Dan Rooney's Cafe & Pub

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  I do not gamble, but I decided to try Empire City's new restaurant and was amazed. The place is beautiful and looks like a true Irish pub, but nicer! The place is decorated with a large wooden bar, large beer mugs on top of the shelves, two pianos in the middle, many televisions, and an open view into part of the casino floor. It is very cool. The menu had many options, I got the cobb salad and potato wedges, which were both amazing! My friend got the Rooney Burger, which she also found delicious. To top off our dinner we got the Ice cream sundae. This was AMAZING and even had guinness ice cream. The service was good and the food did not take long. I would definitely recommend trying this place, as I will be heading back soon.

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  Posted on 07.09.13 Elinor J.

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  I am not a casino person by a long shot, but Dan Rooney's gives a very compelling reason to come to Empire Casino.
  
  To celebrate my father's 70th birthday, I wanted to fulfill a dream of his: going to Empire City. Since Empire Terrace is not open on Sunday nights (no horse racing), I looked over the other options. In the end, I'm kind of glad the Terrace was closed - we were thrilled with the service we received! Here's why:
  
  Options for small groups - I called well in advance to let them know of the occasion. We had someone who stayed in touch, and offered many options. I originally estimated a party of 10. I could have paid for everyone, a dollar amount per person, a drink for everyone etc. - in other words, I didn't have to lock my small family party down to a choice of "chicken or fish". In my case, I had everyone except my dad quietly chip in, and I sprung for a special cake, which leads me to...
  
  Flexible dining for people of many dietary needs:
  I'm giving these folks 5 stars, because I had some very special requests! The first of these was that my party had type 1 & type 2 diabetics as well as gluten/dairy sensitive people (self included). After some idea exchange, my contact at the restaurant arranged to have made a sugar free (splenda based) chocolate torte. Other options included an almond torte, or even bringing my own cake, which they would have cut for a minor serving fee. The cake was beautiful, tasted very rich, and even better - my father was able to eat it & feel well.
  
  As for the main dishes- it's Irish dining - don't expect tofu, the focus is on meat! However, there is a really nice variety of food here, including traditional comfort foods, such as Shepherd's pie & corned beef & cabbage; most everyone will find something they can eat here. Heck, there's even a veggie pita sandwich! The staff was happy to answer any questions we had about any dish, and readily make suggestions.
  
  The guys in our party were in heaven particularly enjoying their crisp, fish & chips, while I enjoyed the fresh rotisserie chicken - with sides, the portions are perfect and the presentation is pleasing. Although there was a slight mix up in the level of cooking for my mother's steak, they immediately sent it back to correct it, and when she did receive it, she found it to be very flavorful.
  
  The atmosphere is warm, inviting, with a touch of class:
  It's been many years since I've been to anything with the word "pub" in it (not good luck in the past), but whoever did the layout and decor is brilliant - they kept only the best parts. Notable are the heavy, lovely bar stools for the loners to share a drink over a game, tables for groups surrounding a piano, and - although I hate to give away my favorite spot... these fantastic booths which have curtains, giving a sense of privacy, but also have a TV if you want it. When my party dropped down to 6 (due to some confusion with travel arrangements), we added a chair to the end of one of these booths (thanks to the staff for the idea). With special advance permission, I brought my laptop, a hotspot, plugged into the outlet under the TV, and brought more family in via Skype. My dad was thrilled, and so were we. I understand that the restaurant will soon have WiFi available in the near future. Bring a set of mini speakers if you do what I did - the sound level is moderate, very good for holding conversations, but you'll need a boost to hear your online friends.
  
  By pure luck, we came in on a night when the piano man was in. They made it very easy to make requests, by providing sheets at the table. In addition to several other songs, on our request, the waiter and piano man arranged to sing a lively version of Happy Birthday, mentioning my dad's name several times throughout.
  
  We had a great time, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for a regular dinner or special day. Do give them a try!

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  Posted on 05.11.13 Annalisa R.

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  A friend and I were in Empire City Raceway and decided to check out the new restaurant we were told had just opened. The space is very nice - had a very traditional Irish feel, and we were greeted by a very pleasant host and equally friendly server. Despite being very busy that day, the service was on point.  We tried a few items based on our server's recommendation - the Smoked Potato Chowder and the Fish & Chips. Both were quite good. We washed it down with a few pints of Guinness and all in all had a great experience at Dan Rooney's. If we return to the Raceway we will certainly come back for a few drinks and a bite.

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  Posted on 04.05.13 Christine R.

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  I'm a casual slot player who visits the Empire City "racino"in Yonkers on occasion.  Recently they have been undergoing an expansion, and the latest addition to their dining venues is Dan Rooney's Irish Pub.  Empire City is owned by the Rooney family (who also owns the Pittsburgh Steelers), and Dan Rooney's is more or less a re-creation of an early 1900's Irish Pub that once existed in Pittsburgh.  I was really looking forward to Dan Rooney's, and I felt it would be a welcome relief to the other dining experiences that I've had at Empire City, which I'm sorry to say have thus far never risen above average.  Now mind you, the place has been open for only 10 days, and they're still working the kinks out.  What I experienced today unfortunately has left me wanting.  First the pros:  The place has a rather nice ambiance, and has the homey feel of a nice Irish Pub.  The few waitresses I saw seemed quite friendly, and they wear these cute kilt inspired skirts -- uniforms that I think are superior to the cheap-looking ones worn by the cocktail waitresses at EC.  The bar has a varied though rather small selection of beers including some from domestic craft breweries, as well as Irish Whiskeys.  Now for the cons:  As of this writing, the Happy Hour (every day from 3 PM - 6 PM ) is not yet in effect.  When my friend inquired of a gentleman who seemed to be some type of manager, he replied, "We're not doing Happy Hour yet even though it's mentioned on the menu -- for now, you can sit at the bar for three hours and get happy."  Alright, whatever.  In the meanwhile, the kilted bartender (I kid you not), was OK in terms of his service, but it was obvious that he was still learning to use the electronic register.  What I found absolutely inexcusable is that he REEKED of body odor.  It was only 2:00 in the afternoon -- I can't imagine that he had been working his shift that long.  How can you work in a place of food and drink where you come in fairly close contact with the public and smell like you don't believe in deodorant?  Now on to the food...My friend and I were originally going to have an appetizer of nachos and then perhaps get a burger, but honestly we were so turned off by the stench of the bartender, plus the lame response to the Happy Hour question, that we decided to skip the burgers.  As for the nachos, they truly were mediocre -- some of the chips were stale (in a 10 day old establishment -- really?), and I found one of the toppings -- sliced radishes -- to be an unusual and uninspired choice.  Additionally for now, if an Empire Player has earned rewards that he could use towards a meal, Dan Rooney's doesn't honor it!  That might explain why when I passed by Dan Rooney's on several different nights, the place was virtually empty.  Again, the not so helpful manager told us that Dan Rooney's operates on a different "system" than the other dining establishments in Empire City and therefore doesn't take reward coupons for meals -- whatever that means.   One last quibble;  While Dan Rooney's has a rather attractive wooden bar, the taps for the beer are situated in a huge wooden block, which takes up a good deal of bar space and really makes sitting in front of the taps at the bar (not the best place to sit, but still possible to do in some bars) a near impossibility.  All in all, I hope Dan Rooney's works the kinks out, because if they up their game in terms of food quality (and perhaps the other foods that I have not tried yet really are good), if the offensive smelling bartender uses deodorant, if they begin offering Happy Hour for real, and if at some point they start comping meals, Dan Rooney's Irish Pub at Empire City could be a potential gold mine.

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  Posted on 03.31.13 Andrew G.

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