Note 3 - Franchise Programs (Details Textual) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Feb. 28, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 01, 2016 USD ($)
Development and Licensing Fee Income in Conjunction with New Openings	$ 0.4	$ 0.5	$ 0.8	$ 1.6
Ruby Tuesday [Member]
Number of Franchise Restaurants	63		63
Royalty Fee Percentage			4.00%
Operating Agreements Marketing and Purchase Fee Gross Sales Contribution Maximum			1.50%
Operating Agreements National Advertising Fund Gross Sales Contribution Maximum			1.50%
Operating Agreements Support Service Fee Gross Sales Contribution Maximum			3.00%

Development and licensing fee income recognized in conjunction with new openings during the period.

No definition available.

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
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Period Type:	duration

Represents the number of restaurants operated by traditional franchisees.

No definition available.

Name:	rt_NumberOfFranchiseRestaurants
Namespace Prefix:	rt_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
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For a franchise operating agreement, the marketing and purchase fee maximum chargeable amount, expressed as a percentage of gross sales.

No definition available.

Name:	rt_OperatingAgreementsMarketingAndPurchaseFeeGrossSalesContributionMaximum
Namespace Prefix:	rt_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
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Period Type:	duration

For a franchise operating agreement, the advertising fee maximum chargeable amount, expressed as a percentage of gross sales.

No definition available.

Name:	rt_OperatingAgreementsNationalAdvertisingFundGrossSalesContributionMaximum
Namespace Prefix:	rt_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

For a franchise operating agreement, the support service fee maximum chargeable amount, expressed as a percentage of gross sales.

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	rt_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

The fee, expressed as a percentage, for the use of the entity's name under the franchise operating agreements.

No definition available.

Name:	us-gaap_FranchisorDisclosureAxis=rt_RubyTuesdayMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: