My review is going to sound like everyone else. I also came here after buying a Groupon deal - afternoon tea for 2 for $22 ($27.5 less $5.5 on Groupon discount day!). I got such a good deal so I really shouldn't complain but the service was really bad that I can't dismiss it. We came on a Saturday afternoon and they were very busy with the counter sales. It's a small place, with only a few small tables and with people lined up to buy sweets to go, it's super cramped. No one greeted us as we enter since it is a bakery style. We stood there in the middle of the room hoping that someone would at least shout out to give them a minute but no one acknowledged that we came in. I decided to wait in line with the others who are buying cakes so that I can get someone's attention. I see why the rating for services was so low here. We finally got our table and was quickly given a tray of teas to choose from. We just went to T-Buds for afternoon tea so if I were to compare the two places on both ambiance and service, Ruelo only gets 1 star. However, I'm giving it 2.5 stars because they were accommodating when I called to make reservations for a Saturday and the only date available was a few days after my Groupon expiry date and they said it would be fine but no further changes would be allowed which I thought was fair.
Although I rated the service of being very poor, the food was pretty good. I still remember going to Prince of Wales at Niagara-on-the-Lake for high tea and we paid about $30 per person and the pastries were horrible so I would give Ruelo 3.5 stars for the food.
I'm just going to stick with buying cakes here and probably won't be coming back for afternoon tea.