Mmmmm! That's what I have to say about this place. Â I love coming here for some good food in South Bend. My family and I usually make it a point to stop here.
I usually have a hard time ordering because everything on the menu is delicious and I can't choose which meal to get. I really haven't had something here that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. So no matter what you order it will not disappoint. They also have a long beer list to choose from.
This place is also great for parties. We've had my grandpa's 85th as well as his 90th birthday parties here. This is such a nice place to have everyone gather and the staff are always happy to help.
If you are DT South Bend and want a good, hearty meal - this is the place!
I love this place. I do not think I have ever had a bad experience. The food has always been delicious, the drinks are good and the bands are usually worth a listen.
The food is Irish/English style and delicious and warm in the winter.
It can get a little crowded on the weekends. If you don't like talking to Strangers you are S.O.L. because sitting is basically communal. Usually this makes the experience more fun but I have, on occasion, had to sit next to some socially awkward people.
Alcohol is a depressant, and so it follows that too much of it generally leads to depression and self-hatred. But what's worse than hanging out with drunks who hate themselves? Hanging out with smug drunks who are in love with themselves, like they typically are at "Fid's" on most afternoons. Particularly when they are wealthy, lace-curtain-Irish, pursed-lipped, baggy-faced 60 year old white supremacists. It's no wonder that the bartenders here usually seem as if they are about to kill themselves.
Really good food, and the beer they serve here is probably the best in town, if you ignore the fact that Bleachers has 3 times the selection for a fraction of the price.
I've been coming to Fiddler's Hearth since it opened 10 years ago and I still LOVE it. Â Best authentic Irish food outside of Chicago. Â Live music, relaxed atmosphere with great conversation which is what a public house is all about. Â Give it a try... its worth it regardless if you're Irish or an ND fan which I am both!
Review Source:I can't believe I had neglected to review this place for a full year after starting on Yelp!
I'm sure every town and hamlet in the United States has at least one bar/restaurant advertising itself as an "authentic Irish/English Public House". Â Bullsh*t, I say. Â I've been to at least four or five so-named establishments and they're all essentially dive bars with football (soccer) memorabilia and clovers/lions slapped on the walls, and a bar menu with Celtic-/British-sounding names and maybe even bangers and mash on there somewhere.
Fiddler's actually IS an authentic Irish pub (admittedly I base this conclusion on my experience in the UK with British pubs, but I expect it's good enough to be able to gauge the quality of an American one, no?), with damned good food, a long beer list, friendly staff, and warm and friendly decor. Â And it maintains the "public" part of the public house tradition; bands, meetings, festivals, and beer and wine tastings are weekly occurrences, as they should be for any "public" house.
I can't speak to the actual authenticity of the food as I've not a clue how to cook Irish (though I do kind of want to pick that up sometime), but the quality is excellent. Â My friend and I dropped in for lunch yesterday, and as it was pretty freezing out we opted for what I'll call typical winter fare. Â I opened with a ham and potato cream soup with fresh-baked (still warm!) farmer's bread. Â The soup was good on its own but with the fresh-baked bread it was amazing; the bread was relatively dense but warm and soft, and seasoned with what I *think* was caraway seed, and came with good imported Irish butter. Â Yum, Â For an actual entree I got what was called "steak and Guinness pie," which was Guinness-stewed beef sirloin with mushrooms, onion, and a few other vegetables backed under a pastry-puff crust, and served with some excellent (if heart attack-inducing) mashed potatoes and garlic-steamed kale.
Service was quick and friendly; we seated ourselves, a server popped out with water and took drink orders, was back with drinks in two minutes for our soup/appetizer orders, and then came back a few minutes later for the entree order and a refill on drinks. Â I had just gotten out of the gym before we came over so I was guzzling water and still never ran dry.
Fiddler's is definitely worth checking out if you're in the area or will be attending ND soon; I'd tell everyone who lives here to go as well but I'm sure they all know that already.
Fiddlers has so much potential to be more then a typical Irish bar. I wanna make this my go to place especially on "game day". I know that ND football reigns supreme in this town but aren't there enough places to watch college football? How about changing the channel and show some real football (aka soccer) more often?
The food is ok. Ordering the fish and chips can be spotty. Once I had a fish covering my plate. The next time I had fries covering my plate (and a small piece of fish).
They need to expand on their taps and incorporate either more local microbrews or European beers.
I don't like the seating arrangement where you have to sit with strangers if the smaller tables are taken.
Also I was squinting watching the Euros last summer. A larger television with better sound would help.
The real deal. Comfy, convivial pub atmosphere, so unlike those steriel faux Irish chain places. Good local beers, and almost always something good on cask (cask ales are of course, the best beers in the world). Very serious effort  at Irish and Irish-American foods. Really dig this place.
Review Source:I am a fan of this place for several reasons:
1) great staff - we came here for lunch and then again for drinks after walking SB and the change of staff was still great.
2) impressive beer and whiskey selection - they had all sorts of craft beers on tap and in bottle and the kind barteneder gal even offered me samples of them when she overhead me say to my bff "oh, Pumpkin beer... I wonder what that's like".
3) ambiance - even on a pretty quiet and dead Sunday in South Bend, this place was busy and bustling and alive... families, friends, couples.. it was a great ambiance.
Note that I didn't say food :(.. hence barely 4 stars.
Sadly, we ordered 3 seprate dishes and 1.75/3 were what I'd call "yummy":
Salmon dip with house-made rosemary bread - that was delicious
Jameson Pork Boxty - boxty was yummy, but pork was tough and we barely ate any of the meat.. flavoring of pork and mushrooms was tasty, though
Guinness Pie - pie crust was yummy and so were the potatoes and amaretto carrots.. but the meat and the mushrooms in the pie were not tasty and overly seasoned..
I wish I could've really enjoyed their meals but the execution of the dishes were just off: too much Guinness and seasonings in the pie and not enough meat... Jameson pork should've been slowcooked or something for tender pork pieces..
I believe these adjustments could be fixed for fantastic results.. they are great recipes in theory, they just need better execution.
OH and I really enjoyed their Irish Coffee... delicious coffee and plenty of Dew ;) Â Followed by a single of Paddys on the rocks.. I was on a whiskey train :)
Having said all that.. I'd come again.. try something else on their big menu and enjoy a great atmosphere and good whiskey.
My friend and I actually visited 2 Irish pubs on our trip to Irish Catholic Heaven. But I don't remember the name of the other bar because this one was better.
Wednesday nights during summer, there's a whole lot of nothing to do besides go to a pub. Fiddler's Hearth had solid live music and no cover charge! Â Win! We sat by some lifelong South Bend residents and they recommended some touristy things to see.
Small town folks sure are friendly!
It was crazy crowded, so service crawled, but our server showed me what was vegan on the menu. They label vegetarian items! Â I had an Indian tofu curry dish at an Irish pub. Â Who knew? It was as spicy as I requested. 7 out of 10. They were skimpy on the tofu but the jasmine rice was perfect, the red peppers were still red with a slight crunch, and the portion was enough for two meals. Â There was plenty of gooey, not-vegan Irish fare on the menu too.
If you only go to one pub in South Bend, step out the Notre Dame vicinity and go here.
As everyone has covered pretty well, Fiddler's is a good place. Â Reasonable prices, good atmosphere, and often good live music that doesn't always drown out your conversations. Â The food is OK, but in my opinion not anything amazing like a few people have said. Â No disrespect! Â Also, even though there is a lot of seating, this place isn't exactly under the radar so seating is often a challenge. Â And there's no pinball, pool, or other machines if you're looking for that kind of bar. Â But a great atmosphere for drinks and chatting. Â All in all a great place.
Review Source:This is my favorite place in town, and one of the ways my wife (who is from South Bend) convinced me to move down this way. Â
It is very traditional, more so than some of the pubs I have visited in Ireland and Scotland. Â The communal seating is made up of old kitchen tables, church pews and whatever else they could find. Â It's not an easy place for those of us used to having a skirt walk you to your isolated island for the evening... you WILL talk to people around you, because your table ain't just yours alone. Â
A friend of mine said 'the inconvenience is part of the charm'.
But get over it. Â The beer is impressive. Â They have a very well poured Guinness, Smithwick's, and the last time I was there, they had added Magner's Cider to the taps. Â They have a lot of craft beers that they rotate through, as well as their own cask-conditioned ale. Â The Scotch whisky list is respectable, covering the major brands and a number of the lesser known bottles. Â They carry a number of single malt Irish whiskeys as well, and the bartenders are well-schooled on them all.
The food is incredible. Â If you came to a pub looking for American bland, or even high-dollar fine dining, you might as well order the cheeseburger at a Chinese place. Â The fish and chips are delightful, wrapped in newspaper with malt vinegar and salt on the table. Â They make their own chips (fries) now, and they're better than they were before. Â Their seafood is fresh and well prepared. Â Scotch eggs are awesome, if terrible for you. Â They even do a full fry-up breakfast, which is wonderfully tasty, if a fast way to get a heart attack. Â Their bacon and cabbage is serious stuff, and a favorite of the wife, as are the pub pretzels with rarebit cheese. Â The bread pudding is orgasmic. Â I keep seeing notes about the chef's braised duck scotch pie, but I haven't taken the plunge yet. Â
Live performances are varied as the bands. Â Some are great traditional Celtic groups: fiddles and guitars, tin whistles and so forth. Â Some are kinda bluegrass country, and sometimes, you catch a bunch of local folks reading off poetry. Â Check their site before you go. Â I'm not a fan of the bluegrass and i wanted to gouge out my ears due to the poetry, but the other bands make up for it in my mind.
Yeah, you do have to fight for a seat if you show up at night, but as the old Guinness campaign used to say: some things are worth the wait.
The food here is always fantastic! Â I have had breakfast as well as dinner here, never have I had a dish that wasn't just amazing! Â The bartender Jeremy is very knowledgeable and will never steer you wrong, if you can't decide what to have. Â I always enjoy trying something new.
I love that you get to meet new people every time you go in, and that there is always entertainment at some point in the day on the stage. Â The staff are all efficient and awesome. Â
If you are debating going, stop reading the reviews and GET YOU IN THERE! Â You will not be disappointed.
Food was pretty good, wish they had a similar set up to other ethnic cuisines where you could get small plates and try a few different main entree items, but other than that the food was pretty good. Â If they do have a small plate option I did not see it, but apologize in advance for the misstatement.
The beer selection was good and my Guinness was poured perfectly.
However I was disappointed with the live performance that day; a poetry reading rather than music. Â After hearing about all the great musical performances on this yelp page I was hoping to get to hear some folk music or something like that. Â I guess that is probably my fault for not checking what live performance was taking place first.
Other than the poetry reading it was a pretty good experience. Â Not that there is anything wrong with a poetry reading, it is just not my glass of beer.
First off: these guys and gals have AMAZING beer. Their selection is FANTASTIC! Combine this with an Irish pub experience, and it's great! I love watching soccer matches here and just hanging out with friends.
They have live bands play every so often and it's a great, comfortable, and cozy environment. The staff is friendly and will help you with pretty much anything: beer, food, drinks, etc. Their food is pretty good too! I love their burgers and if you get a chance, definitely try the fish and chips. It comes in true UK/Irish fashion wrapped in newspaper! I studied in London for six months and this is as close as it gets in and around South Bend.
You'll love this place. There's a great ambiance to it!
St. Patrick's Day at Fiddler's was great! Â Except for the lack of Irish accents, it really does feel like you've flown across the pond to enjoy a meal with 100 Irishmen.
Ambiance: Â Common tables & tight quarters. Normally I don't think we would enjoy this type of seating arrangement, but knowing about it beforehand definitely helped us get ready for it, and once we found a table with 3 seats open, and then asked around and found a chair from another table that we could use, the 4 of us sat down. Â It took a while to catch someone to order something, but again...March 17th at an Irish restaurant in South Bend...yeah, it was busy. Â We just sat back, listened to some music, and watched some traditional Irish dance steps. Â Decorations include anything from old style Irish wall coverings to sporting items from multiple different types of events, and since Notre Dame is so close (just up the road) there were also some ND banners, etc.
Food: Â My wife and I shared a Chicken & Leek Boxty and an order of Fish & Chips. Â Both were great! Â The Fish & Chips come wrapped in newspaper which adds a bit of 'old world' feel to your meal. Â We weren't too sure about ordering the Boxty (Irish potato pancake), but when it arrived at our table, it smelled delicious and was just asking for us to dig in...and we did. Â Both the dishes were gone in a matter of minutes and washing them down with a pint of Ireland's Smithwick's (say "Schmitticks") was the proverbial icing on the cake.
It's a wonderful place to visit. Â I wish we lived a little closer, but now that we've been introduced, we will be back!
When someone says to me, "Do you want to eat at Fiddler's Hearth?" my stomach churns a sea-sick churn. Well, my sister insisted this was the next best thing to pooping gold nuggets, so my husband and I tagged along. "Get the fish and chips," said my sister. So, we ordered the fish and chips, which came wadded up in newspaper (yes, no plates, just newspaper). When we unraveled our newspapers, we were confronted by a greasy array of deep-fried fish and something that was supposed to be french fries. I ate two pieces of fish and almost had a heart attack from clogged arteries, no kidding. I couldn't choke down the fish after that. I watched as my poor husband forced himself to finish his meal, since he thinks wasting food is some sort of criminal activity. Anyway, he was nauseated after that. But wait, the worst is yet to come. After swallowing about a quart of grease and wanting to puke our lungs out, my sister's friend brings my husband and I two giant glasses of red wine. Now that was the LAST thing I wanted to drink after a meal of canola oil!
Moral of the story: unless you are looking for an instant fountain of youth (a.k.a. a face full of acne within minutes of eating their greasy food), don't even step foot in this restaurant.
South Bend is lackluster when it comes to quality food. 80% of the restaurants are chains that you can find in almost any state. Let me tell you, Fiddlers is a warm welcome of change. I grew up in SB and moved to San Francisco about 6 years ago. When I come home to visit my digestive system takes a beating. Fiddlers takes it easy on this gal. Their menu is fantastic, the best fish and chips I've ever had. The fact that they wrap it in news paper adds a nostalgic feel that I adore.
They have a great beer selection and the place offers more than your traditional restaurant fare. I make it a point to frequent Fiddlers each time I come home. The service, atmosphere and food is always on point.
Keep up the good work!
After visiting Kildare's/O'Rourkes (too close to campus and PACKED with people) and C.J.s (awesome burgers but totally dead) my last two visits to Notre Dame, I needed something different. Â
I had two requirements: Â 1) Something with the taste of Ireland...hello...we're in the vicinity of NOTRE DAME people! and 2) Something with awesome craft beer (always a must). Â
Fiddler's Hearth delivered. Â It's kind of like a mix of an old Irish living room and a pub.
The food was delicious. Â I ordered the fish and chips (what else?) and a 3 Floyd's Alpha King. Â The fish and chips were awesome...not too greasy, great tartar sauce, and was just a nice little package all wrapped up in fake newsprint. Â Nice touch. Â
The waitress didn't greet us for awhile, but once greeted, we got decent service. Â Who cares really when you're getting your pre-game going anyway, right? Â If you are one for big crowds, fast service, or posh accommodations, skip this place. Â BUT, if you want a nice laid back Irish meal with a great beer, get on over here.
Ten things to love.
1- Selection of single malt scotch.
2- scotch eggs - they've got em!
3- St Andrews cross.
4- isle of man flag triskele.
5- hp sauce. Lots of choices you don't get in American restaurants.
6- fireplace. A warm one that is not just foe show.
7- Weissbier always on tap.
8- rough and real tables set with European proximity.
9- solid service at bars and by waitresses.
10- fantastic folk music both bands and open mike.
Thanks to the owners for bringing this culture to Indiana!
BOXTIES BOXTIES BOXTIES BOXTIES!
Until today, I had only had boxties actually in Ireland and was so excited to see that they had them here, especially since we just stopped here based on yelp reviews while passing through South Bend. Â The atmosphere is exactly what you would expect for a pub, and they also have a stage where they apparently have live music (as we were here for lunch, that wasn't happening). Â But really - boxties! Â I had the breakfast boxty, which was killer, and my dad had the vegetarian boxty, which was also delicious, if a little red peppery. Â They are also huge - I took more than half of mine home and plan to enjoy it for lunch tomorrow as well. Â I'll definitely go back the next time I'm in South Bend.
Oh, did I mention boxties?!
My friends took me here for the wings and I would give them 4 out of 5 stars. Â Sauce was great, they were cooked perfect, the size was right (bigger than BW's). Â The only thing I'm deducting a star for is because they are a bit pricey and they aren't smoked first prior to cooking. Â Nevertheless, don't get me wrong, these were great wings and probably the best i've had amongst the non-smoked category. Â
The restaurant has a lot of character, it's old, they have interesting table arrangements, and they had a stage with live music but not your typical annoying small town rock band--these guys had tuba's and trumpet's. Â It is a "seat yourself" restaurant which kinda sucks if you have a big group or a party bigger than 4 or 6 and you arrive during the busy hours--you won't find a table easily for everyone. Â You would think that there was money taped to the top of the tables as fast as people would run and jump onto an empty seat as soon as another party got up...I mean no one even waited for them to clear the table, it was do or die time when a table opened and it didn't matter if you just walked in the door or if you had been waiting half an hour--whoever got their butt to the seat first won.
Drink prices were pretty good, $4 for a strong Jack N' Coke. Â I would definitely go back but I would go early to get a good seat or go when it's not busy.
Fiddler's is what makes me miss South Bend. The food is great and the beer list is better. They pour a mean pint of Guiness, but they also have a great rotating selection of craft beers.
The staff knows a ton about the beer choices and can help you out. Â Recently I went and they had my favorite 90 Min IPA on the tap list, but they didn't have it available due to an Indiana beer event. Â The waitress suggested going with 3 Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf, and it was great.
The set up of the restaurant is also great. Â It really is a public house. No hostess, just walk in and find a seat at one of the long tables with bench seating. You just may end up meeting a stranger. By far my favorite bar in South Bend.
The best way to describe this place is as a "family bar". Â I have shared tables at this bar with Old Worlders drinking Guinness with an 8 month old in her car seat next to them. Â It's like a family-friendly Cheers, Irish style. Â Even before the smoking ban, this place was smoke-free.
The food here is outrageously good. Â Bangers & mash, colcannon, boxty - YUM! Â You gotta try all those, and the black pudding too (if you're down with blood sausage).
Sit by the fireplace side for lunch, at the bar for an after work pint, or at any of the communal tables for a real dinner and music. Â Stay a while - you're among friends!
I think Wednesday is open mic night. Â Sign up and impress your friends. Â Do well and become a regular, and you become a South Bend institution. Â (Okay, maybe that doesn't impress you, but are you an institution anywhere else? Â Then shut it.)
The only drawback is that it does close early. Â But after a couple of hours of comfortably tippling Guinness or cider, I'm ready to subject myself to the onslaught of Backer.
Fiddler's Hearth is all about the music, beer, food, and decor.
The old time Irish music is great. Â As advertised, there are fiddlers! Â And other musicians playing folksy Irish tunes. Â It is loud but it makes the place what it is.
The beer list = bravo! Â Many great Americans (not just European brews...which is what many Irish pubs tend to do). Â And some of the brews are even on draft, hooray!!!
The food can't be beat for good old irish/UK fare. Â Bangers and mash, shephard's pie, fish'n chips. Â All made better tan your typical Irish pub.
Finally, the decor is quant and I love it.  Couches, stuffed chairs, benches, etc  pulled up to farm tables and other quirky tables.  This place has a vibe all its own and is a bit different...but different is good, right!
Go here at least once. Â You will like it and see something a little bit new.
Food = Good
Beer & Service = Great.
I love the fact that this Irish pub actually serves more than just fish & chips, and irish nachos... Â You can actually get a boxty! woo hoo!
What I really love about this place, is their huge beer list, and the fact the staff actually knows what they are talking about (what's hoppy, what's malty, what's dark, what's on kask). And I'm not talking about just the bartenders... the waitresses know their stuff too. Awesome!
Love this place! An AUTHENTIC irish pub... meaning laid back atmosphere, laid back service.
Wed nights they have an open mic night MC'd by a local radio station DJ. All accoustic, folk style music. They play till about 1am i'd say. Gets kind of full at times depending on who is playing.
Over the lunch hour they have a yummy "Express Lunch". All you can eat soup/salad/sandwhich bar. Mmm.
I would ABSOLUTELY have the salmon dip. It's amazing. Truly Delicious! They have a large selection of aged Whiskeys, Irish Beers and they also serve liquor. Wanna try something crazy? Get an Irish Mimosa...
Finish it off with the bread pudding. Winner!!!
It's authentic... so dont go in there asking if they'll stuff blue cheese olives or make a cosmo for you, lol. If you did it when they're busy... they will tell you off. ha.
Great selection of authentic Irish and English food. I had a chicken and leek boxty, which is kind of like if a crepe and a potato pancake had a baby, very very good. My husband got one of the Irish breakfast combos. They also have the best selection of mixed beer drinks I have seen outside of the UK - shandies, black and black, and so on.
Definitely worth the stop if you are in town.
This is probably the most interesting place that I've been to in South Bend. They have real fiddler's playing tavern tunes! They also sometimes use the stage for a live band. There's consistently a wait at the door, and they do shared seating, so that was kinda weird. It's a great late night hangout, but the food there is nothing to write home about. I mean Irish cuisine in general is average, so I guess Fids does it pretty well.
Definitely coming back here if I end up in South Bend again.
A star for the live music. But that's all.
I've been here a couple of times and will never go back. On my last visit my friend and I went for an early lunch- consisting of Guinness. The bartender poured the beer without clearing the lines so we were served stagnate beer from the night before. My friend asked the bartender for a fresh pour and she was more then willing to appease. As she was pouring the new and dumping the old, the owner (I believe) yelled at her for wasting the beer. Man is that cheap. Yah, she should have refused to sell us a good beer.
The time before that I noticed that they were serving Makers Mark VIP for $2 more a shot. There is NOTHING different about the regular and VIP bourbon except the bottle. Same goes with the Tellamore Dew out of the crock- it's a crock alright. I found this annoying, yet funny so I let it go.
Where else to go? I suggest brown bagging it and ride around on TRANSPO.
About two months before I moved away from South Bend, I spent a surreal night at Fiddler's Hearth with my roommate, a guy we had just met, and two girls from Jersey.
No, it really wasn't that interesting or memorable, or at least it wouldn't be to most people, but it's one of those experiences that sticks to the back of my brain and won't let go. Â I remember having a philosophical discussion with the guy we had just met. Â I remember telling one of the Jersey girls that I didn't believe in her pedigree because she didn't cuss enough. Â I remember being slightly annoyed by the fiddler's circle that seemed to form spontaneously as I was complimenting the other Jersey girl on her eyes. Â I was not drunk, but I don't remember much in particular. Â I do remember thinking, "Why didn't I spend more time here?"
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