Ruby’s Dinette Costa Mesa
Ruby’s has gone Retro in a good way. The iconic brand has recently transformed the 17th Street location in Costa Mesa into an amazing spot reminiscent of the early 1960s with its famous So-Cal Googie style design. It features a condensed new menu but still serves Ruby’s signature favorites, along with 10 choices of kids meals for lunch-dinner and three selections at breakfast for children 12 and under.
My family and I recently dined there and we were blown away at how cool the concept is. When you first walk in you notice a quaint little patio where you can dine outside in the fresh air. There is plenty of shade and you get a view of the street which is fun for people watching.
The interior is probably my favorite part. They have Andy Warhol style paintings of celebrities, pictures from the 60s, lave lamps and cute light fixtures. There is a table in the back that has bar style seating and the chairs are so fun! The funniest part of the whole restaurant is when you walk into the bathroom you are greeted by the voice of Austin Powers.
Ruby’s Dinette has a different concept than Ruby’s Diner. It is more of a fast casual type of service and you order your food at the counter instead of having your order taken at your table. There are large menu boards on the wall that show pictures of the food and they are very easy to read.
I liked that there is a huge drink selection. Everything from sodas, to juice, to a freestyle soda machine, even down to beer and wine.
The waitresses wear these cute checkered dresses and all have their hair pulled back.
My family and I found the food to be tasty. The items we ordered were different than what is on the regular Ruby’s menus but I loved all the Gluten Free choices they had. I ordered a Greek salad, and my son and husband ordered a protein style Jalepeno burger wrapped in lettuce (no bun) and my daughter had chicken strips. I liked that we could choose apple slices instead of fries. The sides were also very impressive. You could pay a little more and get premium sides like a fruit cocktail salad, or asian coleslaw or chicken salad, or egg salad.
Best of all is that they serve Marianne’s ice cream! I absolutely LOVE this brand of ice cream. It is flavorful and firm just like ice cream should be! I don’t like it when my ice cream is soft and melty. My kids were able to choose from a large selection of ice cream and they even had waffle cones with sprinkles.
The strawberry ice cream was a huge hit as well as the chocolate. We can’t wait to come back here. It was so much fun!
