The food here was incredible. We stayed at the ojai valley inn and took an evening out on the town and reserved Rory’s place after reading the great reviews. Each dish was filled with so much flavor and so fresh! The hanger steak and the pavlova were chefs kiss. Really had an amazing dinner experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hearth Bread, Hanger Steak
Mark Leis
Went to Rory’s Place for my daughter’s 21st birthday celebration and I gotta say we were very disappointed with dinner. While the servers were professional and courteous the management was a lacking. The food was mediocre at best. Kind of a B— attempt at what are probably good recipes but soggy results. But what really ruined the entire dinner was management asking me to move my bike halfway through dinner. Why they needed me to move it I can’t comprehend but complied without much complaint. What topped it off though is after I did move it they then needed to drag my locked bike away from their window seat at the sidewalk! I for the life of me can’t see what bothered them so much about my bike parked on the sidewalk! in this day and age and in this particular bike friendly town, why wouldn’t the restaurant install at least a minimal sort of bike rack where they deem acceptable but don’t tell me there’s one down the block at the library. That was stupid to say. Provide at place for bike or shut up. So that’s it dinner wasn’t anywhere worth the cost and the attitudes just plain need to go back to LA! $500. Down the drain.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Leslie Rasmussen
The two stars is for the staff, not the food. The food was good, but the staff was rude and acted like they didn't care to serve us. My friend and I were early for our reservation, so when we walked in and no one approached us, we went to sit at the bar to have a drink. The manager/host approached us and his tone was condescending and rude when he commented that we had seated ourselves. We explained about our reservation, and said we were from Los Angeles where if you are early, you grab a drink at the bar. He snidely said, that's not how it's done at their restaurant. He finally sat us at our table, then proceeded to give us a dirty look every time he walked by. After a while our server finally appeared, not rude, but incredibly unfriendly. We ordered and our food came out very far apart. Our server never came back to check on us and see if we wanted anything else. We had to grab other people who were walking by, who were not happy that we asked them for help. The experience was far from pleasant and even if the food was good, we would never go back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Grace Jones
Have lived in Ventura for 4 years and this was by far the best meal I’ve had since! Everything was devine!! Highly recommend 🩷
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nicholas Navas
Thank you Tim and Yuni for the memorable experience yesterday. Grateful for the kind service and looking forward to next time.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Jason Brady
Lovely, vibrant spot with delicious food. Service is solid although we never did get a bowl for shells. Some really delicious bites like the tomato salad and grilled oysters. Seafood tower was pretty standard. I was hoping for more from the cocktail sauce or mignonette but the seafood itself was well done. I’m withholding the 5th star because they specifically say Channel Islands seafood on the seafood tower but I don’t think any of it was local. Possibly the bluefin crudo, but that seems unlikely.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Broiled Oysters
Ariel Wakeland
Walking in at 5:30pm with a toddler… I cringed inside but hoped for the best. Luckily for me; as I was starving & not the one with children… we were immediately sat on the patio. As I ordered everything that caught my eye. I was incredibly impressed by it all. Nothing was phoned in. Everything is beautifully executed. By the end I was delightfully full. Most time veggie dishes are an afterthought. Yet; at Rory’s they might still the show!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Herb Salad, Hearth Bread
Dan Rettinger
Wow, the ambiance was a mystical movie vibe. Everyone dresses the part for this place. What a fun environment for a date or a get together with friends. Also, Rory's other place is amazing as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
T Money
Japanese Sweet Potato.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
richard kanatzar
Great server, Carrie, and the food! Great beer and wine, too. We've been to Rorys a few times now and always great. Get a reservation!
This place is bomb. I did not expect to be writing a review that starts with bread, but OMG their sourdough bread for the cheese and pâté is amazingly fluffy. I could be smothered in this bread and I’d die happy. The cheese plate was one of the best I’ve ever had. I think cheese plates are fine on average but this was next level - every cheese had fresh and nuanced flavor. The carrot dish had such a vast variety of flavors that somehow all worked together (and the burrata in it is freaking lovely). The daily crudo was hamachi and is the only dish that fell flat - but the fennel and the sauce in it were surprisingly delicious. I spent the same amount of money here on dinner that I did at The Dutchess for brunch and this blew The Dutchess out of the water. Make a reservation - we reserved a table for a Saturday at 5:45pm and the place was packed. Well deserved, Rory’s. Keep the flavors coming.
Michael McDonald
I went with a group of my friends, celebrating a birthday and it was lovely! The staff was kind and personable, ambiance is gorgeous, food was delicious! The chicken liver pate was very tasty, so were the lamb meatballs. Thanks for a beautiful dinner!
Rory's Place is a high-quality neighborhood place - a definite stop when you're in Ojai. The wait staff are super friendly and the food is beyond delicious - really high quality. The wine pairs perfectly with the meals they serve. Caution that this place isn't great for an intimate conversation with a small group as it gets quite loud at times, but a fun family atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
susan able
Lovely, delicious, local and well executed. What more can you say about Rory’s Place in Ojai? Located in central downtown Ojai next to the fabulous restored theater, Rory’s Place is incredibly popular, reservations encouraged. There is a noisy, convivial indoor eating area and a lovely patio. The cocktail list is fun, and the Hello Satan cocktail was so good, I had to have two.
We had just flown in from the East Coast to visit family and felt the need for a healthy dinner, and shared a series of vegetarian plates. So. Good. Highly recommend. The kitchen is creative and our waiter was a pro. Go!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hearth Bread, Burrata Antipasto, House Marinated Olives
Abby VanMuijen
The waitstaff was so freaking nice and cute and the food was great and they made us off menu cocktails and we had a great time. Will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Herb Salad, House Marinated Olives
The food here was incredible. We stayed at the ojai valley inn and took an evening out on the town and reserved Rory’s place after reading the great reviews. Each dish was filled with so much flavor and so fresh! The hanger steak and the pavlova were chefs kiss. Really had an amazing dinner experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hearth Bread, Hanger Steak
Went to Rory’s Place for my daughter’s 21st birthday celebration and I gotta say we were very disappointed with dinner. While the servers were professional and courteous the management was a lacking. The food was mediocre at best. Kind of a B— attempt at what are probably good recipes but soggy results. But what really ruined the entire dinner was management asking me to move my bike halfway through dinner. Why they needed me to move it I can’t comprehend but complied without much complaint. What topped it off though is after I did move it they then needed to drag my locked bike away from their window seat at the sidewalk! I for the life of me can’t see what bothered them so much about my bike parked on the sidewalk! in this day and age and in this particular bike friendly town, why wouldn’t the restaurant install at least a minimal sort of bike rack where they deem acceptable but don’t tell me there’s one down the block at the library. That was stupid to say. Provide at place for bike or shut up. So that’s it dinner wasn’t anywhere worth the cost and the attitudes just plain need to go back to LA! $500. Down the drain.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
The two stars is for the staff, not the food. The food was good, but the staff was rude and acted like they didn't care to serve us. My friend and I were early for our reservation, so when we walked in and no one approached us, we went to sit at the bar to have a drink. The manager/host approached us and his tone was condescending and rude when he commented that we had seated ourselves. We explained about our reservation, and said we were from Los Angeles where if you are early, you grab a drink at the bar. He snidely said, that's not how it's done at their restaurant. He finally sat us at our table, then proceeded to give us a dirty look every time he walked by. After a while our server finally appeared, not rude, but incredibly unfriendly. We ordered and our food came out very far apart. Our server never came back to check on us and see if we wanted anything else. We had to grab other people who were walking by, who were not happy that we asked them for help. The experience was far from pleasant and even if the food was good, we would never go back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Have lived in Ventura for 4 years and this was by far the best meal I’ve had since! Everything was devine!! Highly recommend 🩷
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thank you Tim and Yuni for the memorable experience yesterday. Grateful for the kind service and looking forward to next time.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Lovely, vibrant spot with delicious food. Service is solid although we never did get a bowl for shells. Some really delicious bites like the tomato salad and grilled oysters. Seafood tower was pretty standard. I was hoping for more from the cocktail sauce or mignonette but the seafood itself was well done. I’m withholding the 5th star because they specifically say Channel Islands seafood on the seafood tower but I don’t think any of it was local. Possibly the bluefin crudo, but that seems unlikely.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Broiled Oysters
Walking in at 5:30pm with a toddler… I cringed inside but hoped for the best.
Luckily for me; as I was starving & not the one with children… we were immediately sat on the patio.
As I ordered everything that caught my eye. I was incredibly impressed by it all.
Nothing was phoned in. Everything is beautifully executed. By the end I was delightfully full.
Most time veggie dishes are an afterthought. Yet; at Rory’s they might still the show!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Herb Salad, Hearth Bread
Wow, the ambiance was a mystical movie vibe. Everyone dresses the part for this place. What a fun environment for a date or a get together with friends. Also, Rory's other place is amazing as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Japanese Sweet Potato.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great server, Carrie, and the food! Great beer and wine, too. We've been to Rorys a few times now and always great. Get a reservation!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
This place is bomb. I did not expect to be writing a review that starts with bread, but OMG their sourdough bread for the cheese and pâté is amazingly fluffy. I could be smothered in this bread and I’d die happy. The cheese plate was one of the best I’ve ever had. I think cheese plates are fine on average but this was next level - every cheese had fresh and nuanced flavor. The carrot dish had such a vast variety of flavors that somehow all worked together (and the burrata in it is freaking lovely). The daily crudo was hamachi and is the only dish that fell flat - but the fennel and the sauce in it were surprisingly delicious. I spent the same amount of money here on dinner that I did at The Dutchess for brunch and this blew The Dutchess out of the water. Make a reservation - we reserved a table for a Saturday at 5:45pm and the place was packed. Well deserved, Rory’s. Keep the flavors coming.
I went with a group of my friends, celebrating a birthday and it was lovely! The staff was kind and personable, ambiance is gorgeous, food was delicious! The chicken liver pate was very tasty, so were the lamb meatballs. Thanks for a beautiful dinner!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Broiled Oysters, Chicken Liver
Rory's Place is a high-quality neighborhood place - a definite stop when you're in Ojai. The wait staff are super friendly and the food is beyond delicious - really high quality. The wine pairs perfectly with the meals they serve. Caution that this place isn't great for an intimate conversation with a small group as it gets quite loud at times, but a fun family atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lovely, delicious, local and well executed. What more can you say about Rory’s Place in Ojai? Located in central downtown Ojai next to the fabulous restored theater, Rory’s Place is incredibly popular, reservations encouraged. There is a noisy, convivial indoor eating area and a lovely patio. The cocktail list is fun, and the Hello Satan cocktail was so good, I had to have two.
We had just flown in from the East Coast to visit family and felt the need for a healthy dinner, and shared a series of vegetarian plates. So. Good. Highly recommend. The kitchen is creative and our waiter was a pro. Go!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hearth Bread, Burrata Antipasto, House Marinated Olives
The waitstaff was so freaking nice and cute and the food was great and they made us off menu cocktails and we had a great time. Will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Herb Salad, House Marinated Olives
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