June 16th, 2008 By Jenna Walker
Downtown Review: Ri-Ra
The other week we went downtown to try a place that we’ve heard a lot about, but never have visited: Ri Ra Irish Pub. Ri Ra’s is a small chain, but as there are only 8 in the US’s east coast (and Indiana), I can consider it plenty local enough.
The inside is instantly traditional “pub.” The whole feel of it. In fact, the interior was found and restored in Ireland and shipped to Evansville. If you eat upstairs, you’ll have the advantage of a great river view, possibility of eating outside, and some nights there is live music. While casual, there is an underlying feeling that you could get a little dressed up on the weekends.
The lunch and dinner menus are separate but similar; the dinner menu is slightly larger with some different dishes. The first dish ordered was the Pub Burger which is a half pound burger with your choice of cheese and the standard vegetables on a Kaiser bun; fries were chosen as the side. The burger came out looking great, but was slightly overcooked. I decided to go a little out of my comfort zone and ordered the Dublin Decker with the crispy onion rings. This sandwich is made up of turkey, corned beef, cheese, and cole slaw. While it was okay for the time being, it is not something I’d order again, and I can’t quite pinpoint what it was-possibly the cole slaw? However, I brought the other half home and my sister devoured it exclaiming it was Heaven. The onion rings were sliced very thing and clearly batter dipped and fried, but there seemed to be no seasoning on them which was disappointing. Other items that caught my attention were the Fish and Chips (which looked amazing at another table), Beef & Guinness Stew, and the Traditional Irish Breakfast. Those last two peaked my interest a bit.
Over all, I’d rate the experience as average. My only real complaints are the lack of seasoning in the onion ring batter and the long wait between ordering and receiving our food. I probably will return; however, just to try some more of the food that’s offered on the menu and maybe for the live music. Also, keep in mind they do have a happy hour.
Ri Ra’s is located at 701-B NW Riverside Drive. (812) 426-0000. Lunch 11am-4pm daily. Happy Hour 4pm-7pm Mon-Fri. Dinner 4-10pm Sun-Thurs, 4pm-11pm Mon, Fri, Sat.
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mike
June 16, 2008 @ 03:34PM
their reuben is to die for … yummm :)
christine
June 16, 2008 @ 04:42PM
i had their shepherd’s pie wrapped in a potato pancake and it was amazing. i’ve only heard good things about the food there.
p.s. “peaked” is “piqued”.
rmmt
June 16, 2008 @ 06:49PM
They have really good Irish Boxty! Also, the nachos and the calamari are really great, too!
E M
June 16, 2008 @ 07:25PM
RI RA has the worst service in Evansville period. staff doesn’t seem to care about service or manners. Food is good, but the overbearing loud music and the terrible wait time between ordering drinks at the bar is very aggravating. They have the potential to be a great spot, but need to dot the I’s and cross the T’s before its too late and they are dead like blush every night. also, open up the upstairs patio on Fridays and Saturdays, it is a great asset and you have a view of the river, not the ugly mulzer crushed stone. You have the potential for upscale clientele but the services and clear lack of understanding in creating an environment conducive to having a good time prevents the establishment from progressing.
Warrick Reader
June 19, 2008 @ 07:44AM
Good food, inflated prices, and poor service. My wife and I usually visit RiRa’s about once a year. I do agree with the above comment. It has the potential to be a decent place.
Justin Williams
June 19, 2008 @ 12:06PM
I’ve been twice. It’s a nice place, but it’s not in my weekly rotation.
The service can be a bit spotty, but I’ve seen far worse in town.
JSK
June 20, 2008 @ 01:13PM
For the reviewer, I would like to ask a couple of questions:
I am curious to know what time of day you went that it took a long time to order and then get food. Was this during lunch/dinner rush or off-hours? Any chance you could indicate how long you think you waited (10 minutes, 15, etc…)?
You also indicated Pub burger was overcooked, but you didn’t say how you ordered it? Sometimes, if you order Medium well or Well done kitchen will sometimes error in cooking a little long so as not to turn someone off by undercooking.
Finally, you said Dublin Decker was “outside your comfort zone” (is that maybe because it had cole-slaw on it?). I order that sandwich periodically and ask them to put cole-slaw on the side (or leave off entirely) and the are happy to do so.
I am asking these question, because I am usually happy with food and atmosphere there and would hate to see bad reviews cause people to not at least give the place a chance (sometimes all people take away are the bad comments from a review).
Jenna
June 24, 2008 @ 07:30PM
still TERRIBLE service. Like, I’m talking terrible.
jsk—the first time I went was for lunch, second time was for dinner—tonight, and when we got there and ordered it wasn’t busy, only got busy when we were leaving. First time we probably waited 20 minutes, about the same this time, maybe 25. Tonight whenever we needed out waiter he was no where to be found….actually, he wasn’t anywhere to be found when we didn’t need him either. We were probably there 45 minutes longer than we would have been had he been around. Also, one guy at our table had a salad and asked for extra dressing. It never came and never came, and of course the waiter was no where around. So he had to just eat it that way. Finally, about 30 minutes later when the salad was gone, the waiter came and set it out next to his empty plate. I mean really.
The pub burger was ordered medium, and came well done. Its one thing to order medium and get medium well, but and I realize that places often cook a little longer, so I like to order below what I want. But it was just way too done.
Dublin Decker—that was outside my comfort zone because I don’t normally eat corned beef and …yeah the cole slaw on it. I knew it was going to be a little different. It wasn’t bad, just not something I’d personally order again. But like I said, my sister ate the other half and she declared it an amazing sandwich.
Dan
June 26, 2008 @ 02:16PM
jenna, I am actually the server in your above comment. I would like to apologize for the bad service and offer you a meal and drinks on me, just to show you that the staff at RiRa does care a great deal about our name in the community. Please don’t let my slip up prevent you from coming back.
Ryan
June 27, 2008 @ 08:58PM
As the new general manager of Ri Ra Irish Pub I find the criticisms found on this page to be enlightening and motivating. I’ve monitored the comments both good and bad and spoken with my staff about both. We’re very dedicated to maintaining a quality establishment where all of our guests have nothing but great things to say. At some times though we have admittedly dropped the ball for which there is, of course, no excuse. We take every comment, the decent ones, the great ones, and especially the bad ones and use them as constructively as we can to work at being the best casual dining and drinking establishment in town.
We work diligently at providing a competively priced drink and food menu, drink specials that fit any budget, and the best in local and regional entertainment, all the while keeping the place clean and nearly spotless so our guests can come in and have a great evening without worrying about what they’re sitting in. I’m very proud of my staff and try to keep their eye on our goal of perfect service. When they’ve made mistakes (as we are all prone to do from time to time) I always try to coach and guide them towards being better hosts, servers, cooks etc. It is a challenge myself and my management team try to meet head on everyday. It’s what keeps us coming back, every day we get to try again at finding the elusive perfect shift where everyone leaves thrilled, the food comes out flawless, and nothing catches fire.
I invite anyone who has had a less than stellar experience to come back and try us again and keep those comments coming so we can constantly improve upon previous performances. It would be foolish of me to read these comments and not pay heed to them, or fail to use them as the excellent training tool that they are.
I hope to see any of you reading this at the Pub. If you’d like to chat just ask for Ryan and I’d be happy to spend a few minutes talking with you. If I’m here off duty I’d be more than happy to have that chat over a Pint of Guinness (or two)! See you soon!
Cheers,
Ryan J. Bodine
General Manager
Ri Ra Irish Pub
Sam
July 04, 2008 @ 01:22PM
I frequent Evansville on business and majority of the time stay at the Casino Aztar hotel. Some of the employees at the casino recommended visiting Ri Ra for the drinks and music. After spending the 2nd night having drinks at the bar in the casino…I was up for a change.
Immediately I knew this pub was my new hangout when I was in Evansville. The bar staff made me feel like I was a regular just in for another beer. Let me tell you that “that” feeling is nice when your traveling 4 days a week.
The bartender told me about Irish Potato Cakes. Good suggestion, I thought they were great!
I decided to venture out to the patio and have another drink and then call it a night. Several people were gathered around a table having drinks and after a few minutes invited me over. Come to find out some of the group were employees enjoying their night off. I felt like I was hanging out with my friends back home.
Since then when I’ve been in town I’ve recommended several other “working travelers” to give Ri Ra a whirl. It’s an upbeat place with a fun staff and what do they call it…”craic”?
Jenna
July 04, 2008 @ 04:17PM
I have since tried the Potato Cakes…..and will admit, they were definitely yummy…someone brought those somewhere as part of carry out