Rick’s Tavern

Great place for a quick lunch. The staff is very friendly and the food is delicious. I had the COD sandwhich. The fish was great. The Cole slaw was delicious and the fries were big. And all for $ 10. Great choice.

My friends and I arrived at Rick’s Tavern as an alternate to our first choice, which was too busy to seat us right away. Turns out, we were better off waiting at the other place.
I was excited upon entering Rick’s to see a live band setting up. Live music is always a plus. Unfortunately, the radio was still playing very loud 90s pop music. Not typical bar volume, but VERY loud. None of us even heard the waitress address us when she first came to our table. I saw her and thought she was helping someone else.
Even worse, the music got louder as the night went on. Finally, the band finished warming up. They played one song, and left the stage. …okay? That was weird.
By this time, our food had arrived. It was adequate bar food. I ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich with blue cheese, and it was OK. Neither my friend nor I received the waffle fries we asked for to replace their standard chips, probably because the waitress couldn’t hear us either.
Overall, it was a pretty terrible experience. I’d rate it one star, but the food was decent enough to push it up to two. Also, I feel like this place has the potential to be much better than it was.

Got charged on my bill that were not mine and management is doing nothing about it. Called several times with no response.

Staff is rude and the food is gross you couldn’t pay me to walk in this place again. I do not recommend eating or drinking anything from this place.

We came into Rick’s very hungry and with no expectations, ready to eat anything. We were disappointed at every turn. The service was poor. We could not get the waitress to even bring drinks, much less refill them. The food was not good, and ¹⁄₃ of the orders were wrong. The most confusing part is that it seemed we were immediately disliked from the moment we sat down. The waitress, Christina, was cordial and serving the tables around us, but actively avoided our table. We finally had to get the manager involved to get our final meal – well after everyone else had finished eating. All around a terrible experience. Do everything you can to avoid eating here.

Not what it used to be at all. Food is overpriced bar food at best. Less than friendly wait staff. My daughter asked the waitress for a refill only to be admonished for not seeing how busy she was. Seriously. If you want to enjoy your money when you spend it don’t go here.

I live in Fairfield. There are a lot of choices for food. There are very few choices for good entertainment. I’m a live music lover. Lucky for me, Rick’s Tavern books only the best cover bands in the city and it is right around the corner from my house! I also love their food. Great, fall off the bone Ribs, lots of great Burger selections, and tons of TV’S for my ADD ass to look at. My recommendation for a first timer would be to come in around 8 for Dinner and stay for the awesome entertainment. Or stop in for Lunch and ask for Miranda. She always gives me great friendly service when I pop in. The combination of GREAT FOOD and FIRST RATE entertainment is unmatched anywhere else in Greater Cincinnati.

I have been to Ricks Tavern many times. They really get some of the top bands in and last night was no exception. The Naked Karate Girls are always a great band so I was looking forward to the night. The place was rather crowded bit i have seen bigger ctowds there so they should have been able to manage it. Getting a drink was difficult until you figured out where a coctail waitress was and she was thankfully the saving grace. The bathroom was dirty and out of tissue in some of the stalls. Gross. The incident that really makes me never want to step foot in that establishment is when the owner came and took my half glass of Kendall Jackson wine. Hey, i paid for that JERK. I spoke up and he walked away with it. He is the rudest owner of an establishment. I was standing right next to the glass dancing and it was visibly not a finished glass. Fun bands or not… i wont go back under this owner.

Rick’s has really good food and a reasonably varied menu, so it doesn’t always have to be a burger or a sandwich. Tuesday is rib night (it’s on special, but they have ribs all the time) and they are super tender, meaty, and covered with just the right amount of smoky sauce, not overly sweet. Sirloin steak is also on offer, a good sized portion; just make sure to remind the waitress to make it clear to the cook if you like a little red inside.
My personal fave is the southwestern chicken fajita salad with seasoned strips over crispy cold lettuce with tomato, two kinds of finely shredded cheese, and jalapeños galore, along with sour cream, salsa, and an awesome tangy dressing you have to taste to believe… with the salad served up in a huge tortilla bowl, which you can gleefully tear away and devour as you go along! This also makes for yummy leftovers and it’s big enough that you can get a second meal out of it IF you can exercise some self control.
Service has been a little spotty, I would not say terrible and certainly never rude. Just a little below average sometimes, and/​or the servers have seemed a bit uninformed or unsure of things, or a little too distracted by other than customers. However, I’ve found the pours generous and the drink prices fair.
TVs everywhere, excellent atmosphere if you’re into watching the game and getting into it with the crowd. You’ve got the option of the bar, high tops, low tops in a different area further from the bar, and if you keep heading back there are booths near to what seems to be a SECOND bar. Never seen this operational but maybe when the house is packed? Nice stage for the bands on the weekend. This is cleverly disguised at other times by four gigantic flat screens mounted on movable stands!
The comfortable and spacious smoking deck is all you could hope for… Well covered with wind sheeting, tables, chairs, good lighting, TV, and the all important electric heaters.
They have two pool tables situated in such a way that the pool players won’t be bothered by people passing through, and vice versa.
Check the blackboard as you walk in for specials. There is always something good… and the server might otherwise forget to tell you.
This is a nice casual tavern that will appeal to a broad range of patrons. Plenty big enough for groups, too.

Gave them another try– MUCH better service. Bar tender was polite & attentive. We were immediately greeted with a warm smile and hello. Potato skins were delicious and they had a game day special $ 10 bucket of 5 beers (Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, or Yuengling). I hope they keep up the marked improvements!
Tons of TVs for any sporting event and they roll out an additional 3 for big events. Pretty good sound system and they dim the lights but still have keep it bright enough to have meal and conversation.

I came to Rick’s Tavern for the first time tonight, and received the absolute worst service I’ve ever had at any restaurant. We arrived around 5:00 on Sunday after the Bengals game and the place was not at all busy. We ordered drinks which took 10 minutes to arrive (I ordered a diet coke, my husband ordered a bottle of Killian’s and a water). Our friends asked what local beers they carried, and our server’s reply was a big sigh followed by, «I don’t know.» There is no beer list available at the table, and we did finally get her to say they had a couple of MadTree beers, one of which my friend ordered and then waited 10 minutes for as well. We ordered fried pickles as an appetizer and everyone at the table got either the buffalo chicken sandwich, blackened chicken sandwich, or boneless buffalo wings. The food itself was really good! Unfortunately it took over 35 minutes to get the pickles and an additional 35 to get the rest of our food. Our server was nowhere to be found for the next 40 minutes. When she finally came back we asked for our checks, split by couples (3 total) and when she came back they were so wrong it was ridiculous. She’d charged for 2 beers we hadn’t ordered, she split the checks up by the wrong people, and it took 6 tries at splitting the checks to get it right. It was then that we realized and extra ranch dressing costs $.50, onions for my friend’s sandwich were extra, onion straws and waffle fries with a sandwich that came with a side were $ 1.99 extra… seriously? Despite the very good food, we’ll never come back here based on the service and the stupid up-​charges. Just charge more for the sandwich overall to make up the cost difference on the people who order extra ranch if you’re that bad at managing food costs. I care less about paying more for the sandwich up front than I do seeing how cheap you are that you charge us for a cup of ranch. This should have been a much better experience. It had a lot of potential, but this was a really terrible experience.

Stopped in tonight for a beer and dinner. I was traveling alone for business so I sat at the bar and the first thing I noticed was how friendly the ladies tending bar were. They had Mad Tree brews available and were very helpful in aiding me with my selection by explaining each of the beers and their preferences. I ordered a Gnarly Brown which I thought was a phenomenal brown ale.
For dinner I ordered the tilapia entrée, blackened, with the sides of baked potato and broccoli. Everything was delicious and the blackened seasoning was authentic. Quite a full plate too. For a good filling dinner and a good beer it came to only $ 13, before tip, which I thought was really cheap. Definitely the best experience I had on this trip and I wish it were around the corner from my house back home.

So my husband and I ventured up here one evening for an engagement party for his cousin and his soon-​to-​be wife. The group had the whole side wing of Rick’s Tavern reserved for the group of about 25 – 30 people, along with two waitresses assigned to take care of all of us. They did a very good job of taking care of everyone, including getting the tabs /​drinks /​food orders right for the multitude of people who ordered while standing around and then found a seat on the other side of the room. And they also were extremely helpful in food suggestions. I ended up with the Steakhouse Burger and I was pleasantly surprised on how delicious it was! You’d never think that a little bar, inside a strip mall in Fairfield would have food this good. Now keep in mind, that I visited Rick’s after an entire day of nursing a hangover from hell (i.e. I drank a lot at Beerfest) so the burger was the first thing that I ate all day that I was able to keep down. It might have been the onion straws and A-​1 but who cares. It was food and it was delicious. My husband and one of his cousins both got the black and blue burger and both claimed it was one of the best they had ever had (and my husband orders a black and blue burger any time he sees it on a menu somewhere).
Our bill was fairly inexpensive too. I’m not sure of the exact amount but it was under $ 30 for the both of us to have a burger and for my husband to have a few beers.

During our annual pilgrimage to IKEA and Jungle Jim’s, we decided to grab a nearby joint discovered on Unilocal with good review.
DISCLAIMER: this review is only for the grub!
We arrived mid afternoon just before 4:00p — still cleaning up from the live band from the night before I think. For a July 4^th — it was pretty dead at that time of day… just a few regulars at the bar.
Our waitress Erin was very helpful answering our questions on the best sellers and making our way through the menu. I changed my mind 3 times in 3 minutes trying to settle. I chose the recommended blackened ribeye sandwich with a side of waffle fries — requested crispy. The much better half selected the shredded roast beef sandwich with a side of onion straws.
WOW. I like my steaks med-​rare — you can’t do that with a 7 oz steak — but they took it easy on the meat. Wonderfully prepared and seasoned — smothered in grilled onions and provolone. Zippy, very warm temp, drippy goodness, grilled bun — side of cajun mayo. I’d go back just for that sandwich. Frankly I haven’t found a sandwich at it’s equal in Indy. (and if you know where it can be found — tell me) And the kitchen did the waffle fries crispy and smoking hot — 1^st time I’ve ever had crispy waffle fries.
Her shredded beef was delish, Horseradish mustard on the side — onion straws came with cajun mayo for dipping. Only shortcoming on the sammie — was that they made that first and seemed to have cooled somewhat while onions and steak was being prepared.
So, if you’re on the Dixie Hwy anywhere near Mulhauser or Jungle Jims — stop and get a sandwich at this place. I’ll go again if nearby.
$ 30 all in for 2 sandwiches — 2 very large sides — and good tippage.

I love this place! The service is prompt. The food is fairly good appetizers are better than actual meals. I ordered pretzels & a burger. Good food! I especially love Wednesday nights because they have country line dancing and live country music during the spring. It’s fun to watch people line dance. I didn’t join, but definitely want to learn. The parking is plentiful and pretty easy since there is a big lot. I really cannot say anything bad about Ricks Tavern. I really would love to go back there again.

Good place to go if you are looking for something close. Loud music for sure. Live bands. Slightly older crowd so you will want to head to downtown Cincy if you are looking for a younger scene. Always crowded so they are doing something right.

I am pleasantly surprised with this little Fairfield hole in the wall. I went here for a surprise birthday party this past weekend and expected something totally different. It was clean, friendly, great for big parties, family meals and a bar night. We arrived at 7pm for a birthday dinner for about 30. They gave us the back room for privacy. Let us decorate the space with pirctures and the service for that many was great! By the time we were leaving around 10p, the live band was playing– and they were good. I wanted to stay. The drinks I had at dinner were strong, the menu was extensive and it didn’t seem I could go wrong. They even had fried pickles on the menu! I ordered the half turkey club, half house salad. Not bad. Brad B. ordered the steak burger and I snuck some bites of his plate, as I usually do. You know, so I can give as fair a review as possible ;).
If I am in the area, I could defintely go back here to meet some friends and have a good hang-​out time. It reminded me of Putters. You can sit and hang out, you can shake it a little and you can mingle and make new friends. (Which if you read my review, you know I love.) The only complaint I have is the ranch. I’m a stickler on good ranch. Next time, I’ll just have to pack my own. ha!
To sum it up… I’m a fan!

Rick’s is always a great place to hang out with large and small groups of friends. The food is pretty good for bar food, and the portion sizes are huge. They book a lot of local bands and some of them are so popular that they start turning people away at the door when they hit maximum capacity. The employees are outgoing and friendly, and so are the people. We make new friends every time we go. The dance floor is small but it doesn’t stop anyone from dancing. If you’re looking to hear some great bands, this is a definite must.

I can’t judge this place on the food, but I can qualify the bar atmosphere. Lots of sports on the tvs and if you are looking for a bar to hang and get your late 80’s early 90’s live rock band/​reliving HS experience, this is the place for you. If you get lucky, you might get a cover hair band and screaming late 30 something ladies too! …and I say that with love for my yesteryears and big aquanetted hair, but I should stipulate, this kind of place isn’t really my speed… anymore.

On a recent weeknight I was faced with the problem of finding a restaurant to accommodate the eclectic tastes of myself and three other diners. Each of us wanted a different cuisine and we fought for twenty minutes while driving around the city before happening upon Rick’s Tavern and Grill.
I made the executive decision to stop; I was starving by that point and I was the driver, so the rest of my party had to deal. We walked in and found a large, sports bar themed restaurant/​tavern. It was mostly empty at 7pm and «seat yourself,» so we grabbed a table to the right of the massive bar. We weren’t in the mood to drink so we ordered Iced Teas, despite Rick’s large alcoholic drink selection.
For an appetizer, we tried the «Cincinnati Style Chili Dip,» a play on the traditional Skyline Dip (cream cheese, chili, cheddar) that can be found at most Cincinnati gatherings. The chili was heartier and spicier than Skyline’s and we devoured it, I was still scraping the bowl clean with tortilla chips when our friendly waitress appeared with my large Cajun Chicken Salad. The chicken was blackened so heavily that my mouth was on fire but the seasoning was perfectly cooled by the lettuce, tomato, and hard-​boiled egg it was served with.
Two of my other three dining partners ordered a hamburger to share and side salads. Their side salads were as big as some entrée salads I’ve seen at other establishments and the kitchen was kind enough to half their burger and give them separate plates, making sharing a breeze. They ordered Rick’s Saratoga Chips instead of fries and said they were good, but they weren’t Montgomery Inn’s. My third and final dining partner ordered the Chicken Tenders appetizer, which he had dipped in mild buffalo sauce. He practically licked his plate; the sauce was «so good.»
Service was efficient, our drinks were always refilled and we were in and out of Rick’s in under an hour. Great place, and it has a family friendly menu, despite the bar-​like atmosphere. Cheap, too, sandwiches were almost all less than $ 6, my large salad was $ 7.