Rita’s

Had the half pound burgers tonight fries were wonderful service great. Great local place.

Great Friday fish fry. Very small dining room (literally 7 tables) but they make up for it with great service and some good cooking.

I fell in love with this hidden jem owner and son very friendly. Best fish fry in lake county

If it’s good old fashioned home cooking you want, then Rita has it!
Been going here for years, and now my kids love it too…

You won’t be disappointed! I had the «honey dipped chicken» and it was scrumptious. Can’t wait till Wednesday for the fish. Friendly place and pleasantly surprised from the outside to inside.

I happened on this place yesterday when we were driving around looking for a place to have lunch. I absolutely loved it, small and charming, its a perfect lunch spot. There is a bar with about 5 great beers on-​tap on one side of a good sized room and the small restaurant is on the other side. Everything that came out of the kitchen looked great. It’s mostly a sandwich place, but they had some dinner choices including perch on Wed., Thur. and Fri. I plan on going back in the near future.

I love this place especially their soups! I always go for lunch with a dear friend of mine and every single time we sit in our regular spot and every single time we are recognized and greeted and that’s a great feeling! The food is great, the environment is great, family owned, and the prices are GREAT!

Rita’s is that small, home-​town place you long for in this age of cookie-​cutter restaurants. It is literally an old farmhouse, with the old living room converted into dining and the other half of the front of the house a bar. Lots of old decorations on the walls gives the place character. But, much more important, Rita and her sons are there and likely to be iether taking care of you or cooking your food and their caring shows.
The clam chowder is rich and creamy. Rita said her son made it this morning. The honey dipped fried chicken (4 pc meal) is as crispy as it gets, yet plenty juicy inside, and more than I could eat. The perch fish fry was a bit on the skimpy side (but perch often is), but was quite flavorful. The tiny little plastic container of cole slaw was good but, well, tiny.

Support locals! It feels well worn but warm, comfortable, friendly, and inviting. Menu is basic bar food with a couple of specials. I happened to come in on a Thurs so no fish. I ordered the ½ LB MUSHROOM BURGER WITH FRIES AND A DINNER SALAD.
The sweet bartender Debbie bustled between the bar and the 20 seat dining taking orders and delivering drinks while saying «hey mom» followed by questions. When I asked if they had fish, the bartender offered to ask her brother in the kitchen if they had any fish but I passed. Debbie kept checking in on me which made me feel cared for.
The burger was rightly cooked medium and covered in swiss cheese with a big olé slice of tomato. The fries were typical thin fries. A great deal at $ 9. The dinner salad was a good upgrade for $ 2.50.
This place gets my recommendation. They’re local, make food with pride, and high on charm. A very authentic and unpretentious dining experience. There’s little reason to go to the chain restaurants down the street when you have this great place nearby!

Wah Wah Wah!!! Go cry somewhere else all you haters! This place is a dive bar that takes pride in the quality and freshness of their food. You want ambiance, go somewhere else. You want a cold beer and a «Kick Ass» burger you found the right place.
They have a limited menu, but everything on the menu they do really well. You can’t go wrong with the burger but I have also had the perch fish fry and the fried chicken. Everything I have had here is awesome.

Great service! Enjoyed the meal but found the dining room a bit cramped and too many tables jammed in. Also hated sitting on folding chairs. We arrived early but we’re made to sit cramped at a table for two while two larger tables sat empty… Yeah I get it but they were taken., later by two people. Totally a family run place but really felt too much like sitting at the kids table at a distant relatives house for a holiday.

Loved the old school charm. We ate at the bar and had great service. Very small dining area so the bar worked for us. Great thin burgers and the folks sitting next to us highly recommened the fried chicken and the fish fry. Good value. Older crowd. Definitely a local joint and I love joints. Friendly. Like dining in your living room.

A quaint little bar with a few dining tables. The staff were friendly & the service was fast & friendly. We tried the Friday night fish fry combo dinner. It was horrible! We ordered the clam chowder when we should have ordered salad as the salad served to the next table looked better. The cod was in little bite-​size pieces & were over cooked & tough. The perch was cut in small strips and although slightly better than the cod, not by much. We had the french fries & they were exactly like the ones you get at McDonald’s…not what I expected for a dinner that cost over $ 15 per person. We were very disappointed, will not go back & certainly won’t recommend the Friday fish fry to anyone!

Rita’s is definitely a go-​to for us: great fish fry W /​F /​Sa, GREAT prime rib on Sat. nights, stiff drinks, funky setting, good people on staff and good for the kiddos albeit cramped. Seriously — this is a quintessential local joint with great grub for the prices.

I live right down the street from Rita’s and never had gone in until today. I suppose what was keeping me away was the actual look of the restaurant (it’s really in a run-​down old house) and the severe lack of parking (it’s right on the edge of the busy road after all).
Looking at the reviews it seems like people either love it or hate it. I’m leaning towards not liking it. Stopped here for lunch with a coworker and was greeted by Rita. The dining area was cramped and the little bar area didn’t seem real stocked. I ordered a crispy chicken sandwich with lettuce and cheese. She brought back crispy chicken on a burnt bun with no cheese and a piece of lettuce on the side; not to mention some very salty fries too.
I’m not picky by any means but this is not what I would call quality food. Looking at all the other food options it just looks like food that you would cook at home… which is exactly the case. Many people love Rita’s because they like the «homestyle» atmosphere. I will not pay good money for food that tastes worse than my own cooked food. I will not be dining again at this so called restaurant.

Heard some good reviews of this place by locals, so really wanted to like it. Very tiny, Cheers-​bar type place. Ordered a cheeseburger, which was completely bland. I asked the waitress what kind of seasoning they put in the burger, and she told me «nothing.» It’s not seasoned at all, with anything! Really! Very disappointed and will not return.

Walking into Rita’s is like walking into your grandparents’ house in the country. The staff is friendly and welcoming, and they have plenty of tasty domestic beers on tap. The fish fry is legendary, and the burgers are great as well; however, what makes this place so great is the fact that from the first visit I’ve been treated like family.
Definitely a spot I’ll visit weekly!

Great local bar. Good food specials and hometown local charm and feel. A true joint of joints.

Great Friday night Fish Fry! The perch is the best choice but we enjoy the combo option. House salad dressing is vidalia onion — scrumptious! Also you may want to go with the potato salad for your side — yes, even in the winter it’s the best choice!
The tables are on high demand & there is usually a wait so don’t plan to rush thru dinner here. Enjoy the memorabilia on the walls while you wait…
We will keep this one on our short list!

3.5 stars
It is a small restaurant that might have been a house before. I think they have solid fish and chips. Their fried dessert wasn’t bad, either.

My friend and I were treated to great service and hospitality, courtesy of Rita and her son. For starters, we both had Rita’s tasty homemade, wholesome beef and vegetable soup. A cupful was hearty, warming and delicious. We ordered hamburgers (on special that day) which, from texture and taste, we identified as homemade. Offered chips, fries or homemade potato salad as our side dish, we chose homemade potato salad. (It reminded me of mom’s special yard party recipe.)
If you seek a smart, trendy place to lunch, please steer clear of Rita’s for a meal elsewhere. However, if you want to lunch at a place that embraces you as you arrive, makes you feel welcome with personable, attentive service, and treats you to a homemade lunch for two for about $ 20, you have found your place at Rita’s! Book mark Rita’s to treat yourself and a friend to a great casual lunch or dinner, and get there early or call ahead, because table seating (versus bar) is limited to about 25 – 30.

What a trip! Hubby and I thought we would try something a little different the day before new year’s eve. So we first went to North Shore Distillery (NSD) (see my review on their site) to have a cocktail, then stopped here afterwards for dinner.
I had checked Unilocal earlier in the day to find a place close to NSD that we haven’t tried before. Like some others, we have passed by this place and it has always intrigued me. It looks like a small town place from the 50s. I called to make a reservation and asked if we could sit at the bar. The gentleman was so friendly on the phone… Very accommodating.
We arrived a bit early and found two seats at the bar. We told them we were the reservation that called. They said «good… We wanted to make sure we saved two seats for you». How sweet!
Hubby ordered the perch and I ordered fried chicken… which I haven’t eaten in ages… But it just seemed like this was the type of place that would have fried chicken to die for. My hunch was correct! I received a plateful of half a juicy, crispy, fried chicken (see photo). It was the type of meal that you can’t help saying «mmm-​mmmm» after every bite. I was in heaven. Hubby had the perch (see photo). He said it was good, but I obviously had the better meal. We both had fries. They are thin and kinda like McDonalds fries. The cole slaw was just ok. It tasted like it was made a few days ago.
We started our meals with a cup of lobster bisque and a draft beer. (see photo) I added some Tabasco and crackers to the soup which made it delish! Without the additions, it was a bit thin and creamy for my taste.
Hubby and I planned on sharing this special dessert they have. Six bucks for a cheesecake wrapped in something and topped with cinnamon and caramel. We were too full, so we will just have to come back again!
Then we got the bill… $ 35!!! I can’t remember the last time we ate this good for that little!
We struck up a conversation with a couple of «regulars». They said the place also has great burgers.
It was a great old fashioned place with friendly staff and great home style food. We will be back often… Especially after visiting NSD…