J P Ryan’s Tavern

I stopped in for a few pints and had fun the food and drink were grand or good. A friendly crowd and a good band, I would go back again. only downside was the parking, but they have a friendly & helpful staff.

I tried this place out recently on a Saturday afternoon, ordered a Guinness and a buffalo chicken sandwich with fries. The Guinness was pretty good but served is a small size Guinness glass, not a full pint. I think bars do this to charge for a full pint with the smaller glass. The buffalo chicken sandwich was completely awful. The chicken was rubbery and just had a strange texture to it, I wouldn’t have eaten it if I wasn’t so hungry. The fries were run of the mill frozen fries that you can get at any supermarket. There seemed to be a lot of regulars there that give you the once over when you walk in. The service was just ok, sat with empty glasses for a while without the bartender noticing. Not too attentive.
I would say this just a run of the mill «Irish Bar» that has nothing Irish about it. Its unwelcoming with awful frozen food.

I was in there the other night and this band was killing it. The whole room was into it. I dont usually like live music cause I’m into different stuff but these guys mixed it up. Good drink specials and the pizza was on point. I’ll be back. The ratio was good too… from what I remember :)

Amazing local spot with QUALITY live music! Just about every act who performs here is high caliber and extremely talented.
The food is great as well. Very good pub food and they have the iconic South shore style pizza’s as well.

Last night I was enjoying a few drinks with friends. Last call came, the «bouncer» was telling everyone to finish up there drinks. I was singled out by an «owner, the bouncer, and a BIG guy.» These three clowns decided to ignore the other 40 people in the bar after last call and focus there undivided attention towards me. I had been enjoying myself with two friends for roughly 2 hours prior to last call. I was completely calm until the «owner» decided to sneak up behind me and abruptly tell me I needed to leave his bar. I explained that I was finishing my drink, heading to the bathroom and then leaving. This apparently was not okay. I was told I was an asshole by the big guy and the «owner». I proceeded to finish my drink, and use the bathroom. I was once again yelled at and told that I needed to immediately leave the bar according to the owner. I waited for both of my friends to also use the bathroom. I was with two girls. No one was out of control. I was followed to the door by all three employees. The other 40 patrons were never approached. Safe to say I will never be back.

I came here on a Wednesday night to catch the Bruins game and there were maybe twenty people all sitting around the bar. Good vibes from all – most seemed to be regulars so there was a positive sort of comfortable feeling in the room. Lots of TV sets around to keep your eye on the game. Perfect in this regard. The bartender was friendly and attentive. The beer selection was standard.
My biggest beef with this place is the cost and quality of the food. My boyfriend and I ordered the steak and cheese egg rolls after having had them recently at The Fours in Quincy (they were freaking delicious at The Fours!). JP Ryan’s steak and cheese egg rolls were AWFUL. So bad. Have you ever bought Taquitos as a poor college kid or struggling artist who finally decided to denounce veganism because cheese and beef really are a perfect combo? That’s what these were. We paid $ 9.95 for four tiny taquitos. Save yourself the money and buy a big box of forty for half the price at BJ’s. We ordered the Rocky Marciano pizza which was basically a reheated frozen pizza that was reminiscent of those tiny .99 cent Celeste pizzas.
Such a disappointing food experience. People say not to take much stock in bar food, but hell, I have had some kick ass bar food and I have had mediocre bar food and I have been to places that taught me the lesson to never order food from there again. This place takes the prize for the lowest quality bar food I’ve experienced.
But the beer is cheap and the game is on and the bartender fills my cup so I’ll be back after I have dinner.

By far the worst bar i have ever been to. Terrible service, older gentleman with glasses whom i believe was the manager was very snotty and disrespectful. He was too busy talking to his friends at one side of the bar and wen he did come over to my friends and i, he made no eye contact and didn’t seem as though he cared (lacked communication skills). Pizza was actually pretty good for bar food. The only reason why i went to this place is cause i know the owner but sadly he was not there and i had to deal with his disrespectful bartender who was not concerned with making money for the bar. His friends and the game on the television was his only concern. I will never return to this place!

Went there for a few drinks tonight with the wife, she had two drinks and i had three, i checked the bill after being there for 45 mins, the girl bartender put 2 extra drinks on the bill on purpose it said 7 drinks (additional $ 15.00) total BS. I cant believe this happened she should be talked to or be fired, so ridiculous. After bringing this to the attention of the other bartender (the owners brother) he took care of it. He was very cool about it. She never looked at or talked to us again. Really new customers you do this to? She is a total dishonest person for doing this, she is obviously stealing from the bar. Too bad i thought this place was cool.!! They probably don’t care about reviews anyways, so i wont expect a response.

Food was decent. Service was terrible. Came in on a Tuesday morning.
Short, dark haired girl with glasses, made me never want to come back. Rude as can be. Not to mention I couldn’t even grab her attention because she was on her cell phone for about 15 minutes without even looking up once to check on us.

This is one of the best places on the South Shore. The people, the entertainment, the whole atmosphere! The owner is a good man and looks out for his customers. The bar tenders are awesome and make a wicked good drink! Very friendly staff all around. If you’re looking for a good night out on a budget, this is the place to go!

Hope your not coming here drinks cause it will never happen. Entertainment ls great…

The only reason that i gave this place a star at all is because they always have a good band playing on friday and saturday nights. However, the room is way to small for the sound sometimes so bring your earplugs! With that said– the food is mediocre, the service is slow and the management is unreasonable. I happen to personally know a few of the bands that play here and have found myself begrudgingly hanging out to hear them play while wishing I was somewhere else. I think the things that rubs me wrong in the biggest way is how rude they are to me when i show up with the band that is playing. When i order food or a drink while chatting with the band members, the bartender/​server/​whoever is always very short with me a about how «i have o pay for my own food and drink» because Im not a member of the band. Let me just say, of course i am planning to pay for my order and it is not necessary to make it known that the place exchanges food and drink for money. DUH. Despite the fact that they are repeatedly reminding me of this basic rule of economics, my brother was there last week to celebrate his birthday while watching a local band that we follow. (WARNING THIS STORY IS RIDICULOUS BUT TRUE.) During the first set, he SNEEZED and accidentally spilled some of his beer onto a nearby female patron. She was upset about it and despite his apologies, she must have told the owner who promptly EJECTED my brother from the bar. This incident had nothing to do with being over-​served or intoxicated. They would not listen to his explanation and, unfortunately for him, he had ridden with a member of the band so he had to sit in the car for the next 3 and a half hours while the show continued on. HAPPY Freaking BIRTHDAY. I was not at this particular show but trust me when i say that my absence was on purpose because i hate this place. The way they treated me brother was insane. I have been a bartender in Boston for almost 10 years and cant imagine a situation that would warrant such indifference to a customers situation. I will never see the inside of this bar again.

I like this place, but the food? Not so much.
The potato skins and nachos are good, but I was recently disappointed when I ordered a cheeseburger. The bun tasted like it had been frozen for months. As I do recall, the bread was freezer burned and still thawing when placed on my burger. The atmosphere is nice and the juke box kicks ass, as long as there’s no live bands coming up (I personally like the juke box over live), jus sayin. The owner is a seemingly nice and attentive guy who works the bar frequently.
Would have given 4 stars, but the quality and control over the food seems to be lacking. I would go back.

Ate here tonight with a few friends. I am glad we tried this place because it’s really close to where I live. I found the inside to be clean and the service was good. There are a ton of TV’s so, it’s a good place to catch a game. The food was really good. I got the steak tips which came with a salad and fries for $ 10. You can’t beat that price. They were cooked perfectly and tasted delicious. Another person in my group got a burger and someone else got pizza and they both really liked what they got.
There was a band playing and it was loud but, it was a Saturday night and they were pretty good. Bottom line, we will be going back.

I was here recently with a large group. To start, parking sucks. The is just no way around it. Thankfully I have 4wd and parked on top of a snow bank. When walking in, it is VERY cramped and loud. There were a couple women «singing» live music. I couldn’t make out a damned word they were singing. And I am glad for that, I don’t want to know what they were butchering. Thankfully they stopped after a short time there, because you couldn’t yell loud enough over the «music» to have a conversation. Our waitress took our drink order and was pretty prompt, but couldn’t remember where any of the drinks went. We got some food and most of it was very overcooked except for the pizza. It all tasted good, just very dry, except for the pizza that was limp. Another band came in to play while we were there and they were even louder than the last. The plus was they were a good band, but after 15 minutes or so, my wife and I both had a headache. During the time we were there, I never got another drink. The waitress never came to or even looked at half of the group and it was too loud to call her over. I just gave up. My wife was on the other end of the room where the waitress went over, so she had a few round of what was supposed to be disarono and cranberry. She said it was good, but tasted like apple cran maybe? When we decided to leave we had to close out our tab. It took 20 minutes before the waitress came back to the group to do so. When she finally got it for us, it was totally wrong. There was a beer and a $ 11.75 drink on it. We sat and waited and waited for her to come back to correct it. Finally I just said screw it, it was worth losing the few dollars over it was for the ability to get out of there and stop the bleeding from my ears. We paid what it was and got out of there. I’m sure its better during the day or on a weeknight, but the noise level killed any enjoyment we would have had being there.

I will never be back at this establishment. It just smells bad. I can honestly say the inside felt and smelled like a porta potty. I did not enjoy the feeling I had when I was inside. The drinks are fairly priced but it was just an uncomfortable feeling. It is tiny and when they have live music if just gets smaller. It is not a place I would suggest.

I am not a fan of loud music, or the kind of music that I heard the other night here but I can definitely understand why so many people like J.P. Ryan’s. It is a decent sized bar but has an intimate high energy atmosphere and excellent service. I like to try different bars and this is one I will keep on my list of good local places. My only regret is it was too late to try the food. Update to follow.

JP Ryan’s is one of my most favorite local bars! Last week i had the steak tip sub and i was soooooo impressed. The sub roll was toasted perfectly with butter, maybe even grilled! Per my request they added onions, peppers and cheese. The temp and the size (i like it when they cut them small so you can take an appropriate size bite) of the tips were fantastic. I couldn’t stop eating! I love their super crunchy fries! Last but not least, i love the price of their domestic draft beers ($ 2.50 16oz)! Keep up the good work JP Ryans!

After going back here a lot more since my first review, I can’t think of any reason why JP Ryan’s isn’t a 5 star small town bar. They have cover free entertainment seven nights a week. They have an open mic night about once a month or so. Most important, they will make any kind of pizza you ask for, even a bacon and pickle pizza. The service is always friendly, and quick. If you’re in the Abington area it’s the best bar around to stop into and have a pint.