Ciro's Tavern

On the occasion that i go here i always seem to enjoy myself. Alot of people will say its a townie bar. It is tucked away in a not so desirable slot in Woonsocket, but you have to put that aside. The foods decent and everyone seems to get along fine there. I like the live entertainment they have and the owners are always willing to take time and talk with you!

My grandparents, both over 80 years old, love living in "downtown" Woonsocket because their bank, pharmacy, and several restaurants are within walking distance. The other day Memere was telling me about the last time they walked to Ciro's. It's about a half mile walk and on the way there it started to rain. As they were leaving their waitress insisted on driving them home because it was too long of a walk in the rain. If my grandparents could Yelp (their most recent step forward into technology came when they got a cordless phone...not a cell phone, just a cordless house phone. So I don't think Yelp is coming any time soon), then they'd give this place a gushing 5 review. Memere had a huge smile on her face the entire time she talked about their meal and their waitress.

My brother is a regular here and when our dad died he asked to rent out their upstairs room for a post-funeral gathering. Their function room really took me by surprise. The downstairs has a dark, tavern like feel to it, but their upstairs looks like the inside of a medieval castle. They opened the place for us hours before they actually opened, served the gathering everything from cheese and crackers to wings and pizza, and when the bill came it was about half of what we expected to pay.

They serve some interesting and good beers, they have good food, and I just plain like the look of the place. But the way my family has been treated their elevates this place from a really good place for dinner and drinks to an easy 5-star tavern.

Woonsocket is a northern Rhode Island town with an industrial history that I have probably been to no more than five or ten times in my life, always in passing. My friends also were unfamiliar with the essence of Woonsocket, so we planned a night around dining at Ciro's, a well-known and unique tavern in Woonsocket, followed by an evening of jazz at Chan's, another Woonsocket institution. We kicked off our night nice and early, meeting at Ciro's at 6.

You may notice a sort of castle-like exterior at Ciro's.  Little did I know this medieval style of the building was actually foreshadowing the interior theme of the restaurant!

We were seated on the first floor, which has a pretty standard tavern sort of feel.  However, our friends told us to check out the second floor, which was reserved that night for a 40th birthday party.  Apparently, it's the second floor that the restaurant is known for, and after our visit up there, it was clear why!

The second floor was all out decorated as if it was a medieval castle, complete with armor and coats of arms!

It was sort of amazing, and now I totally see why Ciro's is the place to go in Woonsocket.  I would love to have a party in that room one day!

Anyway, back on the first floor, which was really nice in and of itself, we got to the business of ordering dinner.  By the way, if you ever go to Ciro's, read the back of the menu, which details the restaurant's history.  True fact- at one time long ago, it was quite the popular brothel!

The menu plain and simple, is quite awesome.  The appetizer list was amazing, full of vegetarian options, and overall, the restaurant offered a Rhode Island, unique and sophisticated twist on standard pub or tavern food.

As for vegetarian apps, we shared some sea-salted edamame.  I loved the visible flecks of sea salt!

The best app, in my opinion, was one I had never tried before in my life- fried pickles!  Served with a honey mustard dipping sauce, these pickles were divine.  The coating was nice and crispy, while the pickles inside were so tender.  It was such a fun food to try, and those pickles alone were reason enough to return to Ciro's soon.

For dinner, I started with their simple mixed greens salad with balsamic.  For a "simple" salad, it was quite the beast, in a fantastic way of course.  The veggies were fresh and their was a good variety of them, including mixed greens, carrots, red onions, and tomatoes.  The homemade croutons on top didn't disappoint either.  The salad was huge too- I had to hand over half to my husband to finish.

Also, I had some of their perfect steak fries.  Actually, my husband ordered a sandwich and ordered the fries on the side so I could have some.  I can't confirm this, but these had homemade all over them too- the fries were thick and well seasoned.

And finally, I ordered their cheese grilled pizza.  I expected the pizza to be personal-sized, but I was wrong- it was definitely full-sized!  I thoroughly enjoyed it- the thin crust was tasty and the cheese and sauce were too!

Ciro's was a total win and Woonsocket is so lucky to have it!