BJ Ryan’s

Below average… Bought a Groupon because BJ’s was touted as a ‘Groupon Favorite’. Busy Saturday night, lovely waitstaff, efficient, friendly, personable. Salad was as limp as a wet dishrag. Appetizer, Fried Calamari needed another minute in the fryer, too pale, cooked 95%…BF and I both ordered ribs: his came in a single rack, slathered in BBQ sauce. Mine arrived– cut into 6 pieces? Were these slated to be apps, then changed course and given as a main entrée? I asked the ‘manager’, he replied ‘sometimes they fall apart’. Fall apart into neatly cut 2 rib sections? Also slathered with BBQ sauce. FYI slathering dry, overcooked ribs, (yes they fall of the bone), cannot be saved by overindulging in a BBQ sauce coverup. Overall, a disappointing experience. My BF has ALWAYS has excellent ribs at TGIFRIDAYS– tender, pleasant amount of sauce, tasty, and that’s where we’ll dine for ribs.

Place is awesome. I’m a server and sometimes I get out of work late. It’s great to have a spot to go to that serves great food late night. The tuna tar tar, turkey Ruben, and hot oil pizza are some of my favorite things on the menu. Their beer selection is stellar as well as the service and crowd.

Simply the best food in the Town of Norwalk!!! Great vibe!!! I walked in and was welcomed by a super friendly waitress, cute blonde. She escorted my friend and I to a table and offered us a drink to start. We each chose a nice grapefruit flavored IPA, simply Devine. We asked about app choices and she pointed out a wonderful BamBam shrimp, absolutely the best shrimp Zive ever had!!! I was in the mood for a hearty salad and again was recommended a perfect choice of a ChopChop Cobb salad, this waitress not only super friendly and so attentive was right on the money again!!! This grilled chicken, egg, avocado, bacon, blue cheese and a house Dijon dressing salad is superb!!! As I asked for s hearty salad, delivered to me with a pepper mill and smile made my night!!! If only every place had such a nice waitstaff, so many people would love dining out more! I will def be back and hopeful to have the same waitress! Thank you BJRyans for a great night and happy belly !!! The best !!!

Gross. The bug in my Caesar salad was really beautiful. Horrible. First of all when you chop iceberg Lettuce you must clean in between. Disgusting, absolutely disgusting. Nice slug in my salad …

Outstanding! Went there via a Groupon so wasn’t expecting much but it was the best BBQ I’ve had in many years. Service was great also.

First time here — helpful staff, good bartender. Drink prices reasonable, food prices a bit high, but good chef. Ingredients just a bit average. Worth a visit/​return.

Excellent food AND service. The staff was very attentive and friendly. Prime rib was perfect. A decent value as well. Came in on a Groupon. Will come back!

The food here is really good! There fries are really crispy and the waitstaff is really nice. It is a tad small here and quite loud but that is to be expected. I will definitely be going back though, great american food! =D

Very good meal! It’s as much pub as dining room. Waitress was quick to find us and escort us through the bar area to the dining area. It has a great neighborhood vibe.
As others said, get the pulled pork nachos. Don’t think just order! Prime rib was tasty with nice herb crust, very juicy. Baby backs are a full (not half) rack which brought smiles all around. Chicken herby and tender, do it. The truffle mashed potatoes are excellent. Swap out boring baked pats toe for these delicious truffle mashed!
Good beer selection. This isn’t a wine and table cloth kind of place.
Good solid food, bustling energy, friendly waitresses. Come here, have fun!

BJ Ryans is a staple in my weekly routine. I don’t know where to begin. The staff is so courteous and knowledgeable. They will go out of their way to make your dining experience unforgettable. The food is always great especially the burger and the philly. The burger is the best I’ve had in Fairfield county. This is just a great place for a couple drinks or a great dinner with the family.

Based on the reviews I was expecting a small place with some pretty good food. Unfortunately only half of that rang true. This is a corner pub (literally it’s on a corner) with about a dozen tables and a bar. Dark wood, very «pubish» which is nice if you want that kind of feel. I can guess they do some good bar business on the weekends or during happy hour. We went to lunch on a Saturday and sadly our experience wasn’t that great.
I started with a cocktail (Lawless Lemonade) and we ordered some appetizers. Buffalo chicken wings and tuna tartare. The tuna tartare was an odd option for an appetizer especially in a bar but we heard the menu being described as a menu with an «international flair» even though it’s pegged as an American restaurant and pub. The tuna appetizer was enjoyed and the wings were on point. Only one choice of sauce, that we knew of, and served piping hot. As other people have mentioned the portions seem a little out of whack. There were roughly 10 – 12 wings on the plate toted as an «appetizer» and the tartare was enough to feed two people comfortably.
Now onto the entrees. I ordered the Pub Burger I’d previously seen people rave about and my date ordered the Chop Chop Cobb Salad. The Pub Burger for $ 7.95 came with no sides so I ordered the Mac and Cheese for an additional $ 4.95 (also something I’d seen talked about). The salad was a standard salad portion loaded with goodies and the burger was served on a plate for a dinner roll (??) and the mac and cheese came out bubbling with what looked like cheesy goodness. I hate to do it dear review readers but this is as far as the compliments on the food go for me for this restaurant.
What I’m trying to say in the nicest way possible is that either someone forgot to tell the chef he needs to use seasoning or they just don’t care. My burger which I’d ordered medium came out well done and the sliced onion was served under the bun (??). No ketchup on the table to help with the blandness and even a few shakes of salt and pepper couldn’t help the burger. It was basically a hunk of meat with a piece of cheese on a bun. The macaroni and cheese lacked flavor as well, maybe I expected too much based on the reviews I’d read previously. While my date enjoyed his salad somewhat the chicken in the salad also wasn’t seasoned. It was merely grilled and chopped up and put on the plate.
Our waitress was lovely and seemed knowledgeable on the menu from the few questions we asked. She was the only one working the dining room which had pretty much filled up by the time we were finished.
I don’t think that we’ll be eating here again, we used our Groupon and have called it a day. There is another BJ Ryan’s, the Banc house, right near our home that always seems to be filled with people and music and life. It’s supposed to be more of a BBQ joint. Maybe we’ll give it a go in hopes that the chef there isn’t afraid of a little salt and pepper.
I can’t give this place more than 2 stars unfortunately, maybe it was just an off day.

I like this place except for one glaring flaw. I only ever order roast prime rib and it is always tough, tasty but tough. I’m a retired chef and former meat salesman. Buy a better grade of beef and raise your prices a bit if need. You should be able to serve USDA Choice, maybe a Certified Black Angus, for a few dollars more.

Wife and I do BJ’s once a week mid afternoon. Always a good pint or 2 to be had on the beer of the moment board. If not, Seahag is a great backup. Sometimes the specials grab my eye, but in the end the burger is one of the best. Val usually has the soup of the day and have never heard a negative review. Service is beyond expectations. Nice to have the days papers to read while enjoying those first few sips.

Place is big and casual. Bartenders were very friendly. They have outdoor seating area in the front of the restaurant. I ordered the cold lobster roll — it was fresh and very good. Good place to hang out with friends.

Okay this is an update from my last review last year.
We were craving burgers so of course we headed to Bj Ryan’s! I almost forgotten house amazing their burgers were! omg. delicious!

I Ordered a few dishes for take-​out tonight with my husband for our ‘home V-​Day one day late date night’ and both my husband and I loved everything!!! The ribs were Falling off the bone and juicy, the pulled pork nachos delicious, the bam bam shrimp, my new fave dish, and the buffalo wings, sooooo good!!! Even the fries that came with the ribs were still crispy and warm and the cole slaw tasted so fresh!!! Everything was packed perfectly and all condiments needed were included, along with plenty utensils!!!
I’ve been here once before and wanted for my husband to try out the food, and he’s absolutely impressed as well!!!
We will definitely be back with the family in a couple of weeks to celebrate his birthday! ;)

This place is a po-​dunk watering hole fit for a Philly hobo that truly deserves 1 star. I’m feeling generous today. The pizza is presented on a flour tortilla crust which is beyond shameful. The staff is lazy and clearly don’t want to be at the office. Clientele is generally well behaved but at the end of the day it’s Connecticut. Boring, childish and mediocre.

I can’t think of anything remotely unpleasant about this place. In a town that I feel leaves much to be desired, this place is a gem. The French onion soup is fantastic and the prime rib is absolutely to die for. The service was nothing short of exceptional. The wait staff here is on point. Plenty of great beers as well. I recommend trying their own house brew. If I ever happen to be back in this town I will definitely be coming back to BJ Ryan’s.

This is my first time coming to BJ Ryan’s, and we really only got around to going because of the groupon deal that they have going on. I really liked the inside of the place, and the waitstaff is excellent, but the food was not as amazing as I was expecting. It’s weird because it’s technically a sports bar with a ton of tvs, but it’s also a sit down restaurant with cloth napkins. Either way the service was excellent and the draft beers were poured really well, and the food was pretty good but could have used some tweaking. They used this strange sort of fish for my beer battered fish and chips, and that seemed odd to me. It didn’t flake like fired cod does, but I ate it any way without complaint. If I had to choose between this BJ Ryan’s and BJ Ryan’s BANC House, I would choose BANC House. It has a better chef.

Food (prime rib, flank steak, and some others) was good but service was painfully slow. Makes me wonder if we were often forgotten. I could see returning more for the bar and less for the food and service. If I could give 2.5 stars I would.