I had a lot of fun here on Saturday night for a friend's birthday party. Â We got a wristband deal and the bar had set aside a few tables for our party on the second floor. Â The first floor was packed but the second floor had more room to dance and socialize and such. Â The bartender was very nice as was the DJ. The music was very danceable and everyone was having fun. I would definitely recommend this venue for a party - it was very hassle-free and they had a good space!
Review Source:I was here with a bunch of friends for the big Packers-Bears game. Â it was packed obviously so we couldn't really get great seats, however, the bartenders kept the beers coming at a decent clip. Â The most important factor in a situation like that. Â Standard pub grub was on the menu. Â Middle of the road.
Review Source:Declan's is very hit-or-miss. Â I've had great experiences and poor ones (issues with weak drinks and slow service). Â But they have pretty good specials. Â I enjoy their chicken fingers and I love the fish n' chips. Â The burgers are decent and the prices are within reason.
My friends and I really enjoy trivia night on Wednesday. Â The playlist is stellar, but not so loud that you can't hear the person next to you. Â The waitress has come to recognize us, and the staff is really nice. Â They are always willing to take requests to put a specific game on one of the many televisions near you.
I've never been to Declan's during the more crowded times, like when the OU games are on. Â It's just not my scene. Â But if you're in the neighborhood and need a place to chill and have some drinks and food for a reasonable price, you should stop by.
Place has potential.  Needs better cleaning.  Lots of bar flies and a stale beer smell.  Had what they called the "Worlds best fish and chips".  Good quality fish, unfortunately cooked very poorly leaving the coating more doughy than crisp.  Fries were limp too.  Not sure their fryer is set hot enough.  My friend loved her Salmon and couscous  though.  It looked delicious and perfectly cooked.
Review Source:If you like chill irish pubs with good beers, good chill crowds, great wings, and very nice staff then check it out. Only reason it's 3 stars is bc its a small irish pub what ya looking for can't give Em all 5s! And it's much better than a 3. Go check out a game, have a beer, and chill.
Review Source:You get what you get!
It's a pub. Â With pub food. And loud-mouthed rude regulars who think they own the joint.
Drinks were a-ok! Food was great! Staff, while pleasant, needs some training in how to deal with unruly customers. Clientele left much to be desired.
Some boozer at the bar - who was obviously a regular - got all sexist-y bent out of shape because the bartenders (male) allowed a server (female) to carry a large bucket of ice. No lie. Seems ridiculous right? Not to this guy. He started cussing about how f-ing ignorant the male employees were, and f-this and f-that. Â
This could have been laughable - but - this guy was not satisfied just bitching. He started harassing other customers - trying to get them to agree with him - and if they didn't - he berated them. Sadly, the spineless staff did nothing to try to shut the guy up. Â He was also not asked to leave. Which is the real issue here. The staff allowed this guy to bully them.
If I'm at a pub and some guy starts acting like an a-hole and harassing other patrons - I want to see his ass bounced out. Period!
OF NOTE:
The female servers sport a modified Hooter's look. Â If you're into that - then this is the place for you! Declan's Irish Pub could easily be renamed Hot Shorts and Racks.
Came here for a friend's fundraising event....well I guess the bar had 'forgotten' that they were coming...YIKES. Â Or they didnt know they were coming or something...miscommunication for sure. Â They accomodated so I guess we cant complain too much.
Other than that...it was an ok spot to grab a couple of cocktails. Â
There was nothing that was saying that I should come back. Â
It was pretty standard bar....TVs, two different bars...one downstairs, on upstairs.
The staff was was...kind of unattentive...however, like I said, no one knew we were coming so maybe they were understaffed.
Its a little dark and dingy in there so not the ideal place for a happy hour in the spring, but it'll do.
Enjoyed a lazy Sunday here for lunch (and unfortunately for my liver, I was still there for dinner). Among my entree choices were the portabella sandwich with fries and then Buffalo wings, which are $.50 on Sundays. Everything was good and the place never got too busy. The service was quick and chatty. I have to agree with Angela S though; the place did occasionally smell like a toilet, but not frequently enough for me to not spend 6 hours there.
Review Source:The bff and I have always talked about going to the city for NYE, staying at a hotel, and hitting up a pub with a  package deal for the night.  We couldn't decide on what offer to take up this year, so I suggested that we go to the city and use our hotel rewards points this year!
She did a simple search for NYE and Irish Pub. Â See we're allergic to beer, so all we really drink when we're in it for the long haul is cider (we think it's the hops and cider isn't made with hops). Â Declans was the first and best looking option that came up on the search and, of course, they have cider since they're an Irish Pub! Â The deal was $60 for 5 hours of drinks and heavy appetizers. Â So we showed up to the hotel right at check in time to start drinking early and get ready for the night. Â
We head over to the pub at 7pm to have dinner since the site and tickets stated that the package went from 8pm - 1am. Â Everyone agreed the food was great. Â We had a couple of their burgers, the sliders, and the portabella sandwhich. Â We sat at the bar and TJ was our bar keep. Â Great guy!
Apparently the package was posted at the bar waas to begin at 9pm, but TJ started us at 8pm since we had the tickets. Â We were glad that we sat at the bar for the night. Â We had great service from TJ and Nicole (the other bar keep)! Â They indeed added a ton of fun to the night! Â Though we don't get a waitress at the bar Elizabeth kept stopping by and checking in on us. Â She was a lot of fun too!
The only real complaint that I have would be that the "heavy" appetizers that they promised were only out for a short while at the beginning of the evening (and was only one tray of each offered). Â If you're going to have people drinking all night there really should be another round offered up later when everyone is half drunk!
All in all it was the best night! Â The staff was really great! Â We'll be sure to stop in again some time when we're in the city next time!
Most of the reviews here seem to be dealing with Declan's as a nighttime drinks spot, so it's worth noting that the place is occasionally open for lunch.
Went with my co-workers for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon and we were the only ones in the place (save for a very friendly guy getting drunk by himself at 2:30 in the afternoon. Â Which, in my opinion, added to the charm of the place rather than detracting. Â But YMMV.). Â My friend and I each order the "Hell on Wells" wings, which are reasonably hot - I could only finish five of the ten myself.
Service was great, probably because the place was mostly empty. Â Both the bartender and the cook pretty much came over to our table and hung out, which was fun. Â My wings were tasty in spite of the heat, and everyone else seemed pretty satisfied with the basic bar food and beer selection.
So, if you happen to like standard bar food, and you have a friendly enough job that you can have a beer with lunch, Declan's is worth a visit. Â It's really the service and the friendliness that sold me. Â I've been in plenty of mostly empty bars/restaurants before, and the waitstaff often use that as an excuse to hate you - like if it weren't for you, this place would be totally empty right now and they could just relax. Â So it was kind of nice to have the bartender just come over to our table and hang out. Â You may or may not like that.
Oh, it's also an OU (University of Oklahoma) bar. Â So, you know. Â It's 11:07 AM, and OU still sucks. Â Hook 'em.
Terrible.
I set up my birthday party at Declan's Irish Pub three weeks prior to my party. Initially, I was pleased with the service I received from a guy named Jeff who sets up events/parties at the bar. I explained that there would be 20-30 people and that ideally, we wanted the upstairs portion of the bar (with its own bar in the back) for a casual environment for people to mingle, sit down, not be too crowded, etc...
Jeff said that they could definitely give my party the upstairs that evening and that no other party was scheduled and that I did not even need to book a wristband party. Those are just a pain in the ass anyways and no one really likes them.
I confirmed with Jeff a few days before the party and I was really looking forward to it, thinking we were set. The night of my party, I get there with six others at 9 p.m, when I was told I'd have the upstairs/tables reserved. We walk in and I speak with a "Jamie." He had no recollection of my reserved party at first, spoke with another guy named TJ behind the bar, came back and told me to go ahead upstairs.
Immediately after we walked up there, the bartender up there named Christina told me that my party was downstairs because she had a "wristband" band party that night up there. My friends and I walked back downstairs and Jamie walked up and said that I had two tables downstairs, which was NOT the agreement, nor was I pleased or calm for that matter. If I had known I was going to have two tables downstairs in the middle of the bar, I never would have chosen Declan's.
I walked back up to Jamie, told him this was all completely unacceptable and he told me that a "partner" of Declan's or some other dude who was an investor in the bar was having a party and that they had to give him and his guests the upstairs "because of who he was."
Okay first of all, I don't care who this person is... the fact of the matter, I reserved the space weeks ago, confirmed earlier that week and I should have been called or contacted prior if there was going to be a complications with my reservation or another party needing the space, etc... A minute or two later, Jamie walked back up to me and apologized, which I appreciated at the time and told me that I was right and that I had booked this weeks ago and that the other "wristband" party would take the downstairs. He did try and rectify the situation, giving us the upstairs, but I was still taken back by his poor customer service and demeanor.
As my guests started to show up, I noticed a large group of people not in my party trickle to the upstairs. Then I saw the wristband guy at the top of the stairs and realized that the wristband party was in fact also upstairs. This was complete crap, the people in the other party were complete slime-balls, it was way too crowded, I was stressed out the entire time, and all around it was a terrible experience. I would not recommend Declan's to anyone (sorry Jamie!) and I will not be back.
These people do not know anything about customer service or how to run a successful business. Good luck to you guys. Thanks for nothing.
The service here is terrible.
A softball team I was on was sponsored by this bar so I had to go like 8 times. The service ranged from mediocre to bad. Several times we had to leave without actually receiving food because it took too long. The owner also paid us out sponsorship money in 5 $25 installments, which was weird.
I don't know, it just seems like the servers/owner just don't care.
I am mortified this place has 3 1/2 stars. Why can I not give zero stars Yelp???
I just left Declan's and I am going to sound like a person with mental illness, granted I may just be undiagnosed. Â So in the spirit of being light and "funny" this review is going to be the random thoughts and quotes (most are quotes) during the 1 Â 1/2 hours at Declan's.
* It's on like Donkey Kong!!! (while thinking about writing this review)
* "Why the F did I come here" (remembering the last HORRIBLE time we came. Worst service EVER)
* "This is gonna be terrible" (after the waitress left from taking our orders)
* "MOST AKWARD experience ever" (in reference to her taking our orders)
* "Guaranteed, our order is going to be f-ed up." (fiancé after we ordered 3 $5 burgers medium and medium rare, 1 spinach salad add red onions dressing on the side, 1 order of wings, 4 312's)
* "I told you so!!"( me to all the guys, after the waitress came back to confirm that the 312s she told us were included in the $2 domestics special were in fact not.)
* "OMG" ("Did you want one order of wings? or four?" -waitress after we ordered 1 order of wings to go with our 3 burgers and salad)
* "I Â can't believe I came here again" (After she brings my friend a miller light bottle when he ordered a Coors light draft)
* Why am I here??!?!?!?! How can I leave?? (after she brings me a Budwiser  after I ordered a Budlight, AFTER my friend had to correct her about the Miller light! I didn't have the energy to tell her it was wrong again!)
*" How hard is it to hire a competent waitress in a city of 2.7 million?"
* Where the hell is our food? (1 hour after putting in our order)
* "Is our order almost up??" (to waitress after 50 minutes  waiting)
* "I am leaving when the next song changes... I swear I am leaving and taking my BUDWISER with me and you guys better not pay for my food!"
* "Where is our food? We ordered an hour ago? (went inside the EMPTY restaurant from the patio where we were sitting. To which she replied, "I know it doesn't look like it, but the kitchen was really busy, the food is almost up." To which I replied after slowly looking around, "it's dead in here, but ok...")
* Enter food, "I wonder what's wrong with our order..."
* "Well at least they cooked all the fat out!" (in reference to the gray hockey puck burgers that were beyond well done, hell they were probably cooking for the 1.25 hours it took to get our food)
* "Ummmm, I ordered the Mistral Spinach Salad, I'm not waiting for this to be fixed and I'm not paying for this salad" (as she places the flank steak salad in front of me)
* "Where are my sautéed mushrooms?"
* If you can't do both bar and food well just be a BAR!
* "Should we even talk to the owner/manager? Last time he was totally unhelpful! Why did we come here again?"
* "We've all worked in restaurants, it's not THAT hard!!! Why don't people take pride in anything? It's not really her fault, it's the owner/manager who is to blame for hiring her and the kitchen staff"
* "Old Town Brasserie, 33 Club and more restaurants have all gone out of business, this guy obviously doesn't care to be here long. Does he have someone bankrolling him so he doesn't give a f?"(trying to figure out why someone would own a place so horrible)
* "Ok, they're $5 burgers so some of the shit would have been forgivable IF the food had come in 20 minutes, but after 1.25 hours? WTF?"
* "I'm going to start picketing their corner with signs that say, 'Do NOT eat here!'"
* "I'll come here again, just because it is close." Â Â "I'm going to kill you!"
* "I'm sad because I really wanted to like it here and gave it many chances. It's our corner bar, we live half a block away."
* "Even Saluki's is head and shoulders above this place"
* "We're going to start going to Benchmark even though it's further, their food is amazing and their staff is great!" (best idea of the night)
One plus: eventually she did apologize and took off the wrong salad. But it was TOO little, TOO late. She did bring us 4 waters like we requested. Too bad free water doesn't earn a star in my book.
Good Irish Joint that opened relatively recently! Inside it's pretty typical--Dark Wood Bar/ Whiskey Bottles hanging upsidedown/Guinness Posters, Etc. They have great pub food and also a nice patio on the "Quieter" side of Wells St. Service is great and I also noticed a lot of Hot Women lurking around at "Happy Hour"! GTFJD
Review Source:Declan's has a few very important things working in its favor:
1. Excellent fish and chips
2. Goose Island Matilda by the bottle
3. Trivia on Wednesday nights
4. Friendly regulars
I'm not sure I need to elaborate, but I'm going to. Â Because that's what I do.
I popped in Declan's on a total whim. Â I don't hang in the neighborhood often, so when my gal pal and I finished our girlie bonding time at the nail salon next door, we decided to keep our party rolling and grab a beer and a bite to eat. Â Declan's was declared the winner due to extreme proximity.
We snagged a spot at the bar because the place was pretty busy due to Wednesday night trivia. Â No problem for me because the bartender was super hot. Â Shush. Â I'm shallow sometimes, okay? Â The menu is a less than inspired, so I went with the pub classic of fish and chips and a Matilda. Â
I'm kind of in love with the fish at Declan's. Â The breading is super light and crispy, which is key to delicious fried fish. Â The flaky cod was cooked to perfection. Â Really, it's just yummy. Â AND you get a side of malt vinegar to pour all over your fish. Â The fries are thick steak cut taters with some kind of unidentifiable seasoning that gave them a little something extra. Â Upgrade!
And how about those friendly regulars? Â One guy even let me draw on his shirt with my Bic pen, which says a lot.
Cute bartender + fish & chips + Matilda + nice boys = Wednesday Win.
Fish and chips! Malt vinegar! Cider and Guinness on tap! Oh Declans, for a faux-rish pub you're alright.
The staff was friendly and so were the patrons. My gal-pal Angie M. and I bellied up to the bar for some drinks and food. We both ordered the fish and chips, which were crispy and delicious. I had cider and she had a Matilda.
Wednesday night is trivia night and we did our best to play along with the questions, with a little help from our new friends sitting next to us at the bar.
Declan's is a fun little pub and if I lived in the neighborhood I would definitely be back more often.
First time I went it was dead and so the server on staff was able to keep up. We got Fish n Chips, 2 Jameson shots and 2 Guiness and were on our way.
I remembered that the fries were exceptional and couldnt wait to come back for that the next time I wanted fish.
So I walk all the way down there with a friend after soccer one night specifically for that.
They're out of fish. They've also decided to change to "less expensive, new" fries, which are those really big, dry potato wedge steak fries and so they serve me my dry plain burger with those. Terrible. Felt like dipping my burger and fries in my Newcastle so I could swallow it.
So yesterday was the best weather all year and since most of Old Town was overpopulated chaos, we opted for Declan's to give it one more try in the hopes of it being more relaxed.
We get there to find just that- maybe 50 people between the inside and outdoor patio.
In the 15 minutes it took for us to even be ASKED if we were helped yet (not helped, mind you- just asked) I had plenty of time to count the seven servers/bartenders (almost all frazzled-looking dudes) they had. We were sitting at the table closest to the bar too- no excuse- just proactive neglect. Not to mentione the meal recap and addiotional round of bloody mary's the bartender had plenty of time to suggest to the table RIGHT next to us.
Mind you- this place is like, EMPTY inside- where we are.
After 15 minutes and countless head-down server breeze-bys, I stopped the same server to at least get us a couple of waters since it was 85 degrees out. We drank them and left.
And this is not a Yelp review exaggeration- we spent 20 REAL minutes in this hole for 2 waters.
We walked back up to a much more capable Irish Pub with 3 times the patrons and a capable staff of hard-working servers and were helped in minutes.
This place Declan's is dead to me. Only go if there is no other option. The beauty is in Old Town, there are so, so many options.
So, what kind of Irish bar plays Country music? Allll night!! Â With no reprieve. Â They even have a juke box which we put money in. Â It took our money and laughed at us and continued to play more country music.
They did have a lot of beers though, it seemed. Â I dont know exactly, as once I noticed Magner's I stopped paying attention. Â Yay Magners!
And they have a dart board. Â However, it was in a pretty weird and in the way location.
The old Spoon...this place is a little on the smaller side venue wise, but it has a great cozy atmosphere.
I usually come here on Wed nights for Trivia night, and maybe have been here once or twice on a weekend to watch a game.
The service is friendly, but slightly slower...
The food is ok...nothing special, and yes vegetarians they do have a Caprese Sandwich and a Portabella sandwich...but its ok...
I love the atmosphere and the music is pretty great...
Great place to chill with some friends after work.
Great little bar. Â We came in in for the Bears game and I loved the crowd. Â Not to college kid douche bag, not to geriatric, a good mix of people and a nice waitress...just right. Â
The guy at the next table worked there but was apparently off of work (I think) and was talking about the hard work that went into remodeling the bar after the horrific "Spoon". Â The hard work shows, it's very cozy and when we were there it was decorated with a bunch of great Halloween decorations.
Good fish and chips, good beer, good crowd, nice semi-authentic Irish decor. Â We'll be back!
I had to look up the name of this place on my online banking website so it's not the most memorable of bar names.
If you remember Spoon, this is the same joint.
This place looks small but is actually quite big. Â They had the upstairs roped off so you could only walk around on the main level. Â It was a Thursday so it wasn't as crowded as maybe a weekend. Â The location is in an awkward spot near Division and away from the other Wells Street bars. Â I would never have known it was there unless we were specifically going to check out Gareth Woods who was playing at 9PM. Â
The beer selection was meh. Â They had the Guinness' and Harps you would find in an Irish joint, but other than that the bottled beer selection was limited. Â I like Oberon. Â They didn't have it. Â I drank Blue Moon, then a Harp. Â While she was pouring I perused their glass refrigerator floor cabinets. Â Nothing popped out at me. Â Just your standards: Â Heineken, Coors, Bud and Miller products. Â Meh. Â
It was OK. Â Nothing memorable except the drunk guy in Gareth's face.
Went on a Tuesday nite around 9:30 so happy to find someplace local that was serving food.
I'm a Guiness snob from Boston and was pleasantly surprised that they do pour a respectable pint. Â When I arrived there were many people outside on the patio, but I was the only person at the bar.
On the other hand, the food I had was nearly inedible - dried out grilled chicken (called "tenders" but definitely not!) with a cup of hot sauce on the side. Â Really, really the worst pub food I've had in a long time. It's surprising since the menu is really short, very few choices, so you'd think they would do what they do serve well. Sorry.....really, really bad.
Go to Declans for a respectable pint. Eat somewhere else beforehand til they get their kitchen act together.
We stumbled onto this place looking for another place. not familiar with the area but it seemed like an oasis in an area of nothingness off of division street. We were wandering from the general vicinity of the el red line and thankfully it was a beatiful day and this place has al fresco dining and on a gorgeous Chicago summer day, nothing is better.
It was Sunday afternoon so the service was great and friendly. I ordered the steak salad and we shared cheese stix. Â Now I know there is nothing to cheese stix...but were really really good. the salad was awesome but a little light on the steak. they could add a few things to the menu but overall it was a very pleasant late afternoon meal. Bathrooms weren't dirty either.
I read a few reviews an I was really surprised to see a 1 star! Â If the food is slow that doesn't mean it's 1 out of 5 it means they need some work in the kitchen. Â They just opened a few weeks ago give em a break.
The owner Declan is there all the time and is very friendly. They pour a 20 oz pint instead of 16 something most people don't notice.
Overall this place is a great location and a sorely needed Irish pub In old town. The service will get better as they all do when a place is new.
Come in. Have a pint. Talk to Declan. You will like this place.
It wasn't the worst, but the owner really shot himself in the foot with our table. Â We went after seeing a really great show at the Ruth Page center. Â The server was cute and sweet, but it seemed like it was her first day at her first serving job. Â When our dinners came, nothing was hot. Â We sent back two of the entrees and nibbled on the other two that were decent. Â My friend's fish and chips were great. Â We were informed by the waitress that the chef thought they were for a different table and never told her. Â She said that he was wondering why they were sitting for so long. Â Well... my question having worked in the industry a long time was why the heck did he let them go out. Â
The manager checked on us and did apologize, but then we still waited an agonizing 15 minutes until our order was recooked. Â Mine was still just warm. Â It is too bad because for a bar they have a great menu and seem to be trying to do something good. Â
In the end, we were offered a free round. Â By that time we were already ready to leave and meet friends we were now really going to be late for. Â The manager huffed over as we were still waiting for a to-go box. Â Said the reason he could just offer us a discount is because he didn't know how to do it on the computer. Â So he stood at the table with the check and a pen calculating a discount. Â It was awkward, uncomfortable and ridiculous. Â
I wouldn't give this place another try after that experience, but if you are in the area and are desperate to eat I would recommend the fish and chips.
Okay, I already wrote this review on the original page I created before this one was created, and the listing I made was deleted. I was the rightful first reviewer, but I'll let it slide.
This place is unneeded in this area.
We have very good Irish pubs in Old Town, Corcoran's is a thousand times better.
Dirty Bathrooms.
Overly friendly, clueless staff.
Unappealing music selection.
unfresh french fries.
Sub-Par Drink list.
TINY food menu.
go to Corcoran's. skip Declan's.
I went to Declan's Pub to watch the world cup so it may be a biased review. Â The place was PACKED! Â Unfortunately they only had about 3 waitresses for the whole inside and outside tables. Â Service was extremely, extremely slow. Â We ordered fish and chips for $12. Â The fish was light and crispy and a generous portion but probably won't bring me back to eat. Â The waitstaff was very nice just not enough of them for the enormous soccer crowd. Â The interior is nice, lots of warm, rich wood. Â I would consider coming back at an off-peak time.
Review Source:Declan's Irish Pub is a great addition to Old Town. It's pretty small in side but has lots of outdoor seating. There are a few flat screen tv's which are always showing sports games. Seems to be a pretty good crowd and they have great food. Waitresses are cute and staff is really nice :) Â
P.s. this is my first review - How'd I do? Â :)
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