Rufful’s Restaurant

This place is now the Wayland Square Diner. They have their own Unilocal listing, but my review remains the same.

old school divey diner, typical diner menu, inexpensive.

Haute Cuisine it is not. That’s what I absolutely love about this place. Surrounded by posh, more high end Providence competitors, including the ubiquitous Starbucks, this little Diner That Could just keeps on chugging.
Scrambled eggs and bacon, Wonder Bread toast, tuna fish and grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs… you get it. It’s an old fashioned, inexpensive diner.
It’s cheap, it’s basic, it’s comfy and it’s welcoming to anyone.
If it is true that there are new owners, I hope they respect the tradition of this place and keep it down and dirty. Wayland Square residents respect and love Rufful’s. You find everyone here and it is a total jewel. Sit at the counter or park yourself in a booth. You’ll be well taken care of if you like coffee, hash browns and down home cooking.

Can be good but very inconsistent. So you never know what you’re going to get. Two out of three times that I went there was no mashed potatoes. One out of those three times fries were dark and soggy. Waitress had to keep running back and forth checking with the cook to see if they had what I wanted.

I’ve always thought Rufful’s was a great Providence «find» but now it’s better than ever. New management that has taken the best of this place and made it so much better. Great new additions to the menu and much better presentation have combined to make this a place where you’ll love the food and the prices. Soups are terrific (wonderful Lobster Bisque) and breakfast all day (try the new Texas French Toast). Sit at the counter and you’re likely to be served by Dot «the attack waitress». A meeting place for everyone from the east side: you are just as likely to meet a US Senator as you are to run into your next door neighbor. Great hamburgers and fries and you won’t find a better place in Providence for breakfast on the weekend! Don’t miss Rufful’s. The place looks great… the food is wonderful and I understand the name is just about to be changed to the Wayland Square DIner. Don’t miss this great place!

Where real writers breakfast out in PVD.
The eggs are fresh, the waitresses are mock-​surly, the mix of mingling and privacy is just right. Anyone who complains about the food is a wimp.

If your looking for culinary genius… Look elsewhere.
If you seek medicore eggs, pancakes, coffee, etc. than this is your place.
Could be easily described as Cheers… Without the beer.
You’ll always run into someone you know.
The waitstaff is nice & softspoken– important after a night out.
They’re efficeint & clean and I’ve had nothing but good experiences.
They had one star deducted for extreme brightness. I feel like I’m eating in stop & shop.

Feel: I love the «diner» feel that has been maintained inside.
Hours: Open only morning-​afternoon, not for the evenings.
GLUTEN FREE DINERS: I took in 2 slices of my GF bread and asked them to make me a BLT… mmm…sometimes in life you just want a BLT and need to make the right choice to not buy a whole pack of bacon for your one sandwich… the staff was very kind and felt happy to make me happy by making my sandwich! The turkey is also very moist and tastes like a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich!
***CASH ONLY!

This is one place I have always heard about, walked and drove past, many, many times and didn’t stop in for a bite to eat, until two weeks ago. Everything is made to order, raves on the iced tea, first of all, its delicious. My friend and I complained about the lack of a good egg bagel and lack of a good seeded rye bread! Its not too much to ask for; so there it is at Ruffuls, yummy seeded rye bread, hot delicious pastrami reuben that tastes like pastrami. The portions are good, the french fries are of course fresh cut, and yes, they roast their own turkey. There aren’t many places like this left in this «progressive» city that has an identity crisis it can’t shake. Sitting at the counter is by far the best way to go and eat, you can get a glance at the ktichen and strike up a conversation with other regulars. You can still get a bowl of cereal or hot breakfast, wafffles and eggs, frankfurters and cole slaw or beans. They are open late nights on Friday I believe and that I believe he offers a steak dinner. Not for vegans or veggies, too bad. (snicker). I highly reccomend this place to anyone looking for a good meal, great service and the cook folks that hang there.

Great breakfast spot… two egg, home fries, and rye toast special for $ 3.45…The only thing i don’t like about Ruffuls, they don’t have a house paper and they do not take credit cards– Michelle, the waitress was very nice and the food is good… recommend

The sign outside Rufful’s says that it was established in 1957, and it would appear that very little has changed inside since. From the faux-​marble finish on the counter to the tiny booths to the aquamarine Hamilton milkshake machine to the big metal and glass display case for desserts to the older gentlemen cooking up the meals, this is a classic diner through and through. The menu features the usual diner food (burgers, sandwiches, fries) plus a lot of old-​fashioned favorites. Different specials are offered daily. The food itself? Good and cheap. During my first visit I had corned beef hash and scrambled eggs. I was so excited to see corned beef hash on the menu that I ignored its straight-​from-​the-​can flavor. Hell, that was half the charm. The second time around I tried a fresh-​roasted turkey sandwich and onion rings, both of which were fantastic. The turkey sandwich was pretty much perfect, while the onion rings were thinly cut, sweet, and wonderfully greasy. The only disappointment was the coffee cabinet (that’s Rhode Island-​ese for milkshake; watch out because milkshakes are also listed on the menu and ordering one will get you a glass of flavored milk). I’m not sure if a cabinet is supposed to have a different texture than a milkshake, but I suspect that it is not supposed to be thin and runny with scattered lumps of ice cream. No matter; I’ll still gladly come to Rufful’s any day for breakfast, lunch, coffee and pie, or just a bit of Rhode Island culture.