Rí Rá Irish Pub & Restaurant

Reached out via email on two separate emails I found for the restaurant and have not heard back on either message I sent. Very disappointing because we want to love it but after our experience and the lack of communication from the restaurant we will never return. My fiancés meal was inedible due to a shattered skewer in her sandwich and a burnt to a crisp chicken cutlet. We had taken our food to our hotel to eat so we didn’t notice until we were back in our room. I thought of calling that night but it was a busy Saturday and I knew they wouldn’t be able to do anything right away. So I sent an email through their website. No response for a week, found a second email address I could send an email too, sent one there too. It’s been just shy of a month with no answer.

Upstairs is massive with a great water view. Food was good but nothing amazing. People who ordered a lobster roll were not impressed. Reuben was good but the onion rings were gross. Was expecting larger onion rings and they were strings. Decent spot but Portland has a lot to offer.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

Asked for a medium burger came out ra
Quick recovery tho. Clam chowder could've been served a little warmer.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

An amazing restaurant with great service. I’ll definitely come back again.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Fun place. Good grub. Had the fried calamari, and a tall beer. Good prices.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Jamison Salmon was awesome.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

At risk of sounding dramatic, I think I would ask for the fresh cut chips with ranch and side Caesar salad as my last meal if I were on death row.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

to add to my review as requested by the establishment, the reason I give 2 stars (not 3) is that service at times is poor, I specifically remember having trouble getting service at the bar and then thinking to myself "I like this place but the service sucks" and shortly afterwards I had to actually raise my voice to get the bartender's attention which was unfortunate for me and the rest of the patrons

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 2

Came in for a quick lunch and the atmosphere was great. The downstairs is your classic dark wood Irish pub and we were sat upstairs with a cozy spot right by the windows with plenty of natural light. We only ordered muscles but they couldn't be any fresher as we could see their supplier at the end of the dock from our seats.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Seafood

Went on a Saturday in August. Expected little and was pleasantly surprised. Great service in light of a clear shortage of help. Server went out of their way to make a pleasant experience for us even though it was clear they were extremely busy. Food was excellent as well and exceeded expectations. Excellent tuna tartar with the crispy chips that were an unexpected and pleasant accompaniment. Get the chowder for your side; it’s umami and salty and satisfying. Also had a nice view of the harbor and the boats coming in and out from our second floor table, which added to the enjoyment of our meal. Great experience overall!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Empty drinks for 30 mins. Waited 20 mins to put in the order and were still waiting.

Atmosphere: 4

Service: 1

We had an awkward experience during our visit. We arrived at 5:30 and asked to be seated in an area with a view, intending to have a few drinks but not a full meal. Normally, we would have chosen the bar, but the restaurant was almost empty. Our server took a while to greet us, and when he did, he discovered we weren’t planning on ordering food. He then informed us that we couldn’t stay in that section, without offering much help in finding us another spot, despite already taking our drink order. We decided to leave. Our server was at the entrance to the restaurant telling the hostess not to seat tables who weren’t dining. We walked right out, there was no effort to keep our business in any regard. Having worked as a server myself for years, I definitely understand the importance of maximizing tables, but I would never turn customers away, and make them feel unwelcome, just because the check wouldn’t be as large as I would like. What an utter fail.

ADDITION: I want to address your initial response, which implied that I lied about our experience (photo attached). That was wildly uncalled for. While I acknowledge the edits you've made, it doesn't change the fact that your policies still fail to prioritize a positive customer experience. What would have resolved this situation more effectively is if your server had communicated the policy clearly and given us a one-time exception, especially since we had already been seated for several minutes and our drink orders had been taken. Claiming that this policy is to prevent tables from being occupied by non-diners doesn’t hold weight when we were one of only two or three tables occupied in the entire restaurant. The rigid adherence to this policy over BASIC HOSPITALITY is what ultimately led to our poor experience.

Service: 1

Great food. good vibes. Fantastic service. Griffin was a fantastic waiter!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

EDIT/ADDITION: I noticed you’ve revised your response to my partner's review, likely in reaction to my post calling out your inaccuracies. While the new response is somewhat closer to the truth, it still falls short and further highlights the lack of integrity in your customer service and operations. I'm more than willing to discuss what actually transpired, and I sincerely hope that future patrons will experience a more honest and welcoming environment.

ORIGINAL POST:
I am responding to your feedback on my partner's review (Ben, about 4 days ago), and I must express my deep concern regarding your approach. Misrepresenting the facts is a serious issue, and your lack of ownership is even more troubling than the response itself.

To clarify: we did not seat ourselves. We spoke with your hostess, specifically requested a table with a view, and she provided menus to us upon being seated upstairs (did I mention she walked us to the table). Your attempt to distort the situation and suggest that we disregarded your process is both inaccurate and insulting.

If your restaurant policies require such a lengthy explanation after the fact, it indicates a significant issue in how you are managing operations. Rather than addressing the core problem, you have chosen to deflect and imply dishonesty on our part. This is unprofessional and entirely unacceptable.

I strongly suggest that you focus on improving the customer experience, whether your guests are ordering food or just drinks, rather than issuing dismissive and condescending responses.

Service: 1

This was a very unpleasant dining experience for both my husband and I period we would I waited a long time for our meal and when it was brought, they had brought the wrong thing burger and no soup. The Patty mount I had was one of the weirdest I've ever seen ever experienced overcooked. And really soggy french fries, while the atmosphere was great, there was A real lack of service from our waitstaff Nathan and this was a quiet day. I would suggest you check out one of the other.Many lovely restaurants in the area

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 1