rita's seaside grille

rip ritas. i used to love ritas. a revisit after new ownership proved disappointing though. the pineapple jalapeno margaritas that were so delicious are gone. i ordered one recently and it wasn't at all pineapple, which is fine, if i'd been told when i asked for it. next we ordered a cup of soup along with the nachos and were brought a bowl. my boyfriend then told the waiter we'd actually ordered a cup. he walked away unfazed so we figured he didn't hear us. instead of making a stink and faulting him for a small mistake, we just decided to keep it. the waiter camebackto an empty bowl and acted surprised and made some comments about how it must've not been bad. 1. we never said it was bad. we ordered it because we wanted it. we wanted a cup so we'd have room for nachos and our salad too. we didn't want to embarrass him so we left it alone, at our financial expense, because we thought he misheard us but 2. he actually heard every word. he heard us tell him we'd actually ordered a cup but chose to ignore us, only to reveal the ignored mistake a few minutes later and used that to not only embarrass us like were pigs (again. we ordered soup. don't act surprised when we eat it.) but also to jack up our price. i worked in restaurants for 13 years, and my boyfriend still does. we tip. and we still tipped despite his douchebaggery. hope the karma thing works out for everyone involved. ps 1995 called and wants its haircut back.

eat it up. burgers are huge and tasty with hand cut fries. seafood was good too. the atmosphere was cool and inviting either indoors or on the covered outdoor patio. wentbackfor breakfast/brunch which was very good as well. we thought it was a good value overall as we left stuffed.

ritas used to be the best restaurant on folly beach; you could not get one bad thing off the menu. the service used to be superb, now you will wait at least an hour for your meal rather it is busy or not! since halls chophouse bought ritas it has been down hill since the remodel. all the burgers used to be $10; now, they are a couple bucks more. you used to get a large side portion of fries; now you can count them on your fingers and they no longer have the unique flavorful seasoning that all of us locals are used to. ritas used to have a delicious sweet steak sauce that was also used on there bistro burger; that is now gone! the shrimp quesadilla appetizer (best appetizer at ritas) is no longer on the menu. the shrimp and grits is more expensive and the portion is almost half of what it used to be. are grits really that expensive? (the shrimp and grits is also missing the flavorful red seasoning and the amount of cheese it used to have) the only reason i am giving ritas one star today, is for the most part, they at least kept the shrimp and grits recipe the same, minus what i stated, which is one of the best. for those who frequent ritas you will notice there is now a list of high end steaks on the menu, probably since halls chophouse is the new owner. if i am going out to eat a great steak i will never get one at ritas, nor will i ever gobackto halls chophouse now that they have destroyed one of the best local restaurants on folly beach. ritas is not a place for steak! go to grill 225! ritas itself is not the reason the restaurant was not doing well prior to being bought, it was the drinking ban on the beach that hurt the local businesses. great job folly government! rule number one mr. hall, if you don't cater to the locals, we sure as heck will not send business your way! your new restaurant might do well since tourist season is around the corner but once its over you rely on locals for your business. stick to what you know; best of luck to you!

update aug 2016--made itbackto rita's recently. still a lovely place to relax and have a cocktail and a meal. i tried the fried shrimp started this time and liked it. i also tried the fish and shrimp tacos but i was disappointed in them. they tasted odd to me. i've ordered them in the past and don't remember disliking them so maybe something has changed. i would not get them again. my friend ordered the same thing however and she thought they were good. i could only eat a few bites and was scared to eat more. something was up with them. we also ordered bloody mary's and they tasted great but i do not care for old bay on the rim so i will likely ask for that to be left off next time. the drinks were great (through a straw).

update oct 2015-- i beenbackto rita's a few times and i still love it!  they have a great drink menu and the food is always great. you can eat indoors or on a nice outdoor patio.  the last time i was there a band was playing.  it's a fun place.  don't miss this spot!

original--rita's is one of my favorite places on folly.  i love the casual atmosphere and the food is great. it's been over a year since i've been there but just getting around to a review.  i've tried many items but the one that stands out the most to me is the amazing pulled pork nachos! it is served in an ice cream soda glass and is oozing with queso! this is a messy mess but it is delicious. another great choice was the shrimp po boy but looking at the current menu, i don't see this selection anymore. that's too bad because it was wonderful.  i've also ordered the barnyard burger and it's fabulous too.  i love an egg on my burger.  i haven't tried the bloody mary bar but hope to some day.  i've eaten here many times and i've never been disappointed.  this is a great place to eat!

ok, so a couple weeks ago, i was invited to try rita’s out on folly. never one to turn my nose up at free food, i gladly made the jaunt out to folly beach (although i did feel a bit like a traitor for not eating at lost dog cafe ). rita’s is owned by the halls family of halls chophouse , but could not be more different. it’s a very casual, laid-back, beachy kind of atmosphere with food that is both inventive and traditional at the same time. read: affordable we started with an order of the tuna nachos (crispy corn tortillas, queso, jack, jalapenos, black beans, peppers, onions, watermelon pico, choice of blackened tuna, grilled chicken, pulled pork, $11). they were good, but i thought the tuna was a little overcooked and chewy. i camebackthe next week with my mom and we got them with chicken instead and they were awesome. the one really great thing about this dish is that they top it with a housemade watermelon pico de gallo, which adds a layer of freshness to a traditionally uninventive dish. those aren’t tomatoes; that’s watermelon! i highly recommend this dish. we also got an order of their house smoked wings (house smoked jumbo wings, served with celery, ranch & blue cheese, tossed with choice of sweet & spicy, dry rub, bbq, buffalo, 6 for $9 or 12 for $15), tossed in the sweet & spicy sauce. i really liked the sauce and the touch of smokiness that was in every bite. the second time i went, harry got them in the dry rub, and i didn’t like them as much, so i definitely recommend the sweet & spicy sauce. tina thought they were a little too smoky, so if you aren’t a fan of things tasting smoky, then i wouldn’t recommend these. i do like that you don’t have to choose between ranch and blue cheese… although i definitely only ever choose ranch. but i like not having to choose. i also t

this place has seriously gone downhill since it changes owners. we used to be regulars but we are never goingbackafter today. there was a 45 minute wait @2:30 and i counted at least 6 tables open. that is just ridiculous. the last time we were there it took 2 hours to have lunch and our food was cold and awful. not to mention they took all the margaritas and burgers off the menu. bad move for a place called rita's. luckily they don't have to rely on locals for their business. the best places to eat on folly are the dives.

don't order a reuben sandwich! the one i ordered had so much fat on it i could hardly look at it no way could i eat it. i sent itbackand recieved another that had about half the amount of fat as the first which i left on my plate. my husband's chicken was fine.
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tbackand recieved another that had out half the amount as the first.

fantastic!. my family and i ate at rita's twice during our recent folly beach vacation. great service, fantastic food, fabulous atmosphere. my children requested to gobacka third time! the shrimp n grits was on special and it was hands down the best i have ever had. my kids had the captain crunch french toast that was out of this world and my husband had the flounder po' boy, twice! rita's is our new folly favorite and will definitely be on the schedule a few times for next years vacation.

last night my husband and i went to rita's. we ordered the 12oz steak special to share. i normally order steak rare, but my husband likes his cooked a little. the steak came out very, very, rare. it could have been used for a tartar. i sent it back, which i never do, but i can't eat raw steak. we had cut it in half, because we were sharing. the waitress took itbackon our salad plate. they broughtbackthe same steak, cut in half. now this raw steak is well done, dry and chewy. yes, we could have asked for another steak, but you would think, since the owner himself brought it out, he would know you never recook a steak nor would you put a piece of meatbackon the grill that had bites taken out of it. this isn’t the first time the cheapness of the establishment has caught my attention. yes, we will go back. we live there. just not for the food. hey rita’s, we are the locals who support the restaurants in the winter. big mistake!

a keeper!. great location, music was just loud enough for background without being overpowering. nice beach feel without being too kitchy. service was quick. burger looked delicious. my po boy was tasty, although could have used just 1-2 more clams on it. will gobacknext time i'm town and check out the burger.


-----13 sep, 2012-----

laidback beach atmosphere, open air. great service. tasty burger. yummy pickles. live music. what more could you want at folly?

excellent food and atmosphere. delicious! don't expect world-class service on folly beach--there's a local ordnance against being in a hurry--but the staff is friendly and engaging and eager to please.
the food is awesome. we ate once at the bar and twice on the patio, this on a vacation where we try our darndest not the eat the same place twice. rita just pulled usbackfor more.
the nachos-salsa-guacamole appetizer was fantastic.

great burger selection! decent service and nice patio. will definitely gobackfor the burgers.

excellent. my wife, our dog and i had lunch today at rita's, our first visit...since we had our doggy with us, we were seated outside, (rita's is extremely dog friendly)...our server brought our puppy a dish of ice cubes and water, plus a biscuit, we and she appreciated it, it was very hot...there was a nice breeze outside, comfortable seating...we had 2 bottle beers, two mojitas, and split a blt, which came with decent pepper fries...no complaints about anything...the service was fast and courteous, the food was not bad at all, the bill was ok...nice beachy restaurant, we'll gobackand send our friends and family.

prime people watching location!. good food, fun feel.. will bebackin the summer!