in all she did a good job. It’s been about 3 days since the paint job and it has not chipped yet. Some of the color is starting to wear off on the tips, but it’s hardly noticeable. I am pretty satisfied with this manicure and would go back again. The location looks kind of sketchy, but for the most part it’s pretty good.

Love this place. I’m not from New York (visiting from Chicago), so I was really happy to stumble upon this little nail salon in Midtown. All the other salons I searched on Unilocal were $$$.
The staff is great and the manicure I got was very affordable! $ 8.50 + $ 1 for quick dry top coat. I opted for the latter because why not?! They take card too, but there’s a $ 15 minimum to charge.
I would come back here the next time I’m in NYC.

I want to smack myself for not listening and believing the bad reviews on here. I went on a Friday afternoon during my lunch break. My first impression of the place was that it did not look like a nail salon to me. The lighting and the furniture looks so cheap. It just did not make me feel comfortable or clean. Their tools was not sterilized even though they had a sterilized machine behind them, it doesn’t even looked like it was on.
I got a French gel manicure and it was for $ 35. And the lady I had can’t paint the white part evenly. Please see the attached pictures for proof! It looks like I painted it with my left hand! And she didn’t even cut my cuticles because she said I didn’t have any which makes me think that she was just lazy. And the UV machine was so dirty on the bottom that I didn’t dare to lay my hands flat. My hands were mid air because the bottom was so dirty! Worse experience ever!

Just horrible. The young female I had probably had no license as she was the worst I’d ever experienced. Didn’t cut my toes right, didn’t cut my cuticles correctly, put the polish on unevenly and terribly. In fact, her methodology was so amateur, thick and gloppy. In fact, way she held the brush wasn’t even the way that they teach in cosmetology school. Not sure how she’s able to work here. I was flabbergasted and wanted to walk out, but gave her the benefit of the doubt.
I am only speaking of this one individual. The woman who did my hands was way better.
I am usually pretty lax and not as picky as my friends when it comes to mani pedi because I don’t want to shell out $ 40-​$ 50 every time I go, but this store’s standards are pretty low so just pick who you like. Unfortunately for me, I was visiting so had no way to avoid the girl that I got.