I love this place! It's a true hidden gem..Not  a huge, but definately an excellent craft beer selection, excellent customer service and their food is to die for! I dont think you can go wrong with anything on the menu, from the Shepards pie, to the beef chedks to the portabella burger, everything is delish!!. We usually just eat at the bar, but there is outside seating..I'm still looking forward to sitting in the back patio..
Review Source:First off, "Ritual" is one of the best gastro-pubs I've ever experienced, and I've made it a mission in life to find great gastro-pubs. Â Their food is always excellent, as it is made with quality, natural, local products, and they have an amazingly deep beer selection. Â If you don't care for the food/beer here, then might I recommend you go to TGI Fridays. Â
That said, I recently was offered a position in Virginia and my fiance and I wanted to stage a quick wedding to make sure that all of our local friends and family were able to be with us on our special day. Â So, in the matter of 10 days we scheduled a wedding from beginning to end. Â We reached out to Ritual to see if they could help us out with the reception, and I have to say, the customer service, quality and attention to detail were 1st Class. Â They even made us an RSVP graphic to send out to our guests that was original, classy, and informative. Â The food was great, they helped us with the smallest of details, worked very closely with us on our menu and were incredibly accommodating given our quick turn around. Â
Believe me, this is the place you want to go for drinks/dinner and all the way to your most special of occasions. Â My only regret is that now that we are in Virginia, that my wife and I won't be able to frequent Ritual until we come back to SD on vacation. Â These guys Rock!!!
On every Drinkabout I've been on, I've always wanted to stop here and never had the chance to. Finally, I did and I'm so glad! The front is a little misleading making it look smaller than it actually is. It has a great wraparound porch with seating, indoor dining area and a small and pretty back area which is where we sat.
They have a great variety of beers and ciders not to mention desserts and food. I ordered a cider and a creme brulee, both tasty. Our server was very friendly and I liked the ambiance of the patio beer garden. I will definitely be back here. It's a great place to relax and have a beer or two if you are in North Park.
Well, well, well! Â What a great spot for great local food and beer as well as a great patio! Â I've enjoyed three separate meals here now and I'm a fan for sure!
I appreciate that they are serving up Catalina Offshore seafoods too.
The wild boar burger was melt in your mouth goodness and the carmelized onions really sealed the deal. Â We went for the beer steamed mussels with bacon - a nice switch up on the dish. Â Those were two of our favorite dishes. Â I like the small plates to share and I also appreciated no "splitting" charge. Â That one is still really hard for me to swallow. Â The joy of food is sharing - right? Â I digress.
The decor as I said is great - my only note that feels awkward is the lack of uniformity for the wait staff. Â I wasn't a fan of my server wearing short shorts and I couldn't really tell who worked there and who was a customer. Â But the food and drink are great.
Love this place and it's mellow ambiance. I came here a couple of times for drinks and conversations with friends. They do have a pretty good beer selection. I finally found a beer that I really like, Framboise. Shepherd's pie was so comforting and yummy. My favorite thing at Ritual is the habanero and carrot puree hot sauce. It is so ridiculously delicious once you actually can get it out of the bottle.
Review Source:I wanted to write a review after spending Saturday at RT celebrating my friends wedding reception. RT was amazing on all levels. We had the back patio, about 25 people. The staff was amazing, attentive, kind, prompt.... you name it.
They knew our orders, knew our names, served great food, apps and beer.
They were always there to clear a dish, bring us whatever we needed, replace, refill, snap a pic, anything and everything.
I would highly recommend using RT for a group function, party, reception....anything.
PS. I had the Flank Steak, and it was awesome! The Halibut was also excellent.
Great service, great food, and great atmosphere. Big cheers to the staff and management at RT who helped the Madison/Tullos reception.
This place is so great - my husband I especially love grabbing a seat in the back garden area. The food is delicious and made with really high quality, local ingredients. All of the condiments and stuff are house made including the ketchup, mustard, and (my favorite) carrot habanero hot sauce. The Vegan burger is spiced amazingly, the vegan pot pie is really tasty and their fries are scrumptious! They've got a smaller selection of beers, BUT they are all really good beers.
Review Source:Love this place. Consistently good beer, food, and service. Was here for a late dinner at the bar a couple Fridays ago and had the burger. It was cooked as I requested and the fries were good. Buddy had the cheese and salami board, looked good, and other buddy had the vegan shepherd's pie. They were both satisfied with their food.
Yesterday visited again for brunch and sat on the back patio - what a beautiful, peaceful little spot! We shared the beet salad (OMG so yummy with delicious basil oil). the lentil burger, and onion rings. Our server was pleasant and quick. We'll def be back! This place is solid.
Their beer menu was simply just ok. Â It was 8 taps (at least that day), and the list was inaccurate as 1 of the beers blew and was replaced by one of the beers they listed in the on-deck area. Â too bad, since the beer that blew was the only one I really cared to drink.
Happy hour is an ok deal, wish all the taps would get the $1 off.
I really like outdoor area in back. Â
The food quality was good, but kind of pricy. Â The garlic fries are probably the best bet. Â The charcuterie plate was ok. Â The lentil burger was a little meh. Â The hummus was tasty. Â
Overall I still have to give it a 3. Â Maybe 3.5, but gotta round down in this case.
Great beer selection, amazing wines, mussels are fantastic. Â I actually love this place. Â I always leave full, happy and buzzed. Â The staff is truly cool. Â They are just nice people. Â Once they made us a stone smoked porter shake with vanilla ice cream, just so good. Â Love to this place! Â 10,000 years!
Review Source:myPley:
Not in north park much, but if Iam in the area ritual tavern is where I shall find my repose. We ordered a bunch of food and a bunch of drinks, which I found pleasing.
I have to give a shout out to carrie, who put up with my belligerent buddie's cacophony. She smiled and her hair locks swung happily during the extent of our stay. Imagine a waterfall, when the body of water reaches the bottom, it moves about with a grace and alluring flow that puts the most distraught onlookers at ease. Carrie has that flow, glad she hosted us.
My first time here was in March of 2013 for my 21st birthday.
After reading reviews and exploring the menu this place had to be my first pick. Yet, I noted they did not take reservations and seeing as I had a minimum party of 15 for dinner on a Friday I just knew it wouldn't work. I attempted to make a reservation elsewhere and after being thrown around in loops for a week and a half I decided to take my business elsewhere. I called Ritual about two days before my birthday because I was running out of time and options. To my delight, they said they would accept us. (Whoo!)
Getting to the point. The staff was absolutely amazing, they could not have been more accommodating. Our server (Who's name I can not remember, I am terribly sorry... you know the whole turning 21 thing.) was cute, friendly, organized and just overall fantastic. Â Our food arrived in a timely manner, no complications what so ever.
I ordered the Vegan Shepard pie, I ate a few bites since I did not realize the dish contained tofu (I have an intolerance to soy, that was my fault for neglecting to ask) from what I had I enjoyed it. I ate a few bites of my friends dishes, I would order the lentil burger next time.
Although we had a large party in a rather small establishment, and the credit card machine crashed right as we were checking out we were treated as family.
Great service, attractive staff, and delicious food! I will definitely be back.
I left my meal here pretty happy. The outside is pretty inviting given the location, but when you walk inside it's a little dreary. I got that they were going for the old english pub feel, but it got neglected. It just felt dusty and dark and the big drapery felt old.
Decor aside, our food was pretty good. I had the lentil burger. Good flavor, yummy with the homemade ketchup. Boyfriend had the boar burger. Said it was a little dry and a little under seasoned. Fries for both were crispy and clearly hand made.
I loved that they had several cider options. We love our cider so I like when I can choose one!
It's a little out of the way for me, but I'll probably be back at some point!
This place is pretty sweet!! if you're looking for good food and great beer with a peaceful atmosphere then this is the place to go!! Â Their selection of beer is great and and they are always bringing in new beers. Â The music selection is great as well and isn't blaring so loud that you have to shout at the person sitting next to you, which creates a peaceful environment in my opinion. Â Carrie is such an awesome bartender and always know which beers to suggest, not to mention she remembers what beer I ordered last time I was in there (even if I don't). Â Definitely ask for Carrie when you stop in for your next visit. Â This is one of the best places to go in North Park.
Keep up the good work!!
I respect any restaurant that attempts to serve locally sourced and/or organic foods. Â Ritual Tavern is one of those places. Â It's gastropub meets local favorite joint meets craft beer joint... and for some reason kind of has that "at-home" feel like the show Cheers! Â I am not totally blown away by their food but it is on the healthy and tasty side. Â If you are SO sick of pork belly and 1500 calorie tot dishes, maybe give this place a shot!
Review Source:Go. Grab yourself an imperial stout. Order the Shepherd's Pie. Douse generously with RT's homemade carrot habanero sauce. Take a bite. Close your eyes and transport yourself to a small pub somewhere in Scotland or Northern England. Â Agree with other Yelpers that service could use improving but that Sheperd's Pie is ridiculously good.
Review Source:One star for the server and another for the bread pudding I ordered.
Amongst the bread pudding, my party also ordered the ice cream sandwich and stout beer floats.
I ordered the ice cream sandwich because the waitress recommended it but I didn't think it was good at all. Even with my big sweet tooth, I managed to only take 2 bites before pawning it off to my less picky friends. As for the beer floats, what we got were beer shakes which were not what we ordered. To specify: beer floats are like root beer floats where ice cream is scooped on top of the liquid-- not blended!
To not waste the $11 on each shake, we started playing a drinking game so that we could knock them out quick.
On the brighter side, I did hear the food is good here (sans the ice cream sandwich), so maybe we'll return for that.
Totally torn on Ritual. The Happy Hour and service sucks, however I REALLY like the food I have had and the insane beer selection. Service has CONSISTENTLY sucked. I have been here a few times, it was dead dead dead in there and it took like 20-25 minutes to get a drink or service or even a hello. NO WONDER it's dead. I am actually really irritated about that and should dock them down to a 1 or 2. I KNOW they saw me yet they went about polishing glasses folding napkins etc and acted way to bothered for the ONLY customer in there.
OK so HH there 4:30-6:30 Â Tues-Sun
 $1 off "select beers" (which was not the gluten free one that I ordered, but for $5 it was still reasonable). I know, gluten free beer right? Well it's a new allergy for me and I LOVE beer, so yeah sucks to be me. It was like a Budweiser and a cider combined and in a bottle. Which.. cue BAD SERVICE, i was handed a glass and a bottle, she never poured my beer?? I am still pissed that I tipped. That is the 2nd time.  IDK if it's against the rules here to pour a beer in a glass or wtf is going on, but everywhere else does it.
It was the only GF beer but they did have Ciders that were GF, which i didn't try.
There are 2 food items for HH (pffft)
Garlic Fries $4
Hummus and Pita $5
Yeah, WAY bummed on the sucky HH.
The Fish and Chips ($15) are the pièce de résistance here. Yes, quite possibly the best fish n chips I have ever had. Crunchy, delicate, flavorful, VERY fresh fish fried to perfection and the fries weren't to shabby either!
The marinated chicken dish ($17) is lick your plate clean good, SO delish!! I am super picky about chicken and the prep, taste, and presentation really delivered for me.
I have been eyeing that wild boar burger ($13) so there most definitely will be an update in the near future.
this place has been on my to do list for quite a while.
but alas, it was not as good as i had expected. not horrible, mind you, but non memorable, either.
i ordered the cesar salad, the mussels, and the parmesan fries.
the cesar had anchovies, which was a plus, but the dressing was lacking.
the mussels were so-so, specifically because the 'sauce' was somewhat bland. im used to the 'sauce' being so good that i sop & slurp it up entirely.
the parm fries were ... lacking in parm. they were more just 'fries.' everyone else's photos had much more topping than mine. maybe they hate me for some reason? idk...
anyways, not HORRIBLE. but just 'ok.'
i would come back to try some of their other items, though.
This is one of those "hidden gem" kind of places, where if you don't know about it or give it a chance, you won't realize how nice it is to eat or drink there. They have more room inside than you'd think, plus and outside patio.
Their happy hour is pretty good, 4:30-6:30 nightly. For a place like this, you'd expect there to be a good selection of beers to drink, and you'd be right. But where you'd be surprised is with the food. Definitely give the Shepherd's Pie a shot...natural lamb, beef, and organic seasonal vegetables topped with toasted mashed potatoes. But they also have a vegan version! They actually have a vegan lentil burger that's really good too. And for dessert, give the beignets with cinnamon & apple sauce a try. Mmmm.
My work schedule has caused me to forget how to have fun when I have free time.
So, on a Friday night, I wanted to go out and my friends and I weren't looking for the bar scene this weekend, so we checked out Ritual Tavern.
I appreciated that it isn't really loud and crowded, and the ambiance is nice with the darkish lighting and all of that. The patio seems super nice as well!
They have a huge selection of beers, from drafts to stuff the fancy people drink. I loved the Stone Double Bastard!
Kitchen closes at 1030, and the bar closes around 12 I believe, but the place is open until 2 so if you were hoping for food and drinks late then keep in mind when the kitchen closes!
Nothing was really bad about this place, nothing was great. I enjoyed hanging out here but don't expect to become a regular.
A nice option if you're looking for a chill night out.
This is one of the great places in North Park. Â Ritual Tavern's food is at least as good as that of Urban Solace (though the Smoking Goat's may be even better), and it's less expensive. Â My wife and I had the shepherd's pie and bouillabaisse for dinner, and really enjoyed them both.
The place has good atmosphere too, and an excellent beer menu, including but not limited to many tasty San Diego beers, including a few I hadn't had before. Â It's the way a tavern should be. Â I definitely recommend it.
I've been here a few times, once for an early dinner and another on the night of a Drink About. The staff is extremely friendly and has the right balance of chatty to giving you some space. The beer selection is ever-changing, ask for a sample if you're unsure.
For dinner, I tried the vegan shepherd's pie which was yummy. Next time I'm definitely trying the meat one!!!
it took several visits before the Ritual truly revealed itself to me.
You see, the first few times coming here, it was early, the place was empty, and the bar seemed a natural spot for a few pints and a quick bite. Â and hands down, the bar is cozy, the service is great, and - seriously, have you tried the food? add rabbit stew and you feel like you are getting a menu fit for any tavern in the foggy bits of Europe.
and i truly enjoyed those meals. Â but for some reason, never enough to remember to write a review.
until now. Â now that I 'get you' - and the key to that revelation was sitting in the main area. Â what the bar showed me love in food, service, warmth - the rest of the place completes with perfect authenticity of a tavern (beyond a place just putting the word in its name)
ok, maybe "authenticity" is a small stretch - but damn, this is a nice space. Â the back patio isn't as nice as, say, Jayne's - but it's pretty solid. Â the main room seems more out of Europe than North Park, and the whole "hang out and drink, let me know if/when you want food" is the reason I tend to head straight to the bar in other places - as I find place that have this set up DON'T usually encourage such casualness in the main dining area. I will spare you from a rant about 'turning tables' vs 'giving up the huge tab I would have racked up had you not hovered' experiences at other places.....But that's the point - I found a place where I love the food, beers, service, vibe, and general tavern etiquette.
and tehrefore, a return is (wait for it) a new ritual in this monkey's life.
respect.
We attended the AleSmith brewery dinner in late September that featured the talents of their new chef Kyle Bergman who used to work at the Lodge at Torrey Pines.
Hiring Kyle should be a big game changer for the Ritual Tavern as I felt the menu had become a bit stale. Â
It was an amazing dinner that showcased the skills Kyle has in the kitchen. Â
First course was a duo of melon soup with a bit of heat coming from habanero chilies, sweet spicy and worked well with the XPA.
Second course house cured coriander salmon on top of tomato and jicama salad, it was an awesome pairing with the IPA.
Third course Crispy roasted quail, think of a mini Thanksgiving plate served with Evil Dead Red..YUM!
Fourth course - now getting full...bourbon glazed oak roasted pork loin with apple and fennel paired with double coffee Speedway Stout. Â This put me over the top, but I managed to eat most of it.
Last course: Mini Apple turnover with cinnamon ice cream served with Old Numbskull Barleywine, this made my girl squeal with delight. Â
Great service served in a rustic environment with a great new chef means we will frequent the Ritual much more often.
I've been living in SD for too long to have this be my first visit to Ritual Tavern, but there ya have it :)
I met some friends who have a dog, so we had dinner on the front patio. Â
Best: Service. Â Friendly, prompt and fun. Â Can't ask for more!
Next Best: Food. Â Local, earthy and tasty. Â I had the almond-crusted sea bass along with a pumpkin soup (pumpkin courtesy of Suzie's farm), and both were excellent, and healthy portions to boot.
Next best: wine. Â What can I say? :)
I'm a fan of the intimacy that Ritual Tavern provides. Â After having a round of beers at Toronado, and struggling to hear what the person next to me was talking about, I decided to lead our group to a more mellow environment. Â It was after midnight and there were only 3 people in the tavern aside from the bartender, and that suited my group just fine.
There are a handful of tables in the dining room and on the patio and about 8 high back stools at the bar. Â There are also a slew of board games and card decks to keep you and a friend entertained.
While their beer selection is nowhere near as diverse as Toronado, they do still offer a great mix of domestic and imported gems. Â The bartender is engaging and will definitely steer you in the right direction if you've lost your way. Â And you'll also notice a decent amount of outdoor seating as well.
It's a definite...
This place is reaaalllly good. I normally have the chicken sandwich (if you are going to take this adventure, def SHARE it. It's HUGE). Today I also had the mussels . They asked if I wanted them boiled in bacon and beer OR something else, who hears anything after bacon and beer really?
Anyways, I think it's a little on the pricey side, even when sharing. $13 (but its huge).
Shared chicken,mussels, and one wine and it was $31 and that's w/o the tip
The good: Good beer selection (mostly bottle), great atmosphere, tasty food
The not so good: Could be more beers on tap and of those too many IPA's for my taste.
In short, I'll go again. Â There's rarely a big crowd, and it does not attract children the way True North or even Toronado does. Â It's a nice place for grown-ups!
We ended up at The Ritual for some after dinner drinks this past weekend. Â I love that we found parking just a hop, skip and a jump away. Â And we had no trouble snagging a table on their outside patio (which is puppy friendly BTW). Â
They have a good selection of beer on tap and bottled. Â The BF and I stuck to AleSmith Wee Heavy. Â It's rich, smooth and has hints of coffee...my kind of ale. Â They do have a small, less impressive wine list for those non-beer drinkers. Â
The only food item I've tried on their menu is their Brioche Bread Pudding a la Mode (served with vanilla ice cream and a beer reduction) and I highly recommend it. Â It's warm with just the right amount of sweetness and paired perfectly with ice cream. Â I have to remember to try some of their other food sometime, but I can't seem to see past the bread pudding! Â :-)
Service is fast and friendly. Â I do appreciate that they also remember that hydration is key (thanks for the carafes of water on the table). Â The owners also love to make the rounds with their customers and remember regulars (like our friend).
Stopped in and sat at the bar for a quick drink and an appetizer. Didn't get a chance to really see the entire dining room but the atmosphere was very homey and comfortable. There are games for use available near the bar which I thought was a cute touch. Â The music playing was really what got me. Who knew Joy Division & The Damned made for great drinking music.
Brian was our bartender and was very nice and accommodating. Â We shared the panko friend brie which was delish! I took advantage of the Alesmith that was on draft and had a Horny Devil while my boyfriend had an Alpine Duet. Very Alesmith heavy taps but I'm not complaining. Â There was a variety of other beers available as well and they definitely had something for everyone. We shared an Alesmith Wee Heavy before leaving. But we'll be back. Between the beers list & amazing looking menu, how could we not?!
Three words for you: Vegan. Shepherd's. Pie.
I'm really glad that I didn't let the adult book store across the street scare me off. Turns out the place is really lovely inside and the outside patio is pretty, roomy, and inviting.
So back to the food - WOW. It was really, really good. The portion was absolutely huge, it's probably enough to share....if you're willing.....which I wasn't.
I may go so far as to say it's the best shepherd's pie that I've had - even better than my home-made version. (GASP!!!) Though it was just a touch saltier than I'd prefer. Â There were a ton of vegetables in a traditional tomato-based sauce and a bit of tofu to add some extra texture. Tofu-averse folks, don't be discouraged from ordering it - you can't even taste it in the dish.
All of that was topped with sublime mashed potatoes. It was also very aesthetically pleasing. I've never had an expectation of a pretty shepherd's pie, but this one absolutely was.
Considering that this is a UK-style tavern, I was really impressed by the amount of vegetarian/vegan options. There was one vegan appetizer and two other vegan entree options - a lentil burger and then some sort of meat dish that could be made vegan by substituting eggplant. I'll go back to check out both.
If you're into beer and wine - and I suspect that if you're considering dining a tavern that you are - you will really appreciate the extensive beer and wine list.
The best part of our visit was sitting on the back patio surrounded by the culinary garden for a quiet Saturday afternoon lunch. Everything else was ambitious but not overwhelming.
Their main claim to fame seems to be a robust list of craft beers by the bottle and on tap, but we didn't take advantage of their list. After that they aspire to be a gastropub, but we found them somewhat lacking.
Our order of the lentil burger and fish and chips (widely lauded by Yelpers) came out quickly and was served well-heated. Each plate came with homemade fries, and the fish and chips had a minuscule garnish of coleslaw and "tartar sauce." The lentil burger was served on a fresh whole wheat bun with lettuce tomato and red onion. Â It was tasty enough but it would have been better with some cheese or some kind of garnish, maybe a chutney?
The tiny fries weren't hot and crispy and needed a good application of salt. When fries are cut too thin from small potatoes it is very difficult to eat them with your fingers and dip them in ketchup. Take a lesson from the French: use longer potatoes, cook them fresh and serve them crispy and hot. The homemade ketchup was a bright point though it could use a little more piquancy.
Ritual is commended for using a top notch seafood vendor, but the fish used for the fish and chips was far too oily and strong tasting. It's much better to use a classic species like cod or haddock or even grouper for this dish. Additional points off for the size of the portion, maybe 4 oz? The tartar sauce was insipid and the coleslaw was made from asian cabbage, which provides neither the right taste nor texture for coleslaw. A small, but good illustration of the just wrong notes that punctuated the meal.
Service was friendly enough but there were two missteps: first, it took our server nearly 10 minutes to stop by after the food was delivered during which time we had neither napkins nor silverware. Second, while answering our inquiry whether the restaurant participated in SD's upcoming restaurant week she went off on an uninformed diatribe of why RW is bad (she said it was for restaurants like Jack in the Box - huh?). For her information, RW is mostly comprised of independent restaurants and part of the proceeds are used for a variety of educational purposes for local high school kids, not lobbying, as she claimed.
Overall, this restaurant was unremarkable. We won't be racing to come back any time soon, unless it's to see how the garden's doing.
The Ritual Tavern is the place were Grams and Mom love to get get lunch and a bit Tipsy on a Saturday Afternoon. Â So when I was in town, it became the place the whole family went to get our drink on at the appropriate hour of 12pm. Â
The staff is incredibly welcoming. Â They remember exactly what my Grandmother and Mother like to drink, and how they like their food prepared. Â Instead of fish for the fish and chips, my grandmother had them use eggplant, and they happily did so. Â My sister had a burger which she thought was tops. Â I will say her standards are low since she rarely eats one in front of her vegetarian husband. Â I ate the crab cake sandwich, super good. Â The portions were big so we all had left overs.
Did I mention the drinking? Â Everyone had wine, I didn't pay attention since I am not a wine fan. Â I drank an avery white rascal but there are tons of choices, a great beer list. Â
I already know this will be my Saturday home when in San Diego.
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