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Rubio's Fort Lauderdale

Rubio's Coastal Grill

1535 N Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale FL, 33304
Overall Rating
2.2
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
06/19/2017

Details

Hours: 7 Days, 7am-10pm
Attire: Casual
Parking: Private lot
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Beer and Wine
Outside Dining: Yes
Reservations: No
Delivery: No

Pros

Cheap Seafood/Mexican Food
Attractive QSR Restaurant

Cons

Mediocre Food
Uninteresting Menu

Critic's Review

I haven't been able to get motivated to re-visit bad restaurants just to confirm that they're still bad restaurants, but I got a coupon for a free fish taco so I'd thought I'd give them another try.

i drive by this place quite often, and it's always dead empty. As bad or worse than Lime Mexican was. Today was no different at 2:30pm. No lines; I felt compelled to buy something, so I got a side of Guacamole and and Iced Tea.

You take your number, fetch your drink, silverware and salsa, and head over to a table.

Rubios Table

Then you wait in the empty restaurant for them to bring your food. Modern dining convenience. "Easy" and Wild Belle fill the aire. A frustrated looking dude in the back corner, maybe the manager, pours over his notebook computer.

Rubio's Fort Lauderdale

There was 1 dude doing everything. Front counter, running food, emptying the garbage. All of the omnipresent employees from my last visit are gone. They're operating with a skeleton staff.

The dude brings out my food.

Rubio's Fish Taco

Not a lot of Guac, but it's only 2 bucks. Maybe they could give some chips with the Guac? I didn't really want chips.

This fish taco was much better than the one I had the first time. Still a Mrs. Smith's fishstick, but it was hot. I guess they can focus better on just 1 customer.

Rubio's Fish Taco

The salsa here is junk; the piquant is loaded with seeds and who wants to bite into a bunch of seeds. The mild wasn't very good either; if it's not as good as the stuff you get in the tupperware at Publix, then it's a FAIL in my book.

Rubio's Salsas

The Guacamole wasn't really guacamole; if Avocado with salt is guacamole, then I guess it was. But there was nothing in it. As smashed avocado goes, it was fine.

Rubio's Guacamole

And that was it. It took longer to get the food than to eat it.

Conclusion

The game here is cheap fish, and I'm not sure it's working here in the land of the fish tacos. One problem is that Zona Fresca has been around a long time and their fish taco is better.

Another problem is that Taco Bell is better than this. Lucky for them there's no Taco Bell nearby.

Review 12/20/16

There was a "grand opening" party on Monday, which we initially thought was a media event, but when we found out it was coupled with a fundraiser for sea turtles and they were asking for donations, we decided to skip it. Not because of the donation (although the California company being concerned about sea turtles seemed contrived), but because I thought there would be no chance of getting an actual dining experience. So I went on Day 2 and paid with my own money.

The place was in obvious "just opened" mode with corporate management in the place with their notebook computers. To me, this should mean better quality food and service. On your second day how old can the inventory be? How lax can the service be with bosses sitting nearby?

I'll say upfront that I hate their web site. Too many pages, no prices. I want to see a menu. Don't make me fight to find something to order. I'm sitting at a traffic light; I don't have time to read your marketing garb. Prices are a bit higher than the menu we have. They have a PDF of their menu without prices on their web site.

Also, lots of extra employees standing around. Nobody to greet people coming in however. There was a manager dude up front but he was only acknowledging people with coupons. They handed coupons out to the nearby businesses; the people who will be their regulars.

Rubios Counter

I wanted to try their supposed signature dish; the fish taco. And also a platter so I'd see the "extras'. I ordered some enchiladas with "salsa verde". They give you a cup and a number for the table. Standard QSR stuff. They don't bug you for a tip, which is a good thing.

The weather is nice and they have a nice-looking patio, but it's right on US1 and I've been out there before. I opt'ed to skip the road noise and eat inside.

Rubio's Patio

I put my number on a table and hit the beverage station. 3 kinds of iced tea available.

Rubio's Ice Tea

Fresh lemon is on the Salsa Bar, as well as some salsas. I grabbed some "mild" salsa and some onions with cilantro for the table.

Rubio's Salsa Bar

Then the waiting began. If you're eating in there's no reason to get a large soft drink. You can get refills so what's the point of paying extra for a bigger cup? The small cup is pretty big for $1.99.

Rubio's Table

Music was tolerable with "Say It, Just Say It" filling the room. My impression was that I'd seen this design before; BurgerFi came to mind. The lighting definitely reminded me of BurgerFi. Manero said his wife designed BurgerFi, but I'm not sure about that.

Rubio's Interior

I was starting to think that maybe this place was better than I thought. And then the food came out.

It took 15 minutes for the food to arrive. Maybe a bit too long for Quick Serve. How long does it take to make a taco? The fish taco didn't look as good as the picture.

Rubio's Fish Taco

After a couple of bites, I had to add the salsa, which was a bit spicier than I expected for mild salsa. Although salsa on fried fish isn't really a great combination.

The enchilada plate was very nicely organized; a California version of Mexican Food? Where was the oozy cheese?

Rubio's Enchilada

I tasted the fish taco and I was astonished at the lack of flavor. It was the most flavorless taco I've ever had. All I could taste was the corn tortilla, which I've described previously as tasting like a soggy tortilla chip. The white sauce had no taste at all.

Onto the Enchiladas. The "citrus" rice was completely devoid of flavor. No citrus, no flavor AT ALL. The beans were beans; could have been right out of a can. I cut into an enchilada. They weren't cold, but they weren't hot either. The cheese was solid.

Rubios Enchilada

Enchiladas should also have some flavor; these had none. I tried to cut it open, but these were a waste of time.

Rubios Enchilada

It's funny because a woman came by and asked how the enchiladas were, and I said they were "OK" in a disappointed sort of way. She returned a knowing glance, as if she knew that the food wasn't very good.

The enchilada was like someone wrapped a tortilla around a mozzarella stick and then heated it slightly.

About halfway through I decided it wasn't worth the calories, and started to fold up shop. A girl saw me grab my plates and offered to take them; no concern over the fact that I'd left half of the food on the plate. I never know if I'm supposed to clear my own table or just get up and leave in these QSR places. I actually hate QSR, except for the no-tipping part.

Conclusion

I thought that Rubio's may be yet-another fresh Mexican restaurant like it's Lime Fresh predecessor. but I was wrong. Rubio's is a fast food restaurant; falling somewhere in between Long John Silver's and the old El Torito. Think Baja Fresh without the Fresh. This stuff is no better than a TV dinner; these were probably the worst enchiladas I've ever had; Lean Cuisine is much better than what I had here today.

Prices are fair, I guess, but what's a good price for tasteless reheated frozen food?

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Bob
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Was driving down Federal Hwy this morning. This restaurant is closed, out of business. Signs down, vacant.

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