damnlines.comdamnlines.comA tiny East Village natural-wine bar with a 250-plus bottle list that The Infatuation calls its favorite wine bar in Manhattan, run out of a space that seats fewer than 20 guests.
No camera at Ruffian yet — these are the closest live lines we cover.
damnlines hasn't pointed a lens at Ruffian yet. The most-wanted lines get a camera first.
Ruffian is, in the words of A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone, a 'VERY small' natural-wine bar split into a narrow bar section and a slightly larger table section with indoor and outdoor seats; that same visit found only a single open seat around 6:15pm on a Saturday, underscoring how tight the room runs on weekend nights. The Infatuation separately pegs the indoor bar at about 19 seats, with an outdoor bar and dining room added in 2021 to add a bit more capacity.
Booking policy is a genuine gray area across sources: The Infatuation has described Ruffian as walk-in only, writing 'you can't make reservations, so this place is great for last-second dates,' while Ruffian's own reservations page and its listing on Resy show bookable tables with posted dining-time limits of 1 hour 45 minutes for parties of 1–3 guests and 2 hours 15 minutes for parties of 4 — a turn-and-burn policy that points to real demand pressure on the small room.
For walk-ins, A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone describes a host stationed at the door who seats and 'tracks down' guests as space opens, meaning arrivals without a booking can get in but should expect to wait for one of the room's under-20 seats, especially on busy evenings.
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines.
Reservations: Bookable via Resy or ruffiannyc.com/reservations; posted dining-time limits are 1 hour 45 minutes for parties of 1–3 and 2 hours 15 minutes for parties of 4 (per Ruffian's reservations page). The Infatuation has separately described the bar as walk-in only.
Walk-ins: Accepted — a host at the door seats walk-ins as seats free up, per A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone, though the room seats fewer than 20 guests total.
Mon–Fri 4pm–11:30pm; Sat 3pm–11:30pm; Sun 3pm–10:30pm (per The Infatuation).
No official wait-time figures are published, but demand is high enough that one Saturday-evening visitor found only a single open seat around 6:15pm, per A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone. The Infatuation similarly advises it's 'wise to make reservations, or be prepared to wait' at this roughly 19-seat bar.
Ruffian's own reservations page and its Resy listing allow booking, with posted dining-time limits of 1 hour 45 minutes for parties of 1–3 and 2 hours 15 minutes for parties of 4. Note that The Infatuation has described the bar as walk-in only, so policy may differ between the bar and dining sections or may have changed over time.
Yes — per A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone, a host at the door seats walk-ins as space allows, though the venue holds fewer than 20 guests total across its bar and table areas, so a wait for a seat is common on busy nights.
It's 'VERY small,' per A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone: a narrow indoor bar seating about 19 (per The Infatuation), plus a slightly larger table section and outdoor seats added in 2021.
Sources: A Girl's Guide to Drinking Alone · The Infatuation · Ruffian (official reservations page) · Resy