I've been here a number of times over the last 6 years. Â I've done mostly dinners here, occasionally a lunch, and have had a few times where I sat at the beer and tried to walk myself down their beer taps from left to right. Â The daily specials on drinks make it reasonable in terms of prices. Â The yelp coupon offering $4 off of an Irish Coffee seems pretty good. Â
They have in the past played with the menu a couple of times a year. Â It got to the point where I would order the corned beef and cabbage entree just to see how different it was from the last time I had it. Â I've been told they've toned that down a bit and are more consistent. Â I've gotten into the habit of shaking a little bit of the Malt Vinegar onto the Pub Chips (which are fries). Â It kind of grew on me. Â
I've had their Guinness Onion Soup (ok to good), their Paddy Mac (must have up'ed it somewhat from the beginning of the year because another reviewer said it was a single piece of corned beef with a lot of cole slaw. Â Mine had a number of layers of corned beef and the slaw was not overly done) (good), Corned beef and Cabbage (good), Fish N Chips (good to almost great), Shepherd's Pie (good to almost great), and the Beef Stew (good). Â I've also tasted a few whiskies here. Â They keep a decent stock. Â Haven't had many of their appetizers because they appear to be the same appetizers you can get at other places. Â
To me, what makes it a 4 star instead of a 3 star are the bartenders. Â They have always been friendly, talkative, knowledgeable of the beers and somewhat knowledgeable of the whiskies. Â It's more often than not that they'll reach across the bar, shake your hand, tell you their name and ask yours. Â Bar patrons seem to be a friendly crowd as well. Â They must be doing something right. Â Since I moved into the area in 2005, I've watched other food joints in that mall area drop out.
We went in again on 1/28/13. Â We both started with soup. The soup was flavorful, but luke warm. Â We ordered the fish and chips. Â The fish was fantastic, and a large portion. Â It seemed to be a better experience than last time, however, when my mother found a piece of cabbage floating in her diet coke, I was speechless. Â It seems very hit or miss at Claddagh.
Review Source:Great looking place and cool atmosphere. And the entertainment was fun. That's where the good stuff ends. OK, maybe that's not entirely fair as it was my first time there. But I went there jonesing for a Rueben (a staple in every Irish pub I've been to) and I was shocked to find they didn't have one on the menu. Instead they had something called the Paddy Mac which was corned beef, cole slaw and swiss on sourdough bread. Well it was smothered in slaw and the corned beef was a single layer that was paper thin. As a matter of fact, I couldn't taste the corned beef at all. Terrible excuse for a "kind of Rueben" sandwich. Add to it that the bartender didn't know what a Big Ginger was (Jameson and Ginger) and I left there wanting more and with no intent of going back. So many good Irish pubs, there's no point in spending my money there,
Review Source:This evening we came for dinner. My husband ordered  the Dublin Chicken, my daughter got a kids meal and i ordered the "mac and cheese".  Well let me tell you, DON'T waste your money on the baked mac and cheese. Kraft macaroni makes better mac and cheese. I actually had baked mac and cheese at Colonial Ice Cream in St. Charles and that was more PLEASING and tasty then this place.  The menu described this as "elegant " and mouth watering  with a mixture of cheese and baked bread crumbs. IT was so blah and boring.  NOT EVEN salt and pepper could do justice. My child even tried it and spit it out. My husbands meal was very tasty and good portioned. I wish i would have gotten something else.
Review Source:We ate dinner here just a few days before Thanksgiving. There were 3 things that really impressed me. 1) There were still Fall decorations up - not Christmas. 2) the manager, Brian, came to our table, introduced himself and wanted to make sure we were having a fabulous experience and 3) our waitress, Chelsea was excellent. The food was good. We had appetizers of corned beef and cabbage rollups which were like mini reuben sandwiches and very tasty. I'm not a "big Irish food" kind of person, but I'd go back. The food was substantial and seasoned well. For dessert we shared a "trio" of desserts and it was awesome with flourless chocolate cake, ice cream and pumpkin cream brulee. We'd go back!
Review Source:Hardly an Irish pub. Â If you've ever had REAL Irish food, this place will disappoint. Â The food was edible, but I can think of many other places to eat and ENJOY the food. Â The fish and chips came with American steak fries, which were seasoned! Â Ugh. Â The Scotch eggs were a poor American attempt -- perhaps they saw something on the Food Network about Scotch eggs, but never had one across the pond. Â And it was served with American mustard, NOT Coleman's! Â I didn't ask for white pepper, but I doubt they had any.
I ordered a pint of Boddington's draught. Â Ok, in the UK, an imperial pint is 20 oz. Â Here, a pint is 16oz. Â This "pint" was MAYBE 12oz -- a crappy narrow Bud Light glass. Â For $5?!?! Â Gimme a beak. Â The waitress wouldn't address the issue -- that's what the bar gave her.
We won't return. Â I'm sorry I spent so much for such a mediocre dinner. Â Hopefully this will save others the disappointment. Â Oh, yeah, the music was loud American pop interspersed with Irish.
This is a huge place. Being in suburbs, it's more geared up for meals than drinking (like a Fados downtown etc.). In winter, there are lots of tables and big spaces to huddle.
We went at the end of summer and sat on a pleasant patio overlooking a large pond with a fountain that killed the traffic on Randall Road.
Our waitress greeted us with usual "how are you" but when we asked how she was we got "meh, same old, same old.." Mmmm.
They make a big thing of the eight-minute Scotch egg (see Gary Rhodes for the perfect recipe). What arrived was dark brown (burnt) on outside, with a completely hard-boiled egg on inside that was not, in any way, soft. Not great.
Oh BTW, the Irish love Colman's English Mustard and there was none here. I'm not sure if they stocked HP Sauce either..
The Meatloaf Sandwich had a tiny smear of BBQ sauce on thick bread slices, and the meatloaf was dry and thin. I should have ordered the entree meatloaf, which I assume was thicker. The fries were good, but the coleslaw was a tiny portion in a paper vessel.
Boddingtons was fine. It's not like the beer they sell in Manchester, but this is Geneva. Â The wine selection had the usual rubbish: cheap wine (St. Michele, Los Almos, etc.). It is obviously not a wine place at all. The beer selection was bigger, but with no surprises. There were no cocktails.
Last night I was in Unlimited on Kinzie and that was really very good. The Claddagh is just another huge chain place, without heart or soul. It just about does what it says on the label and can be found pretty much everywhere, except Ireland..
My husband & I went here this past weekend. He ordered the corned beef & cabbage & I had the fish & chips. The corned beef & cabbage was standard, but my husband was impressed with the size portion of the fish. The batter was very light & crisp. However, I found that my fries under the fish plank were swimming in the grease. I'm not a huge fish fan, but it sounded good and I gave it a try. It was ok, but my husband thought it was excellent & he finished it. I know this is an Irish pub with Irish fare, but I think I would have liked to have seen some Irish beef stew on the menu.
Review Source:im not sure why this place gets such a meh review, I thought it was OUTSTANDING!!! A friend and I went out to lunch and we were actually on our way to another restaurant in the area but as soon as I saw the Claddagh I knew I had to try it. This is the only location that is left in IL and I'm not sure why they all have closed down.
It was a Sunday, so the restaurant was not crowded at all, and we got a seat in the bar area right away. I asked our waitress what beers they had on tap and she said they had about 25 different ones, and that it might be easier to tell her what I like. I had a taste for a cider and sadly most places dont have that option but I thought I might try. I was in luck, they had cider on tap, and not only a cider my favorite cider!! If you have never tried magners I highly recommend it!!! Even my friend who doesnt like beer or really drink at all liked the sip he had of mine(thats all I would share with him) For lunch I ordered the mushroom ravioli in alfredo sauce...im not usually an alfredo sauce kinda person, but I could not pass up the mushroom ravioli. Mhy friend got the shepards pie. Im so glad I stuck with the mushroom ravioli, the alfredo sauce was not the usual heavy sauce, this was a lighter alfrado....so amazing!!! the ravioli were stuffed full of mushrooms and the mushrooms had a very good flavor to them. My friends shepards pie was also really good. I have had shepards pie once before and thought it was a liiiiiittle bit salty but still really good. the Claddagh's shepards pie was not salty at all!! The vegetables were cut into big pieces, which is nice for not slidding off your fork. The mash potatos were fluffy and the meat inside was seasoned very nicely.
There was about 5 other items I wanted to try on the menu, so I know I will be back for sure!!!
I want to love this place. But like a bad boyfriend, it keeps disappointing me. Yet I keep going back.
I went to a Yelp event a few months ago and everything seemed to improve. The food was better and tastier. The manager acknowledged the past problems and was ready to fix them. This pub had the makings of (dare I say) a 5 star review.
I came in on Tuesday to try it again. The place was pretty busy and looked pretty good. It seems like they went with a streamlined menu or maybe it's just me. Well at least my favorite, Paddy Mac was still around. You won't let me down, will ya yummy sandwich?
I ordered that and it was good but not as fantastic as I remembered. But the real disappointment came in the mac n' cheese though. If there was cheese in there I would be surprised . It tasted like buttered noodles. I had to add a ton of salt and pepper just to get it down. What happened to the creaminess and cheesiness?
I've never had a problem with service here and once again it was great. Our waiter was spot on. But the food just wasn't as great as before. Still a good pub at 3.5, just not in the top pub club yet.
What happened to us? Like I said before I really want to love you Claddagh but you're making it so hard for me to do so.
My friend's and I went here for my friends Dad's birthday. Â We went on a Thursday night for the Trivia. Â Her dad loves trivia, so it was a good choice. Â We were able to choose our own table in which we picked a booth. Â It was the only space in the Trivia area which seated six people the number in our group. Â
Our server Shannon was awesome! Â She explained when we sat down that because we were there for Trivia she would only check in a few times throughout the night, but if we needed help to raise our hand and she would come over. Â We ordered a few appitzers to split between the table. Â I ordered a Harp which is my favorite Irish beer besides Guinness. Â My friend has a Gluten Free diet and found out that she could drink a Magners Cider because it is Gluten Free. Â The food was good and we really enjoyed Shannon's suggestion of trying the spinach, artichoke and chicken sandwich.
The reason for the 3 stars is the Trivia game. Â I'm no Trivia rookie, I play every week in Chicago. Â The game was pretty easy and took a little bit to understand how to play it. Â The point system did not make much sense, nor did the "free" answer. Â The Trivia that I play in Chicago you get a bonus point and not a "free" answer. Â It was still fun. Â
My friend's Dad enjoyed the night and said it was very relaxing which was nice. Â Maybe we will be back again for Trivia. Â If not, I am sure we will be back to Claddagh to get a proper pint of Guinness.
Typical pseudo Irish pub experience which is quite nice. The beer is good, especially if you can't handle a full Guinness (like me) they have yummy blends. The food is tasty and menu is very traditional. I usually get the fish and chips and the hub gets bangers and mash. There's some sort of egg roll appetizer involving potatoes that's pretty decent too. The service is usually good but the wait can be long if it's a weekend night.
Review Source:I love this place! I love the beer chiller at the bar that keeps my black & tan perfect. Â I love the live music. Â The spinach artichoke chicken sandwich is good. Â We always end up here at the end of a date, great Irish pub. Â
I would give it 5 stars if they improve their dessert menu; it is new & not the best-- but do I really need to be eating dessert while drinking beer??
As far as Irish pubs go, its pretty generic. The atmosphere is fun though and the food is decent - just don't expect anything to shock your pants off! Not a huge beer selection, to be honest, but they can have some good specials. I would like to sit out on the porch one time as that always looks quite nice. Definitely worth a try if you are in the mood for an Irish Pub as there isn't much other choice in the area.
Review Source:I have never been to Claddagh before and will be going again soon. The appetizers provided were delicious. The spinach/artichoke dip was my favorite. I am not a fan of mushrooms or fish but let me tell you.....my friend literally stopped eating and paused to savor the salmon mousse. Being a vegetarian she was so happy to have more than just 1 option to sample.
Review Source:Um, hi, my name is Mary and I have an addiction to Irish pubs. Â And if this bar was closer, I'd be there every friggin day.
What an interesting place! Â I went there for a Yelp event and had a blast. Â The food was great and the service was absolutely delightful! Â
I didn't have too much food because I was 'working' the event, but I still was able to see how fun this place is. Â Everyone I talked to enjoyed the food and had a great time. Â
They had all of your famous Irish beers, Smithwicks being my fav. Â And they also have a bunch of flights! Â Irish whiskey flights, Irish beer flights, Scotch flights... I mean, watch out if you have any of those! Â (or make sure you have a driver!)
They had live authentic Irish music when I was there too. Â These boys were on tour, but I'm sure they have live music every week. Â This music was great and felt like I was stuck in the middle of Ireland, smelling the peat and having a grand ol' time. Â
The service, I have to say, was really great. Â Everyone was so pleasant and accommodating. Â Once the event was over, I sat at the bar and had another pint with the musicians. Â The bartender actually let us stay past their closing time AND gave us a free shot at midnight because it was someone's birthday! Â How fun! Â I can't tell ya how nice everyone was!
So yes, if you're in the area, go here. Â I live about an hour away so it'd be hard for me to visit very often, but I'll try my best to get my parents out there!
A great pub, decent food, good drinks, good service.
I came here for the Yelp event, but true to my usual nature, I got there early and started drinking first.  The bar tender was very attentive, and I got my drinks quickly... and he was attentive enough to notice when the next round was needed.  The Yelp event included the house sangria, which may have been the best sangria I've had in a long time.  I would definitely recommend it if you  like sangria.
The food... I sadly can't say much about. Â Simply because most of the food for the event was cheesy (and I sadly can't eat too much cheese). Â However, the chicken satay was pretty good!
I really liked the venue. Â It had a nice pub feel to it (all wood furnishing), and has a few fire pits outdoors. Â I'm a big fan of drinking around a fire pit or bonfire, so a definite plus!
Irish pub. We ate there a number of times. Food was ok. Â I think a lot of folks just go for the beer and the beer.
Live music on some nights.
Chicken sandwich is good. A bit spicy, but good spicy.
If you are a major food critic, you probably won't be thrilled. But it's someplace different to try if you have never been here.
I would not wait in line for 30 minutes to eat here, but very few places would I do that anyway.
Would we eat here again, yes. It's just not a regular go to spot for us though.
Food was not impressive. My baked mac & cheese was mildly better than the Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese at the store. Plus it was supposed to come with bread but didn't. When we asked about it our waiter acted like he was doing us a huge favor by bringing out the two tiniest slices of bread I've ever been served at a restaurant. For those prices I won't be back.
Review Source:Any pub with a glass-chiller made of ice that runs the length of the bar gets an automatic 3 stars in my book.
What a cool (wink-wink) invention! Â I can't believe more bars don't have this. Â It actually works too. Â I was having a hard time finishing my beer because of my food coma after a Yelp event, and it was still cold after a lengthy time. Â
The Claddagh is very clean and its decor is fun to look at. Â Stone walls and faux lanterns have a castle-like feel. Â I've never been in a castle but in my mind that's what one looks like. Â Large screen TVs all around. Â I didn't try the food. Â I am ashamed to say even being Irish I dislike traditional Irish food. Â I would definitely come back for more pints if ever in the Geneva Commons again. Â The waitress was very fun and introduced us to new shots that taste like rootbeer floats. Â Yum! Â Â
Slainte!
If you're looking for a good selection of Irish, European, and American beers, this could be the place for you.
If you are looking for good Irish food, this is not the place for you. The corned beef and cabbage was a shame. It looks like deli cut corned beef service over scalloped-style potatoes and some warmed up cabbage.
The service did handle our table of 10 quite well. Drinks initially arrived slowly, so we just planned accordingly and weren't without the rest of evening. After the meal we wandered over to the bar area to listen to some live music and the bartender were fast and friendly. No problems there.
I agree with the other reviews that if you're looking for a good Irish pub, this isn't it. If you're looking for a nice place to have a few beers then maybe this will be worth the stop.
Came here with my mom for a lunch on Saturday during the FIFA world cup. The bar portion was very full and busy (and a little noisy I might add) but we were sat next to a gorgeous nook and stained glass window on the opposite side of the restaurant.
The place is decorated like an old abbey or similar semi-gothic semi stone pubby look. Spectacular mood decor.
Absolutely lovely lunch of a humongous fish and chips platter. A good hard cider for me and a harp for mom. Then some eaton mess for sharing and it was the perfect pub luncheon.
The bathrooms are behind the bar and well appointed if a little dimly lit.
It's a wonderful, authentic looking, delicious pub and you really must try it if you're a pub fan in the area.
We were in Geneva to visit my son. We wanted to eat out side. We saw the umbrellas and turned in. This is how we ended up at Claggagh. The weather was perfect, and the waitress was excellent. The retaining pond that was adjacent to the outside eating area was quite mucky and dirty to look at, so I stopped looking. That is the best thing I can say about our meal. While the food was not horrible, it was very homogeneous. Like almost any other chain restaurant that one might go too.
We ordered a couple of small plates for appetizers. I do understand what a small plate is. I ordered olives and pickles. I literally got 4 olives and one small dill pickle cut in quarters. My wife's cheese while passable for an everyday brie and fruit was also just OK. Â When they say small they mean small. Â I ordered a grilled chicken salad it had about 3oz of dry chicken on it with goat cheese, nuts and the basic salad stuff. My son's fish and chips was cooked well but not seasoned at all.
I rarely expect much from chains, this is no different.
The Claddagh is a good place to go if you've already eaten and want to get drinks.
Case in point: My husband ordered something along the lines of a chicken sandwhich. I think that is what it was titled on the menu. Everyone knows a chicken sanwhich, just like everyone knows mac n cheese... there are different variations, but, eh, not enough to reclassify or even create a new subcategory.
I will just say that the chicken sandwhich my huz ordered at Claddagh deserved it's own subcategory. And I mean "sub" in the most degrading way possible. When it can out, steaming on the plate before us, we told the waiter thanks but huz didn't order a burger. To which he replied,
"It's not a burger, its just ground up chicken meat so it looks like a burger."
OOOKAAAY. I don't know about you, but I don't want my food to RESEMBLE what it's not... or anything for that matter. Like those damn soy hot dogs. I think food should represent itself, and represent itself well. Just saying.
That being said, the look alike burger/sandwhich was chewy and tasteless (in both senses of the word). I tried it just to validate.
I, on the other hand, went the more traditional route, ordering a corn beef sandwhich. It looked great and tasted.... stale. Hard as a brick.
The upside is that Claddagh has many many interesting beers on tap with plenty of drink specials-- many beverage options to wash away your sorrows or Irish-fare-gone-bad disappointments.
Which, in my opinion, is worth exactly 2 stars.
We went on a week night because we had a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurant.com&s=0aab4cbd731f3d3b0d1453050d3abc56a8c80bd214e25469c7555b750dca8a51" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurant.com</a> certificate and didn't feel like cooking. My husband likes this place, but I think it's because of the Guinness. The food is adequate but can be greasy. We started with the Corned Beef & Cabbage Rolls, which were tasty even thought the potatoes were a bit hard. My entree, Orange Blossom Salmon from the Celtic Seafood Festival menu, had a very oily sauce but no ginger and mandarin salsa as listed on the menu. My husband enjoyed his Guinness Beef Stew but hey, there's that Guinness again. The restaurant really ticked me off by automatically adding an 18% tip to the bill. I sympathize with restaurant workers who aren't paid a decent wage and have to rely on tips. I usually tip 20% if the service is good, but I refuse to do so when I'm treated like a child who can't be trusted to tip on the full check amount before the discount.
Review Source:I'm Irish and this place is sad. The drinks are good and so is their little bar they have but the service needs some training and the food has way to much greece in it. I don't know why I took my leftovers of shepherd's pie home and I don't know why. Â I didn't even touch it again. The Irish are not know for cooking unless it's pub food. Stick to a traditional Irish pub.
Review Source:The Claddagh has gotten a lot better over the years. I don't remember the specific time frame, but they seemed to mix up their menu quite a bit. Now, every time I go, it's hard to stay away from the Bacon and Cabbage dish - one of the best on their menu in my opinion.
Often they'll have great live music - especially the Celtic Sounds - and trivia nights. This combined with a friendly wait staff helps make for a great experience.
No doubt, I really enjoyed my fish and chips. Â It was a whole piece of cod filet deep fried in a light breading and not oily (it was fried at the perfect temperature).
Husband ordered the meatloaf which was quite a large portion. Â We also shared the Irish egg rolls - corned beef and cabbage filling on the inside.
My complaint - our appetizer took 20 mins and our entrees took 50 mins to arrive. Â We were there for lunch and it was 2pm. Â I can't imagine that the restaurant was that busy.
This could have easily been a 4 star.
Big space, big menu, big prices. Needed a table for 11 plus 2 kiddies on a Saturday night and with a 45 min wait @ Buffalo Wild Wings and no waiting @ Cladaugh-the choice was easy.
The grub...huge portions!! Ordered the fish & chips and out came an entire beer battered filet complete with wedge fries..somewhat skimped on coleslaw. Â The menu is so extensive & enticing that if you're not careful you'll end up ordering 2-3 entrees! Â Irish eats like bangers & mash and shepherd's pie are just a couple dishes to name a few. Â You can even mix their beers on tap, how cool is that?!
Service could have been better, but we appreciated her splitting the check for us. Â This is a great place for big groups, they even have special areas sectioned away for bigger parties, complete with couch seating! Â Very comfy place to spend a cold winter's dinner!
Plus...free wi-fi!!
The insides are nicely done and would be great for a big group as well as some covert canoodling in one of the alcoves...
...but you'll be waiting a really long time for your canoodle-inspiring beverages.
Sure the waitstaff is really friendly, the beer list is pretty impressive (Beamish in the burbs!) and the patio is lovely...
...but prepare to sit for a while after you order your delicious beers on the lovely patio.
The wait time for our soup and half sandwich lunch today was easily over 20 minutes and while the place wasn't remotely crowded and our server didn't seem very busy, mom and I both wondered what was with the hold up. The prices range from fairly decent ($7.99 for that soup and half sandwich, $9 for a loaded Cobb salad) to rather ridiculous ($18.99 for a salmon entree). I bet it's a great date place given the low lighting, and I have had the fish and chips before which were some of the best ever... oh and I guess also the Guinness onion soup was delicious... hmm on second thought, I'll go from two stars to three.
Although MK and I are not strangers to The Claddagh, we decided to return tonight (11/09/2007) because we got an email saying that in November, some of the old menu favorites would be back. Â Unfortunately they weren't all back on the menu. Â We did talk to the waitress and GM about the new items, but MK's favorite Connemara Chicken still won't be returning.
Don't get me wrong for everything that follows, but I really DO like Claddagh. Â Cold beers, tasty chow, but there "corporate" mentality just keeps getting in the way of this being an OUTSTANDING "Irish pub". Â For instance, tonight's special beer was Dos Equis and the soup of the day was Minestrone. Â Yep, nothing shouts Irish pub more than Mexican beer (our waitress said it was "Spanish") and Italian soup. Â I just don't get it, other than their beer distributor is shoving XX down their throats enough for them to make it the special. Â Seriously, beyond these constant reminders that this wasn't a pub brought directly over from Ireland and desires to be run as if you were IN Ireland, the food continues to impress (although it be with a shorter menu than the past).
For a starter, we had the Shamrock Wings. Â This is one of our favorites every time we go. Â There's something about a sweet & sour sauce for wings that has a kick to it, that makes the night go that much better.
We also each had the Guinness Onion Soup. Â I'm a baked onion soup fiend, and so I pretty much try it anywhere I can. Â Last time we went, the onions weren't cooked as much as this time, so I'll just mark that up to a one-off mistake. Â This time, it was fantastic.
I usually have the Fish and Chips and although they've removed the "Full Order" from the menu (which is fine cuz I never could finish it anyway), the cod is always served fresh and the batter is just right and extremely tasty. Â It, once again, delivered. Â MK had the Turkey Club and said it was really good. Â The only thing she doesn't like is the marble rye that it's on. Â She's not a big fan of any bread other than white, so that was her only drawback, but she said the turkey was fresh as was all other ingredients on the sammy.
We usually do opt out of dessert because we're so full. Â If you have a starter, a soup or salad and your main course, you likely will be too.
The only reason I'm giving it 3 stars is because of those tangential things that just keep reminding you, "we're a chain". Â I don't know how they get rid of it unless someone from corporate sees enough complaints like this. Â Lastly, about a year ago they got rid of the valet parking. Â I'm not quite sure why. Â Given that finding a spot in that lot is always a pain, it's a subtle customer service thing, especially in crappy weather, that was nice. Â There's ALWAYS High School boys looking for a job, so there's no excuse really other than worries about liability.
This place was trying WAY to hard to be an authentic Irish pub. Our waitress even had a little speech about how each room was made to look like a different type of pub in Ireland. Having an English husband I have spent my fair share of time in pubs (admittedly mostly to make the in-laws bearable, but whatever) and you just can't recreate the 100 years worth of filth, smoke, and grease in a brand new American pub, no matter where you import your stained glass windows from.
Even if they dropped the "we're an authentic Irish pub" front, it still wasn't that good. The food was mediocre and my beer came warm.
Wow, this place has really gone down hill. Â My family and myself always stop by here for lunch or dinner when we go out for a long day of outlet shopping. Â It's nestled just outside of a ginourmous strip mall, which also gives us plenty of places to stop after our bellies our full so we can "walk it all off."
I should have taken pictures because the inside of this "pub" is really beautiful. Â Everything from the stained glass (which is directly from Ireland) to the interior decorating to the georgeous patio area. Â
This restaurant must have changed management or something, because the menu is all new, which includes an "irish" lemonade that contains midori and something else that is NOT irish, and service is really lacking.
Pops opted for the standard fish and chips which he was quite impressed with (he stated "at least they didn't change this.") while mom and I split the 1/2 pound steak burger which was ok. Â The BF had the wedge salad and french onion soup which he said was just OK.
About a year ago, this place was the best. Â Everything was SOOO good. Â It makes me sad that things were just ok this time around. Â We will probably be back, as we hope that this time was just a fluke.
This places is amazing. My friends and I usually just order a salad and then desserts, because the Bailey's cheesecake is by far the best thing in the world and if I ate a full meal I wouldn't be hungry enough to really enjoy it. When it's warm out, sit on the deck and you can look over the pond and the swans. The only reason I can't give it 5 stars is that I've never ordered an actual entree.
Review Source:This place has gotten better over time, or else I've grown to accept it. It's not really an Irish pub, per se, but it serves a great pint of Guinness, there's a good selection of Irish whiskies, and the decor is definitely Irish. But it's hard to call this a pub when it's the size of a Chuck E. Cheese.
It's a huge place, with rooms decorated in different motifs, like a library or a even a church. Fireplaces and plenty of wood abound. A great deck as well.
UPDATE (07/31/2007): First a disclaimer... I got an email from the CEO for the Claddagh restaurants, and he invited the wife and I out for a drink and to talk about my previous experiences - good and bad - so this review may be less than 100% objective. I don't think it is unfair, but there it is.
The menu HAS been updated, and they've dropped some old favorites, like the Calamari Salad. They updated their burger, and they're highlighting a corned beef and cabbage roll appetizer. The wife and I split the corned beef/cabbage roll appetizer and the fish and chips.
The appetizer was very good, although it could have been a wee bit crispier for our tastes (not sure if that would have made it greasier though). My wife also thought it would go better with a mustard dip instead of the 1000 Island dip they provided.
The fish and chips was outstanding. Now, we may have gotten special attention and that might be why the hunk of fish was so large -- but it was cooked PERFECTLY, with the batter just thick enough. Highly recommended!
For dessert, we let them talk us into the new bread pudding dessert. Another home run. The portion was huge -- big enough for 3 to share. It floated on a delicious custard, and the pudding itself was fresh and full of good stuff. This is worth returning for, even if you didn't like anything else. We took half of it home and enjoyed it the next day -- that's the good thing about bread pudding. Like lasagna, it gets better with age...
Overall, I bumped my rating up to 4 stars based on this visit. I think the food is much improved, and the only weak spot is the lack of true Irish character behind the bar. A couple of wisecracking tinkers fresh off an Aer Linugs non-stop from Shannon would add to the atmosphere, although the bartenders are definitely cute and friendly enough right now.
Overall, I'd recommend this as an everyday place to eat and drink. It can get crowded at dinnertime, so allow for that. I'm not sure about reservations since we usually drop by when we're out shopping.
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