Ruben James

Burlington, United States

4

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 802-864-0744
Website:
rjsburlington.com
Address:
159 Main St, Burlington, VT, 05401
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.7 miBus Stop
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Late Night
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Loud
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
No
Has Pool Table
Yes

Today

Today 4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Open now
Local time (Burlington) 19:09 Tuesday, 3 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Tuesday 4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Wednesday 4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Thursday 4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Friday 4:00 pm – 2:00 am
Saturday 12:00 pm – 2:00 am
Sunday 12:00 pm – 2:00 am

Description

Specialties

Ruben James is a casual sports bar and restaurant by day and a popular hangout by night.

Eight large flat screen tvs show your favorite sports daily. We’ve got all your major sports packages to bring the action to you while you sit back and relax.

Events every night of the week from Trivia on Tuesday to FREE hot wings on Thursdays, and the Ruben James Lounge on Friday during the early evening.

Recently voted top 10 in New England for our chicken wings. These tasty wings are available for just 45 cents a piece, 7 days a week.

Famous for our wings, but its the grilled burgers and chicken sandwiches that set us apart from your average pub.

When the sun goes down the night lights up at RJ’s. With DJs spinning Wednesday through Saturday nights, Ruben James is one of the more popular clubs on any given night in downtown Burlington.

Great drink specials, all your favorite local beers on tap, and an extensive wine and liquor selections. RJ’s is the local choice for dinner, drinks, and late night adventures.

History

Established in 1985.

Ruben James opened its’ doors in 1985 as a restaurant catering to the Flynn Theatre crowd. Over the years RJ’s has evolved into a popular sports-​themed pub packed with the 21 – 40 age group. Eight large flat-​screen TV’s with cable and satellite sports’ packages and Buzztime trivia entertain the eyes. DJ’s four nights a week and a pumping sound system entertain the ears nightly. Boston Globe recently voted us in the Top 10 in New England for our wings. Popular for our burgers and grilled sandwiches. Homemade soups and fresh salads.

Watching sports never tasted so good!

Meet the Business Owner

Jay A.

Business Owner

Since finishing college in 1990, I’ve been in the restaurant /​bar industry exclusively. I purchased Ruben James in 1994. We’ve expanded on what was then primarily a college bar. We’ve emphasized the Dinner menu with food sales representing 30% of our business. We’ve caught the wave of successful local pro sports teams and really grown into a place known for watching sports. Our loyal customers have seen a lot of New England and New York professional sports team win their championships over the past 20 years. We continue to attract the college crowd with competitive pricing and great burgers and the best wings. Our local djs bring in the crowds Wednesday — Saturday and karaōke raises the roof on Sundays. Come down and see me at RJ’s where Watcing sports never tasted so good!

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20 reviews of Ruben James

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Burlington, VT
Solid sports bar with some great wings and good specials. Gets busy for 49cent wings. Can’t complain about this spot, good selection all around. Head there to catch some sports!
Place rating: 5
Stowe, VT
Everything. Good drinks. Good food. Good atmosphere. Our go to spot any day of the week. Best wings in Bulington — the garlic cajun is where it’s at.
Place rating: 4
Burlington, VT
Another one of the good ol’, been around forever pubs in town. Great downtown location for sure. Super Huge TV’s and LOUD… so prepare accordingly. College bait on the weekends so beware.
All the burgers on the menu had bacon and other creative stuff, were cooked with a nice char and were cooked to order. Yay! Salads were good and fresh. Fries were good enough for me.
$ 6.75 for a pound of wings and a magic hat and the Hot Garlic wings were great, but more than I could eat. The next day they were just as good!
My partner thought her drink was a little diluted, but this is a loud sports bar and drinks flow… I’m ok with them dialing back the alcohol a touch.
It is what it is, not fine dining or even a classy hamburger joint… but it’s fun and the food is better than most! We left after drinks, burgers, wings and side salad and the bill was $ 40. Two burgers over at the Farmhouse restaurant would have run $ 40 on their own… guess where we decided to go?
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
The staff was very friendly and went out of their way to accommodate us. The Bloody Mary’s and loaded fries were to die for. Will definitely be coming back!!!
Place rating: 3
Burlington, VT
RJs is a strange mix. It’s a sports bar with pretty darn good wings. Some nights the vibe is congenial and somewhat laid back. Other nights it’s a meat market and hosts the worst sort of frat-​type guys. If you want to avoid lewd, drunken behavior, then don’t go on Friday and Saturday nights. All other evenings are pretty good for sports watching and bar food. Playing pool there can also be fun.
Place rating: 4
Burlington, VT
I had not been to RJs in a while. I used to come here with friends to get 30 cent wings on Fridays! I was surprised when I friend invited me and they had the specials on Wednesdays, too. The space is quite comfortable, lots of TVs to watch whatever game is on and they even have a pool table. Check them out as they are always running a special. Little tip: try their beer batter fries! You will not regret it.
Place rating: 5
Vernon, CT
— Wonderful local bar! Great atmosphere, good music and good food. Good luck finding a parking spot since this is a college town and none of the establishments have their own parking lots. Meters are free after 6:00pm. On Wednesdays here they have specials like any other bar, but they have $ 0.49 wings! They must be ordered in increments of 6. They were VERY good. My first time I got 24 and tried Spicy Thai, Honey BBQ, Spicy Garlic along with Kitchen Sink. I WILL be back here to try the rest of their flavors.
Place rating: 4
Burlington, VT
Went on a Thursday evening. Cheap very tasty wings and great beer. Atmosphere was very relaxing and nice. Open windows to a great bar. There was also a pool table. Only reason why it doesn’t get 5 stars is because of the restrooms… Kinda nasty.
Other than that this is a great spot! I will be going back.
Place rating: 5
Villa Park, IL
Our servers called off their bartender on a slow Wednesday night and then got slammed! They hustled with smiles on their faces. The food and drinks were prompt and tasty. Came all the way from Chicago and they did a fantastic job!
Place rating: 5
Burlington, VT
Love the food and staff here! Im never disappointed in my meal or customer service whenever i step foot in this place to grab a bite. If you’re looking for a really fulfilling meal this is the place to go
Place rating: 3
Sunapee, NH
For what it is, a dive bar, this place is great. Trivia night is always fun, if you can score the big table up front by the window its even better.
Place rating: 4
Northampton, MA
Hubby and I are here in Burlington for a 3-​week working vacation. We’ve been to this town a handful of times before and always love it, but the Church Street scene wears on us, too pricey, too touristy. We started Unilocaling for some more of the «locals» types of places and came up with Ruben James. Some of the reviews have been down on the service, but we wanted to test it out for ourselves.
We’ve gone there a total of six times (so far). We love the food, the service, that somewhat divey feel. It suits us perfectly. Five out of the six times we had a great time, usually a good seat by the open window, or the «king’s» table in the back with a couple of friends who came to Burlington during our stay. The music has been great, Sublime-​ish stuff. They have different specials every day of the week, like Magic Hat Pint and a Pound (chicken wings) special on Saturday for $ 6.75, Burger Night on Thursday (any burger with fries) for $ 5.99. The french onion soup is fantastic!
The draft beer selection is very good, many locals including Queen City, Zero Gravity, Magic Hat, etc.
Only one time did we end up leaving after one beer, and that was because there was a different bartender we had never seen who had crappy pop/​bubblegum-​ish music turned up to 11 (for those of you who have seen Spinal Tap), so we couldn’t even talk to each other. My husband actually asked her to turn it down (an usual thing for us to do), which she may or may not have done, we couldn’t really tell.
We’ve been back a couple times since that incident and have been happy, so 5 out of 6 ain’t bad.
Overall, a great experience, and we’ll continue to go. We love one server in particular, her name is Taylor. She even helped us find chalk for the pool cues when she wasn’t working! Ask for her by name!
Place rating: 2
Burlington, VT
Beer tastes like piss. Floors are sticky. Bouncers are a bunch of overgrown apes that think it’s cool to strong arm people that are smaller than them. 10⁄10 would not choose again.
Place rating: 4
Chester Township, NJ
Service is painfully slow, although the place is ¾ empty.
Post script: The burgers were really good. Worth the long wait!
Fresh cut fries would really up the score!
Place rating: 5
Walnut Creek, CA
This is one of my favorite and most frequented bars in Burlington. Every Thursday is free wings with every alcoholic beverage purchase 9 – 11. This is my favorite special in town. Sundays are karaōke nights. The food is actually delicious and crave able, even without the booze. Great staff!
Place rating: 3
West Chazy, NY
Walking by this place or even waking in, you wouldn’t expect them to have the menu they had. Definitely bar type comfort foods. Burgers, fries, many apps, seafood options, nachos etc. The food actually was pretty good. It was the service that sucked. Our waitress didn’t speak, walked away when we tried speaking to her, I got everything on my burger that I OPTED OUT OF, asked for mayo, she brought me ketchup packets and seemed out of this world. Took many attempts to get her attention. Never checked on us. We sat in a spot that had a clear view of the kitchen however and the cooks presented the plates nicely for a little sports bar.
Place rating: 5
Burlington, VT
The best sports bar in Burlington hands down. Their wings are unbeatable and the service is unmatched. The owner is a good man and the entire staff is professional and experienced as possible. Especially Liz, she’s a boss. Ally too!
Place rating: 4
Burlington, VT
Great place for wings. I know they are known for their wings but it is true. Stopped in at at little before 4 and took advantage of their «pint and a pound «deal. What a deal! Hot tasty wings and a cold beer.
Place rating: 2
Philadelphia, PA
RJ’s has been a favorite of our unit at Fletcher Allen since long before I got here. But the burger one of my friends ordered a few weeks ago was ordered rare and arrived so over cooked that it couldn’t even be cut — hockey puck, anyone?
After multiple complaint calls, RJ’s agreed to a credit against a future order. This last weekend the unit ordered again and I decided to take a chance on a California Burger, cooked rare. RJ’s refused to give us the credit, saying it was only for a plain burger. And when my burger arrived, it was cooked rare, but was not a California burger — it had carmelized onions and a dash of cheese sauce — no guacamole in sight.
So that’s it for us and RJ’s — a burger joint that can’t get it’s burgers right. It’s OK, we won’t starve — there’s plenty of competition out there!
Place rating: 3
Libertyville, IL
I go to this place nearly every weekend as I live in the area. I would not say it’s the complete place for everyone but I certainly enjoy it during the more normal hours.
Service: I personally think it could do a bit better. The staff is really congenial but at times I find myself having to patiently wait a little longer than I want, or I feel uncomfortable asking for service due to attitude. That being said, it could potentially be from being constantly understaffed by management as it seems they typically have 2 waiters and 1 bartender at the most. On a more positive note, any request I do make usually gets fulfilled hastily.
Food/​Drinks: Constant lineup of beer specials and great bar food. As all the other reviews go, wings are the best choice. Great selection of sauces combined with the cheap price, it is a much better deal than Buffalo Wild Wings. I have tried other items and have never been too upset; everything tasted as expected.
Atmosphere: Sports bar by day into early evening. Club-​ish by night. A lot of televisions including a large projector, generally filled with people watching the same game which is always fun. If you are there on a weekend, as soon as it gets to be around 10:30p or 11:00, you will notice a dramatic shift in the environment. Lots of college students, shots, loud dance music, and yelling. Not my cup of tea but if that is what you are seeking, this would be a decent option in downtown Burlington.
Overall: I rated the place a 3⁄5 because of the times I do enjoy the place. Great spot to watch sports, eat and drink for about 3 hours but if I were to remain for another 2 hours I would be miserable surrounded by obnoxious drunks.