The Celtic Fox

Food was fine; not great, but not expensive, which is nice. I had the shepard's pie, which was decent; someone else had the fish and chips, which had good fish and terrible chips.

The place was deserted, however, which gives one pause; this may be due to the live musician, who came in to add a great deal of fail to the otherwise not unpleasant atmosphere.

This was our first time visiting Topeka, and we weren't sure what to expect.  We were pleasantly surprised when we visited the Celtic Fox, which served up great atmosphere, friendly staff, and some pretty darn good Irish grub and beer.  Definitely worth your stop if you're driving through!

FIRST VISIT:   Weekday lunch... There was a K-State basketball game on, so we got stuck in the back room, which has no windows, no character, and apparently no service.  It felt like we were constantly waiting on our server; and drinks were rarely refilled.  I ordered an appetizer of fried pickle spears, which never arrived.  Finally the food showed up; and there was hardly any meat on my Reuben sandwich; but it was pretty tasty.  Again, we waited an eternity for the check.  Don't go here if they're busy...

SECOND VISIT:   Weekday lunch... No crowds or special circumstances this time; just your average work lunch; but same bad results.  Service was still painfully slow; and at our table of 5, 3 orders were botched by (supposedly) the kitchen.  I ordered a brisket platter, but was served and charged for a brisket sandwich.  One coworker ordered a sandwich without cheese, but it was served with cheese.  Another coworker ordered a sandwich with absolutely no veggies, which, of course, was served with veggies.

The menu and the Irish atmosphere make this place appealing, but the operations side of things kills any and all desire for me to return.  Dine at your own risk...

UPDATE:   Weekday lunch... Somehow I ended up here again, and I thought I would give the Celtic Fox some credit because nothing got screwed up this time; and the food was pretty good by all accounts.  However, they still haven't figured out how to time food.  I got my appetizer with the entrees and we still had to wait a long time for almost everything.