Pennsylvania woman orders chicken at Ruth’s Chris. Then, she asks for the check without eating it

A Pennsylvania woman said she visited a Ruth’s Chris Steak House and decided against eating her chicken order after seeing how it looked. The account was based on a video shared on TikTok by a user identified as @thatsolady. The clip had gathered 406,500 views at the time of writing. 

The video showed footage taken from the restaurant table. The camera was pointed at a plate that held a chicken leg covered in a pale sauce, and a side of mashed potatoes served in a white bowl. On-screen text in the clip read, “Ruth’s Chris, what’s going on?”

Ruth’s Chris Steak House is generally known as a place where diners expect a premium experience, according to BroBible. The outlet noted that the restaurant has gone viral before over questions about dining etiquette and secret menu items. 

The exchange at the table unfolded over the state of the chicken

The postmaker is heard speaking to a member of the Ruth’s Chris staff. She asks, “The other one looks like that, too?” A man replies, “Yeah.” The woman then responds, “Uh uh.” The woman is then heard saying, “You can just uh … you can just bring the check.” 

She adds, “I don’t want – we don’t want those,” implying that she is ready to leave without having the meal. Dining-out disputes have played out online before, including one case where a server confronted a diner over a receipt at a high-end restaurant.

In the video’s caption, the TikToker wrote, “The manager really looked me dead in my face and said this was cooked.”  Reactions to the clip were mixed, with most commenters seeming unsure about the situation. 

One commenter reacted strongly to the footage, writing, “I’m never going out to eat anywhere ever again.” Another response aimed criticism at the restaurant itself, reading, “Ruth’s Chris sucks. It’s barely a step up from chains like Outback lol.”

A third commenter claimed to have had the same experience as the postmaker at Ruth’s Chris. They wrote: “Their chicken is always under cooked I hate the Arlington location!!!!! They have there picks on who they choose to service this locations seriously needs to be restaffed!!!!”

Not all comments sided with the TikToker, however. A commenter offered a possible explanation for the customer’s reaction, writing, “She thought it was supposed to be fried.” Other diners have shared moments of regret, too, such as one woman who made up for a restaurant mistake later. As of writing, Ruth’s Chris has not addressed the video publicly. 

Undercooked chicken can make you seriously sick. According to the CDC, eating chicken that hasn’t been fully cooked can result in food poisoning. Cross-contamination from raw chicken or its juices can also spread illness to other foods and beverages.

Properly cooked chicken is a nutritious option, but raw chicken can be contaminated with germs like Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens. The CDC says Salmonella is the leading bacterial cause of foodborne illness, and chicken is one of its primary sources. About 1 million people in the United States reportedly get sick each year from eating contaminated poultry.