Rita's Bar & Kitchen in Southampton

I find this bar bizarre. Dj playing… but don’t dare stand up from your table and dance or the owner will be there and rudely tell you to sit down and it’s a table service only venue. When you are out for a night out the last thing want is to feel like you are at school. Personally I feel like running a bar is not the business for them as their people skills are very lacking. The owners face was like thunder. I would say we could have caught her on a bad night but from speaking to a few people, I think this is the standard service! If you want to let your hair down (and I mean dance in any form) this isn’t the bar for you. You could sit down and have a drink… but the service for that isn’t great either so I’d probably just avoid 😂

Great location but awful atmosphere. The management/owners are rude and obnoxious. I wonder why they work here as they clearly do not like people. Shame! The other members of staff were pleasant and helpful though the service was slow.

Hamburguesa fría y cruda, juego limpio para el personal muy disculpado y lo reemplazó con un poco de carne demasiado cocida, gerente de la cuadrilla no lo era!! pagó 46 libras por cócteles, un pequeño tazón de papas fritas y hamburguesas no comestibles. ningún esfuerzo en absoluto para hacernos volver. por favor, evite.

¿Por qué ha tardado tanto mi esposa y yo en volver a nuestro restaurante favorito, teníamos los platos pequeños del menú, la comida era excepcional, y el ambiente también era genial, no vamos a esperar tanto tiempo la próxima vez para volver.

Fuimos a Rita’s para una cena de cumpleaños familiar y tengo que decir que nunca había estado en un restaurante tan pobre. Llegamos al bar de cócteles de Rita para que nos dijeran que no pidieran un cóctel que tardan demasiado, luego nos sentaron a mi pareja y a mí en una mesa negra de la esquina. Les pedí que encendieran la luz, pero respondieron que tenían una fuga y que la luz no funcionaba. Movimos mesas. Habíamos pedido comida por adelantado ya que éramos una fiesta de 20 , cuando llegó no podía comerlo. Tenía pasta de pollo cajún que obviamente se había cocinado antes y la pasta estaba empapada. El pollo estaba demasiado cocido y muy seco. Todo era insípido. Mi hermana pidió ensalada de salmón. Era un tazón de ensalada de col con un trozo de salmón seco en la parte superior. Sólo un par de nuestros invitados comieron sus comidas. Nos quejamos solo para decirles que lo sentían pero que no podían hacer nada. Me costó £ 77 para 2 personas y solo comimos unos pocos langostinos que pedimos para empezar, que también estaban demasiado cocinados. Y un poco de pan de masa madre, que estaba destinado a ser pan de ajo con queso, pero no tenía queso o ajo. Una vez que el chef terminó en la cocina salió con un cigarrillo sin encender en la boca. Este lugar no estará allí mucho tiempo y espero con ansias cuando cierre. Un montón de lugares agradables para comer en esta zona, pero este no es uno de ellos.

Visited for my birthday and to try the Woosabi menu. Wow, delicious. The pork belly bao bun was amazing. Wish I’d ordered another but we also had the wagu beef crack bowl, miso aubergine, pork ssambap, beef gyoza and fries. Really tasty! Have recommended to friends and looking forward to going back and trying the chicken bao bun. Great attentive service and good cocktails too.

A large nice bar with outside seating. Busy with people heading to an event at St Mary’s Stadium. 4 cocktail’s ordered (took ages) and when delivered a £5 service charge added. Whilst I don’t object completely to a service charge being automatically added to a bill when you have food. But, surely it should be optional & no way automatically added when just having drinks. Drinks were ok.

Went for a family birthday for Sunday roast. One of the best roasts in Southampton... Absolutely beautiful. Lovely cocktails too!

Attended for a drink and to sample the food from the guest chefs from Woosabi. Service was excellent as was the food. Fantastically presented with an amazing fusion of flavours. I would highly recommend going when these guys are cooking, you’ll definitely be back!!

This is such a beautiful cocktail bar and beautifully decorated. It has a lovely cosy feel about the place. The seats are very comfortable and love the different cushions. It was very busy and would recommend to book a table on a Saturday night. The flow of customers were constant. The waiting staff were extremely busy and were very honest from the beginning - that there may be a short delay on cocktails. Reason being we booked at peak time and there were a lot of big parties in. We were happy to wait and extremely delighted with our cocktails when the did arrive they were made fresh and using the best quality alcohol 🍸 you could taste the difference straight away from a regular chain bar. The food was delicious and great portion sizes. Service was very welcoming and friendly. They played some excellent choice of music a mix between soulful house , 90s rnb and disco house. This has got to be my number one new Venue on the top of my hit list for a boujie night out. I can see why it’s so busy, the mix of ages were 20years to 70years - dress to impress! I would highly recommend this venue.

Very bad service and barely any of it. Never checked back if everything was okay, gave us the wrong food at one point, spent ages trying to get a server to even get the bill. Staff are walking around moody and not a smile in sight. Cocktails are horrible… have all these fancy cocktails on the menu yet cannot make a classic espresso martini right. Food is very average and over priced, truffle and Parmesan fries were a joke served in a Wetherspoons tin with barely any truffle oil and non existent Parmesan. Really big disappointment all around.

Great service and cocktails. It was great to know more about the cocktails. We were made to feel very welcome. The Silver Fox cocktail was superb!

Amazing roast beef! Had lunch here yesterday and the roast beef was delicious, beautifully cooked and so much of it. Lovely vegetables, roast potatoes and gravy. There was a really nice atmosphere in the restaurant and staff were friendly and efficient. Absolutely perfect and already planning our next visit! Thank you.

Very nice looking restaurant, nice atmosphere a friendly staff. The food was delicious and we will definitely be back. Many thanks

Truly fantastic meal at Rita's - every bit bursting with flavor and cooked to perfection! Tender, juicy roast chicken, crisp potatoes with delicate insides, flavorful cranberry sauce, tender and flavorful flat iron steak, roasted veggies. Not a miss among it all. Every bite was a treat!

This place is magical loved it ! We had a Sunday roast was sooooo nice best we’ve ever had ! The couple who run it are so lovely 🥰 we like supporting family businesses like this and we can’t believe there are bad reviews ? Cocktails are lush decor spectacular definitely recommend

Wrong drinks sent to tables on multiple occasions. Maybe the staff mis heard us because the DJ music is so loud but we were made to feel at fault as if we had ordered the wrong drinks. Our drinks were not taken away and replaced for what we ordered we were told this is what you ordered! Had to wait ages for the actual drinks to be delivered to table. My friend got yelled at by the manager for going up to the bar to order a drink. Your not allowed to go up to the bar you have to be seated. If you like the independence of being able to order a drink when you like at the bar avoid this place. If you also like to be to just pay as you go for your drinks as in order them and pay for them again avoid as we were forced to set up a tab. The service charge applied to the bill was not optional and the manager was really rude to me when I asked for it to be removed. I also challenged some of the drinks that had been added to the bill as we simply had not ordered them or drank them! But again this was dismissed and met by rude comments from the manager. I think some of the staff do try hard but unfortunately they are working under a manager who is very rude to customers. Also the music is so loud if your on a date or with friends you can’t have a proper chat. It’s also full of staff members and their friends who are off duty dancing around the DJ getting drinks. seems like the actual customers are the ones who have to wait and get poor service. Some of the positive reviews on trip advisor are also a bit suspicious. Much better places to go around Oxford Street. If your out with friends or want to go on a date go somewhere else. I only review insanely bad customer service and this place unfortunately warrants it! Sorry to the other staff who were on shift but the manager was shockingly awful. AVOID

Lovely atmosphere, attentive staff, super food. Booked in advance and on the day had to move the time, absolutely no problem for the restaurant couldn’t have been more helpful. Cocktails were great and the food was excellent, good size portions full of taste and piping hot.

Stumbled across Rita’s and it’s a real gem that will be a firm feature for future trips to Southampton. The food was delicious, perfectly sized portions and served by an attentive, personable team. Great value for money, lovely choice of wine, and it was a pleasure to meet the proprietor Richard, who very kindly organised a taxi home for us. Highly recommended. The team went over and beyond to make our evening special. It was my Mum’s first trip away in 7 years, and she already wants to come back! Thank you Rita’s!

Set in Oxford Street this is a lovely bar/restaurant. The place is delicately furbished with a hint of how these places used to be in years gone by ... But with a modern touch 😊 Today I was welcomed into the place by Prince who left me in the capable hands of Joana for my ordering of food and drinks and she did a splendid job of looking after me. I skipped a starter and went straight for the roast beef lunch with all the usual trimmings that go with it. I have to say when the meal turned up it was worth the wait. The beef was medium as asked for, it was tender, tasty and delicious. The pile of roast potatoes were a taste delight and properly cooked, nothing frozen about these bad boys 😊 The veg was cauliflower cheese, carrot and swede mashed together, cabbage, carrots and broccoli stems, and to go with this there was a homemade gravy that was full bodied and again tasty. To top it off was a massive Yorkshire pudding. I ate every bit of the food that was presented to me, it was that good I could of eaten again, but alas I was stuffed after the eating the main meal. Well done head chef Seb for a wonderful plate of food 👍 I love the ambience in this locally owned independent bar/restaurant, the owner Richard has a good team working for him, they make you feel at ease and are chatty and welcoming. Along with those named already I must mention Delcio and Luke who were also working on the day of my visit. Recommended 👍👍

Have become a regular visitor over the last 6 months, the sunday roast is exceptional and the food/ service always top notch. This is a restraunt and customers are seated, but they regularly have entertainment at the weekend, not least a DJ using vinyl and playing some great funky house/disco edits. Some of the best music in the city. Terrace heaters a recent improvement on the terrace, a most welcome addition for the winter months. Highly recomended.

Visited for drinks before heading out to eat. Staff were welcoming and the drinks were really good. Cocktails were fresh and tasty.

We have been here a couple of times for drinks, thought we would try their Sunday roasts. We were not disappointed, generous portions and all the food cooked perfectly.

Went for evening drinks with friends. Staff were really rude and uninterested, felt as if we were putting them out. Had to wait ages for the bill. A great venue and atmosphere, totally ruined by the service! :-(

Just had a fantastic roast here. Best in town. Absolutely loved it. Huge portions, potatoes are nice and crispy, gravy lovely, Yorkshires are huge. Recommend here for Sunday roasts. Decor is nice too.

I had heard on the grapevine that this establishment serves up a roast that really needs trying and boy, it did not disappoint.  The roast was sublime. Nobody nowadays can cook roast beef or potatoes how  they should be. The potatoes were extra crunchy with...

Was looking foward to visiting here as always looks to be 'buzzing' which it is but to the point where they cannot keep up with service- they do table service even just for drinks- very nice touch- however waited 15 mins to be served -...

Richard and Nicki made the event for our party of 42 family and friends a day to remember; they are friendly, they are kind and they really want to make a success of their hospitality. Despite a member of staff not appearing for work, we...

Great night out in Southampton, came here with a couple of friends for cocktails and small plates, surprised with the London vibes and sophisticated atmosphere.

Had 6 drinks (2 of which were non alcoholic) and our bill was over £45. The service was mediocre at best and then after we settled we noticed the charge which we definitely wouldn't have paid had we known. Front of house staff was very...

Went to this restaurant without booking but there were plenty of tables available. We had just been to see the matinee of Singin in the Rain at the Mayflower but decided to come to this end of the city to eat as there are very...

Had food and drinks here , it’s a very nice bar with good staff and owners , will definitely be back and would recommend to anyone

We went here on a Saturday night to eat and have a few drinks. Our first impressions were very favourable with excellent decoration and fittings. The front of house staff showed us to our table with excellent customer service. We were given food and drink...