Ri-Ra's in Portland, Maine: Great for Some Guinness!
Written: Mar 09 '09 (Updated Mar 09 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Friendly and efficient staff; good variety of atmospheres with separate dining areas
Cons: Downstairs bar area can feel quite cold if it's slow.
The Bottom Line: With great menu variety, full bar and multiple dining areas, this is a fun place to have a drink or a nice, sit-down dinner.
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| BeastieGirl's Full Review: Ri-Ra's Irish Pub |
One of my favorite places to grab a casual bite to eat or a have a fancy sit down dinner would be Ri-Ra’s in Portland, Maine. With an authentic Irish pub in the downstairs area, drinks and pub style food can be had for either lunch or dinner. In the upstairs portion of the restaurant, a lovely, upscale dining experience with ocean views is available. It is almost as though there are two separate restaurants in the same building, as there are two different bars, menus and servers in the downstairs and upstairs of Ri-Ra’s Irish Pub and I like both of them equally.
Although Ri-Ra’s is definitely on tap for a pub crawl through Portland, it is still a great place to enjoy very good food, even if you are with children. The atmosphere is light and the dress code is casual, even though the upstairs dining is borderline upscale. I find that in the wintertime, it can feel a little cold in the restaurant, with high ceilings and big windows, but with a big crowd, it’s perfectly unnoticeable. Dining for lunch or early dinner, I have brought my daughter in. In the dining room upstairs, although it is not entirely kid-friendly, I don’t feel as though it is a completely inappropriate place for children. After 8pm or so, it is probably time to take the kiddies home and let the revelers have their fun.
Besides the full bar with Guinness as a mainstay, there is a pub-style menu with burgers, Sheppard’s pie and fish and chips as staples on the menu. My personal favorite is the burger with bleu cheese- yum! Most of the entrees range from about $10-17, which I find to be fairly reasonable for Portland. While the menu carries fairly traditional Irish/pub fare, the upstairs portion of the restaurant has a separate menu that is a bit pricier (entrees range from about $15-22), including a variety of seafood, steak and more fancy dining altogether. Salads are aplenty, as is the potato and leek soup, so no matter what type of eater you are (picky, specific) or just hungry in general, no one is going to go home hungry.
In addition to pretty good food and a great menu selection, the service has always been great at Ri-Ra’s. The staff is always very attentive and not only are they on top of orders, they always seem to anticipate customer needs, something I really appreciate, especially when I have been here with a large group of people, or just a family dinner with kids.
There are really three distinct areas of Ri-Ra’s pub and restaurant, which gives three different atmospheres, and three different suggestions from me. If you are looking to have a drink in a bar-type environment and food isn’t much of an issue, than the separate bar area, with its own separate entrance, is perfect. They may card you at the door to make things easier if you are younger looking, otherwise, you can pretty much expect to be ushered in with a smile. Anyone under 21 is not allowed in this immediate area, so I haven’t been in here too often as of late, but they do have some really cool snugs where I think it is a great place to sit and socialize, but still be in the general bar area.
The main pub downstairs also has a full bar, with suits usually crowded around after 5pm, but they serve food in this area as well. A hostess will seat you or direct you to the upstairs area of the restaurant, if that is where you are headed. Often they have live bands playing here- some times fun cover bands and other nights traditional Irish music is played- although it’s not every night, so if you are looking for live music (or not), I would suggest to call ahead or check their website first. It can get fairly loud in this area, but it is still a fun place to hang out and get a bite to eat. Again, it’s fine to have kids earlier in the day here, but it can turn into way more of a bar scene after 5 or so.
Upstairs is where I would recommend you go (make reservations during peak season times, like summer and Saturday nights) if you are looking to sit down and have a good, relaxing dinner. They also serve a Jazz Brunch, which I have never gone to, but I hear is fantastic (hmmm, maybe I’ll actually try to go this summer... note to self). If you go while it is still light out, there are fantastic views of the Casco Bay harbor from upstairs. There is also a much quieter lounge area, which also is not a bad place to socialize in a much calmer environment. If you can’t get a reservation or a seat for the restaurant, I would suggest going upstairs for at least a drink to check out the atmosphere.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Ri-Ra’s. I think it is a fun place to go and a great place to eat. The pricing is reasonable for a more upscale restaurant and the service is great. Even though this is an Irish themed restaurant, you can be sure that there is plenty of Maine seafood on the menus as well. Although it can get pretty loud in here on certain nights, there is no doubt that Ri-Ra is a very fun place to go.
Recommended:
Yes
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