Live music, good food, friendly staff. Â I was less than impressed by the selection of beer, especially for an "Irish Pub". Â As one would expect, the mashed potatoes were incredible! Â The bar staff were very quick and nice. Â The whiskey selection was less than I expected but this seems to be the way in Boston (many Irish Pubs have sub-par selections). Â Prices were in line with the rest of the slightly overpriced bars in downtown Boston. Â The men's restroom was unbelievably small and hot. Â The size is expensive to fix but the ventilation is not. Â It would go a long way toward making the customers happy.
Review Source:With a lovely, old world feel, this pub was a welcome delight from the standard fare. Our wait lass was first-gen Irish with a delightful accent. The drinks were quickly served and the food came shortly thereafter. Tasty, with good presentation, we would go again if we ever visit historic Boston again.
Review Source:All I had here was a Diet Coke so I can't comment on the food. I am happy to tell you about the ambiance and service, though :) I came in with 3 friends around 3p on a Saturday, and they were pretty busy. We sat downstairs, where we got to enjoy some live music - but LOUD live music. If you've had enough of your dining companions and just want to sit in companionable silence while enjoying some tunes, sit downstairs. If you actually want to hear your neighbor, sit upstairs! Service was friendly but slow. I sat with an empty Diet Coke for quite a while before our waitress noticed and brought me a refill. The upside of this was that we stayed quite a while at our table with only half of us ordering food and one round of drinks, and there was absolutely no pressure to clear out. Prices seemed reasonable and the menu had lots of variety. We had all kinds seated around us - high schoolers on their own, large-ish families from toddlers through grandparents, and couples clearly on dates. My guess is that the crowd runs a bit tourist-heavy, given the area.
Review Source:Can I put in a request for some better bathrooms? Â For a pub this size, two tiny poorly maintained stalls is just not adequate.
Bathrooms aside, The Black Rose is aight. Â The draft list wasn't terribly exciting, but was a reasonable length. Â The live music is a nice touch, but be careful where you sit or you'll need to yell to your dining companions. Â I didn't eat, but my dining companion seemed pretty happy with her burger. Â You could do a lot worse.
I wouldn't recommend the Black Rose solely on the merit of the food, but on our second trip here, eat we did. I had the lobster roll with side of clam chowder, which was great because it saved me the trouble of ordering a cup... but then created the dilemma of ordering a side of fries. The curry chips appetizer was okay, but the weird gravy-like consistency of the curry might be off-putting for some.
And bonus, I asked for my soup ahead of the roll, then another cup showed up on the plate when my sandwich arrived! joy! Unfortunately, Bill didn't think much of his reuben, and the bite I had spoke volumes that all summarized to bland.
Still, the roll and soup were pretty decent and the $3 Sapporo cans were random, but much appreciated.
Hey, this is at the core, a bar. Not a restaurant. So drink up and enjoy.
Wandered on this place during a conference in South Boston. There was a trio of musicians playing some great Celtic music, and the atmosphere of the pub was upbeat but traditional. They have a great lineup of Irish whiskeys and also have a decent, but not huge, set of beers on tap. A fun pub that I'll try to visit again soon.
Review Source:The Black Rose is definitely an Irish pub. My Guinness was excellent. Clean glass, accurately poured and good to the taste. Our server Eileen was delightful and very sweet. She knew the menu and was helpful in our selections. I really enjoyed the New England clam chowder and my Guinness Beef Stew with Mash ( charged extra for these). My wife had the Fruits of Rosé ( seafood melody ). She said it was good. Our daughter enjoyed her scallops. For a pub the food was pretty good. Beer was very good.
Review Source:This place is great. Had an awesome time on Friday we decided to come back Saturday. Great bartenders, authentic Ireland lads, very attentive and friendly! We had the Irish chips, nachos, and the Guinness stew. Having been to Ireland recently I can assure that these are authentic dishes and very comparable to their counterparts in Ireland. The guys playing music were very good and true Irish musicians. The only reason I give 4 stars, really 4 1/2, is that the musicians were a little Americanized by playing American tunes occasionally. Other that that an awesome experience!
Review Source:I don't go out very often and I hate paying cover charges because it's super stupid if you plan on drinking inside. the bartender had no clue what was going on and he had no suggestions for drinks and I think as a bartender he should know what drinks to give but he didn't. We didn't stay very long because it was lame
Review Source:Get the lobster roll and cup of chowder combo, then upgrade the cup to a bread bowl. The bread is toasty, the soup is great. It's a perfect combo. The fries are some of the best I think I've ever had. They are very thick; crispy outside and soft inside.
Not really a fan of the nachos. If you're from the west coast/southwest, you probably know better than to get nachos at an Irish pub in Boston. They are a far cry from the more authentic Mexican variety, but will get you through a good New England hangover just fine.
I didn't like the salad I got because it came without dressing of any sort, but maybe that's what I get for ordering a salad at a pub? My friends who got the clam chowder bread bowl were all much happier.
Great service, though, so I had a fine time.
went to a Late lunch in the beginning of March with my twins to show them some Bits of Ireland with the County Flags. Great Atmosphere for a Pub with children & a Sober person .. Watch some European Futbol .. Â Waitresses were Friendly .. Along with the Manager
Food was Excellent too ..
Pretty good prices for downtown.
The chicken pot pie looked FANTASTIC!
I had the wedge salad which blew my mind.
As someone who has been to Ireland for a lengthy amount of time, this restaurant/pub is on par with what you would find in Galway or Dingle (yeah, I just said Dingle, so what, wanna fight about it?), and the food definitely reminded me of the fatty mcfatterson food you would find in the pubs in Ireland.
If you're choosing between here and someone else nearby, just come here, because it's pretty delicious.
Not sure about the night life, so you'll just have to figure that out yourself.
This review is for the bar/drinks only. I've been here a few times with friends who work around State Street, and most recently I recently met my cousin and her girlfriend here for a drink after work. They are from out of town and had of course heard of the tourist trap (ahem) Black Rose. There's nothing WRONG with the Black Rose. The bartender was nice though brusque. It's a fine place with good beers on tap. I'm just always on the lookout for a good deal, and dropping $6+ on one beer just isn't my thing. You can go next door to Sissy K's and get a beer for $1.50. It's not a "good" beer, but that's more my target price range. If you want a Guinness, this place has a great pour. If you want a Bud Light, go next door.
Review Source:We stopped into the Black Rose on our trip to Boston. Â Love the pubs on the East Coast.
Beer selection was good, as you would expect in a pub. Â The food was good as well. Â We had the fish & chips, steak tips, and Sheppard's pie. Â All were nicely prepared and I love that the veggies were fresh and cooked just right.
Great little spot in Boston!
My girls and I stopped by this place for lunch. It was a spur of the moment decision and I'm glad we made it. I had the fish and chips and they were really good. Their tartar sauce was great, but the highlight of this meal was the glorious bowl of clam chowder. Best clam chowder I've ever had! Â Exactly what I was looking for while in Boston.
My friend got curry to dip her chips in and it was delicious. I would definitely recommend it if you're a curry fan. My other friend ordered the calamari and that was quite tasty. The only negative here was that the service was kind of slow. Other than that, we had a great meal here.
During a recent trip to Boston, we were looking for a place to kick back after a day of bootin it around the the city. Being of Irish background and a fiddle player myself, stopped in at the Black Rose after hearing some live Celtic music wafting through the air on State St.
Loved the live band, the older gentleman/singer/guitarist had a lot of "en-tu-siasm" and had the whole crowd going, singing along and dancing. Good crowd on a Saturday and Sunday night (yes, we came back again on Sunday after perusing the area and finding no place with the same vivality), no cover on Sunday but a worthy $5 cover on Saturday. Pretty big place with an upstairs, although we never went up.
Only downfall is there were no locals. When I travel, I like to blend in and prefer to do as the Romans do, but unknowingly fell into the tourist spot. Was well worth it though, and will return the next time I'm in town.
1. Go on Monday nights and listen to Terry Brennan. It's the best Irish folk show you'll see in Boston. Seriously, the guy plays every Monday and its amazing. All his tips go towards the Jimmy Fund.
2. The rest of the week is fine as well. Live band every night and usually a pretty good (read drunk tourists) crowd.
3. Food is standard American-Irish pub fare.
An Irish bar in Boston? Â No! Â Yes!
Yes!
So after various attempts to Google / Yelp a good place to get more drinks (to continue our bachelor party) one of the guys we were with suggested we just go here, a place he is familiar with and also happened to have no line to get in.
Overall, good choice. Â The live Irish music put a "jig in our stumble" and an abundance of Guinness, Irish Car Bombs, Magners, and straight up shots of Baileys kept that stumble ripe throughout the night.
Our bachelor was able to find all the predetermined ladies to do shots with, and we were able to provide him all of the alcohol required to achieve the goals we had set -- for much cheaper than I would have thought.
No food - just a lot of Irish drinking, Irish music, and some seriously speedy bartenders.
As others have said - this place is pretty standard on the Irish drinks but heavy on some really nice atmosphere. Â Too bad it closes down at 1:30, just like everything else in Boston...
Out of town friends want to see a few typical "Boston" bars. okay.jpg. I can supply that.
Doorman: $10 cover to get in to the bar.
Me: What if we are here to eat?
Doorman: No cover, but the wait is 45 minutes. You can go to the bar in the meantime.
Me: Well I'll be damned, turns out we are here to eat.
We were not there to eat.
Keep that in your back pocket.
We came here on a recommendation from a work friend the first day we were in Boston. Â It certainly has the authentic Irish Pub down pat. We stopped in for a late lunch and drinks.
We tried a soup and the fish and chips. Â The fish and chips were pretty good - a nice batter without it being too heavy. Â The fish inside was very flaky and they had a nice sauce. I think the fish and chips were a 4 star quality.
The drinks were good and strong (but balanced). Â The problem was getting drinks took forever. Â We would have ordered another round, but our waitress never came to see us until we were done with our meal. Â Service was pretty poor considering that it wasn't busy at all. Â Our waitress seemed to have a indifferent attitude and preferred to be in the corner chatting with other employees. I know it's a bar and my expectations on service are different, but I would think they'd want to keep pouring us drinks too!
If I was in the area, this would be a place to stop-in here, but I wouldn't go out of my way just to come here.
Great Irish pub. I really liked how open it was and the live music, that always makes the feel. Affordable drinks, cold Guinness, convenient and cozy. I really enjoyed a quick brew here with a few friends.
Bartender is funny and very helpful. Wonderfully enough, the woman sitting behind me was full on breast feeding her child in the bar....while drinking a Guinness. First of all, are children allowed in bars? Secondly....drinking while breast feeding? Hahaha gotta love it.
HEY: You need to know about this! Â The Black Rose is running a special! Â Pints of Guinness are $3! Â Or is it $2.75? Â I can't remember but it's CHEAP! Â GO! Â Get 10!
We had dinner here last night and noticed a new item on the menu. Â It was an Irish Sampler that came with a little pot of their beef stew (EXCELLENT) a little pot of their shepherds pie (It was... OK. Â No lamb in it so I don't think you can technically CALL it a shepherds pie.) 2 sausages (good) and fries with AWESOME curry sauce to dip it in. Â It really hit the spot with several CHEAP guinnesses. Â Guinness's? Â We drank a lot.
I came to the Black Rose early evening during the week for dinner. Â I was planning on having a steak as they advertise them on their outdoor signage.
I walked in and sat solo facing the street side window adjacent to the main bar. Â I waited for 10 minutes and not one of the many roving staff servers or bartenders took notice of me. Â After my wait I went towards the exit and asked a server if the area I was sitting in albeit close to the bar was self service and I was told it was. Â But for a newcomer there was no signage or anything to reveal this to me.
In a city district competitively dense with numerous pub choices and a popular tourist location  this experience was unsatisfactory and disappointing.  Despite eventually being offered a place to sit for dinner I chose elsewhere.
I'm over it.
Been here a couple times thanks to out-of-town friends who demanded trying this 'authentic' Irish pub whilst shopping around the ever 'fabulous' Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
Food is boring and bland. Drinks are nothing special..stick with beer. Atmosphere is kind of lame and the crowd lamer. Prices aren't worth it. Writing this review makes me depressed.
I guess it's cool the staff has Irish accents.
But if I need a tune-up on my Irish heritage, you can find me at any one of my relatives' homes where I'll have an alcoholic drink in one hand and a fist of rage in the other.
I know everyone likes this place. Â It's one of those joints where the collective consciousness of Boston has decided it's cool, so if someone in a group suggests it everyone automatically nods. Â "Yeah, that place is fine." Â
But I never have any fun here. Â It's crowded, and usually crowded with people I don't like - guys in their late 30s who are still trying to pretend they can party like they're in college (or even worse, who actually still can party like they're in college), and tourists who're in a Real Irish Pub, this is so great, let's order a Guinness! and at least one crew of vaguely belligerent frat boys who would like a better look at your wife's rack.
And every night there's a different too-loud "Celtic" band playing, which is just usually some dork with a guitar - but he's got a dork with a banjo with him, so somehow that makes it Celtic. Â Folk groups who call themselves Celtic because they have a banjo are like Catholic girls who call themselves easy because they give handjobs. Â
There are worse bars in Boston. Â But there are so many better ones, too.
Live Irish music + charming Irish lads= A spleeendid time with great entertainment !
Honestly, I am never disappointed when I go to the Black Rose! Â Patrons can rock out to the live Irish music downstairs (Friday nights) or venture upstairs to a more modern scene- sometimes 80's music, other nights it's your typical bar/club jams. Â And what's best about BR? Those witty Irish conversationalist! They always keep me laughing and asking them to "SLOW down".
Try it out- if not for the great beers on tap, then for those Irish chaps and their satirical humor that's guaranteed to keep you entertained- it's quite marvelous, really...
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