Ruggles Cafe Bakery

I have been coming here for the past 25 years ever since I was in med school. The thing to do is to bring a book, get a latte served in a large ceramic mug, sit outside on a beautiful morning or evening, relax and enjoy. They make great croissant sandwiches. The clientele is a mix of Rice academics, runners who stop by after their run, young mom and dads with strollers and regulars that can't get enough of this place. more

Bonjour! You dont have to be french to taste amazing croissants and breads. This petit secret has delicious cappuccino, wonderful almond croissants and everything you deserve. Enjoy! more

I agree with what everyone wrote about service 'Chapeau' to the reviewer who wrote "" no eclair for you!"" LOL That was 'sur la mouche""! I am European, did my MA in France, and I am quite used to the French ways. However the 2 *guys* waiting on people are just rude. A little smile goes a long way when you're in this business. The pastries are good but if I am having a particularly difficult day, they're just not worth the waiters' bad manners. more

Clerk counted receipts instead of waiting on customers while line developed out the door. When I questioned this practice at the busy Noon hour I was told that if I didn?t like it I didn?t have to come back?they were just following rules. Have been a customer for many years and have not noticed this ?counting-the-money-while blatantly-ignoring-customers-standing-in-front-of-them? practice until recently. However, I have always noticed that service can be indifferent and even poor at times. I won?t be back. Good food, but there are many restaurants in Houston with good food that want their customers to come back. A good example is Kahn?s Deli, just two doors down. I?ll be going there next time. more

Wandering aimlessly down Rice Blvd. will lead you in either of two directions: into Hermann Park, or to a place where great food, wine and class meet: Ruggles Café and Bakery in the Rice Village. Quite a popular establishment, Ruggles offers some of the best food in Houston and uses the finest and freshest ingredients. The downside of its popularity is that the line is often out the door. Luckily, superb service makes the daunting wait fly by with a quick and accurate cashier staff and a simply amazing cooking staff that turns out orders quickly. On days when the line is doable and the weather is beautiful, customers can take the patio seating and even bring their own wine. The café will provide glasses for free. With a bustling environment that seems more like a beehive than a restaurant, Ruggles is the prime destination for delicious homemade soup and fresh salads. Their soup offerings include black bean with goat cheese and bacon, tomato basil and vegetarian vegetable. Those craving a fresh garden salad can try the satisfying small side salad, the spinach Cobb salad or the award-winning chicken tostada salad. The soup and sandwich combo features half of any sandwich and a cup of soup, for a perfect light lunch. With a price that won't break the bank, patrons are sure to leave with full pockets and, even better, full bellies. Definitely a great deal! The sandwiches range from the simple smoked turkey and Swiss, with cranberry-orange alioli - a mayonnaise flavored with garlic and other spices - on soft sourdough bread, to the elaborate grilled chicken wrap, filled with fresh mozzarella, lettuce and tomato in a spinach tortilla covered in ranch dressing and spicy mango chipotle sauce. Meatier offerings include the 91-percent lean meat buffalo burger with fresh mozzarella on a whole wheat bun, the roasted pork loin sandwich with caramelized onions and mango chipotle mayonnaise and the eight-ounce prime Angus burger. Both time-honored favorites and new twists are delicious, but the selling point of Ruggles is the choice the restaurant offers: All wraps can be made into sandwiches, and all sandwiches can be made into wraps. Sandwiches aren't for everyone, though, and Ruggles also offers an impressive array of pastas. In particular, the southwest pasta is to die for, containing goat cheese, bacon, spicy salsa and grilled chicken, mixed into a pile of fettuccine pasta. It has a delightfully spicy and bold flavor, and customers can add grilled shrimp for a delicious double-meat combination of poultry and seafood. If the meals still aren't jazzed up enough for you, you can create your own masterpiece at the thoughtfully organized and tidy self-service station. Patrons should also make sure to check out the Ruggles dessert gallery. This three-windowed display of sugary delights is a marvel to behold and includes such fares as the vanilla bean parfait with raspberries, the red velvet cake, several kinds of cheesecakes, the German chocolate cake and the berry ripple cake. Try the new strawberry bomb, made with a delicate angel food cake, mascarpone cheese, whipped cream and tons of fresh strawberries. Those who don't want cake may prefer death, and at Ruggles, death comes in the form of four-inch cookies, available in chocolate chip, white chocolate Macadamia, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, double chocolate chip and Reese's peanut butter cup. Definitely save room. Ruggles offers some of the best food and the best variety for the price in the Rice area. Rice University students with a HedgeHopper card gets students a 10% discount on Monday and Tuesday. A picnic basket in Hermann Park will never give you so many options. Pros: Wonderful Food, Great Location, BYOB, Variety Cons: Long Lines, A Little Pricey more

Try the French roast and the scone of the day. But don't expect a bubbly customer service experience, just get your goodies and keep movin'. Pros: Great coffee and scones Cons: Authentic French experience more

After reading all of the positive reviews here, I decided to try out Croissant-Brioche. I went at an odd hour (3pm) when there were only 2 others having a meal, so clearly no rush. However, when I went to the counter, the woman serving was one of the worst at customer service that I have ever encountered in my life. I smiled at her and asked her a simple question; she continued to frown, mumbled some answer and just impatiently waited for me to make my selection. Not once did she even venture to not scowl at me. My entire conversation with her lasted only 2 minutes, so I wasn't wasting any time, but she made it seem like I was inconveniencing her by asking her to serve me. After we were done, she immediately went back to texting on her phone. I wanted to be fair so I waited until I tried the food before I judged the place... but it wasn't good enough to make up for the absolutely horrendous service. If I am desperate for slightly authentic French pastries, I may venture over here again; it certainly won't be for the service or any time soon. Pros: Fresh desserts Cons: Surly and impatient service more

Comfortable and peaceful atmosphere. I like all of their coffee drinks, muffins, and their desserts are to DIE FOR! I have never eaten off of their lunch menu, but it always looks appetizing when I am around it. A hole in the wall but definitely a place you want to experience!! Pros: Everything is wonderful! Cons: None. more

We've been fans of this cozy cafe for years. The food is excellent - breakfast pastries like the croissants and danishes, lunch items like the chicken salad or ham and Swiss sandwiches, and the baguettes and various tarts are amongst our favorites. The service is always friendly and I have found the owner and management to be sincere. While the mood behind the counter is often bustling to keep up during peak periods, the customers are able to relax (you never feel rushed during your meal). There is an eclectic customer base: European families, groups of students, couples, and people going solo. The comfortable atmosphere makes this my favorite place to read with a large latte. Pros: Example: best croissants in town Cons: What are the drawbacks? more

This cafe has a nice great neighborhood feel with lots of regulars. Our favorites include: croissants, croissants au chocolat, and danishes (my co-workers love it when I bring these in!), lattes, chicken salad and ham sandwiches with a bowl of the roasted garlic and tomato soup for lunch, and the layered pear tart when we host dinners. The customer base is eclectic and includes European families, groups of students, couples, and people going solo. We like coming in on weekend mornings for a croissant and latte. Pros: croissants, coffee, sandwiches, fruit tarts Cons: can get crowded more

My friends and I love to go to Ruggles before going out to midtown for the night. It is a great place to bring a bottle of wine (there is no corking fee), order a slice of cake, and hang out with friends. We have never had a bad experience. Pros: bring your own wine, yummy desserts Cons: can be hard to find a table more

Ruggles has really good food at decent prices. I go by there a couple of times a week since it's very convenient for me. You really need to try their desserts if you. All of them! lol\r \r The service could be better but it's a small complaint. Pros: good food, prices, location Cons: service more

I am frequently making business trips to the Houston medical center and I almost always find myself coming to Ruggles Cafe Bakery. In fact I ate there just last week. The food is wonderful and the desserts are fabulous. I can see why it is often busy during lunch. I always have a quality meal and look forward to my next visit. Pros: Great food and desserts Cons: gets a little crowded, but for good reason more

I was an almost daily customer of this restaurant until a few months back. This restaurant first attracted me for its fresh food, convenience and price but lately it has been suffering from bad food and service. I went there for almost two years at least 2 times a week so what I experienced is hardly coincidence.\r \r First I had an incident with one of the busboys when he made a comment about me moving to a different table and leaving a napkin on the other one. Something like ?Please, I just cleaned that table?.\r \r I let that go, but then I had several incidents when my food was not ready for more that 20-30 min. For most of last year I got the food in less than 10 min. Several times I had to cancel my order (when it took more than 20 min) because I was paged and had to run back to work. All those times I spoke to the manager about it and the only thing he did was to give me my money back, no apologies no comps, nothing so I did not feel appreciated even though most cashiers and even the cook recognized me at the time.\r \r I have also noticed the quality of their food suffering. The strawberries and orange slices that accompany most of their sandwiches look a day old at best. Their soup is barely warm and sometimes feels old. The burgers feel greasy as of late. The bathroom is almost always smelly. \r \r So I did the only thing I could do as a customer. I will never be back.\r Pros: Nice location Cons: Service, food more

We once again gave Ruggles Cafe Bakery another try. It had been a favorite for so long and we were hoping the last couple of disappointing meals there were just flukes. So here we go again - beautiful Sunday afternoon, sit ourdoors, we planned enjoy a late lunch with our family. \r \r Two of us ordered tomato basil soup. It was lukewarm- at best. Sweet potato fries no where near hot - left that gross film of oil on the roof of my mouth after eating just one. One hamburger and one sandwich ordered with no tomatoes arrived full of tomatoes. My goat cheese salad was so drenched in dressing it was inedible. We were up and down the entire meal trying to get the order right, get the soup warm, etc. \r \r I was trying to overlook my drenched in dressing salad and eat it anyway when my daughter insisted we take it back too. I felt badly about having to go back up to the counter so many times with complaints. \r \r To salvage the meal I decided to go ahead and get a dessert we could all have a few bites of. At the counter I ordered the fruit cobbler. We just could not believe it when it, too, was absolutely a flop. Completely unable to eat it. The crust was wet and soggy and thick....we honestly didn't know what to make of it. It was disgusting. \r \r Very sorry to say something so unflattering. There are so many pluses about this Ruggles. The location is fantastic. It's great to have the option of outdoor dining. It looks charming and inviting. Someone needs to restore Ruggles back to being consistently a good, if not great, place to have lunch or dinner. more

warning to all those Vegeterians going to get your vegetarian vegetable soup, find out that the soup is actually does have vegetables but the broth is beef stock bouillons mixed with vegetables. But if you are a complete Vegan and don't want any animal by product what so ever in your soup, DON'T Get The V.V. Soup. more

Our whole family really enjoys this restaurant. We have been customers for the last several years. The kids love getting to pick out a cookie and decorate it while we wait for our food. We usually sit inside in the ac to avoid the heat but they also have a large patio that is nice in the cooler weather. A few of our usual orders include the grilled chicken aalad (my favorite), angel hair pasta, angus burger and the kids like the pizza dippers and chicken tenders. Their angus burgers are grilled and huge and the rolls they use are soooo good. It's making my mouth water just thinking about it ha! The guy (head cook?) is always so friendly and whipping out our food pretty quickly considering how busy this restaurant gets. Don't be afriad of the long lines. the staff is really good about moving the lines quickly. We like to bring our own wine sometimes since they have a byob policy and no charge. And did I mention desserts? They have so many to choose from. We love the strawberry bomb (lots of strawberries and angel food cake) and the white chocolate bread pudding (comes out hot with ice cream and sauces). Run don't walk over to this restaurant! Pros: Fresh delicious food good value for the prices Cons: They get very busy on the weekends more

The only reason they get a one star from me is for a great VARIETY of desserts... Their desserts are good but not awesome for the price.\r The food is ok, I do not know how kitchen even works there since they have this small corner in the restaurant and the AC OFTEN IS NOT WORKING.\r The staff is OK, and the management is snobby.\r more

This eating establishment is amazing!! The goat cheese salad is incredible. I love all of the desserts. The service is great, and the staff is friendly. The atmosphere is cool and they have a very tasty buger. I give this restaurant ten stars out of five, and recommend it for all eaters!! Pros: Variety, Service, and DESSERT!! Cons: So POPULAR!! more

I ate here on a Thursday evening with a group of 5. The restaurant was PACKED, which I took as a good sign. We all got our food pretty quickly, and my sister ordered raspberry tea, which she said was delicious. Out of the 5, not one of us liked our food. I had a veggie burger that fell apart while I was trying to eat it. I also had creme brulee, which was phenomenol, but everyone else at my table had the chocolate tres leches, and didn't like it. It's an ok restaurant, but not somewhere I'd choose to go again. more