Ryan’s Pub

Came for decent food and a cold beer. Left with a sense of dread, lack of pride and self respect, a nihilistic outlook on life, and we will all die alone and be forgotten. I need a shower.

This is a two sided review. I hope the owner takes time to read this and takes constructive criticism. First, look at your reviews frequently, I don’t know the rules of Unilocal but someone posted a picture of a competitor. If it were my business I would request it be removed. We did enjoy ourselves last night. A group of us came to see the band. I’ve lived in Monroe for years and never knew they had bands on weekends. Post a sign or get a marquee to draw people in. The food was decent and reasonably priced. My wife and I had the salmon special. Nicely done and plated well. Higher end bar food. Our friends went the traditional route with corned beef, Reuben, etc. Good sized portions and they all said it was very good. Cudos to the chef! Now onto the bar. Our waitress was pleasant, but seemed a little overwhelmed. The first thing we asked for was a beer menu, she said they don’t have one and there were too many to remember. This isn’t her fault, management should have a beer and drink menu available for the staff. The owner introduced himself and heard me asking about a type of beer and immediately brought me a sample. He was engaging and it looked like he was on top of everything. When our beers arrived none of them had a head. I don’t know why, maybe it was how it was poured u Sam Adams always has a head. It’s difficult to pour a quae beer and not build a head. One suggestion, dress like an owner, make yourself stand out. If you didn’t tell me you were the owner I never would have known. All that being said, we will be back for dinner at the very least. It’s a fun higher end dive bar.

For a dive bar this is the place to be. Food is good beer is cold. Bartenders are also great.

Excellent food and atmosphere lovely birthday dinner for mom. Had appetizers and drinks„ service was pleasant and helpful, and our meals came out hot and ready. Comfortable place to enjoy a good family meal. I would not hesitate to come back. Local top a good plus

You can’t beat this place for quality, value and a great time! Nice bar layout, plenty of screens, great food and service. The kitchen uses the best ingredients and it shows. Great burgers and sandwiches and nice variety of hit the spot apps.

Been here three times, greater service greater prices, I tried something different on the menu each time and have not been disappointed the food is delicious and fresh. Highly recommended!!!

Great neighborhood pub and food was great! Try the fish & chips, pizza wings and club sandwich were delicious

Made a big mistake earlier, though my review was on MJ’S site my bad I was on ryans. Let me tell you I been to both places ryans use to be the place of choice but it went down hill drastically food on scale 1 to 10 I give it a 2. Unless of course you like deep fry give it a 7. About the drinks hey booze is booze. Bartenders all are great. Management oh boy the guy steve well most girls call him a creep, I believe if you have nothing nice to say about someone don’t say anything. Well sorry I can’t help it, this guy is a TOTAL TOOL. Don’t belive me ask anyone who has been there. The other manager Jennifer total sweet heart. The new owner Mike seems like a genuine person hope he does well. garuteed once he gets rid of Steve, ryans pub will be much better place. on a 5 star scale I give it a 1 star!!!
As for MJ’S. Great food, great management, ice cold beer .on a scale 1 to 10 I give it a 10. happy hour on Fridays 4 to 7 blows away any other place around .what a spread of food they put out, MJ’S on a 5 star scale? 5 stars…

Good local place worth trying. Fish nn chips r yummo and the burgers are delish. The service is top notch.

I enjoy stopping here when we’re in the neighborhood. The prices are reasonable and the food is solid. I’ve been here a few times now, and the highlights have been:
— the bar pies: crispy crust, yum
— the burgers: juicy, delicious, and beautiful — seriously, they are gorgeous looking
— Irish nachos: thin, crispy potatoes topped with melted cheese, bacon, and scallions — the bleu cheese crumble on top is a really nice, unexpected touch
— club sandwich (I got it with roast beef and turkey, and it was delicious)
Yea, it’s a «neighborhood» bar, but it’s still a solid choice for tasty food and drinks at a reasonable price. It’s not pretending to be something it’s not, and that’s what makes me love it.

Some teacher friends and I came here after a glow run at Englishtown was canceled. Seemed as if it was a lot of locals. The staff was friendly and we had a great time singing karaōke. If we are ever in the area again, I would definitely stop by!

Good bar food and very reasonably priced. There is a female bar tender (she has blonde hair, medium build) who has a major attitude with customers and even her boss that does diminishes the experience. If possible avoid having her serve you and enjoy the good food and solid cocktails. The rubin is amazing, pilled high with cornbeef or pastrami severed on crispy rye bread with melted cheese — enough to split with another person especially if you order an appetizer to accompany. Try the Ryan’s Patty — A LARGE burger with any topping one can imagine! Cheesesteak is worth the money and is made with good quality steak. Do not order the Quesdillas, not good at all, but its okay because an Irish pub probably isn’t the best place to order Mexican. Overall Ryan’s is a great Irish Pub in a sweet neighborhood! ! !

Not impressed
Neighborhood bar
Soda mix is deplorable
Wings are good everything else is mediocre
There have been times when I would order an item on the menu and the item is not available… really?

Bartender was effete and non attentive. Blatantly disregarded us after first drink order. No menu offered. Nothing. Cant rate food as they obviously dont care to serve our kind here.

Best reason to go to Ryan’s: the food. Excellent bar food. I’ve never been disappointed with my meal. Service might be slow if you go when it is packed, but that is any bar. Townie crowd might turn some people off, but I’ve never had a problem. Ryan’s is a solid spot to grab a burger and a couple pints.

My corned beef was brown not red… My husbands fish n chips had freezer burn (and it smelled awful!) … Wine tasted like it had been open for a month and TVs are WAY too loud for a couple who want to eat at the bar. We got pizza at Romeos on the way home!

Place is a hit or miss, more times a miss… Far from my favorite. Have to wait for a beer most nights even if it’s not busy. It’s true that no one seems to want to be working there other than the bartender Murph and the male owner or manager. I’ve seen a few fights and arguments, heard a few stories, not a fan of that. Food I’ve had is pretty decent, Irish nachos and Shepards pie.

Previously «Cousins» with a tiki dive bar feel, they’ve long remodeled complete overhaul for the better. An Irish look & feel has been adopted.
This Irish pub in Monroe, has with stood the test of time to evolve into a ok local brew & bite establishment. Nice wooden finish with a big rectangle bar typically offers up an available stool. About 10 four top tables in the dining area within open view of the bar crowd so an intimate family or secluded romantic date night isn’t happening.
The food is your basics pub fare including my personal favs Sheppard’s Pie & fish & chips & Irish lamb stew The portion sizes vary based on product. The Sheppard’s Pie is good, but average size at best so you’ll need to add a soup (Potato bacon cheese — rocks) or app. On the other hand the F&C’s is huge with fries & Mac salad. The lamb stew is tasty, but is small portioned & could use larger chunks of veggies such as potatoes and carrots to at least create an illusion of a more sizeable man sized meal.
Flat screens surrounding the bar with a decent selection of draft & a few ciders on tap. Female tenders pour em up, but aren’t quick to buy back unless your one of the countless local yocals that incessantly roll through either the front or back entrances. This is definitely a local Monroe/​Spotswood crowd. They don’t embrace a fresh face like they do one of there own and this unfortunately is obvious as I trust you and other Unilocalers have attest to.
All in all a decent pub, but I’m far from in love. Overall look, taste & feel has improved considerably and hopefully continues to move in the right direction because a void needs to filled in this part of town. 2 rating because this is still a ridiculously local crowd that gets way too carried away late night with an air of uneasiness.

Sometimes when I re-​read one of my negative reviews, I think to myself, «wait a second… am I planning on ever coming back here?»
Despite the fact that Ryan’s is not my favorite bar by any stretch of the imagination, forces inevitably conspire in the universe that bring me back here. Unlike other dive bars I like, where a knife fight or an ass-​kicking is just one glance of the stink-​eye away, something’s just off here.
Maybe it’s an East Brunswick versus Spotswood thing that dates back to high school rivalries. Preps versus ginkers versus soccer jocks. Whatever it is, I always sense some tension in this bar on crowded weekend nights. (Yes, I’m aware Ryan’s is not technically in Spotswood, but trust me, Spotswood is in the house here, and no one under 75 actually lives in Monroe Township.) Or maybe there’s just something about me that people don’t like and I can just sense it. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
Of course, I’m a big guy, and rarely do I find myself the first choice of aggression in an establishment like this. Perhaps I’m secretly disappointed by that. Maybe deep down I just want to summon my inner Patrick Swayze and act out scenes from Roadhouse.
The food is not very good here in my opinion. I love great Irish pubs, as they typically have great Irish fare. This one neither has great Irish fare, nor does it feel particularly Irish. A few strategically placed shamrocks does not an Irish Pub make.
Service is mostly friendly, though. There was actually a decent band last night. And two beers and a Diet Coke cost $ 7. So there’s that.

I mean I’ve been to bars and had a lot of bartenders. Probably over 1,500 bars. The bartender we had that night was murph. What an experience. He immediately guessed all of our ages as we challenged him to do so. He has really fast hands and can make 20+ drinks in less then 30 seconds no problem.
We then heard that he is a very talented flair bar tender and he seemed shocked that we knew. He said he only does flair if you ask him to. The flair started and it was amazing, flying bottle of vodka, beer, drinks opened and not a ounce of liquor hit the floor. He seemed like a local celebrity as everyone was trying to talk to him but he made us feel important by occasionally doing flair just for us.
We then let him hold our baby because he just seemed like a guy we could trust. That last part was a joke. My wife said no. Every other bar tender there looks mad and angry but not murph, he’s smiling the entire time.
The food was standard bar food.