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. read more

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Got a Groupon for this place and decided to try it. Fried calamari: might be the worst I've had. The crust was falling apart and it wasn't fried long enough to have the nice texture. The squid was also overly chewy Bang bang shrimp: the good ones should have a slightly crunchy texture but this one didn't. Baby back ribs with cole slaw and fries: the ribs are pretty good. Looks like it was cooked fresh (or at least finished on a grill rather than microwaved). Fries were disappointing. Cole slaw also felt too creamy and didn't give me refreshing taste. My conclusion is that this place can't make good fried food...I'd recommend staying away from those options. That being said, service is great! The waitress is very friendly. She even brought us chopsticks without us asking for it. It feels funny to eat with chopsticks in a bar even thou we are asian. We didn't need the chopsticks but it was a nice touch. I'm glad I tried a new place but won't go back again. read more

Great Food the staff is very Friendly. Reasonably priced. The place is very Clean and very Convenient

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!! ;) read more

This place is a relaxed bar scene with a lot of regulars. I got the buffalo chicken quesadilla off the specials menu & I ate the whole thing..it was so good! The drinks have decent pours. The Mac n cheese was good too but it could've used papper or something .. I like this place and the service was good too. read more

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! read more

B.J. Ryan's - Prime rib, full rack of baby back ribs, roast chicken with truffle mashed potatoes. - American Near Me - Norwalk, Connecticut

Ah yes, the other B.J. Ryan's. Perhaps the original, but alas not Banc House. That said, the food here is just as good. Maybe not my favorite burger in Norwalk but a solid contender. I've only been here for lunch so I'm not sure how much of a dinner crowd there is, but being a bar I assume a reasonable amount. Definitely worth stopping by if you decide to eat on the east side of the river instead of the west. read more

I had the turkey reuben sandwich it was really good. It's very filling and fries were very crispy and good. Definitely a place to go and have lunch. read more

The ONLY reason they are getting 2 stars is the waiter was really nice and friendly. He wasn't a good waiter because he got my order wrong but was very gracious×- We went because my friend wanted the mussels which are no longer on the menu. She got the fish tacos which smelled a bit off and made her stomach hurt. I got a cheeseburger with grilled onions and salad but it arrived to the table without cheese and raw onions. I sent it back. The waiter was very gracious about the exchange. The food was just okay. Even the salad dressing tasted watered down. I was no longer hungry, but not satified like I enjoyed a good meal. The waiter was nice, but not nice enough for me to return . read more

From the moment we walked in, we were welcomed by a beautiful waitress. Very serviceable. Sat us down talked about specials and took out orders and brought our drinks right away.That alone made me feel great. Once comfi started to look around. This place has so much history. Love it. They definitely doing it right. From their Wood early 1900's Bar to their 1930-40's Cash register . Great look guys. !!!! read more

B.J. Ryan's - There's a unique Great feeling when you walk in. Love the Country music and relaxed atmosphere. Love it. - American Near Me - Norwalk, Connecticut

I contacted BJ about using the upstairs Magnolia room for my Mom's funeral reception last week, and he couldn't have been more helpful. The room was lovely, the food and service were great, and Ashley at the bar was beyond superb. She even helped my son connect our slideshow to the big TV so everyone could enjoy it. The whole event was seamless, and we couldn't have asked for better. Thank you for everything you did to help make a celebration of life stress-free. read more

8 of us stopped in for some late night drinks and snacks. Friendly atmosphere and great service. We ordered 3 dishes of their BAAM BAAM shrimp. UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS!! I've had it here several times and it's the best - several large shrimp served piping hot. Better than at any Asian restaurant. Great beer selection too. Then they served pizza to everyone in the house around midnight. Like happy hour all over again! It's worth the trip from anywhere in Fairfield county for their BAAM BAAM shrimp alone. read more

If you go to the Magnolia Room cabaret at B.J. Ryan's upstairs recommend you order the Brussels sprouts ! Best thing on the menu--also the apple pie enchilada dessert is all-American delicious. Downstairs, get the ribs. read more

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. read more

BJ Ryan's is a restaurant bar with fantastic food and great wine. I strongly recommend its Bamm Bamm Shrimp. They are to die for! The perfect spice. I have had most sandwiches here and my favorite are the Turkey Reuben, and the Carolina Pulled Pork. Salads are good here too. read more

Genuine pub, kitchen open til midnight Every Single Night of the year, even holdays! Food is great! Service is great! Owners are super nice. Its just a lovely spot, truly! Don't pass it up read more

I ordered delivery from B.J. Ryan's tonight for the first time. I was underwhelmed. I'll only comment on my own meal (vs the other meal in our order). I've had great nachos and was really craving them tonight. A great plate of nachos is layered, with chips, cheese and meat in layer upon layer, so that every chip has cheese and meat on it. Then the whole thing is topped with sour cream and guacamole. B.J. Ryan's are prepared with a mound of chips topped with cheese topped with pulled pork, so once you get past the tippy top, you are left with a pile of dry chips. I didn't have the option to add guacamole as a side when I completed my order and I so hoped it would be included in my order...but it wasn't. So if you are craving nachos, I'm not sure their preparation is going to rank high on your list. I am kind of wishing I had stuck with a more traditional Mexican venue. read more

Do not use there delivery services through door dash food was terrible and delivered frozen. When I called to explain the owner was very rude hung up on me and did not want to take any responsibility for the delivery service they use she said once the food leaves their restaurant it's not there issue. I did not expect a refund just acknowledging the delivery they are using is a problem. I spent 60$ please think twice about spending your money with them. The food is not worth it nor the service. After having to heat up my food I realized the food was worse than the service and delivery experience. read more

Was excited, looking at their menu, to find BJ Ryans has a spin off, Banc House, featuring seafood and a step up financially, but we went to the original on Main last night. Granted it is a bar, but it was a disaster. A group of six of us: the food was just o.k., but then three of us ordered their speciality, the fresh cheesecake (plain), and were told there were three pieces of the left. We were given three very old, very tiny and sunken bits of whatever with lots of whipped cream as a disguise and about $8.00 each! How they had the NERVE to send this out from the kitchen is beyond me, plus we had had cheesecake at Marley's in Wilton the week before: huge, fresh and less cost. This changes our minds completely re: Banc House or anything else Ryan. (The waitress was fine, working super hard, but wish she had told us what was left was the dregs.) read more

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! read more

Great food and drink selection. Good spot to meet for a beer. Aside from the several draughts, they have an excellent selection of bottles/cans. Pick up one of the Groupons for some extra savings. Menu is diverse. Shrimp appetizer was delicious. Burger tasty. Philly cheese steak was a hit too. No complaints. Server was super friendly as well. If you're at the bar past midnight, they tend to bring out a few free pizzas or apps. Nice touch! I'll continue to patronage BJ Ryan's. read more

What a find. Mr. Ryan (I forget his first name) 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! read more

Stop by on a Wednesday night with some friends, the food was typically restaurant/bar food, nothing to brag about. The place is small and dark with limited seating, but the staff friendly and professional all around. read more

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. read more

I've moved away from Norwalk but I felt this review was due since we ordered take out there all the time for the past year. We tried their sister location, banc house, and although we loved the customer service the food was kind of lacking. the bartender there referred us to this spot for their burgers. We never had the chance to eat in bc we have a little kiddo and it's a small, bar type atmosphere so we always called in for a burger. the burger is always cooked perfectly medium and the flavor is just wow, perfect. Simple but captures the beefiness! Unfortunately the beautiful meat sits on a very flimsy, cheap burger bun that doesn't hold in the juices very well and gets soggy fast. Also fried don't come with the order, you have to order it has a side (yea what??) Our stint in Norwalk was short but this spot made the list of the rare go to spots for takeout. Oh yea since they're a bar, they're open late, yes! read more

Great pizza! Go for the truffle oil

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. read more

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 read more

I booked a private corporate event with BJ Ryan's and it went off without a hitch! They reserved the upstairs space and bar (no charge) for us and it was perfect. We pre-ordered 10 different appetizers and ordered drinks at the private bar. The service was very quick on the food, they continually brought out rounds of our apps, some on the table, some passed around. The food was fantastic!! I highly recommend the pizzas, bamm bamm shrimp, burger sliders, and crab cakes - the meatballs, bacon wrapped scallops, and spring rolls were great as well. Overall, this is a nice, casual sports bar with great food and good happy hours offers as well. Definitely recommended and I will certainly be back! read more

Meals were exceptional, loads of flavor + service was even better. Our server Lexi, was wonderful + super kind + accommodating. Loved this place! Also very kid friendly!!! read more

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! read more

We ordered Chicken and Broc Scampi, Margherita Pizza and Sashimi Tuna Tacos and they were amazing! Small space but easy parking. Will recommend them when you're around Norwalk. read more

"Do I want to come here?" YES! For the fact the kitchen is open until midnight 365 days a year is enough of a reason for you to choose this place to frequent. I'm a vegetarian and I do wish there were more options but I will not be greedy. The staff does a great job making recommendations about what can be removed to make a dish veggie friendly. Had some really phenomenal gnocchi here that was a special for the day (no meat sauce - soooo good). My staple is their grilled cheese with tomato & avocado. Can't go wrong. Also great salads, cocktails, and bar staff. read more

While the food was good and came promptly the service was really unfriendly. We felt really unwanted, the waitress didnt even tell us her name. Laughable. No engagement what so ever from any staff member. Couldn't get out fast enough. read more

warm, friendly, good food and cold beer. 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. 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. rich, smooth, and delicious! our group ordered the hearty reubens with a load of fries and the pasta dishes with their signature meat sauce. we're still guessing what was in the pasta sauce - it was either cream or sourcream. whatever it was, it was tasty. i'm glad that i didn't pass this place up for any old sports bar. b.j.'s boasted some solid food in town. read more

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. read more

I wouldn't recommend this place. I have been here a few times. The food can be good at times but varies in quality each time I have been their. They only have one waitress/server. So it often takes twice as long as it should. You would be lucky to get the servers attention. She is standoffish and rude. On average we have spent between one and a half to two hours with only a few people ordering. Last time I was their they burnt my appetizer and gave me the wrong entree. She wanted to argue with me about it and wanted to charge me extra to change their mistake. This isn't the first time they have made mistakes on my order. Don't waste your time,money and peace of mind being subjected to their buffoonery. Its really not worth it. read more

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 read more

We had been here once before we didn't like the brisket because it was super fatty and the St. Louis ribs super dry. Groupon had a promotion and we bought one coupon to go to this place to give it a second try. The bartender was nice but Billy the waiter was mega rude. This time we tried the baby back ribs and the pulled pork and they were horrible! They were dry and super blend. My husband and I had to use tons of sauce to be able to eat.This is the last time that we go to this place. One of the waiters was super rude and the owner didn't apologize or saw anything after what Billy said. read more

This place has amazing Cobb salads and jello shots. Where ya gonna get a combination like that? I also love the interior design of the bar. Lots of wood giving the place an old western feel. Keep up the good work guys! read more