Ria Mar Restaurant & Bar
“Big tasty portions of Portuguese food you would expect to see in Newark…only better.”
“i had pork with clams and potatoes, big thumbs up for that dish serving size was huge I had leftovers to take home..”
“Don't get caught up in time frames, how long the food takes, etc. I def would recommend being seated away from banquet hall side.”
Ria Mar Restaurant & Bar
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Ok so here is how it went down………
I arrived around 6pm with fellow yelper Linda H. (aka Mamma Dukes) and my little bro for a graduation dinner for a friend of the fam. We left at 11pm….so what happened inbetween?
Well
1. Sangria
2. Chicken, Pork & Sausage
3. Sangria
4. Clams & Mussels
5. Sangria
6. Garlic Shimp
7. Sangria
8. Calamari
9. Sangria
10. Chicken Orzo Soup & House Salad
11. Sangria
12. Crab Stuffed Flounder
13. Sangria
14. Ice Cream
Food was amazing, company was amazing, party was amazing!
RIA MAR is a wonderful Portuguese/Spanish restaurant
Food is reasonably priced, portioned well and extremely fresh.
My families favorites include the pichadillo with chorizo, stuffed mushrooms and garlic shrimp for appetizers.
My wife swears by their paella valenciana
I enjoy the veal ria mar tender veal medallions in a red sherry sauce
Dinner includes fresh portuguese bread and salad.
The red or white sangria is excellent quite strong
Be careful it sneaks up on you
The place gets very crowded reservations are highly recommended.
there is a huge parking lot
The bar is large with many seats, several televisions
You are welcome to eat at the bar as well as the dining room
Party rooms are available…the party menu and setup is second to none.
First time at this place although I lived just a few blocks away for many years..I've heard mixed things but the one thing that seemed to be unanimous was their food.
We had a decent size party. This place fills up quite fast if you don't get their early enough. I've also seen standing at the bar get crowded. It was noisy but a respectable level. The waiters were running constantly as was the bartender cranking out those beautiful red or white pitchers of pure liquid gold…sangria..
We ordered many pitchers of the gold. The menu has a decent selection of every thing from chicken to pasta and seafood unbelievable seafood. Let's see we started off with mussels, shrimp in garlic sauce,clams in garlic sauce and clams casino. Pitchers of gold…bread yum. Big bowls of salad with a house dressing, simple but light. I ordered paella bc well yum. It had mussels,clams,lobster,crab,shrimp and scallops. Delish. It was so huge I couldn't finish it. There was lamb chops, fried seafood platter,shrimp and rice, fried shrimp which were humongous and a beef dish that I couldn't pronounce. Everything was soooooooo flavorful and fresh.
No complaints but alot of doggie bags..lol.
Now for the even better part—dessert.. my friend ordered this coconut almond tiramisu looking thing it looked divine. I ordered banana bash which was banana pudding with a chocolate covered cream puff with custard, words cannot describe the decadence. The servers tried their best to keep up with the liquid gold and serving. It was chaos but they handled it with grace..definitely have to try their food and drink..can't wait to try the flounder next time. All I can say is I am hooked although it is pricey you do get A LOT of food for your money and the quality is there. So if your ever in south river drop in and sit awhile, make sure you have a ride home if you're drinking liquid gold. But do try the seafood…it's outstanding.
good Portuguese food, feels very authentic, loads of Portuguese customers, lots of Portuguese being spoken here. I have visited Portugal a couple times for vacations this seemed pretty authentic.. I sat at the bar on a Friday evening the place was completely packed I waited 45 minutes to get a seat at the bar. kind of a working class feel to the place.. the sangria is quite good! i had pork with clams and potatoes, big thumbs up for that dish serving size was huge I had leftovers to take home.. the coconut creme brulee was quite good.
Service is excellent, the host and waiters were very responsive and friendly.
Not sure why so many people liked this place. Disappointed in their food, all of our food came out cold, chips were stale and oily. All of our side plates vegetables were cold as it was put it on the side for a long time then served.
I can probably cook better.
Worth the trip for their sangria and garlic shrimp alone!Those two items on the menu are highly recommended. Their paella looks amazing and comes in a small cast iron pot (super cute). This place is always packed every time we go so that always seems like a good sign. Plenty of on street parking. They have a small room in the back for semi-private parties. Desserts are not their strong suit but they have alot of interesting coffee options with and without liquor. Nice place overall.
Came here to grab a quick dinner and drinks before a show at the Starland. My friend and I walked in and although the restaurant was busy the dining room tables were not filled and the bar had tables as well. Since no one was around to seat us we walked into the bar and grabbed one of 8 tables. Sat around for 15 minutes waiting to be acknowledged for any service and we ended up walking out. Damn shame, but sometimes you have to cut your losses, whip out your yelp app and go to another restaurant up the street, The Portuguese Fisherman was the obvious best choice.
So far this is one hell of a sleeper restaurant. Really affordable prices, huge portions of old school Portuguese food, like the kind that is served in Newark, NJ.
Nothing fancy but plenty tasty and the Sangria is fantastic. The bacaloa was just awesome charred over charcoal with tender morsels of codfish that were sometimes salty and sometimes flaky and firm. I chose the old school style eaten with a boiled potato. That's how they do it in Portugal and that's how they do it here.
Other guests had the Paella, which was closer to a seafood risotto which was pretty tasty, apps were great and the you leave the place full, satisfied and with leftovers for the next day. Desserts aren't so great but can be forgiven. It's going to be a stop for us whenever we hit the beach in the summer and are on our way back up from the shore.