Amy Ruth’s
“we both had the "Rev Al Sharpton", a huge waffle heaped with fried chicken, an overall exhilirating experience and adventure for the palate!”
“I also recommended try the Sugarhill beer from Harlem
The only thing, is expect to wait if you arrive during peak hours.”
“i had the Barack Obama with cheesy grits and collard greens, oh man i think i caught the Holy Ghost!”
Amy Ruth’s
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This spot gets absolutely CRAZY BUSY — at times, they'll completely stop phone-in orders for takeout/delivery. Then, you MUST call back later or visit the store and place your order to takeout or dine-in.
Alright, I've eaten here twice. Once in 2015 and the other in 2016.
2015: Experience(takeout) was amazing, I ate chicken and waffles. The chicken(breast) was tender and moist on the inside, very crispy on the outside(as it should be) and the waffles were great.
2016: Dine-in. Service was great, they kept the corn bread(free) flowing… and I liked that idea instead of regular ol' bread. I believe it was a Sunday evening, and we were seated immediately. I then ordered, fried chicken(breast) + mac + mashed sweet potatoes. Unfortunately the chicken breast was FULLY DRY, inside and out 🙁 However, sweet potatoes(star of show) made up for that, as the Mac n cheese was slacking as well .. it didn't seem fresh, it was made and sitting waiting because it wasn't hot it was like warm(maybe they make a lot and keep them warm so they can keep business flowing nicely.)
Now onto the 2nd star of the show: KOOL-AID. It was on the very very sweet side BUT that was fine because they bring cups of water to your table as well. So I diluted mine a lil.
I WILL recommend this spot… I may have went on a slow day or just an off day. Where I got foods that were sitting waiting to be sold or even cooks were not feeling motivated and forgot to put their foot in everything.
I was a bit disappointed about this place and the food we had during our lunch.
We (4 friends) came here because a friend of mine said that this was an authentic soul food restaurant so we decided to choose Amy's Ruth as our restaurant on a hot day in June.
Let's start with the food: a lot of choices from the menu will let you a bit lost trying to understand which main is best for you but please,make sure that at least the food is something you can't forget!
One of my friend had The Reggie Harris but chicken was too sweet and very dry (I tried a little bit..as usual!),another friend had Fisherman's Platter which said was pretty good and another one had an appetiser (Fresh Jumbo Salmon Croquettes) which was too heavy and deep fried without any taste.
I was a little bit healthier (too much junk food during the week!) so I had a salad with chicken (The Judge George B. Daniels) which was ok, nothing special.
Portions are pretty big but if what you're eating is not good, who cares about how big is the dish you've ordered?
Staff is lovely and friendly and also the place itself is cosy with wall decorated with painting of afro-american's celebrities/politicians.
Price: too expensive for what you get.
I tried the chicken and waffles and the honey chicken. Both dishes were really good. The chicken was probably a little on the dry side but the light waffle made up for it. The cheesy grits were bomb and the fried ocra was good.
If you're in Harlem and get a cravin for soul food, Amy Ruth's is the place to go!
Consistently solid soul food in Harlem. I usually come here when I have out of town guests and they have a taste for soul food. Amy Ruth's is a little piece of the Harlem I remember in the middle of what's rapidly becoming unfamiliar. I appreciate it just for its nostalgia and authenticity. I definitely prefer this over the other name brand tourist friendly soul food spot in Harlem(you know the one). I've been coming here since the early 2000's but this review will focus on my two recent visits.
The food: both recent trips have been for breakfast. I've had the fried chicken and waffle as well as fried catfish with grits. The chicken and waffle were superb. Their fried chicken is perfect. Juicy, crispy and well seasoned. The waffle was the highlight! I don't know what they put in the batter but it had a unique sweet buttery flavor to it. There is def something special in there.The fish and grits were on point as well. Just like the chicken the fish was perfectly seasoned and fried just right. As far as grits go you can't really mess that up.
Amy Ruth's gets 4 stars. You know your going to get southern soul food staples done right when you come here. Anytime comfort food in the uptown area is on the agenda Amy Ruth's comes to mind.
Wait was less than 30 minutes for Sunday brunch. The place is much bigger than I expected.
Food:
Cornbread – very moist and good, but Red Rooster's is still the best
Chicken wings and waffle – very good
Shrimp and grits – delicious
Corn – very good
Candied yams – very good
Apple pie – too sweet for me but was decent
I love me some fried chicken. The prices appear to have gone up over the years as they were higher than I expected after having looked through some photos of menus on Yelp. However, the chicken did not disappoint. The Rev. Al Sharpton is clearly a favorite around here, as is the President Barack Obama. The difference being that the Reverend is chicken with waffles while the President is chicken with two sides.
I personally opted for the president as I wanted to try their collard greens and Mac and cheese.
So why only three stars? Well, I have to say that being a new Harlem transplant, my favorite chicken joint up to this point has been bobwhite's in alphabet city. Their fried chicken is the juiciest I have ever had and the full dinner with slaw and biscuit is $12. Now, I'm not saying that the chicken here isn't as good, but I'm also not saying that it's definitely better.
The skin was crispy, and the dark meat, naturally, is very juicy. I'm not a fan of how they charge you and extra dollar for white meat though. On top of this, you only get one piece of chicken with the Rev or the Pres, either thigh or breast (+$1). For $13 and $16, respectively, that's just nonsense.
The free cornbread is, however, on point.
The other sides were good but nothing mind blowing. The collard greens were a tad on the salty side and the baked Mac and cheese was lackluster.
I had a bottle of sugar hill which is a golden ale by the Harlem brewing company. This was a pleasant, easy drinking ale.
The service was great. Everyone is very friendly and food came out fast.
The decor was clean and had local flavor (Mural on the wall with Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, and Michael Jackson) There is a whole other back room here for larger parties.
Overall, I would say that the food is good but nothing I haven't had before. Prices were moderate but a bit high for fried chicken in this neighborhood. Mostly, I think this place adds history to the neighborhood and that's why a lot of people go out of their way to eat here, as evidenced by the large number of non-black patrons. I would eat here once to say I did it, but I probably won't become a regular.
We stopped in Amy Ruth's while exploring Harlem on our last day in NYC. The restaurant is beautiful! The walls are decorated in large wall paintings of famous black people in history – Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Frederick Douglass, and Nelson Mandela to name a few. The restaurant was busy but we were seated quickly. The menu is large. Most of the choices are what people would consider southern or soul food. Fried chicken, meat loaf, catfish, collard greens, cheese grits. Everything sounded amazing. I had the smothered pork chops with cheese grits and green beans. It was one of my favorite meals of the whole trip. I had two incredibly tender pork chops smothered in brown gravy. I found out quickly that I didn't even need a knife. The cheese grits were thick and hearty with the perfect amount of cheese. The green beans were cut, soft, and seasoned just right. The meal came with a side of corn bread. The service was good and the prices were reasonable for the amount of food you got. It was a great experience – go check it out!
So this trip to NYC consisted on finding a place to eat good chicken and waffles. So seeing all the amazing yelp reviews here we decided to get the Reverend Al Sharpton which is chicken and waffles with gravy.
Goddayum their chicken is amazing! That delicious, well-seasoned, perfectly fried chicken… *salivating*… I just want their chicken now! With the gravy, it was heaven. The waffles were good, but didn't blow me away like the chicken. Also I read a review to get the gravy on the side, and I definitely agree with this since it can make your chicken soggy if left for a long time. If you think you'll need a doggy bag, get the gravy on the side.
Get the Reverend Al Sharpton! yummy chicken!