Took the family here and found it to be just OK. Â More bar than restaurant, the food was basic with no surprises and no real flavors that popped in any way. Â People were nice enough but the food took a long time and none of us (two adults and two kids) were thrilled with the results.
Review Source:Food is mediocre and service is just ok. I can tell you that if a negative star existed I would have chosen it. The bad taste in my mouth didn't come from the small and tasteless calamari or the slightly cooler than room temperature beer, but rather the trickery of their Groupon offer. The offer was $60 for dinner/drinks for 4 people and required a single food purchase. I went with 2 other people and we ordered enough food and drinks for 4-5. I also told the waitress we had a Groupon when sitting down and she said no problem. Who would think the manager would deny it based on us being 3 people, not 4? So in his mind I could have grabbed a warm body from the street to sit there and then we would have been able to use it. How can the number of persons and not the total bill be used to justify use of a Groupon or coupon? One more example of a society that refuses to think. This place can take some lessons in customer service and basic logic.
Review Source:We ate dinner there last night and we were very disappointed in the food. Â We had the pulled pork nachos and many of the chips were stale. Â
We also had the buffalo chicken wings and they were drenched in hot sauce and didn't seem like the chicken was cooked properly. Â The wedge salads were decent. Â
I think its a great bar but we will not be going back for dinner anytime soon.
I came here for lunch and ordered the fish and chips. They were probably the best I've had in Connecticut, it was extremely large and flavorful. Most places over fry it but they have this down perfectly. Their beer choices are bit limited but will do. Perhaps if they had a lunch menu, I'd come here more often.
Review Source:I think perhaps if you stick to burgers and sandwiches you will be okay. All I can say is thank goodness I had a groupon for this, as it really was poor experience:
1) We arrived and it was pretty quiet. Maybe three tables occupied. So why the delay in getting a drink order?
2) Drinks took FOREVER, and the bar is 10 feet from where we are sitting, and there is no one sitting there, not busy.
3) My drink came with TOTALLY flat soda in it. I sent it back. He gave me the another one and said "bubbles were coming out". It was totally flat again. I just dealt with it.
4) My wife ordered the pulled pork sandwich. It was so dry she has to ask for some BBQ sauce so she could eat it. Taste was ok, just dry. Fries were ok.
5) I made the mistake of ordering something from the specials. A trout with cajun remoulade. No spice, fish looked a week old. Just gross. At least the sides were tasty, beans and some rice. Tough to mess those up.
Now we get the bill, and of course, no surprise, no sign of the groupon discount. Had to remind the waiter he took our groupon when we came in. "oh yeah, let me fix that". I could see it if he had more than 3 tables to wait.
Go to the other restaurant around the corner, BJ Ryan's BANC house. I have never had a bad meal there. It is wonderful. More creative menu, nicer staff, cleaner surroundings. No comparison.
This is my 2nd time at BJ Ryan's and I was unfortunate enough to get the same waitress twice! Â Her name was Deb, so watch out if you go for lunch. Â She forgot our drinks and never checked up on us. Â She wasn't very friendly either. Â The food took FOREVER and it was was just ho-hum. Â And what is it about New York and Connecticut and not having yellow mustard????
Review Source:So far so good! At around 11:20 my boyfriend and I were starving and trying to decide where to find something (diner or wendy's?). We ended up finding this cool little place in a slightly sketchy area of norwalk.
The first time we came here it was super super quiet and the service was great. Food excellent. We had the iceberg wedge salad and burger that was delicious. The second time we came here it was a little after 10 pm and it was packed full of people (the bar area was so obnoxious and awful I had to take away a star). I was sick so I got the french onion soup and a tea. My soup was delicious, very flavorful and a good size as well but I can't understand why a cup of tea is $2. Your giving me a cup of hot water that I could get for free at burger king. They also had jello shots, dark and stormy's and an assortment of yummy martini's.
It looked like there was some upstairs seating as well. Will have to check it out next time.
We generally have lunch here a couple of time a week and never tire of the menu! Â Our primary waitperson is Deb and she is fantastic! Â Our "usual" drinks are on the table as soon as we are seated and that's just the beginning. Â I love the fish taco, but the specials board is always interesting - a real favorite with us!
Review Source:Our "go to" casual restaurant. Excellent bar food. Could be the best burger in the tri-state area. Plenty of hi-def TV's for the current sporting events. Have had the burger, mac & cheese, tuna, multiple salads, several of the dinner entrees and have never been disappointed. The service has always been excellent  and includes our favorite Connecticut waitress - Gina. BJ Ryan seems to always be present to assure smooth workings. There is also an upstairs bar & dining area so if the main downstairs area is loud or crowded the upstairs option is good too. Apps excellent as are the deserts. Beer, wine & drink prices are fair.
Review Source:Been going to BJ Ryans on and off for the past year. Â I love this place. Â You can sit the bar, in the bar area or even the dining area and feel like you a regular (even if you're not). Â Sitting at the bar, you get the show from the kitchen through the square window where the chef is not simply a short order cook, this guy knows his stuff. He runs the kitchen with finesse putting out amazing bar food and entrees that defy description. Â I love the fish tacos, the bar burgers, pizzas and have been amazed by the soups. If he is making the LemonGrass Chicken soup don't miss it. Â Mussels are awesome and really nothing I have ever gotten has been anything less than top notch. Â As a stout drinker the bartenders pour a decent glass and they have their own beer (similar to a killians) plus a diverse bottled beer and tap selection. Â I am surprised by the negative reviews. Â Everyone I have brought here has been impressed.
Review Source:burger on a tea cup saucer was eh ok.....service sucked. Â Don't even know her name she didn't tell us... I just know she had blonde hair and seemed mad that we even walked in...getting seated next to the emergency exit on a 20 degree day with the cooks running in and out for onions wasn't a good start... Moved to the next table and that seemed to bother her.. explained to her why we moved and not even a "sorry"....I wasn't interested in feeling like i was eating on the terrace.....later she refilled a water and slammed it down on the table...on our way out she walked passed us and didn't even say goodbye... unbelievable. Â She seemed to be conversing with others in a more playful way but not with us so it was on purpose...She definitely needs an attitude adjustment...
Review Source:BJ Ryan's is a restaurant bar with fantastic food and great wine. Â I strongly recommend its Bamm Bamm Shrimp. Â They are to die for! Â The perfect spice. Â
I have had most sandwiches here and my favorite are the Turkey Reuben, and the Carolina Pulled Pork. Â Salads are good here too.
BJ's has its signature brew, really supercheap pub burger made to order, and the appetizers are outstanding. Interesting food and gourmet pub fare at reasonable prices make this a great place. A fine addition to Norwalk's pub scene, but well out of the way from the trafficky parts of town. A real find.
Review Source:This was by far one of the worst experiences I ever had at a restaurant. The service was horrible. It's a bar, yet for some reason it was crawling with children. The waiter didn't even know what bok choy was even though it is on the menu. It took him 20 min to discover they were out of Splenda. He thought it was strange I wanted my bread before the meal. My brother's food got cold while he waited for a soda refill that never came
Review Source:Been here twice and this place is pretty solid. I grew up in the area but didn't know it was here until recently.
Hostesses and servers are friendly, beer is reasonably priced ($4-5 drafts), and the food is good. I actually think some of the food is overpriced, but it's good and since the drinks are cheap it evens out!
I am a sucker for anything with truffles so it's no wonder I got the mushroom/pancetta/truffle pizza once and also split the mushroom ravioli with truffle cream sauce as an appetizer the next time. Both were great. There were only 3 ravioli for $9.95 though, hence why I mentioned some things are overpriced. Also had the wedge salad and it was good. My friend got the philly cheese steak sandwich which looked good, and the fries that came with it were simple yet tasty.
I'd come back!
This is a great place. Feels like a dive bar without being a dive bar. The Food is excellent. Try the fish tacos (actually a burrito) If you are lucky enough to be there around midnight (any night) you will get free pizza and whatever else they feel like cooking up. The bartenders are friendly and get to know you the first time you're there. The rest of the staff is also great. The bar can get crowded at times, but there is an upstairs for additional dining. If you are in the area and want some great food/atmosphere/drinks, I suggest you stop in.
Review Source:What a find. Mr. Ryan (I forget his first name) Â was very much in evidence, and making sure all was going just right the Sun. afternoon we went. He has really transformed this space, once a dive bar.
It's obviously very cared-for, from the kitchen to the bar to the dining area. The food and attentive service was great. _Especially_ the lobster eggs benedict and the bone marrow (my girlfriend is an "adventurous eater," and, by extension, I have become an adventurous taster.
Did I mention she's an adventurous drinker too? She ordered some sort of pumpkin martini. I'm not a big fan. But it was surprisingly tasty--and a good drink(!)
It seems everything here gets thoughtful, careful, even loving attention.
All four of us, including our very picky friends, were extremely pleased.
UPDATE, Summer 2011:
Yes, it's really good. I had some sort of specialized eggs benedict (salmon?), and it was delicious, the hollandaise sauce wonderfully light and tasty.
But beware--it still looks like a dive bar, and a closed one at that. Don't let the closed door and lack of lights or signs fool you! Go in!
When you arrive in a small CT town after 10:00 PM and try to find dinner for three great coworkers - you have to hope there isn't a drive through speaker introduction to your server. The hotel suggested Tuscan, closed, Dina's (kitchen was closed but Dina the owner was wonderful and called down to BJ's and made sure the kitchen was open), and finally at 10:30 we arrive at BJ's. Tired we all ordered as if it was 11:00 AM not 11:00 PM and the experience memorable. Steve our waiter made suggestions and while two of us had pie (pizza) the others of us had custom ground Angus burgers. What a great decision each were perfect - my burger had Gorgonzola and bacon (tried to give the pig away) and instead of fries, Steve suggested their custom mac and cheese. Well done we all enjoyed the mac and the rest of our meals and some of the group liked their local beers too. Hope to come back to the area and try BJ's again. Well done all.
Review Source:We just returned from dinner after hearing so much about BJ Ryans and the "gastopub" theme. While the menu did have interesting twists to traditional items the "pub" atmosphere defined the place. Having accepted that we were in a real pub aka sports on widescreens, bar area as large as seating area, and noise level to match we settled in. I ordered the Bang Bang Rock shrimp which while good were not rock shrimp. If your advertising rock shrimp ya better make 'em rock shrimp! Big difference in price, texture, and taste vs typical farm raised ( I'm in the sfd biz). My wife's crab finger crepes were delicate but not flavorful enough and the three puny crepes looked lonely next to my large shrimp app.
Pizzas looked very good and my wife's thin crusted shrimp and pesto pizza was indeed good. Very rich and flaky. I, unfortunately, ordered the queen cut  prime rib which was ordered medium but came out alive. It came back correctly cooked but was not tender and was accompanied by plain steamed baby carrots and snow peas. BORING. Baked potato was standard fare. Perhaps a more creative dish would have been a better choice.
Service was attentive and prompt but we got shifted back and forth among the two solitary waiters that we had to repeat some requests.
The bar area looks like it could be fun but I can think of quite a few other places as well that fit that bill. Also not sure how safe that area is at 2am leaving a pub!?
warm, friendly, good food and cold beer. Â do you really need anything more?
i wanted to take my friend john out for a belated bday dinner and of all the places in town, he wanted to go to b.j.'s. Â
he highly recommended the bang bang shrimp - a rock shrimp with a spicy kick and insisted that you can't go wrong with anything off the menu.
there were some surprisingly fancier dishes such as the steak tartare and the roasted marrow bones but the winner that night was their special soup of the day: a pumpkin gruyere soup. Â rich, smooth, and delicious!
our group ordered the hearty reubens with a load of fries and the pasta dishes with their signature meat sauce. Â we're still guessing what was in the pasta sauce - it was either cream or sourcream. Â whatever it was, it was tasty. Â
i'm glad that i didn't pass this place up for any old sports bar. Â b.j.'s boasted some solid food in town.
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