Ringside Pub

Bartenders are extremely rude and had a terrible attitude. I (21) was with my boyfriend (20), and they said he needed to have a parent with him for us to sit at a high top and grab an appetizer. He just wanted a soda, since I am of age I wanted a beer. But I explained if his age is a problem I do not need to get a drink, we were waiting for our laundry to be done down the street and really just wanted to grab a quick bite to eat. Bartender said we were “causing problems” due to this and told us to leave. Based off other reviews it seems like they are very picky of who they want to serve. Would not recommend to a younger crowd, place is strictly for old people. With multiple colleges around you would think they would be welcoming to everybody, honestly it seems like everybody who works there is cranky and hates their job. Will not be going back.

I came here to listen to a band with which my friend occasionally plays. The band, Whiskey and Sugar, played some great cover songs: Fleetwood Mac, Shaboozey, and some other classics. The bar was pretty busy, but not super packed. I didn’t know there was an upstairs until I read the reviews after the day I went. I’ll go back to check out the upstairs next time, and I’ll go on Thursday to sing Karaoke sometime as well. Overall, I liked the bar, but I give it 4 stars because the bar tenders were pretty slow to serve.

Always a good crowd and nice bartenders to hangout and chat with. They have a nice setup with the darts and jukebox. The food is delicious, not just for a bar but its good food period. Definitely a staple anytime I’m back in town. Great place.

I just dropped in to check out the open mic on Sundays. Beer was a little more $ than I expected, but the entertainment was top-notch! I'll be back with my 🎸, 3 chords, and the truth!

Great live music, good choice of beers. 3 dartboards. A good time with friends but the decor is a little tired.

Terrible place server and manager were so unprofessional. The server refused to even give us food without id to show we are 21 what is this we just wanted food.!! Then manager comes up and says one of you have to be 21 or show id so my girlfriend dose then she says no both of you. Can’t even get there “rules” right….

Place was ok and clean. Drink was very watered down and over priced. Well drinks for 11$ at a dive is a lot. Same for a standard beer the pricing was a lot higher than normal dive bars.

Great local dive bar. Nice stage for live bands. Way too small for any significant band.

Here to watch the bf play darts. I enjoy coming here. For one thing, this is the one bar that is never freezing cold!!! I lead with that because if you're a girl who feels the cold, you know what I mean!!! I can sit here comfortably at the bar for hours with indoor clothes only. That's rare. lol. Aside from that it's a friendly, welcoming place. I got a grilled chicken house salad. Nothing fancy but for $7.95 I got a fresh salad with a reasonable amount of freshly grilled chicken breast. I am more than happy with that. It's a solid salad. Great venue for a group. Casual bar birthday party. Perfect.

This is a fun pub. The bar area is huge with lots of seating and plenty of TVs to watch the games. I came to shoot darts. The TVs are set up perfectly that you can see even from the boards. The food is very reasonably priced as are the drinks. Great vibe here always.

I've only known Ringside for a cool bar with great live music on Friday's and Saturday's. It's much more than that! I have rented the upstairs room and was impressed by the food and the space. I would go as far to say it's a hidden gem in the Caldwell's based upon the way they work with you and provide this party space to those that rent it out. Today, I stopped by for lunch for the first time since they launched their new lunch menu. Once again, I was impressed! I sat at the bar, but they also have high top tables for groups. Great food, reasonable price and friendly service.

I so badly want to love this place for its proximity but it consistently fails!!!!! Every single person that works here is completely lacking of any common sense, let alone bartending experience.

Ringside Pub is an awesome place to grab something to eat and catch some live music or a game!! They have incredible bands on Friday & Saturday nights as well as Karaoke Thursdays & Open Mic on Sundays!! They do the NFL Sun ticket as well and feature every kind of sports on TV! The bartenders do an awesome job too! There are daily specials as well including deals for lunch and happy hour! They also feature an upstairs room for private parties and events with catering options onsite and to go!

I've driven past Ringside Pub on Bloomfield Avenue in West Caldwell for years and never gone inside. The iconic red barn exterior gave me the impression that it was a country-western bar, but the fact is that Ringside Pub is a classic dive bar -- with run-down decor, modest prices, and a good selection of alcoholic beverages and pub food. Most nights, Ringside Pub is frequented by regulars from the neighborhood -- popping in for a few drinks or a meal comprised of tasty and filling pub staples at a very reasonable price served up by energetic and friendly staff. The beer, wine, and liquor selection offered is generally comprised of mass-produced brands but there's also a small selection of locally brewed cans of beer from Jersey Girl Brewing. Appetizers and entrees include the pub staples like chicken wings ($10), chicken fingers ($9), mozzarella sticks ($8), and burgers ($11) -- but there's a surprising selection of Greek appetizers and entrees, including tzatziki dip served with pita bread ($9), Dolmadakia stuffed grape leaves ($8), Spanakopita spinach pie ($9), and Kolokhitakia Skordalia fried zucchini w/potato garlic dip ($10), and Shrimp Mykonos w/ Orzo ($19). Unfortunately... We didn't try any of the food on this visit -- but will definitely return another night for dinner or the live music that makes this place so noteworthy. With its worn-down furnishings and exterior and very casual ambiance, this isn't the sort of establishment you bring friends, romantic interests, or business associates if you're trying to trying to impress them with an upscale meal. Still, due to its excellent service and modest prices, I'm a fan.

Worst service ever. The bartenders were racist. Didn't feel welcome at all. If you are not white, don't go there please. Don't deserve one star too.

Great place to see a band! Good food and service! I saw a band there and I know others like; the Nerds, have played there also!

There is nothing like an old school bar which still reeks of cigs and old alcohol for a night cap! It consists of 1 large bar in the middle and seats around it...nothing else. Oh and a bathroom...dartboards and a few tv's but that's it. No food or high brow stuff. They are more of a beer/shot/band spot but I really enjoyed having a whiskey (neat) and chatting it up with a buddy. Nearly $25 for 2 but what the hey. The bartender was very attentive (we were one of 4 peeps in the joint). Bud and a few other college type brews on tap. It's not very big and I can imagine it getting packed on a Fri/Sat night when they have bands playing. Parking is on the street. No frills. Great spot. Enjoy!

great drinks- awesome bartender (tell Tim i said hi) - empanada thursday (the chicken is better) !!! same goes for the gyro -

Better than cloverleaf. They always make sure my drink is full which is great if you're looking for a quick buzz with friends. It helps that it's so local so I get to walk home Cheap drinks, always room at the bar, and they even sell pretzels. Always has a different mix of people but also the regulars. A great alterative if you want to go out but not deal with a lot of people or traveling.

Wow. So many old people....... We dropped by on a Saturday night and everyone looked like they were over 70. They also have a 5 dollar cover. For what? Anyways I had fun with my friends but if you want to chat with anyone this is a huge NOPE. The bar is huge and they have darts. Good for groups.

Best bar in Caldwell and maybe the entire state. Nirvana cover band played hard af. Mozzarella sticks came out fast and gave me tiger strength. Blondie, Ms. Pac-Man and Spunky Brown brought the vibe and made it a night to remember. This place is a stone cold banger.

Ringside is my favorite place in town. I moved into the area six months ago and have been stopping by ever since. Their food is tasty and reasonably priced. They have live music most days and always have a game on for me to watch. The whole staff has been very nice to me too. Even though I work odd hours Ringside is always open to accommodate me. Their hours listed on Yelp are outdated, their current hours are Wednesday-Sunday 12pm-2am and Tuesday 12pm-1am.

Best place ever!!! Go there on a Thursday night to see Dom and Nic who are the best bartenders you will ever find on the entire planet. It's got that stale beer smell that reminds me of college morning hangovers. The best! They do great bar pies and Domino's is so close you can't go wrong with some za! Staff is great. Bring in all the outside food you want. They'll give you condiments, plates, napkins, and condoms for later. Juke box works. There are dart boards. Over 12 TVs of largish size. Appropriate lighting for the crowd so you don't see too much. I LOVE YOU DOM!!!

I do not recommend Ringside Pub. The food is extremely overpriced!!! I got the Gyro platter. It was 18.00 for gyro meat and fries. They couldn't even make the gyro.The drinks are expensive too. The bartenders are the slowest I have ever seen. I do not plan on returning.

Horrible service sat at the bar for 15 minutes with a friend and was completely ignored and when we asked for service the person behind the bar told us she couldn't serve us and we would have to wait for a bartender she was rude and the customer service was horrible my first and last time there I will never go back again

I've been here twice now, and have had very good experiences. Tony is a really cool bartender. I'm from out of town and he made me feel right at home like it was my local dive. He even picked up a few of my drinks...class act. If you like the dive scene, it's a great place. This is a cool place to play darts, they have a pool table too, and for a bar table the felt on it was either new or taken very good care of. They have a pretty solid group of regulars and the alcohol selection is pretty large. I drink Miller Lite on tap back home, and this is the first joint in NJ I've found that has a decent enough selection (more than 3-5 beers on tap) to carry it as a draft.

Horrible place. They clearly take advantage of people. Bartenders can't do math and clearly did not pass 2nd grade. Would give zero stars if I could. I could have gone to the city and drank more for what they charged me (including transportation). Went there to have a good time and was having a good time until I got their bullshit bill- clearly they don't want returning customers. I will never go back there again and will advise everyone I know not to as well.

Caldwell's resident dive-bar, complete with cheap beer, pool table, dart boards and multiple TVs. They have a small stage and feature live music on just about every Saturday night, and occasional other nights. There are zero frills and seating is pretty light--which is only a problem should the joint get crowded which happens every now and again. Parking can be a little tough. They have no designated lot, and there is no parking after 9 on the nearby side street--Hanford Place. You'll have to find a spot on Bloomfield Ave, which isn't usually too tough, but you'll most likely need to park between Smull and Park and walk a block or so. It's a real locals place, where you'll most likely find a clientele who graduated high school in town, be it a few years or a few decades ago.

Beer selection is average and the atmosphere is what you'd expect from a dive bar. Nothing special except for the occassional live band. The clientel tends to remind me of people you would see on the TV series COPS. All in all, it's a bar and most of the people are there to forget anyways.

Ringside Pub is a great standby for beers with friends. Often have live music on Saturday nights (small cover charge). Check out @PUNCH the Monkey when they play there. Fun local rock cover band.

I've passed this place a million times as I live right off of Bloomfield, but had no interest because I thought it was a country bar (country music, square dancing). I came into this place around midnight on a Thursday because the Cloverleaf was closed. As I walked closer I could hear the music styling of "Lil' Jon" blasting, but because the other bar was closed I decided to go for it. I'm going to try to sum this place up the best I can. A large crowd of frat kids and girls that looked wayyy underage, sipping on their bud lites and miller lites. I can't tell you how many times someone dropped their drink or spilled it, literally the whole bar was soaked in everyone's drink. I wouldn't recommend putting anything down on a table. The people watching was pretty epic, but when going outside for a smoke expect to get immediately harassed (girls) by some drunken college kid living off his parents trust fund. The beer selection was pretty bad, every kind of water down beer you could ever hope for. I was a little disappointed they didn't carry my selection of beer in a bottle because I hate drinking out of tap at a bar. I'm pretty sure the tap was bad because after two beers I felt sick to my stomach (and not in the drunken kind of way). I'm giving this 3 stars because the staff was awesome, the bartenders were friendly and you get prompt service when you need it. This would have been a great bar if I was still 16.

This place was a lot better than I thought. I went to see a band here and it was a good space for live music and cheap drinks. Lots of room to dance and tons of seats at the bar. The drinks were strong and even though there was a pretty big crowd on a Saturday night, I never felt I waited too long for my drink order. While this isn't a place I'd want to meet my girlfriends to catch up or lounge at the bar with my man, nor order food (I think they have some pizza maybe?) it definitely serves its purpose: an inexpensive dive bar with a fun atmosphere that's open late and you can catch some live music.

Fun place. Great band last night Blush! Bartenders were attentive and crowd was fun. Had no idea this place existed. So great to hear live music and be comfortable.

Great crowd, $4 pounders all day every day, and great bands! What more can I say? I come here a lot especially when Enough Said is playing! Always a familiar face around and a great place to hang out with friends.

Terrible service and extremely rude bartenders. Came here with a group of friends to celebrate a birthday and was ignored by the bartender for over 20 minutes. Another patron then arrived and stood next to me at the bar and was served! I was ignored again and decided to leave. Very poor service.

Dive-ish, inexpensive "shot and a beer" style bar with HUGE square wrap around bar. No windows. Dark/dimly-lit, a pool table, darts, etc. Friendly bartenders. Lots of characters. Has a nice blue collar vibe. Perfect for that kind of scene. Pros: Great place for locals to get a cheap drink and chat with the friendly bartenders; and unlike the Cloverleaf, there is always room to sit at the bar (because again the bar is a huge square with the booze and bartenders in the middle). Cons: A small group of us (guys and gals) went early-ish on a Friday night looking forward to whiskey shots and beer to wash it down - but, no joke, there was a COVER CHARGE. We peeked inside and the bar was virtually empty and a country band was playing. We decided not to go in - as much as I love Caldwell, let's face it - it's Caldwell NJ and there is just no reason a local dive bar should have a cover charge, ever. Especially when there is virtually no one at the bar. I was really disappointed by that and cannot understand it.

Every night here is very entertaining...I love this place. The story is usually never quite clear as to what happened after you go to Ringside. Cheap drinks, unapologetic bartenders that feed you shots (as long as you drink Jameson or Henny or something ungodly like that)...you get better at darts with with drink and there are pool tables. The crowd is unforgettable and funny acting, looking and by the time we come here post-other-places...i'm funny too! Oh yea, there are bands too. Oh man, great dive place!

These guys are the best. Tony is the best singer, bartender, and hunter around. Plus he will have you laughing your ass off all night. I highly recommend this place especially on a Tuesday night if they still have .50 cent drafts.

Im at ringside right now. Haven't been here since college, but the beer is still cold the crowd is still cool. The chicks are still pretty. And we're about to do a comedy show for five bucks on a saturday. Can't beet that

It's a bar where you will find everyone you went to high school with if you are from that area. They have a pretty big bar actually. Some bartenders need a little work with their people skills, though. They have a pool table and a stage for bands to perform. It's a convenient place to meet up for a drink or two on the avenue.

Doorman said he couldn't let us in (on New Year's) because there was a private party going on unless we paid him $40. No doubt it would have went right into his pocket. The whole thing was such a turn off and the epitome of what dive bars are NOT. Had been once before, nothing to write home about. Average bands, Coors Light on tap, etc. Go to Cloverleaf Tavern instead - way more welcoming, more attentive bartenders, fun events, excellent craft beers, and they won't try to pocket your cash at the front door to let you in.

This place reminds me of an old creepers hangout. There's never a big crowd when I go and I've yet to hear a good band. I've only been there a few times but just been turned off by the vibe. Seems kind of dirty too. Ehh

The last time I was there the band came on close to midnight. That is too late to start a first set. The bartenders were discourteous and not very attentive. I had to make it rain just to get a beer. And the beer tasted skunked.

This place is a dive bar but it's great regardless. They have pool for a dollar and a quarter machine next to it so you don't have to go to the bar. The bar is large with tvs set for every angle. The darts are free and there's rarely a line to use them. The drinks are cheap and well made, always order a double. The food is decent, and gets delivered to wherever you stand. It's a cool dive bar and the bartenders are nice. It's mostly guys, but they are very cool people that frequent the bar. Totally worthy of a stop in.

They don't give it much effort. Not much selection and they don't care too much if you like that or not, which I kind of respect so they get a second star. But it's a "nothing else is open" kind of place.

This is the best bar to go to in town. No gimmicks, plenty of room, reasonably priced drinks. They have billiards and darts. Great place to hang out.

Discriminatory and sexist staff! After a man paid for my drinks, despite the fact that I told him I did not want him to and he personally knew my boyfriend, The bar staff called me a "user" and a "tease" simply because I refused to go home with the guy. (just to be clear, this man was twice my age and I made it very clear I was not interested). When I tried to defend myself the bar staff said that I was no longer welcomed there because the man I turned down was a friend of theirs. My boyfriend was with me during this experience, when he attempted to stick up for me the staff said they would "gladly take it outside". I was shocked by this treatment and clear discrimination against a female. Even if I didn't have a boyfriend, just because someone buys you a drink does not mean you have to have sex with them! I felt fearful and pressured by the business. This behavior is not okay. Please avoid this place for your own safety!

My girlfriend was waiting at the bar for me to come home when I came in. She was talking to what I thought was a friend we made the last time we went to the bar. Shortly after my arrival, the "friend" acted weird, talked to other bar patrons we've met and hung out with once before, then left despondent. Shortly after, they started berating my girlfriend for accepting drinks from the "friend" even though she wasn't interested in him. I guess, if you accept drinks from someone who knows your in a relationship you're supposed to want to have sex with them. I found the whole situation disturbing, since we had established that I was her boyfriend the last time we all hung out, and she had talked about how she was waiting for her boyfriend when the "friend" offered her a drink in the first place. Next thing I know, she's being called a user, I'm being called a chump (paraphrase), and challenged to go outside and fight by one of the guys I had once shot darts with. During this entire exchange, the barkeep passive aggressively joined in on the bashing of my girlfriend until they verbally kicked us out. To be treated like that in a nice town like Caldwell is frankly disgusting. The people who run this place should be ashamed of their staff for encouraging this type of behavior.

Upstairs was different than usual. There was a new bartender who I've never seen upstairs. He was so enthusiastic and energetic, it was nice to see a change of face. He also was so laid back and "chill" he made it rain. I look forward to seeing him more often as he was the best upstairs bartender I've ever encountered.

Look, I love the Ringside. I hate paying covers but its worth it to listen to live music. Please, bring back Big Buck Hunter, that Mega Touch is good for nothing. The place is loud and dark. No one gives you a hard time when you're horrible at pool. Great place

i have countless upon countless fun memories of going to this prestigious caldwell landmark ever since i was 21 years old. i am now 31 with a decade of memories here. that being said though this place is a heavy locals scene everyone here is very welcoming whether it be staff or the clientele of regulars ive known over the years growing up in this area and their live bands every week are always a fun time! depending on what day it is they have nice drink specials on beer until last call and mixed drinks are reasonably priced and if you need a quick bite to eat they provide bar pies from nearby tony ds pizza! if you wanna check out their live bands belting out legendary rock tunes their schedule is right above the entrance and every sunday night is open mic night with entertainment and talent not found just anywhere! they have a pool table and free dart boards downstairs and whenever the second floor is open without private events theres a nice bar upstairs as well with 2 more pool tables and dart boards and even cornhole to play up there. tvs are both upstairs and downstairs for your sports viewing pleasure. however, its a $10 minimum to pay with a credit or debit card here but in conclusion this jersey landmark is one of the best bars anyone can ask for.