The Rustic

This place is meh. I have two stars for the environment. It has a cool outdoor patio. Other than that, the food is mediocre and our service was horrible. One of the worst waiters I’ve had in a while. If I went here again, I would probably strictly have beer.

I have never had a bad experience at The Rustic. The food and service are always on point and you can’t beat the atmosphere. What I love about The Rustic is how it captures the true western feel of Texas but in a modern way. The décor lets you know you’re in Texas but the design confirms you’re in Dallas, not Fort Worth.
Every time we have a visitor from out of town, we have to bring them here. And that is exactly what brought us here this past Sunday for brunch. Sunday Jam is what they call their brunch and O.M.Gee! For $ 16.95/pp you get every item off the brunch menu (fried chicken, grits and biscuits, fresh fruit and cheese, mini donuts, french toast, and so much more!). Every single item is delicious so wear your stretchy pants because you’re bound to overeat!
They’ve also got a great outdoor area and stage, sometimes with some pretty big name performers for a local joint. The Rustic is a great spot to visit day or night, winter, spring, summer or fall. They’ve got it going on! The only down side is you can’t share the outdoor space with your furry friends. They have to hang out across the street at Mutts Cantina, which is owned by the same people.

I live so close to this place and I am sad that I haven’t been here sooner! I came here to have some after work drinks with friends and this place was so fun and chill.
If you are looking for a good watering hole with young adults this would be a good spot to check out. The place is huge, and has a patio, and the theme for the joint is western wear, topped off with country music.
I only drank, but they have speciality drinks that are unique to their place. The food looked good, but I didn’t have time to eat, but I will definitely be back!

Food: 5÷4− I’ve been wanting to visit this place for a while and today I had a chance to check it out for Jam & Toast (Brunch)! Jam & Toast included: Cheese and Fruit — Local cheeses, honeycomb, fresh fruit and assorted breads;
Country Baked Eggs — Sharp white cheddar, chives and organic baby spinach;
Bacon and sausage from Rudolph’s Market;
Hot Chicken — spicy fried chicken and dill pickles;
Baby Fried Toast — Hand-​cut challah soaked in vanilla custard and topped with house-​made rosemary syrup;
Smoked Cheddar Grits — Creamy polenta cakes with roasted poblanos and smokey cheddar on sausage gravy; and,
Daily Donuts — Small-​batch donuts baked fresh. Everything was amazing! The only reason why I didn’t give his 5 stars because the food was not hot! I love my food hot! Or served warm. It was lukewarm:(
Service:5/4– we moved from the bar to a table and the waitress was NOT happy about it! She was rude at first but after we ordered some other things on her tab she was fine! We smiled the entire time because it was my friends birthday and we wasn’t going to let it spoil our day!
Cleanliness:5/4-the table, bar, silverware and seats was clean, but the restrooms were gross! Décor & Style: 5/5-it’s beautiful! Everything’s was lovely! I love the Texas rustic feel!
Music:5/5-Music is awesome the ambience was wonderful!!!

This place is just plain cool!!! Their outdoor space takes the cake here! It’s covered, the furniture is comfortable and there are warmers everywhere. There’s even a grassy area for your kids to run around in and there’s a fence going around the entire place so you don’t have to worry your kids will wander off.
The food here was excellent! What I probably like the most about The Rustic is that their food AND most alcohol is local! Yay! We tried the quail and several of the appetizers. The quail was excellent! And the appetizers were all very, very good! The service was impeccable! The manager even brought us a free slice of pie at the end… no idea why! Oh, and there is live music 5 nights a week!
The bar area is huge and impressive. Definitely a fun place to go for happy hour with your friends.

Rustic has a great vibe. If you’re looking for a descent drink, chill atmosphere and live music this is definitely a good spot to check out for some day drinking (before all the college kids are out!)
Be sure to look for Anthony (bartender). He was very attentive, gave great suggestions about the city and made our experience there very pleasant.

Food: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Cleanliness: ⁵⁄₅
Décor & Style: ⁵⁄₅
Buffalo Duck Wings, Meatballs, and Cactus fries are Excellent. Beer selection is above par, and service is good overall. Great, large environment for groups (large!) to hang out at or even watch sporting events! I’ve been here 2 times now and each time it has been a great experience. All in all this place is primarily a place to hang out, snack, eat bar food. I haven’t tried any of the «real food» dishes yet. I am actually surprised to see all the somewhat negative reviews. If I come back it would be to hang out with a large group of friends, snack and drink, but probably not to dine and wine.

The service at the rustic was so horrible that I am leaving my first Unilocal review.
This was my first (and last) time going there so maybe it was just an off day but judging by other reviews, probably not. My boyfriend and I went to the Rustic so he could meet up with a friend whom he hasn’t seen in years. We are told the wait is around 45 minutes to an hour — that’s understandable, it seemed really busy. We finally get seated and it takes 10 minutes to be acknowledged by a wait staff. Another 10 minutes to get our drink orders. Another 15 minutes to get the water. And then over an hour to get our food. People who came after us got their food before we did. We walked in the door at noon and left at 2:50.
Now, the food. We weren’t aware that there was only one option, and that was for family style brunch (around $ 17 per person). We ordered for four people and if I had not been so hungover from the night before, my bf and I could have probably finished the whole thing.
The venue itself was okay. Nothing too special. Very preppy vibe. Food wasn’t bad (wasn’t amazing either). Overall, the service was what did it for me.
Maybe we weren’t dressed fancy enough for their liking.

This is a place you come as a group. Lots of seating and they have live music on the weekends. Indoor/​Outdoor stage. It’s country themed and the food is actually good. There are many shareable items and it’s a happening place. The biggest problem? Service. You can never get service. There are times where we have sat, 30 – 45 minutes before someone will even come and say hi. You get quicker drink orders at the bar, but even that is a cluster with all the people around it. I like the place, but they need to step it up.

Great Texas style & modern atmosphere with a large bar & plenty of seating both inside and out. Live music on stage frequently & some big names play here from time to time. Food is prepared beautifully and has great flavor. A favorite of Dallas locals.

Their Rustic Burger is pretty good. Brisket topping the ground beef, along with green chile & pickle trio. Their burger sauce was a good touch. They also had a side of sauce that had a little spice to it, which I recommend on fries &/​or burger. The white cheddar cheese was nice & thick. I also tried a TX Outlaw, their signature cocktail. Texas blended whiskey, fruitlab jasmine, lemon juice & simple syrup. Very refreshing but something I don’t recommend when you have a headache already (smh).

Some local Dallas friends brought us here for an introduction to the true Texas (Austin doesn’t count)…and we were not disappointed!
Great music, great food, and a great people-​watching scene (think busty platinum-​haired blondes and cowbros, if that’s your thing).
Order the brisket-​topped burger with fries and the goat cheese appetizer and you will not be disappointed.

Just couldn’t be more happy with the service and food here! We were here on a night when the inside was booked for a private party. They decided to accommodate walk-​ins on a makeshift patio they put together. We didn’t get the live music we came for, but that didn’t matter after our gracious server, Mercy took care of us! She has a great smile that really makes you feel welcome and at home! The manager, Michael was very professional as well, making sure everyone was happy.
We had the ½ chicken with avocado salad, the scrumptious pork chop, (Mercy’s recommendation), and the romaine salad with extra shrimp. It was yummy!

CLASSY, BUT NEVER TRASHY.
The Rustic is your saloon-​styled, upscale bar, music venue, outdoor picnic, sports bar, day club kind of place. This place invented «dress-​to-​impress,» as its patrons come in dressed beyond casual and more towards business-​casual. Expect to come in a dress shirt or dress, but don’t expect much bar action. This place keeps it classy, but never trashy. There are large TVs on the inside of the bar showing football games and a music venue outside. Always lively and exciting, packed full of Texans looking to quench the weekday thirst. Parking is sometimes impossible, even with valet. The place is always packed, so except a long wait time for your beer and calf fries.
And now, the food.
The Food: CALF FRIES AND CRAB QUESADILLAS.
Calf Fries: MEATY FRIES, BUT THEY’RE NOT FRIES.
Fried to golden brown perfection with a deep crunch, these calf fries are well seasoned and salted. Perfect to soak up and accompany beer and whiskey. The outside is deep-​fried, while the inside is soft, moist, juicy, and meaty. The calf fries themselves have a consistency like tofu, with the taste of seasoned chicken fat. I highly recommend sharing them with some friends, they can get too flavorful. At a certain point, the calf fries seemed too soft, juicy, and pinkish on the inside, so I felt that they were a little undercooked (–1 star). There was a milkiness that was unforgiving.
Note: If you haven’t figured it out or don’t know, calf fries are bull testicles or in layman’s terms… BULL BALLS.
Crab Quesadillas: HOPE ITS NOT FRESH FROM THE GULF…
What’s better than a quesadilla? Throw a crab on it and you get a fiesta! The crab quesadilla featured gulf crab, cheese, baby spinach, Niman Ranch bacon, topped with even more cheese and chives on a flour tortilla. The sauce was a sriracha aioli, which packed a creaminess and a slight kick to add another dimension to these quesadillas. Overall, the flavors worked as an appetizer, but won’t fill you up as a meal. My only concern was that half way into a quesadilla, you seem to run out of topping and end up with a lot of topping-​less quesadilla tortilla (–1 star). NOW SAY THAT 5 TIMES FAST. Overall, I would’ve liked more topping to balance out the bland tortilla or for them to add some kind of spice or flavor to enhance the bland flour tortilla. Have you ever just eaten a plain flour tortilla? Don’t want to revisit that nightmare.
The Verdict: THE RUSTIC, A DALLAS STAPLE.
Overall, The Rustic is the perfect stage, venue, bar, meeting place, social gathering, weeknight getaway, whatever you want it to be. It is always packed with people and energy, but getting your order and drinks may take a long time: BE PREPARED FOR THE WAIT. The music at night really awakens the inner Texan. Parking is tough, valet parking is available, it’d be better if you carpool, take a cab, or take DART over here. Overall, the food options don’t really fill you up and are mostly to share with others and drown out the alcohol. But if you want a place that displays the Big D at full force on the weeknights, you know where to stop by: The Rustic.

When some east coast out of towners asked me for a laid back patio with live music near uptown on a Sunday night, The Rustic immediately came to mind, despite me never having been there.
They arrived before I did.
«Is it dead?» I texted «Do you like it?
«It’s quiet, we like it.»
The Connecticut gal’s forward sincerity relieved me.
Having been so favorably embraced by so many, I only hoped it wasn’t embarrassingly over commercial. When I arrived through the encircled back yard patio, my worry of excess I-​75 freeway noise and views of unattractive mid range buildings was pacified with cheery country music, a smattering of people drinking on benches, under a sky view that made easy to imagine you were on a magical lone on the range, ideally doing whatever a satisfied cowboy might do.
Attentive service didn’t seem phony or plastic despite the very produced aspect of this large country music leaning venue, with
a grand marque topped stage that said «Rustic», wood barrel tables, and a dining room that could serve all the large baptist families of a small congregation.
The menu too had the carefully designed shtick you might see at «Disneyland Texas»
with shareable platters like roasted quail, and whole chickens, as well as the surprising appetizer of «calf fries». Omg I thought, as I then immediately read underneath,
«if you have to ask…».
«I’ve never heard of that.» One perked with curiosity, who later admitted to never having eaten sushi, and insisted on ordering it, even the she almost gagged during her one small bite.
«Here are your balls!» The hunky young server lighted
with a sexy masculine air, that despite certainly having been, didn’t seem repetitive,
as he served our amusement park type food.
I personally couldn’t eat more than a small piece of the cow testicles, $ 7 for a large basket, even though they honestly tasted better than the boar meatballs $ 9, which were very dry, unseasoned and perhaps wrongly paired on top of a black bean paste.
My rosè wine was an excellent choice, if a small pour for $ 8, for being the sole rosè option on the menu, being both well balanced and medium bodied. The girls drank large glass goblets of beer, and a cocktail named «that’s what she said.»
It was a tourist score, despite my uninspiring food choice. I anticipate planning a live music visit based on their calendar, but next time this gay man will ironically vehemently pass on an order of balls — at least the ones on the menu.

So I thought this place was decent 3.5 stars, but I will round up because they really only had one fault. I think you would really love it if you love traditional American (and that too, a lot of meat), but it isn’t just my cup of tea.
Pros:
+ Fun, casual environment
+ Try the onion ring sides
+ Great wine list (at least from most of the bars I’ve seen
+ Great margaritas
+ Server was very attentive
+ Onion Rings were amazing. (okay so maybe me being super starved had something to do with it, but
Cons:
— The quinoa burger was quite bland. I really wish they had cooked it with more spices, it honestly tasted like nothing.

Lugar ideal para estar con los amigos tomando una cerveza y escuchando música en vivo!!! El área de jardín me hace sentir en el patio de mi casa! Excepto por la variedad de cervezas que quisiera gozar en mi refrigerador! El menú es prometedor aunque nada del otro mundo.

Great Sunday Funday venue, and pretty much any other day of the week. Ample indoor and outdoor seating, and at certain intervals love music is played. The lead singer is damn good.
Ordered the Moscow mule, which was not only refreshing but had a nice kick to it from the ginger. We then decided to try out the massive frozen margarita with a sangria swirl with a sangria popsicle. One bowl concoction that serves 3 drinks. We could not stop enjoying the Popsicles, which comes in all sorts of flavors: mimosa, margarita, strawberry daiquiri and sangria.
Food, there’s plenty. Their home made fries are a perfect crispness and not greasy at all. I highly recommend the rocky mountain oysters. I had never had these before but they are perfectly battered. Their buttermilk dipping sauce compliments these little nuggets of goodness very well. The steak fajita meat was cooked perfectly. The mango hot sauce is a must. We also tried the burger with some pulled pork, cooked medium. The carne empanadas are deep fried like Cuban empanadas and tasted alright. Lastly, the jicama and avocado salad is a must try: refreshing, healthy and crispy with enough creaminess.
Andres, Brittany and Raphael were amazing hosts and servers. I definitely recommend you sit at the bar and meet these three all stars.