Fine place. Burgers are good, but there are a lot of better burger places in Ridgefield. Shrimp app was good, and when I asked for a philly cheesesteak with lots of gorgonzola rather than American they obliged. Nice waitstaff, but you can do better in Ridgefield. They are very accommodating for food allergies. read more

Don't let the decor of this place fool you, the food has a gourmet flare to it. I highly suggest any of the specials, the Chef Tommy Stevens from Hells Kitchen, is always cooking up something new. I absolutely love anything he does with salmon, the guy is a genius! If you get to meet him, friend him on Facebook cause he's always posting the most appetizing pictures of his new creations. I was a fan of him on the show and I'm even a bigger fan now that I'm lucky enough to eat what he cooks. The Ancient Mariner is a must try for all you food enthusiasts! read more

I would have to agree with Donny W. about the food. Horrible. When we got to the address it was in a shopping center and we couldn't find the restaurant. We had to ask someone where it was. Unfortunately for us they knew. We ordered a beet salad and the crab cake sandwich. The beet salad was $14 for what tasted like a can of stop and shop diced beets, asparagus tips, pistachios and something resembling goat cheese. No lettuce apparently to make it an actual salad though. I think the chef was cleaning out the produce drawer and decided to make something out of what should've been compost. The Crab Cake was worse, was it crab? I can't say for sure but it was not good, It was sweet and too thick and mushy rather than crispy and spicy. It was one of the worst crab cakes I've ever had. There is no way anyone qualified tasted the finished product before deciding to put them on the menu. read more

We thought we'd try this restaurant because it was close to the Ridgefield Playhouse and we wanted to grab dinner before the show. My girlfriend ordered the lobster risotto. It was so salty it was barely edible. This was not the standard saltiness you'd expect with seafood dishes. This was saltier than a cup of seawater from the Long Island Sound with a few extra tablespoons thrown in for good (bad) measure. My dinner (the scallops) was palatable but average at best. No bread was served or offered with the meal. We would have told them about the risotto but the waiter never came by to check on our meal. We had to catch a show, so we paid the check (including a tip because we were polite) and left. read more

Great atmosphere. And really great food. I went for fish and chips but instead got ahi tuna tacos for taco Tuesday. And they were amazingggg with avocado and cabbage and mango. Our server (I think his name was Alex) was very nice and curtious! If I lived closer, I would definitely frequent this place more often!!! read more

Best burgers in Ridgefield hands down. The Buffalo chicken sandwich is great too. Moved away from Ridgefield years ago but my Wife and I still make trips to the Mariner whenever possible. read more

Some of the best bar and grill food I have ever had. Reliably great burger and fries locals have come to depend on.

Came here to lunch after not having been for a few years. The food was good. The service was friendly but slow. The overall atmosphere is a bit dank and not as family oriented as in the past. Prices were fair. read more

The Best of the Best! Love the people, love the environment... GQ models for bartenders who doesn't want that? Oh an Nickiy shes hot too... Seriously great bar great food.. Webs is a banging cook too check out their specials!!! read more

Four of us loved our meal here! We all had with burgers and salads and thought the variety and options were great. I was impressed by the variety of salads and found the menu broader than I anticipated. I had not been here in years, and I liked that a restaurant in town can last as long as this has. Nice staff, nice chill vibe. I'll be coming back. read more

Seriously? How could this not be 5 stars? Clearly, not everyone has tried the burgers!!! I have been eating here for way too many years to admit to and have only once been disappointed. I will admit that I have never tried anything other than the burgers. That's because they are so good, I would never pass one up to order anything else! Go ahead and try it!!! read more

Here tonight--was going to get a burger but the lobster special sounded good--stuffed lobster special, $25. When it arrived it was half of a one pound lobster with a few pieces of asparagus. Yes, the stuffing was good. Asked the waitress why I only got half a lobster, she said it was because it was stuffed and bought me a glass of wine. Really? $25 for a half of a lobster. Forget it. Go to a real restaurant for real stuff. Have a burger here or skip it altogether! read more

I have been coming to this place for several years because my kids like the burgers. To be truly honest it is a bit of a greasy spoon. The food is just marginal like a diner but they put such high prices on it. The owners think they have this great high class restaurant with and amazing chef. Well, they need to wake up and realize that there "bar" is just that a bar which happens to sell food. I am sure I will return with the kids sometime but I will once again regret it about an hour afterwards. read more

I grew up in Ridgefield and first ate at "The Mariner" in the late 1970's. We used to order out burgers from the gas station I worked at when I was in high school and college and they were awesome. Since then it has traded hands a few times but remains pretty much the same place. I ate dinner there tonight and it was absolutely terrible. I ordered the "1st Mate Plate" which was advertised to be a typical fisherman's platter... For $21.00 you get 2 Shrimp, 2 Scallops and a small pile of what looked to be batter dipped rabbit turds which were supposed to be Clam Strips. The worst part is the current owner was sitting at the next table but was too busy drinking wine and flirting with some guy to care that my dinner was total crap. She gave me a funny look when I took a picture of the plate .... Do yourself a favor and don't eat here. read more

The Ancient Mariner - First Mate Plate $21.00 LoL - American Near Me - Ridgefield, Connecticut

Chef Tommy is Great. Just ate there tonight 11/12/11 had his specials he has been advertising on his Facebook Page the Ravioli appitizer, Crab Cakes and Lamb. All Were Great. Will Defintely be Back read more

I've lived in Ridgefield for 33 years and for all of them I've eaten at the Mariner. Had I written a review for the previous 32, I would have given it 4-5 stars. But now, the new chef has taken the once very cool pub-like food and upscaled it to a point that has completed changed the experience. I do NOT like the new menu and the prices have sky-rocketed. I'm VERY SAD to say that the change has forced me, unwillingly to abandon the restaurant. I will no longer go there. If I wanted a more upscale menu, I'd go to any number of other establishments in Ridgefield that fill that demand. Now, we no longer have the pub-like menu unless you go to 50 Coins, which is a screaming child-filled disaster. So sad to say goodbye to the Mariner. I have no choice, but to now review it as a 1. read more

Went to the Ancient Mariner for the "best burger in Ridgefield" and I ended up with a mediocre burger with MOLD on the Bun. Yes, you read correctly, MOLD. I will Never Ever eat there again. read more

Turned away my reservation for a large group after accepting it. Who turns away business?? Now that I see the other reviews, it looks like that was a good thing after all. Never going there. read more

Have tried the filet special twice now, both unsuccessfully. First one was totally uncooked in middle, not medium. Last evening it was so sinewy, we couldn't even cut it with the steak knife. The waitress said she would let the (new) chef know, but that was the extent of the concern shown. Probably won't be back for awhile. read more

Looks like a dump. We walked.out. needs a visit from.restaurant impossible. Poor lighting and horrible dark setting.

nice simple place that is not as crowded as some of the "kid friendly" places in town. food was good. service was excellent. bar is big with the game on. and they did well with our 2 year old. but it'd be good for couples and groups too. try the prawns they're awesome. and the Gorgonzola meatloaf is very unique. the ambiance a little over moody, but overall a very good place. a tad pricey but we will be back. read more

Use to go to this place on a regular basis and it was good about 5-10 years ago. Went there for the stroll and let me tell you I will never ever go back. My gf got a chicken sandwich with mushroom and let me tell you she was throwing up mushrooms all day the next day. Appz were lukewarm. / cold and the prices are an absolute joke now. It's a shame what one of my fav places in ridgfield has turned into. read more

Here's the deal. Local watering hole for the townies. Above average burgers and bar food. The place could use an physical upgrade as does the bathroom cleanliness. Staff are friendly but have from time to time have an off day. Family friendly. Smoking just outdoors in the front detracts. read more

We had our first (and last) visit. We love our restaurants with a good long history in a town, but this was a disappointment. The restaurant did have a faint musty/moldy smell and we were not pleased with the food or slow service (it was not very busy). I was asked if I wanted my drink in a small or tall glass, asked for small and received and charged for a tall (did not realize this until the check was dropped), the salad tasted good but swimming in oil and the lobster roll was tiny for the price. read more

Have been going to this place, literally, for decades. It's definitely a bit of a dive...not an upscale dining experience, or something that you'd expect to find in Ridgefield, but they do have great burgers. If you're in the mood to enjoy a heart attack on a plate, order the California one. You won't regret it! read more

I had been to the old Mariner and never liked the food. This food is definitely a step up. The lone star is for the food as the service was possibly the worst I have experienced. Before we even finished seating ourselves, the menu was stuck in our faces without even an "hello" from our waiter. He then took a hike without taking our drink order. When he finally did take our order I was served a Cabernet when I asked for a Rose. By now I am wondering if this guy really understands English. I order an app along with my son. 20 minutes later he is served his but no sign of my salad. I had to ask another waitress to bring it since our waiter was nowhere to be found. Secretly I was happy to have someone else bring it to me. Our entrees arrived, the table was small but he did not remove the app plates from the table before serving our entrees. We had been done with them for about 10 minutes before we were served our main course so he stuck the entrees on the side of the table. I had to ask him to remove the app plates first. Big mistake because we were not given forks with which to eat our entrees. They left with the app plates. As for the food, it was good. I ordered the muscles and was disappointed when I was served maybe only 15 muscles as an entree. My son ordered the Jamaican jerk shrimp and he maybe had only 6 medium shrimp over a bed of grains. All was good, but the portions were small. Then my husband had a huge sandwich so I think they have to rethink their portions. Absolutely horrible service. It ruined the experience. I will most likely not return but I think with a few tweaks as far as the food goes and this place could be decent. read more

Was here a week ago. Going back tonight. Loved the tender calamari. Great flavor. Service was fast and friendly. Our waitress was Tess. She was wonderful! read more

Love this place. Best place in town for seafood and a good burger, and the menu has only gotten better! Been coming here for over ten years. If you want to avoid the new popups of snobby overpriced menus and ridiculous wine lists...this place is for you! Others who wrote ridiculous things that this place is dark..are just elitists who don't know much about real taverns...real taverns are dark and have a lot of authentic rustic reality and are usually the best known secret. You have to see the bar, really authentic and just a nice place to sit and have a beer. read more

Food was terrible; super greasy fish sandwich, salad contained spoiled asparagus and spoiled salad leaves. Why would a restaurant allow such lapses in quality control? We are not coming back. read more

Not really sure what happened to this place - I guess we are all paying for the remodeling as the prices, which were pretty high before, are now unreasonable in my opinion. The food quality remains good, though not exceptional, but the service levels on a recent visit were very disappointing read more

Food is good but after several meals here we have determined the poor service is not worth coming back for. They didn't bring my daughters salad, took my to go food and never brought it back and we waited to pace our order and then even longer to receive it. Too bad since the chef puts out good food, the staff isn't worth the wait. read more

The Ancient Mariner is a five minute walk from our house, so we go there frequently and have generally been very happy with the food. Service has been great with no delays and lots of smiles. Between my wife and I we've had the Jesse, California, and Mariner burgers, the Seawitch, Cubano, and Crab Cake sandwiches. All sandwiches were cooked perfectly (medium rare for the burgers), toppings were fresh, and hot off the griddle. We've had the wings a couple of times and my 10-year old daughter and I have enjoyed the hot - I think she uses them more as a vehicle for transporting blue cheese dressing from plate to mouth though. My only gripe thus far is the roasted beet salad. It said there was asparagus in it but I had a hard time finding any, even with my glasses on and taste buds turned to high. It was very "beety" so I was looking for the bitterness of the asparagus to cut through the beet sweetness. read more

A nice relaxing place. Nothing fancy, but you can sit, enjoy drinks and good food. Have a new chef who has modernized the menu. The prices are reasonable, too. read more

Fantastic! Only place in Ridgefield open late in Ridgefield!! And Nicki (bar) rocks!!

food is great service ok worth a trip prices ok