I've been to The Ritz a handful of times, most recently for Heated Rivalry night and it's an ok venue. It's very small so if you're there for a concert it's perfect because you're super close to the artist. This last time it was ridiculous loud, to the point where when I left one of my ears was plugged up and that's never happens to me here before. For Heated Rivalry night they had projections on a screen that you couldn't even see, not sure this is so much the Ritz's fault or the people putting on the event but still. They have a bar and the bartenders are cool, they don't have any sort of menu though so you gotta know what you want and some of them are a little less patient. It's DTSJ so parking is never fun, be prepared to have to pay or drive a bit to find a spot on the street. read more

The Ritz - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Horrible experience, never coming back here the bouncer was very rude and unprofessional just overall horrible experience... read more

The Ritz - bouncer . - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

I went to visit my aunt who works for Google, I'm from Los Angeles. This totally ruined my experience I had to leave immediately before entering the club. I experienced a man get harassed by two of THE RITZ workers. They list the event as 21+ but they allowed underaged people to go in as well. All around I had a terrible experience, and the sexual gesture that their employee did in front of me & other guest was just unsettling. I do not want or wish to be anywhere near employees like such. Unfortunately, they did not have name badges so I don't know their names, but I for sure know their faces. Extremely disgusted with my experience. read more

See all

The other night, a gentleman was peacefully preaching the word of God through his speaker, which is a constitutionally protected right. He was off the property line of the ritz and on public property. These two security guards decided to go on a power trip and physically assault him and blast a very bright light right in his face, simply because they felt he was "too close" and must do his activity on the other side of the street. Very unprofessional and not classy at all. I hope the owner sees this and take proper action. Seems like they already have a solid track record of being aggressive and unprofessional. I wouldn't come here.. read more

See all

Terrible Experience. I've never seen a security guard rough up a civilian so bad. There was no reason to do all the things he did when the kid was obviously not being disruptive or a threat. I'm not sure how you guys train your staff but I'll definitely never come back here again. read more

See all

Just look at the other reviews lol and you'll know not to go here. Stop giving money to a bar that doesn't listen to its customers and keeps employing security guards with massive egos and tiny di***. Doesn't sound like staff inside is to competent too. Why give your money to this place when just feet away there are better options? Don't waste your time coming to the Ritz. Needs some serious management change or mark my words, this will be the downfall of it. Go check out my review for more and see how after my review came in, other people had the same experience as me. I did email for a refund to different email addresses associated with the venue and never got anything back, that should show you they don't give one fuck about customer service lol. read more

Let's b clear. A security guard not set the expectation and the culture for the club. Just because one man feels the need to go on a power trip, does not mean that he gets to control nor regulate the rules and expectations of the club, especially if they're not posted clearly anywhere. Me and seven of my friends showed up to Bad Bunny night at the Ritz today. One of my friends was drinking a Jimador in line. The security guard says you need to throw that away. Don't chug it mind you on her way to throw it away. She's gently sipped the drink. He then proceeded to say you can no longer come in if you will not listen out here you're not gonna listen inside. What kind of logic is this? The manager, then tried to come and help us, but did not actually help us. He simply supported what the security guard felt like was the new rule. If you can, go in front instead to Miami Beach club where they care more about people instead of their power hungry security guard. I wish him well tho. Clearly he needed to feel some sense of power tonight and his manager was willing to side with him instead of the seven patrons who would have provided more revenue than their one man who feels the need to exert power during his nightly shift as a security guard. Bless his heart. read more

Worst experience, ruined my trip I'm from England and have never met staff like this . Rude and disrespectful and unacceptable!

Horrible food, bad ambience... and the service sucked. No one checked up on us. Security was so rude

The Ritz is the closest music venue to me, and thankfully they've featured some great bands lately. They book a good variety of genres, so there's something for everyone. This Saturday I'm seeing longtime favorite Shonen Knife, an all-girl band from Japan. The sound quality varies...sometimes it's great, other times it's too loud and strangely balanced. They have earplugs for sale at the box office. Things to note: free water pitcher at the bar, street parking, bad interior layout. The bathrooms are near the stage, making it hard to access if there's a crowd. Merch usually sold in the front room. The exit always gets congested: it's best to exit on the right by the bar or you'll get stuck in merch line traffic. They only sell tickets online or day of, no advance ticket sales at the box office. read more

See all

I went to The Ritz for the first time last year on July 27, 2024 when Macross 82-99 + Vantage + Engelwood came to play. The night started off nicely - the energy was great and had wholesome interactions on the dance floor. The venue was pretty intimate, so you can get a pretty good view of the stage no matter where you are. The music was super fun, too. My friend and I ended up getting one drink each, which were pretty good. We had a brief but good experience with one of the bartenders (they told us a fun fact about Hello Kitty, lol) and ended up standing by the bar to enjoy the music for the rest of the evening. This happened maybe around 11:10pm that night: There were a few people passing by me since we were by some stairs, but there was a guy that came up and suddenly stood VERY CLOSE to me on my left, so I moved a bit more to the right where my friend was. It gave me *major anxiety* seeing this guy come up quickly, but I just tried to ignore him. Next thing I know, he reached behind me and groped my lower back - I freaked out. I moved out of the way pretty quickly and was in shock. I'm sure the guy felt rejected (boo fucking hoo) which prompted him to SHOVE me and push me into my friend. I followed him and wanted to push and fight back. My adrenaline was at an all time high - I kept shouting to get people to stop him, but unfortunately my voice was drowned out by the music. It sucks that I didn't have any other witnesses other than my friend, nor did anyone stop this guy! He left the venue quickly. My friend told me to stay back, and that I didn't want to follow him outside in fear of something worse happening to either one of us. Sinking feeling whenever I think about this asshole still out there somewhere trying to cop a feel from someone's daughter. I told security and they were empathetic + respectful about it. Realistically, I knew there was nothing they could really do since the guy got away. Don't know if he still goes here to this day. I just wanted to enjoy the rest of the night, since my friend and I live almost an hour out and looked forward to this night for a while. I started crying out of anger, pretty sure I looked like a deer in headlights after I was done. Feeling violated and getting touched by a stranger without your consent will do that to you. Some folks came up to me from the bar area up front and asked if I was okay, and gave me some water. I really appreciated their kindness that night. I was on edge for the rest of the night, and ended up leaving earlier than expected anyway. I know it took me a while to say anything about this, but it's kind of insane that some grown men are incapable of keeping their hands to themselves. Not that it matters what I wore, but I had on all men's clothing that night. Bulky denim jacket, big shirt, jean shorts -- thought presenting myself more masculine would make me feel safer being out at night as a woman. Anyway, shout out to my friend for helping keep both of us safe -- and thank you to the security who worked that night. Just want to put this PSA out in case any other woman or femme presenting folks out there are in doubt about sharing their experiences. Not just here, but anywhere else out there in the world and around the Bay. Stay safe and look out for each other please. read more

The Ritz - A little before that incident happened, the last good moment I had from the show lol. - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Tonight, my friends and I were going to enjoy a night at the Ritz....or so we thought. We were about to get in line when security told my friend to throw away her drink (mind you it was juice) and to not chug it. My friend walked to the nearest trashcan and took a sip- did not chug- and threw away the juice can. The security immediately told my friend she wasn't allowed in. She didn't do anything wrong. Mind you she was on the public side walk and not inside the venue property, they assumed it was alcohol that she was drinking, AND they were abusing their authority point blank period. The security and the manager working the night of March 7th 2026 at 11pm had no valid reason to not let my friend in. Tsk tsk tsk. It's unfortunate you have to at least rate it 1 star cuz they won't deserve any. read more

My first time here and got kicked out cause my friend put her head down for a bit. Would come here as my LAST option, probably not even at all. Overall a small place, better places in downtown. read more

Horrible place, horrible people. Took my son here for the Teenage Bottlerocket show. It was sold as an all ages show. We traveled to the site, over and hour, waited in line then 5 minutes before the show the bouncers came out and said "Show has been changed to over 21, if you dont have ID your not getting in". So, we left. read more

Went to see Trish Toledo a few weeks ago worse venue I ever went to show was 8pm Start time didn't get in til 9:30 standing room only building small drinks bad first show was crap had to leave place was way to crowded didn't even get to see Trish what a disappointment me and my wife we're very upset we waited a long time to see her don't know why she chose such a crappy place to do a show. Hopefully one day I'll get to see her perform but not in this dump 0 rating read more

Insensitive, rude & hostile staff. Not worth the trouble. Just go to splash for a fun & better time.

Super fun bar, however the bartender ruined the experience for me and my friends. I had ordered a cosmo for my friend who is newly 21 and doesn't know what to order, the dark haired bartender continued to say " this is not a cosmo bar" simply because she couldn't make this 3 ingredient drink. We had already got one from a different bartender, so this was obviously not an issue of not having the ingredients, she just didn't have the knowledge and tried to make us feel bad about it. She then was loudly talking about it to the other bartenders to try and embarrass us, but the issue is obviously her because everyone else knew how to make it. She should get more training before being behind the bar read more

Great drinks and amazing music. I have gone to several shows, and each time it is a different, but fun experience. I love the plethora of choices here. read more

The Ritz - Emo Night Tour 12/31/24 - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

The sound guy is awful or the overall acoustics of the venue suck. The bands sound so muddy.

This place is horrible to go to me and my friend we were getting our tickets ready for The Browning event and for some reason the people at the front door were denying us entry they wouldn't tell us why other then their "boss" saying to not let us in through their ear pieces even though they weren't wearing any i don't know they're like this I just wanted to have fun and for my friend to have a good experience at the event. read more

I had a very upsetting experience with security at The Ritz San Jose during Bad Bunny Bowl on 2/7/26. I purchased a ticket for the Bad Bunny Bowl in advance and had gone in with no issue. Before stepping outside to wait with my friend who was waiting to enter, I was told by a security (short man with red niners hat) that I could re-enter as long as I had my stamp. Less than a minute later (I kid you not it was literal seconds later), when I attempted to re-enter with my friend who was allowed in, the same security guard I spoke to seconds earlier blocked me. When I tried to clarify what I believed was a misunderstanding, the security physically shoved me backward and verbally attacked me, calling me an "entitled ass bitch." I was not aggressive or disruptive and was trying to make sense of what was going on. I was genuinely confused why I was being denied entry despite having just spoken to them, having a stamp for re-entry, and a paid ticket. The security guard refused to let me re-enter the event entirely. Another security guard (curly hair, black beanie, and glasses) who was not present when this altercation took place was extremely unprofessional and refused to review the situation. Being physically handled and verbally demeaned by security is unacceptable. It's unfortunate to see from other reviews that this is an ongoing problem at The Ritz. read more

No re-entry unless you buy 3 drinks, not sure if that applies for every music event they have. Love coming here though because it's directly next to Guildhouse and I love it there. I've been to 2 events so far at The Ritz, one was 2000s Baddies(I think?) and the other was Daftpunk, both great events, bathroom for ladies room was crazyyy long. read more

The Ritz - 2000s Baddies - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Events not as advertised and rude staff /: really not worth the cover at all. If i want to be disrespected im sure i can find someone who will do it for free. read more

We bought tix at the door which was $20 cash per head.  I believe advanced online tix were $15. Inside were 2 bars, we bought a beer and a mixed drink for $20, they were decent. Music started at 9pm but people started dancing at about 10pm.  It was 2000's music night, and it was more like a karaoke event as everyone was singing along with the music of the past. Still it was fun to be out jamming to old tunes. read more

1.show hadn't start 90 minutes after doors 2.got hungry 3.they don't serve food 4.they say I can't leave and come back 5.didn't stay for show read more

Came here for an event my friends wanted to go to. The music and band were good, but the drinks are pricey. I paid $20 for henny and coke, the cup was tiny like 3 sips worth and it barley had any alcohol in it. So just beware when getting drinks here, its def not worth it. read more

This is an excellent Music venue in San Jose. I go there 2-3 times a month. Security is great and the Artists they bring in are excellent. Thanks. Hari read more

Don't lose your phone here, you won't get it back. I was here for new years, on a Wednesday and my phone was lost here. Mind you the location showed up there. They said I could get it back Saturday when they opened up again. Location was turned off Thursday at the Ritz. Went back Saturday and asked if a phone was turned it, one gentleman said there were some in the back, a different guy went to look for it and said there weren't any turned in. WEIRD. I really should've just called the police and filed a police report but that's why I'm writing this review because I've been here many times before but this reason is why I'm not EVER going back. read more

I had a good time but I wanted to express my concern for the safety of everyone that attends this venue. There was a large Mexican man who was way over served hanging out on the left side of the stage pushing young ladies during the final intermission between sets leading to the last band. I was bumped by these girls and was confused why there was aggression during the break and they were just trying not to fall after being aggressively shoved by this drunk man. I turned around to him shouting expletives about making him spill his drink. He was with a very shorter lady who was telling him to stop but was also getting shoved by him. It's a show and things can get heated but he continued to speak in a way to make them feel threatened. The young ladies were warriors and didn't budge a bit but after 5 minutes of him still foaming at the mouth I told the girls they could switch spots with me. One song in and he starts elbowing me for no reason. I spoke up and he just starts to wobble and his friend continues to defend him to another group of ladies. I was there for a show first and foremost so I walked away. I want to be clear he was way over the limit and assaulting multiple groups in an area where the ladies were just trying to vibe. When the show was almost over I went to the front to let em know and he was right at the entrance bar being served another round. Be on the look out, 300+ pound Mexican neck beard with short red headed woman who excuses his behavior, also hangs around the groups of women to feel even bigger and shove. They know this man and serve him anyways. read more

I came here every now and then. They have themed nights every weekend, ex. Emo night, Broadway rave, 2000's night... I'd say majority younger crowds. The alcohol is not too bad. Musics on general nights can do better. read more

The Venue I went to the Ritz for the first time for "Drake" night. From what I've seen The Ritz does quite a few artist themed nights which I think is pretty cool. Most venues in San Jose have DJs that like to change songs every 30 seconds or It is a mid sized venue with a good bit of space. There is a dance floor as well as open space in front of the bar. The sound system was good and I think the lighting setup is solid as well. The Experience Drake night was pretty dope. The DJ played all the classics and even though the venue wasn't full, the vibes were top tier. The drink prices were fair and the bartenders were good but I was only drinking tequila and soda. If you are a fan of any of the artists they are featuring bring a friend group and you'll have a good time. You should try and get your ticket in advance if possible. I paid 20 at the door but I do think that is overpriced if you are just stopping in randomly. Worth it for Drake night though. Overall I like the venue. It is more intimate and smaller venues are definitely my preference when it comes to going to shows. If you are expecting a packed venue make sure you are going on a "popular" night or if you are a fan of the featured artist then you'll probably enjoy yourself. read more

Sugar, we're goin' down... TO THE RITZ! I've heard of the Ritz so many times and I finally got to visit for the Emo Night Tour a few nights ago! Me and my friends parked at SJSU's West Garage and walked about 10 minutes to The Ritz, but there's also street parking on First St. outside the venue. There's also a parking lot across the street, but it's usually around $15-30 to park there. When we arrived, the entry line was wrapped around the block! It was crazy and we had no idea so many people were there for the Emo Night Tour! (The line passed Guildhouse!) They check for IDs and tickets before you enter. I highly recommend buying your tickets online ahead of time -- it's cheaper and you can get in faster. When we got in, we ordered drinks. I got a Cosmo, which is part vodka and part pineapple? It was a pretty sweet drink and it tasted really good with the lime in. There's a small bar right at the entrance and a larger bar in the main room. They also have free water which was nice. The show was AMAZING! I had such a great time and the DJ and band played an awesome setlist! The lighting effects and fog machines were really cool and the energy was electric. The entire room was packed and everyone was just having a good time! Would definitely come back again next time! read more

See all

We arrived at the ritz on 2/7/26 for the bad bunny bowl event as advertised, when we arrived there was a security guard (white short man with a niners hat that pushed the girl and called her an entitled bitch) additionally there was a second security guard with a beanie, glasses, curly hair and tattoos on his arms that was yelling at a girl and calling her bitch, I found this to be extremely rude and bad example of what the ritz (customer service/ services ) prides itself on. I doubted my entrance to the event after seeing this occur. Moreover, as the girl walked away almost in tears the security guard started to make fun of Benito fans and saying "imagine if you were a bad bunny fan and trying to get in", Once I entered the event, it was not what was marketed per the bad bunny bowl flyer. The dj did not play any Benito songs up until the very last hour and a half of event, he started his Benito playlist with saddest songs Benito has ever made such as, un x100to and DtMF, there's better songs to start off a bad bunny event, personally I would start off with DÁKITI, ANTES QUE SE ACABE, safaera,yo perreo sola, la santa, callaita, el Apagón, Neverita, Tití me preguntó, Después de la playa, Moscow Mule, Me Porto Bonito, EoO, LA MuDANZA, PERRO NEGRO, NUEVAYoL, VOY A LLeVARTE (if you want more info, I can link my Spotify). Furthermore, the visuals were not well thought out at all, it was a small projector screen playing random Benito music videos that did not go along with the songs that the dj was playing. Additionally, the bartenders were nowhere to be seen and I was unable to get any drink nor water. It's so sad this event had so much potential but the planners for this event clearly did not understand the assignment nor their audience. read more

My bff & I saw the Murderdolls with Wednesday 13 on Saturday. We also saw Infected Rain. They're an Eastern European band with a female vocalist. They're awesome! I got their CD & the singer offered to sign it for me. The show was great! We were able to get a booth seat since most of the people there stood upfront. There are two bars there, one in the front & the main one One of the you ger female bartenders there had a bit of an attitude. I asked her the name if the band who was playing & she looked at me weird. Wtf? Just say you don't know bitch, but don't give me an attitude after I tipped you, ugh, so rude! Then she had the nerve to talk shit about me as I saw this guy who was a bartender look straight at me. I saw her talk to him & the Asian guy & someone else before that. He gave me a weird look & a smile. Wtf? People there shouldn't talk shit about people just for asking a simple normal question, ugh. Other than that, this place is usually cool. The Asian guy at the front bar is cool. He doesn't have that stuck up attitude fortunately, lol. read more

Love the Ritz!! Great venue! Killer vibz!!! Had one of the best nights out in a very long time!

I want to like this place more because of the people who go there and the amazing bands. However its over shadowed by the completely rude and cold guys at the front. The bouncers look miserable and can't bring themselvesto say hi back or smile. And its just not a good start to be "greeted" with such negativity and hostility. If it weren't for that this place would be a amazing. read more

We had a great time dancing to disco! Spacious dance floor. very airy. Nice lighting and sound system.

Upon arrival, one of the first things I heard the security team say was that they should just shut down the rits, definitely sends a great first impression. Nevertheless, I decided to ride my motorcycle in and had my helmet with me. They wouldn't let me in because of safety concerns, which is totally understandable and I get it but also I was waiting in line for about 30 minutes and they didn't tell me until I was at the very front of the line. I had talked to some of the security team while I was in the middle of the line. So they totally could have told me then more or less wasted my time and a whole trip to the ATM because the box office is cash only for some reason. read more

Came here last night for emo night. Left the venue before 11 pm. Got a fraudulent charge of $1002 at 1:45am from the ritz. I still have my credit card with me so I am not sure how this can happen... I no longer trust this place. read more

This 5 star goes to Eric! He was such a humbling soul that cared about my tiny friend, he was patient and sweetly assertive. Patience is very important when working at a job like this. He gave me a water for my friend to help sober up. We need more people like Eric here! You guys had a short king being a d*** to ladies in line for no reason and another short king trying to kick us out when my friend obviously needed to sit down for a little. WE LOVE YOU ERIC!!!! (I don't remember if it was a C or a K I asked but I forgot ) read more