Danny Boys Pub & Restaurant

I came into this bar randomly to use the bathroom during a long walk and discovered that what I thought was a little bar was actually a bar with a restaurant in the back and a full menu. On my return walk me and my friend decided to stop in. It was 4pm on a Monday and there were a few other people at the bar. Older, working class locals. Music was top 40, internet jukebox was down that day, TV tuned to a soccer game, and *ahem* a golf arcade game in the back.

Our bartender Judie was fantastic. I never got down to just ice cubes in my rum and coke, she was super attentive and always had a refill ready. And sure it was slow, but we've all been served by *that* bartender before, the one who would rather text or whatnot then serve their few customers. She was really awesome and super friendly.

Burger was solid, and the build your own burger option is great (they have tons of toppings). I tried the pulled pork and it didn't really do it for me. The sauce was solid but the meat wasn't...quite pulled, didn't have the shredded quality, it was actually very chunky, but the meat was tender just not what I was looking for. Next time I'll definitely stick to the burger. The steak fries are excellent.

I've noticed a lot of bad reviews about the management and such. While I didn't run into any of that while I was here, since the jukebox was broken, and once it was only me, my friend, and a regular we had been chatting with, I made a request I never make. I asked her to change the radio station. She said she'd be happy to but her manager doesn't allow her to change the music. What a drag. So I guess I could see where there are some aspects of the place that aren't as laid back or customer service oriented as they could be, but if you want a bar with decent food (and not a restaurant with a bar) you should be more then satisfied.

Kitchen closes @ 11.  Food is average, service is pretty good.

YELP DISCOUNT FAIL

But more on that in a bit...

I arrived at Danny Boys late last night. I met some friends here before an event. I was late because I drove right past the place. I'm not used to driving in NY. And yeah yeah, this is Queens but still, kinda out of my comfort zone. I ended up driving around the block and parking a couple streets away. You can find parking on any of the back streets but out in front is gonna be tough any given evening.

I was only at Danny Boys (should there be an apostrophe in there?) for about an hour. My friends, having arrived early, ordered a plate of wings at 25 cents each. This is a typical deal you can find in many good bars all over the country, no doubt. Danny Boys wings were hot and spicy and delicious. The Smithwick's beer I had was a fine one indeed. No complaints about food or drink. In fact, I'm sorry I didn't have more time to eat from their extensive menu. We only sat at the bar. There is a full restaurant in back that looks nice and reviews well.

Here's the problem--I often check in to places on Yelp. I don't know if you would call it habit or obsession or just another reason to be social with a community of strangers for whatever bizarre egotistical, masochistic reasons. Doesn't matter. Whatever the case may be, I very seldom get a neato discount by checking into different establishments. VERY seldom. Last night, a 10% discount popped up on my phone when I checked into Danny Boys. Score! This was literally only the second time I have ever seen such a thing happen. And though you feel a little dorky doing it, you gotta show your server the coupon. So I did. And the bartender explained that the 10% discount did not apply because we already had another special--the 25 cent wings.

It's really not about the money at all. And it probably said something about the caveat in the fine print of the Yelp coupon. But 10% of what we ordered in less than an hour would have come to like 4 or 5 bucks tops. No big whoop on either end, ours or theirs... but why offer the coupon at all? What made matters worse was that we did not finish the plate of wings we ordered and my friend asked the bartender to please box it up. She said she could not. It was highly frowned upon by management to do so. Why? Because the 25 cent wing special is such a good deal, she said. Um, alright. I guess. But here's my question... what happened to the remaining 8 buffalo wings we did not finish? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say they got tossed in the trash. What's the sense in that?

It's just the practices that bother me here. Otherwise, I think Danny Boys is a very nice pub. If I lived anywhere near there, I'd be happy to go back, sit in the restaurant, and try the shepherd's pie. It's just unfortunate that the offers they themselves offer are kinda a joke.