RiRa Offers Good Beer with a Friendly Atmosphere

RiRa’s general manager Iain Horne, a proud Scotsman, has an impressive list of beer credentials and a healthy respect for Celtic tradition with lots of good ideas on how he plans to provide an even more authentic Irish experience for the close friends and chatty couples who frequent RiRa.

“There’s a great deal of history in the whole place and part of our success story is that there are real Irish people here, ready to serve you - fresh off the boat, if you will,” Horne said. Even after just a few visits, the prevailing sense of nostalgia for the Emerald Isle is easy to understand.

In spite of the fact that RiRa is admittedly part of a large franchise chain, it is quite different from the fake-Irish “theme pubs,” less and less beloved by sophisticated Northern Virginians. Diehard customer, James Clark calls RiRa his “favorite pub of all times.” And that is quite a compliment from a man who is a 2011 Beer Drinker of the Year finalist in a fifteen-year-old national competition sponsored by the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver's oldest brew pub. Clark is quick to share all his globetrotting brewery tour and pub crawl experiences with his friends at RiRa.

“It doesn’t get crowded in here until 7:30 or 8 o’clock, then it starts to get crazy with everyone getting ready for the live bands that play Thursday through Sunday nights starting at 10,” said Clark “It’s nice this way because it’s possible to get a good meal and indulge in conversation without dubious distractions and most importantly, they have a good beer list.”

As a RiRa Connoisseur Pint Club member who has filled out two full cards (with 30 to 40 beers each) with tasting notes, Clark has been on the receiving end of all the RiRa perks that go along with such active participation.

On any given Saturday or Sunday you can see groups of first-timers, in addition to the regulars, coming through the doors eagerly anticipating that coveted full-on Irish experience. RiRa prides itself in “being all about the people,” according to Horne. Familiarity does, in fact, appear to be a cornerstone of this “house of good craic,” which first opened its doors in March 2005.

On a recent visit, bonds were sensed between many regulars and their Emerald Isle-bred servers, who were quite sociable, happily filling customers glasses. Regulars were introduced around by name, and servers stopped by tables to catch up with long-time clientele amidst running orders, giving them a “heads-up” invitation to join in this weekend’s festivities.

Tonight RiRa will host a musical performance by the high-energy, kilted Celtic band - THE ROGUES - starting at 10 p.m. – for only a $5 cover. Local ROGUES “groupies” said this band does it all, from traditional Celtic to toe-stepping pop with a wee taste of Ireland to remind you of where it all came from.

The Cupid’s Day special weekend fare features appetizers, main course and desserts from a selection of shrimp cocktail to smoked bacon-wrapped petite filet to spinach and portabella stuffed chicken, topped-off with desserts like Apple Love and Cupid’s Chocolate Cake. Separate cocktail specials - P.S. I Love You and the Pama-Tini - are as red as roses. Or maybe you want to celebrate with a champagne toast for two – all for $28.95 per person, with reservations highly recommended.

Former home to Virginia Hardware Store (whose sign sits atop the building like a deco monument to the community it served since 1924), RiRa has raised in its stead a living tribute to salvaged properties shipped from all across Ireland. Heavily lacquered mahogany dominates the main dining room, which is illuminated by thick, flame-like candlelight lighting fixtures nestled aglow around the black chandeliers.

The lively bar is on one side with a small upstairs bar and restaurant area that overlooks the main dining room, which brings to mind the long-ago charm of the semi-private “snugs” (hideaway cubbies tucked into the front corners of the bar) in pubs across the motherland. There is also a private dining room and adjacent patio for when it warms up outside. “RiRa’s unique atmosphere of traditional Victorian-era Irish pubs is in the spirit of pub founders David Kelly and Ciaran Sheehan,” said bartender Finbar Flynn.

But what gives RiRa its mythic charm is the exquisitely large, earth-toned, original Celtic oil paintings elevated above the dining room.

RiRa has just revamped its beer list with a renewed focus on bringing European/old-world style offerings like GUINNESS, and American micro-brews like Dogfish Head and Shipyard. 

It has six well-appreciated traditional Irish quenchers always available on draft: GUINNESS Extra Stout – the beer that launched our nation (four taps are devoted to the legendary stout); Smithwicks – brewed with 20 percent corn syrup and English hops, the aroma is nutty and roasty; Harp – the uniquely British/Irish take on Euro lager that took Britain by storm in the mid-1960s; Kilkenny – an Irish Cream ale that made its U.S. debut at the Dubliner in Washington, D.C.; and Magners Irish Cider –the naturally crisp apple favorite. 

For “Irish in a bottle” there is: Murphy’s Irish Stout – a milk stout that has lactose (milk sugar) added for additional sweetness; and GUINNESS Foreign Extra Stout – the specialty beer with 7.5 percent alcohol by volume that possesses strong, roasted aromas followed by a unique bittersweet taste, which was reintroduced in the U.S. this past September for the first time since before Prohibition.

“The FES is moving real well, especially being that it’s already a favorite of many around the world,” said beer manager Brian Fennell. “We’re keeping an ear out with our GUINNESS reps to hear if there are any immediate plans to introduce the GUINNESS Black Lager into our market,” he added.

Imports on tap include: Newcastle, Bass, Stella Artois, Heineken and Hoegaarden (a Belgian-style wit with orange peel and coriander). There is also a small selection of domestics on draft for the American lager lovers in the house.

When GUINNESS won’t suffice, try RiRa’s well chosen list of 17 import bottles, which boast English selections like Fullers London Pride and Young’s Chocolate Stout (perfect for Valentine’s Day, said to be infused with the same chocolate that is used in Cadbury bars). The ladies are sure to blush over the barrel-aged complexity of the fruity, fit-for-royalty Lindeman’s Framboise (as well as other Belgium treats like Delirium Tremens and Leffe Blonde, described as a “subtle but delicate” golden Abbey Ale at 6.9 percent alcohol by volume.)

Joining the bottled imports are over 15 American craft brews listed by region. American draft microbrews include: Bell’s Best Brown Ale (MI), Yuengling (PA), Sam Adams Noble Pils (MA), and the RiRa’s Connoisseur Pint Club Pick – Dogfish 60 Minute IPA (DE). Be sure to ask your bartender about joining RiRa’s Connoisseur Pint Club and have your say! (Come by Thursday night, it’s “Craft Beer Night” with $3 Dogfish Head and specials on all American microbrew labels.)

Authentic Irish cuisine can also be had (these are clearly the most popular), as well as classic American favorites with an Irish twist. The fish and chips were most impressive, on our recent visit, delivering fresh Icelandic haddock breaded in a mixture of dry ingredients delicately awakened by an effervescent dose of Harp.

“I love the sandwiches,” said Clark who favors the Wicklow Dip, Dublin Monty, and the Publican’s Reuben. The all-day Irish breakfast consists of Irish sausage (sweet and savory pork links) flanked by the obligatory eggs, rashers, black and white puddings, grilled tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms. The beef and GUINNESS stew reveals a simmering banquet of carrots, potatoes, onions and succulent beef tidbits.

The cottage pie summons a seasoned ground-meat-and-carrots mix capped with a half inch of crusted mashed potato fluff. Mondays are half-priced burger nights with an excellent lineup of signatures at about $4 each, and the weekends bring the Erin Go Brunch, available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m on Saturday and Sunday.

One would be remiss to exclude the ever-popular Comedy Night with amateur comedians on Wednesday nights (along with half-priced burgers), as well as Tuesday night’s Pub Quiz with “Mayor of Clarendon” Andy Gable.

The bands keep getting better and better every rollicking Thursday through Sunday night and Horne promises a mixture of more traditional Celtic bands to come. The proposed RiRa Sunday “Irish Night” will include Irish music seisiúns (attention, all-Irish musicians and singers), but for now it’s live music with specials on traditional Irish fare, and lower than happy hour prices on all Irish drafts and Irish whiskeys.