Such a fun and playful yet sophisticated restaurant! The passionfruit aguachiles were so tangy and delicious, a step above a usual aguachile. The flavor combination was something we'd never tried before. It's served with shrimp chips that crackle when you scoop the fresh fish on top, which was a little ASMR action that added to the pleasure of eating the dish. The customer service was great, our waitress Stephanie was attentive. Garnish at the raw bar is so sweet and served us some beautiful plates. You can tell they enjoy working at Rory's. Our only complaint is that our meals came out at different times, which we were informed about prior to ordering, so we ate separately. It makes sense if you're eating each meal family style but we weren't and the timing between the two meals was pretty significant. It feels great supporting a restaurant that serves creative and yummy dishes while using fresh, local and sustainable ingredients. We will definitely be coming back. read more

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One of the worst meals I've ever eaten way over priced, overly salted but lacking any flavor except salt and the pairing of foods were very strange and not in a good way. The fish taste like water and the baba ghanoush was inedible anyways had hopes for the spot hope it improves read more

Such an amazing dining experience! everything was so fresh and great tasting. would recommend the steak time and time again! read more

Rory's Place - New American Near Me - Ojai, California

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Advice to future guests: ORDER EVERYTHING AT THE FIRST TOUCH (time the server comes to your table). Just send it. It's gonna be the only chance you get. Went to @rorys_place_ojai for a pre-valentines day dinner on a Monday night, ended up ordering OM Thai at the table for pickup. 7:15 reservation 15 minutes from sit to first table touch. (Got in an order for 2 drinks, olives, oysters) 45+ minutes for follow up/main orders. We walked. Looked like server had a split section on opposite sides of the house, and was fully sat. Multiple tables were leaving due to lack of service. That's not her fault. She was in the weeds. Kudos to the host for backup. This is a management/staffing problem. It's a quaint little place with a good menu (super bummed we didn't get to try anything) and a nice ambiance but there's some serious problems when tables are sitting and then leaving. The establishment needs to Learn to manage this restaurant better. Either train your staff to manage a higher volume or staff appropriately to meet the needs of your guests. Olives and oyster shooters were good. read more

Truly one of the best dining experience I've had in a while. Everything from the food (obv), the vibe (on a cold Sunday night!), the staff, the cocktails, the wine selection was absolutely perfect. You can tell a lot of intention and love is invested in making this place what it is. I hate myself for saying that but i consider myself a discerning restaurant-goer, and if Rory's place were in LA i would be a multiple times a week regular. read more

By far my favorite spot in our hometown. My only criticism is that the last two times we went all dishes were brought out at once instead of timing them out ...appetizer, salad, sides, main...which I feel is on the server mostly for putting the order in all at once and not spacing it out properly. That seems like something that doesn't need to be explained when ordering. We were still eating our chilled oyster appetizer when the main steak came out so fast and got cold because we were still eating our starters and salad. But, with that being said...I think service will improve and the quality of the food/drinks make up for it so it's not something that will stop me from saying this is my favorite place for a refreshing fun vibe and delicious food in Ojai. read more

Rory's Place - Nettle pesto gnocchi ...delicious! - New American Near Me - Ojai, California

The two stars is for the staff, not the food. The food was good, but the staff was rude and acted like they didn't care to serve us. My friend and I were early for our reservation, so when we walked in and no one approached us, we went to sit at the bar to have a drink. The manager/host approached us and his tone was condescending and rude when he commented that we had seated ourselves. We explained about our reservation, and said we were from Los Angeles where if you are early, you grab a drink at the bar. He snidely said, that's not how it's done at their restaurant. He finally sat us at our table, then proceeded to give us a dirty look every time he walked by. After a while our server finally appeared, not rude, but incredibly unfriendly. We ordered and our food came out very far apart. Our server never came back to check on us and see if we wanted anything else. We had to grab other people who were walking by, who were not happy that we asked them for help. The experience was far from pleasant and even if the food was good, we would never go back. read more

My first time thanks to my nephew and niece i am from out of town always nice to enjoy a great place you can always tell when whoever is running the place knows what they are doing I love that they support there local purveyors it really shows in the quality of the food . my complaints to the chef every thing was Done With real pride . Thanks for a great experience . Will definitely see you the next time I am here read more

Booked weeks in advance for 3 people only to be seated at a cramped 2 top, (which they seemingly do to most parties of 3). We complained to our waiter, who was nice, and he sympathized and spoke to host/house manager and he seemingly begrudgingly moved us to the end of a communal table after telling us somewhat emphatically that we were treated no worse than all the other parties of 3 sitting at a tiny 2 top, as if our mutual discomfort was a sound excuse. A 7:30 pm reservation, they were out of 2 of the 4 entrees. The same horribly rude host/manager, sporting not 1, but 2 button downs, felt it was just fine that they were out of 50% of their entree selections (who also seemed to think we were asking for too much to sit at a table made for the size of our party). We chose to end the dinner early after an app. Won't be back, don't recommend it, and suggest a personality upgrade in the host department. He's doing you no favors, Rory. read more

Went to Rory's Place for my daughter's 21st birthday celebration and I gotta say we were very disappointed with dinner. While the servers were professional and courteous the management was a lacking. The food was mediocre at best. Kind of a B-- attempt at what are probably good recipes but soggy results. But what really ruined the entire dinner was management asking me to move my bike halfway through dinner. Why they needed me to move it I can't comprehend but complied without much complaint. What topped it off though is after I did move it they then needed to drag my locked bike away from their window seat at the sidewalk! I for the life of me can't see what bothered them so much about my bike parked on the sidewalk! in this day and age and in this particular bike friendly town, why wouldn't the restaurant install at least a minimal sort of bike rack where they deem acceptable but don't tell me there's one down the block at the library. That was stupid to say. Provide at place for bike or shut up. So that's it dinner wasn't anywhere worth the cost and the attitudes just plain need to go back to LA! $500. Down the drain. read more

It's unclear if it's intentional satire, but they manage to fill the restaurant like the sardines they offer on the menu. Although the food appeared stunning, our dining experience left us wanting. Ordering the caviar was a surprise - served with a metal spoon instead of the traditional mother of pearl, potentially affecting the roe's taste. Resorting to using potato chips as our "spoon" was our workaround for this issue. read more

I really wanted to say something nice about this place. It's relatively new to the area and if you're willing to cut a break to an upstart consider that it's less than terrible. When I was seated I was asked if I'd like some water. Yes I replied. Plain or sparkling? I said sparkling would be nice not knowing this answer would cost me six dollars. I was there for lunch on Sunday, (weekdays they open at five) but looking at the way overpriced menu I decided on a simple sandwich. I figured a $14 sandwich would include a side. Nope. So I waited for that sandwich while the very large and seemingly incompetent staff wandered aimlessly back and forth. When it finally came (just shy of half an hour later) I gobbled it up and asked for the check. Much to my disdain they had jacked up my $14 sandwich to $22.04 with the water fee, a 2.9 % processing fee (WTF!), and taxes. Finally, they provided me with a postcard that was a painting of their location a century ago. A nice touch, had they not already engaged in the art of the ripoff! I left a $3 tip hoping they'd get the point of my unhappiness rather than thinking I'm a cheapskate ( I am, but usually a generous tipper). Still, all told, I hope that's the last time I spend $25 for a salami sandwich. read more

Rory's Place - That's the "free postcard." - New American Near Me - Ojai, California

Writing this review ONLY about service. This is the worse service I've experienced. Our waitress, who said was the manager, was not happy to serve. She had a bad attitude, she lacked customer service skills and was just all around bad. My friends and I had a terrible experience, I won't go back!!! (Too pricey for the portions and the whole service) read more

Such lovely ambiance... we sat outside in the patio and the music playlist was delightful. The food was truly delicious as well as the wine list. We loved our waitress and I'm excited to come back here again. read more

My fiancée and I had dinner tonight at Rory's Place and were honestly so blown away by the quality of the food, the lovely service and beautiful atmosphere. Our server Rifka was the best. You MUST get the tuna tartare but honestly everything was really really special and extremely fresh. read more

Rory's Place - Amazing Beet and avocado salad - New American Near Me - Ojai, California

Squad soup Half baked chicken Toffee pudding Decor, staff,... All so Incredible! Will definitely be coming back read more

Food is excellent. I love the wood fire cabbage, the chicken liver pate, the bread, their tagliatelle pasta, and mezcal sour.portions are just right. Genuinely caring staff and great ambiance. My partner and I go here at least once a week to unplug from a hectic workweek. Always interesting people to meet here. Will recommend to anyone coming to visit us read more

Rory's Place - Food - New American Near Me - Ojai, California

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Service, ambiance and food was on point. A must go- go with a few folks to get a nice array! read more

NO LOCALS! This place was filled with LA and guest's of the Inn. We went for dinner and it was over-crowded. The tables were uncomfortably close to each other. My husband and I barely spoke because our voices were drowned out by the other customers sitting so close to us. Food was good....but of course over-priced. I don't mind that, it's how Ojai has become. But the atmosphere and vibe needs to be amazing to balance the prices. FAIL! I'm dairy-free and the waitress told me I could either get the mayo dipping sauce on my dish...or not, but they couldn't put it on the side?!?! (What if my husband wanted to try it.). They also don't have tonic water for my gin & tonic. WOW! They "just don't have it"?!?! We won't be going back. We left Rory's Place and went down to Ojai Pub. Much better! :-) read more

This is one of those overly self absorbed places where they don't allow modifications to the menu. If you have any dietary sensitivities that you plan manage by the removal of an item, or a substitution, you will be out of luck here. If you've got no dietary needs, you should be ok here. For what it's worth, what I did end up ordering was delicious, but if your only option for any dietary needs is "WELL HERE'S OUR VEGAN OPTION," do better. You're really lacking on the welcoming to all vibe, and honestly, it comes across a little ableist. read more

My husband and I were in Ojai last night And wanted to try a new restaurant. We went to Rory's at 5:30 pm on a Wednesday night. The dining room looked lovely and about 1/3 filled. The hostess inquired about reservations... which we did not have. Clearly at 5:30 There were many empty tables there. The hostess informed us that we could only be seated outdoors ( 91 degrees) or at a very cramped bar!!!! I'm assuming they did not want our business and I hope the manager reads this review. Train your staff!!!! Hospitality is a service business read more

This was the restaurant opening of the year that I was SO excited about. The inside of the restaurant is absolutely gorgeous and the ambiance is on point.. But unfortunately, what ruined our entire experience was the rude and dismissive service. For someone that works in this industry, I was disappointed that this wasn't a higher priority. Everyone from the hostess greeting you to the service at the table felt so hostile and dismissive. They gave out this energy that they were doing us a favor by being here and we should be grateful to be at their establishment. The food was okay. We got oysters and a couple salads. It wasn't bad by any means, but it also wasn't good enough to make up for having such bad service. For having such a fun, warm and playful presence on social media, it did not come across in the way they do business. I talked to some friends a week later that also went and had the same experience. Such bad vibes.. Was really hoping this was our new little local spot. Maybe they'll read this and take note: friendly service goes a long way. read more

As a member of a party of five, I was completely unimpressed, as were my companions. The service was painfully slow. We ordered beer and wine and finally received the wine almost an hour after being seated. We had to ask twice for the beer. The food was completely disappointing and each meal arrived separately, so each guest had to watch as the other ate. Soup was tepid, chicken underdone, seafood tower shrimp and crab claws were dry, tasteless and either old or overcooked or both. Fish and chips meal was a large, thick chunk of batter fried fish over dull fries. Presentation of each dish lacked creativity and inspiration as well as flavor. Diner beware.....find another restaurant or just stay home. read more

Oh my gosh!! What a delight! I am passing through for work and was recommended this gem by the Capri Hotel, which is also a surprising delight!. This place is magic! The Hello Satan cocktail is divine and worth the 3 hour drive in and of itself! The Tuna Tartar Tartine with fried capers was probably my favorite. But really hard to surpass the stone fruit salad. Absolutely delicious. I need to come back hungry, as honestly everything sounded and looked so good and the tables around me were raving about their food. One thing I wish I'd had, but didn't have the room for, was the oysters with the Uni. Next time! I'd like to shed particular attention to Carolina! She was very kind, patient, and gave great recommendations for cocktails, food, wine pairing and made it an all around lovely experience. Can't wait to go back! Wish I lived closer! read more

It's close to being a great restaurant? But damn. The service is AWFUL. We had a guy who seemed to want to be more of a chill guy at a bar than a waiter? And I think having all the entrees come out at different times is ridiculous. I've been here before where there were 4 of us and each one of us got our dish like 20 minutes before/after anyone else. Who wants to eat like that? Also the seafood tower was not worth it, which made me sad. The clams were good, the bread is good. The cocktails are good. The wine is good. And the dessert we had was great, the chocolate mousse! Really wanted this place to be somewhere we go regularly but sadly, not worth it yet. Hopefully they do a service revamp because I did like a lot of things! read more

I wanted to like this place. It's owner chef operated, the menu well thought out and the wine list really favorable. But add in the fact that any waiter or staff who has interfaced with us here is rude, inattentive, and messes up even the slightest order, and it just is a bad experience. We tried it with visiting family, and all agreed, it was overpriced and the food preparation sloppy. The halibut was over cooked and one of us ordered covered SB Spot Prawns. For $40+, we got four overcooked prawns on a plate with not even a garnish. We tried it again with some local friends and shared a salad, tuna tartare and each had a cocktail. For that and shared, our cost was $150. So we basically had appetizers and left hungry. I wanted to write this because RPs staff all (All!) need some customer service training and the prep staff need to check plates before they go to a table. Again, I want them to be successful and if no one gives them constructive feedback, they won't know to change. Last weekend, I again grudgingly recommended to my visiting nephew try it as a date night with his wife. He is a chef. They were so disappointed. Their waiter basically brought him the wrong drink after the meal was served then did not come back to the table for 20 minutes. The meal that was brought was over cooked and tasteless. Both agreed the vibe is cool and the restaurant staff and food needs a lot of work. Take a look Rory and all please. This isn't LA or Cape Code. It's little friendly Ojai with smiling people who want a decent meal for the money! read more

The food is good but service-primarily the kitchen-leaves a lot to be desired. We ordered the steak for one and 2 orders of the tagliatelle and chicken for one. All had good flavor but the steak was delivered 20 min before the tagliatelle. We could have dealt with this but the chicken order took over 45 min to be delivered to the table. Well after everyone had finished their meals. The wait staff came by exactly 2 times. First to say the chicken would be right out and again 20 min later to say it would be out in 5 min. The bad news is the chicken arrived 20 min after the 5 min warning. This is unacceptable! The wait staff brought bread to attempt to appease us and I said we do not need bread but she left it and disappeared for another 15 minutes. This place needs to get it together before I give it another try! Charged full price for awful service. Carolina should have made some concessions for the obvious poor service read more

Rory's Place - Overpriced for bad service - New American Near Me - Ojai, California

One of the best meals I've had all year. The daily crudo was amazing and so unexpected. They had a bread special, which was excellent as well. The ouefs mayo were slightly oxersauced in my opinion, but still good. The fish and chips was one of the best dishes. I don't know how they do their batter, but it's unlike anything I've had. Really great. The hanger steak was similarly great. read more

I've eaten here 3 times since Rory's opened. The first time was perfection! Everything we put in our mouths was stunning, unexpected and delicious. The avocado salad, salmon and pasta were stand outs. I dreamt about returning and 10 days later.... we were baaaack! The menu had changed...the crudo was good, not quite the same. This time we each ordered our own avocado salad but it wasn't the same... good but the lettuce was different (only frizee). There was different citrus, and different ratios. It just wasn't the magic of the first visit. On both my second and third visit we had the crudo w passion fruit. It must be popular, but wow, is there fish in there?...all I taste is the overwhelming passion fruit. One time we got the steak long before our appetizer's or salad. Weird. Even though the last two times weren't as stellar, I still think Rory's is the best restaurant in Ojai. I do understand the challenge they've taken on by serving local, seasonal farm to table. Like Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, the menu changes. It's all good...I'm just looking forward to the same menu stability and rhythm of service that Rustic Canyon found over time. They'll get it! I'm routing for them. read more

The environment is beautiful inside, a bit noisy since the tables are close. Our reservations were at 7:30 and we were seated at 8:00. I was very disappointed that a new and " farm to table restaurant" that prides in local ingredients did not offer local Ojai wine, or any California wines. The menu was original , all looked tasty, but salads were the only option for vegetarians. The bread on the side was grilled in the wood stove was excellent with its feta cheese and greens spread. The server was kind, but one of the salads went to wrong table, they didn't bring the salads out together (?) instead brought my main course. I had to ask for salad first, then mussels. Unfortunately, the mussels were lost somehow and we waited 40 minutes for them to arrive . They were small and not worth the wait. I'm sure this new restaurant will gain its confidence and work out the kitchen to table problems. They were kind to comp the mussels . read more

We went there for our first visit as a somewhat new restaurant in Ojai. Our friends are extreme foodies and professional restaurant people. We found the atmosphere to be good, the service was a little bit casual but we got what we asked for. Finally and most importantly the food was really fantastic. We may have ordered the right things but much of what they have on the menu looks delicious. We will certainly visit this restaurant on a frequent basis when we are in town. read more

If you don't think this place is five stars, it's probably bc someone named Rory broke your heart in high school and you still haven't gotten over it. The food was incredible. The staff was attentive and kind. Probably the coolest vibe in Ojai. We were visiting on vacation but seemed a lot of young locals were there, treating the place like a first course aphrodisiac. We started with the oysters. The hearth bread with feta and herbs was delicious- more of a mini pizza. Avocado Citrus salad with creme fresh was bursting with flavor. The vongole was particularly impressive as I believe it was the only pasta on the menu. While we were eating, a nice woman who worked there walked by with a whole tray of fresh tagliatelle and we had to compliment her on it. She shared that ours had been prepared fresh only 20 minutes before. Banana cream pie for dessert with chocolate bottom and a unique pastry-like crust. If you're in Ojai, this place is a must! Cheers (with generous pours of vino) read more

We enjoyed four dinners at Rory's Place during our month in Ojai: it was one of our favorites in town. Overall, we found the food to be tasty and well-prepared; service friendly, though occasionally spotty; and the staff delightful. Perhaps our favorite dish was asparagus gribiche, a large handful of grilled asparagus with a sauce gribiche (featuring chopped eggs and herbs) scattered overall. But we enjoyed the Halibut Aquachile; broiled oysters; hearth bread; herb salad; Little Gem salad; French fries; and many of the other dishes we tried. There weren't any I didn't want to eat again.... Though I understand that some people don't like Rory's approach to service, I prefer to think of it as "random delights" arriving at our table as they were ready. While it was refreshing to have our dishes delivered randomly, rather than in some predetermined order, the delays between them were occasionally too long. And I found the wine list overall a bit skimpy and would have liked more choices of wines by the glass, especially reds. Overall, though, that didn't detract from our experience and we were always pleased to return to Rory's for dinner. We really enjoyed being in the energetic dining room -- and also the lovely outdoor dining area. The staff was friendly and accommodating. And there's a market up front with an interesting selection of items, including tinned fish, pasta, and other well-chosen items, along with a small selection of wines by the bottle. read more

Great Ambience. Great Service. Great food. My wife's steak was a perfect medium rare. The squash was super flavorful and our Uni was well prepared. The chicken was great, however it did not mix well with the caper and cherry flavors. Perhaps others might like this combination, but it was a bit odd for my taste. Definitely worth a try but is more expensive than your average restaurant. It is a la carte and we got 2 appetizers and 2 mains. Expect to pay about $150 for 2 people. They also have a extra 3% charge to pay for some sort of employee wellness insurance. I've researched it and it is becoming more common in the LA area. Dozens of restaurants have been found to not even be putting the entire 3% to that cause. You have the option to take this off your bill just fyi. read more

This was an exceptional meal with incredible and thoughtful service. We arrived for an early dinner with 5:15 reservations, we thought. Somehow the Resy never registered our reservation for 3. The hostess quickly offered us seats at the bar and set about making us feel welcomed. Within two minutes they moved us to the beautiful table for 12 at the front of the restaurant (best table indoors) due to a cancellation. We ordered 8 dishes to share: marinated olives, hearth bread, snapper aguachile, broiled oysters, avocado citrus salad, spinach and feta salad, charred cabbage, and the best fries. Wonderful cocktails and wine by the glass. For dessert we had meyer lemon posset with blood orange granita, labneh & pistachio, and strawberry, mint, lime sorbets. All and all a fabulous meal! We'll be back! read more

Rory's Place - New American Near Me - Ojai, California

Food was definitely interesting and flavorful, atmosphere was cool, service was good. My issue was the price ...$200 for two tiny appetizers, one fairly small entree, 2 beers, and a very small dessert. I think the portions or prices need an adjustment. read more

The environment is nice. Dimly lit, noisy, nice seating. My gripe is the food is absorbedly expensive and portions are tiny. The highlight was the branzino. Dessert was pretty unique as well. Fave was the Boston crème pie. Hangar steak was good but tiny. Skip the salads. Broiled oysters were good. Service was splendid. Need to make reservations it is quite a popular place. read more

Some of the best food Iv ever had. I will definitely be back. Everything from the apps, to the mains, to the deserts was so amazing. Can't wait to dine again. Thank you for the amazing service and food. read more

Like many other poor reviews...the food was very good. Matter of fact, when my longtime girlfriend of 40 years suggested this place, and I looked up the reviews on yelp at 3 1/2 stars, I was surprised she would choose a place like this. Like most of my friends, I know her to have exceptional taste in food. Didn't have time to read the reviews. I just trusted she knew what she was talking about. I was pleasantly surprised that the food was so good! Creative, beautiful presentation, really lovely atmosphere, exceptional food, and drink offerings. I soon realized why the ratings were so low... The staff. It started with the hostess, who seemed quite bothered we were trying to patronize her employment. And then our waitress could not get away from our table fast enough! Her attitude was hottie and unwelcoming. She didn't greet us, she didn't ask how the food was, she missed many of opportunity to provide additional beverages or food offerings, she didn't even tell us when she left for the night! Luckily, we were transferred to another waitress, who was a tad more hospitable. And, like many other have stated, the way the food comes out is nonsensical. We had ordered two himachi crudos as an appetizer amongst others and then had to ask on three occasions for the second one since the first one had been eaten long ago. Having main courses come out 10 minutes Apart, it's not reasonable. And again these are all the same complaints. So the management and owner are quite aware of this problem, and feels no urgency or pressure to change it... As the restaurant was packed, and the food speaks for itself. I hate to say it, but I probably would go again. Although many in my party would not. read more

incredible food, 10/10 cocktails (recommend the hello satan), warm & fun vibe and great service!