I was a little bummed when Holmes & Watson closed but this a good trade off.
They have a good beer selection and a small but manageable menu.
I've sampled many things and enjoy most of them. Â (I wouldn't recommend the mac and cheese)
The patio is adorable.
I've been there a half a dozen times to drink and a few times to eat. Â I couple of times we had trouble finding someone to seat us but it's only getting better.
Short story:
My mom was in town for one last night and since she is so amazing, Â there were still people who wanted to see or meet her. Â I arranged for everyone to meet us here because we wanted to sit on a patio and I'm kind of over Brown's.
On my way home from work I remembered it was trivia night there and was afraid there wouldn't be a table. Â I called and I explained to the girl who answered (Sarah) I had about 8 people coming and my trivia night concerns. Â She told me there was no trivia that night and seating would not be an issue and she would have a table ready when we arrived in an hour. Â Not only did she have a table outside waiting, she also set up one inside because she heard it may rain. Â (it didn't!) She was luckily also our server. Â My party was mostly late and staggered in through the night. Â There was no annoyance whatsoever. Â She was great, helpful and kept the drinks coming.
That wasn't really that short but whatever.
An Irish pub that actually kinda feels like a real Irish pub. Â Located in the heart of downtown Troy, Finnbar's is a great casual place for regulars and anyone seeking a nice chill pub. Â Of course they have Guinness on tap, but there is also a very good craft beer selection that changes regularly. Â The food is not bad, perhaps a little overpriced in some instances, but then again the portions are pretty big.
Aside from the beer selection, the real gem here is the back patio, Troy's best kept secret. Â Come for the beer, stay for the beer.
An Irish Pub with 24 beers on tap? Saints be praised!!!
We had a very favorable experience at lunch today. Our beverages included red sangria -very tasty but a bit of a short pour for $10 - I mean combine a smallish glass plus ice and a lot of fruit and there's not a lot of sipping left for the consumer. We also had a heavenly Vanilla Porter ($6), and a really good Ithica Apricot Wheat for $5.
Our food included a creamy and flavorful cup of Asparagus Soup ($5), two "small" (not small at all) Pecan Chicken Salads ($6) and Chicken Goojons ($6).
The salads were great- a nice sliced slab of chicken breast served on greens with walnuts, strawberries and goat cheese. I had never seen the word "Goojon" before, so I just looked it up. Sometimes it's spelled as "goujons" and it means "a small strip of fish or chicken, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried". Today's version was a thickish serving of fried chicken that had the same look, texture, and crunch of the fish you commonly get in fish & chips. Yes, of course it was good, as were the fries -long spears that had a nice soft texture to them.
Service was great- we were double teamed by a guy and the female bartender. They were both very attentive and friendly.
Bottom line? A very pleasant lunch of food and beverages for 3 cost us $56.
Yes, we are fans!
Went in on Saint Patrick's day for the first time this year. I was very impressed. I brought my mom along. She liked the feel of the place as much as I did. Simple, but warm and welcoming. We sat at a table right near the bar.
Great beer selection, very nice full bar. Our server was happy to pour me a taste of a beer I hadn't tried before and made some very solid recommendations for both food and drink.
Our food was wonderful and portions were right on par. The pricing was very fair. I tried a little of what everyone had and though it was all very good.
I don't know what more to ask for from an Irish pub. We had a blast, the food was awesome and the drinks were on point. Great spot and a new favorite.
I'm a regular here and love it! Â Sean is a great host and with the new menu he has hit a home run! Â The place is kept neat and clean and the staff are all pleasant and always have a good word for you. Â A great place to stop and have a quick pint or a leisurely meal. Â I had the fish and chips the other night for the first time and it was delicious! Â Finnbar's is a lot of fun as well.
Review Source:Solid food (a huge improvement over it's previous incarnation, Holmes & Watson). Pretty good beer selection and trivia on Wednesday nights. They aren't all that Irish, but do a pretty good job. The specials do incorporate seasonal veggies and other ethnic varieties like Indian or Cajun. I have to say, the jambalaya was terrible but I really like the lamb vindaloo. Nice upgrades to the interior, especially the tables in the dining room. They have a nice patio and an upstairs area as well. Staff is friendly too.
Review Source:They are on the right track. Can't wait to have black pudding! 'Would love to see that Irish Breakfast as a PLATE - not  just a sandwich. Music is too  loud and not Irish!
The Cottage Pie was very tasty- but star anise does not truly belong in Irish food, does it? Slightly overwhelming...but the meat was yummy as was the champ.
The mac n' cheese needed more cheese and a touch of heat....and more scallions..but the home made pasta was comfroting (chewy)! They pour a good Guinness. We will be back.
I've been here a few times now and it's a pretty nice place. Great selection of beers on tap, about two dozen. Friendly staff, pretty good service. I've had dinner here twice and can't say that I'm thrilled with the food. We've had a few different entrees and appetizers. Everything was pretty good, but not great. I found the portions to be a little skimpy for the price. I think the menu may need a bit of a re-tooling as a few things seem to be a bit of a reach for what is essentially a pub in downtown Troy.
I'll continue to go here for a beer or two after work but there are a number of much better places to eat within walking distance
Truly friendly staff, decent draft beers, and OK food. Â That pretty much sums up our recent visit.
With about two dozen beers on tap, we started with a Troegs Perpetual IPA and a Magic Hat Smoked Porter ($6/ 16 oz. each; less $2 each during Happy Hour) since the Goose Island Nut Brown Ale had just kicked.  A large party of 6 children and 7 adults sitting across  from us, celebrating an eight years old's birthday, had just placed their order so we expected a delay in the kitchen.  Fortunately, staff must have arranged for our apps to come out before the large party was served, so we didn't have to wait an unreasonable amount time.
We shared an order of Whisky Wings ($10) - about 9 wings, tossed with honey, garlic confit, butter and herbs, flambéed with Irish whisky (apparently in the kitchen) and served with Cashel blue dressing.  The wings were broiled, had nice char marks and plenty of meat.  The honey added a nice touch of sweetness with the herbs.  Definitely worth ordering again.  Even the Cashel dressing was excellent with the carrots and celery on the side.
For her main course my wife ordered the Cottage Pie ($10) - slow roasted pulled beef and peas, topped with a potato champ cap and soda bread. Â The dish is described as similar to a shepherd's pie, but with beef instead of lamb. Potato champ is explained as mashed potatoes with butter and green onions. Â While my wife finished her meal she did not find the dish exciting. Â The meat was tender, but she would have liked more of the gravy and more flavor. Â The soda bread was dry, but had a good baking soda flavor.
I ended up eating the soda bread with my cup of Pumpkin soup ($5/$10) that was on the Specials Menu. Â The soup was very thick, had pumpkin flavor without being spiced up to taste like a liquid pie filling, and seemed like it was missing something. Â I also ordered an Irish Pizza ($8) from the Lite Fare menu - a twice-fried boxti with melted cheese and seasonal toppings (sliced grape tomatoes). Â A boxti is a cross between a potato pancake and a tortilla. Â Usually wrapped around a filling such as seasonal greens and some meat, the pizza version is simply the potato pancake fried on both sides to give it sufficient structure to allow you to pick up a slice with its topping. Â Other than the slice of cheese on the top, there was not much flavor to the grilled mashed potatoes.
In spite of our disappointment with some of the food we sampled, we did see some other items that looked like they would be worth coming back to try... since the beer is good. Â And since the beer was good, we finished with one more pint each - a Southern Tier ChoKlat and a Magic Hat Ravell Vanilla Porter. Â Deserts consist of a selection of cheesecakes from Machismo in Albany. Â I enjoyed a slice of Carmel Brownie cheesecake ($7).
I don't normally give five stars, actually being in the restaurant business I'm usually pretty harsh. But this place was AMAZING! They have 24 beers on tap that are constantly rotating with seasonal beers!! I came for dinner with a few friends and we enjoyed this place so much we all decided on 5 stars! The service was excellent! The waitresses and waiters were helping each other out a lot and were all so friendly. I had a very sweet redhead waitress names Sarah, her along with all the other services seemed happy to be there and were a joy to be around! My meal came out fairly fast but I didn't mind waiting and having a few beers on the back patio, it was a Friday night so there was live music (they have it there every Friday night) and my waitress told me all about how the food was made from scratch right down to the dressings! And how all the vegetables were local, and actually some of them came from her Mom's farm! It's a family friendly place during dinner which is nice but I'm 24 and I had so much fun with a group of my friends having dinner then staying through out the live music, dancing and drinking good, appropriately priced beer! The food was excellent and they have weekly rotating specials but a strong core menu. This is delicious food that you can't get anywhere else in Troy! I for see great things for this place and with out a doubt it's going to be me and my friends new Friday night spot!
Review Source:I am a cautious fan of Finnbar's as I've only eaten here once. Â It is a limited menu and that tis a grand. Â (And I was very happy to see they didn't make fools of themselves by offering "bangers and mash". Â Amen).
My pint of Guinness was pulled as close to perfectly as I've ever had Stateside (not perfect, but good for the USA). Â They also had a variety of craft brews and standards on tap and about 10-12 bottle selection. Â There is a full bar and a few wine choices. Â
I was torn between getting the fish and chips and the Irish Breakfast sandwich. Â I asked our server which she recommended and she said they were both really good, so I pushed further
"how is the black & white pudding on the Breakfast?"
to which she informed me "I'm not sure if we have the black & white pudding today". Â
This solved this issue for me as it isn't breakfast without black & white pudding. Â
I substituted sweet potato fries, which were not house-made, but good nevertheless. Â The fish was very good. Â Not too greasy. Â A nice, light, flavorful batter. Â Moist fish. Â Couldn't complain if I had to...well they did offer me cocktail sauce or tartar and I had to ask if malt vinegar was an option (it was thank goodness). Â
One of my dinner mates got the chicken fingers and sweet potato fries with honey mustard. Â She raved about how good the chicken was and the honey mustard. Â
The other dinner mate got the roast beef sandwich. Â It is served in challah bread (?) and had tiger sauce. Â He said he liked it but.....and didn't elaborate much more. Â
My dinner mates shared a chocolate Irish soda bread dessert and there was no evidence it had ever been to the table when they were done with it. Â They said it was very light/delicate and delicious. Â
There is a kickin' patio in the back and dog friendly sidewalk seating as well. Â This end of Broadway is a nice change of scene from 2nd & Broadway (and the general Monument Square neighborhood) and the River Street "entertainment district". Â If they get heat torches for the sidewalk I can see myself frequenting this place in the winter too (with my pup). Â
It isn't Holmes & Watson and it isn't trying to be. Â Those days are over and this isn't a shabby replacement.
Checked out Finnbar  last night (Tue). First let me say I usually like to give a new place a couple of times before a revues but with so many people talking about the Irish stew I wanted to add my 2 cents.
The service was outstanding the bartender was very knowledgeable and helpful. The waiter was equally upbeat and attentive. As some people have said the food does take a while this is not a fast in fast out kind of place plan to hang out. Â
For Dinner I went with the Irish stew, I use the term Stew because that is what the menu says. In my mind it was close to soup, it was served in a shallow soup dish the portion was very small and not at all "Hearty" like you would expect from a stew. It looked like they put the dish together in pieces (broth, vegetables and meat) did not seem to be cooked together. The flavor was ok but for $12 the portion was small not what I expected. Irish bread that came with was tasteless  menu says Delicious with rich butter but non-was provided!!  Cheesecake Machismo for desert can't go wrong top notch!
I may go back for a pint but I will skip the food to many chooses in Troy for under par food at premium prices.
A dissapointing remake of Holmes and Watson, this may be a good place to get a beer in Troy, but don't stay for dinner. Â The food selections are extremely limited, with the menu seemingly limited to Irish lunch items. Â The rooms are loud, though the outside dining remains a nice alternative. Â Bottom line: have a beer outside, and go somewhere else for dinner.
Review Source:Stopped by Finnbar's pub on a Saturday night after I heard some good things & it has a new owner. Place was a lil quite but the staff was very friendly and there was a great selection of beers. Sat down and had a couple of pints and a cigar outside. Â The owner came out to check on the "smokers" and he seemed like a nice Guy. This is not a bar for top 40 and slammed with 20 somethings being loud and rude. The crowd is more 30 somethings looking for a good meal and nice place to talk and enjoy themselves. I had a mini pizza and it was good for the price. Met a young lady and got contact info so I will be back again for sure!
Review Source:I don't often give 5stars but I Could not find anything to fault here. I had been going to Holmes and Watson since the 70s. The food was ok, but the beer was oddly priced. Last time I was there I was charges 7dollars for a yuengling draft. When I questioned the bartender she said "yeah, a lot of people have been complaining about that"
. We went here on a Friday night. It was busy, but we were immediately seated on the back patio.....great beer selection and great service. I had the Irish stew which was a perfect blend of pungent lamb, great cabbage and hand cut carrots....the big surprise was the hot Irish soda bread....best I have ever had, and I have had a lot....Jayne ordered the Irish BLT.....they use Irish ham...wow, what a great sandwich.
Appetizer was the fried mashed potato thing that most Irish restaurants have. Again....the best ever, creamy, crunchy and delicious....
We will be regulars.....
I'll confess, I was a long-time fan of the old Holmes & Watson establishment. Of course, that meant that I had a certain skepticism as to this new bar which now occupied the same space. I have to say, I have been pleasantly impressed. In the three times that I have stopped by Finnbars since it opened, I have received excellent service, fine food and great beer. The ambiance is bright and upbeat, and I've always had a consistently pleasant vibe from the place.The bartenders and wait staff go out of their way to make sure you are well taken care of, being both attentive and friendly. The selection of beers is fantastic, featuring both classic imports (Newcastle, Harp, Guinness, etc) and some lesser known but very tasty microbrew craft beers (try the Left Hand Milk Stout in particular). Their food is similarly impressive. They have very tasty specials each night, and the staples (wings, burgers, fried cheese) each have their own uniquely positive twists. I would highly recommend it to anyone venturing out and about in their quest to enjoy Troy!
Review Source:I also had the pleasure of eating at Finnbar's on Tuesday night. We sat out on their fabulous back patio for dinner with some friends and it was busy! We ordered the whisky wings, chips n cheese, fish n chips, Irish stew, cottage pie, turkey sliders, and for dessert...stuffed peaches with blueberry gastrique and greek yogurt! Our food came out pretty quickly and even if it hadn't my Left Hand milk stout and friends could have kept me fully occupied until it did. Everything was incredible and seasoned to perfection! All of the meet was juicy and tender...the close your eyes while it melts in your mouth kind of meals! I heard the other diners raving about their meals as well. Their specials are really something special too! Opening weekend I had their peach salad with blueberry vinaigrette and Bulgarian feta...it was quite possibly the best salad I have ever eaten in my life!
We had a wonderful waitress. She was still learning the menu items, but was very sweet and apologetic, and attentive as well. We've had the opportunity to meet the owners as well as the chef's and the bar tenders, and found them all to be very friendly.
I'm not sure why the previous diner had such a different experience on the same night, but I would recommend this place to all of my friends and family. The fact that they are commited to sending fresh, local ingredients out of their kitchen is huge for me, and I have a feeling Finnbar's will be a welcomed presence in this community for years to come!
It was a Tuesday night, and I had two things on my mind: beer and Olympics. Wait, no - I take that back. GOOD beer and and women's gymnastics. Being new to the Troy area, I asked around where I could find a place that had both of these things. I usually go for dive bars, which this place is not, but many of the bars in Troy are not divey so much as they are stabby. I try to avoid stabby. Finnbar's it was!
SERVICE: Nope. Not really. I always give newbs on the block a decent few chances because I know that they just opened, they're busy, and there are going to be screw-ups, aneurysms, etc. This place was not busy. We sat down at the bar and was promptly ignored by the bar tender for about 10 minutes. When I finally got his attention, I made a joke about being in the 'no service section' of the bar, which got zero laugh or smile, just a blank look and a, "No, we serve this section of the bar." Apparently, Danielle not funny.
Anyway, got some fries and wings. That's it. 30 minutes went by before he said he should probably go check and see where our food was. Again, not busy. Good thing we were entertained enough by good beer and watching Russia suck enough to ignore our rumbling tummies. Time to leave? Took another 10 minutes just to get his attention, even by trying to talk to him.
If I had any advice for this bartender, it would be to try for 80% more attentiveness and work out that bedside manner. What's the most important thing about being a bartender besides making a decent drink? Being a talkie. Your bread and butter depends on it.
ATMOSPHERE: Decent. Low lighting, lovely bar, wood interior, cozy, and an open room in the back to accommodate more tables for larger parties. Also a couple of tv's at the bar for sports, etc. Just my type.
FOOD: Bearing in mind that they just opened and they're still fleshing out their menu, what I had could have used some work. I liked what I saw on the menu thus far, and I think it's awesome that their specials are (at least for now) taken from producers at the farmer's market. However, what I got did not 'wow' me, or even 'meh' me. These dishes seemed to have a great foundation, but felt unfinished.
The Chips'n Cheese are house cut potatoes with Dublin cheese sauce (also able to get sweet potato fries with cinnamon cream instead). The fries were more like a baked potato cut into wedges. I wish that these were crisped up a bit more, either by baking or frying, I don't care, but they need one of those to be not soggy and fall apart. Also, they had no seasoning. Neither, by chance, did the cheese sauce, which tasted great, but needed a little something to dress it up. Perhaps some garlic, sea salt, and cracked black pepper, or I could see some tarragon going excellent with these. But SOMETHING. No one wants just soggy cut potatoes and plain cheese sauce. Dress it up, kids.
The Whiskey Wings were decent for what felt like a plain-to-lightly-seasoned wing. In truth, they were disappointing. Why? I was excited about them because the description sounded delicious.
"Wings, tossed with local honey, garlic comfit, lemon juice, butter and herbs, and then flambeed with Irish whiskey."
Wow. Mouth-watering, right? I barely tasted any of these things on the wings. I'm not someone who needs strong flavors to appreciate - actually, a lot of my dishes are lightly spiced and more savory. But what I was hoping for and what I put in my mouth did not meet in the middle by a long shot. I don't know if they need to let them marinate more, or just use more seasonings, but this also needs to be fixed. Also, as a side note, I measured one stick of celery and it was approximately 1/8 of an inch in width. No more of that.
BEER: Ahhhhhhh yes, the best part. EXCELLENT selection on draft, from Angry Orchard, Arrogant Bastard, Rare Vos, Left Hand Milk Stout, and so many tasty others. They had two specials at $3, which for the quality of the beer, was an excellent price. I completely forget the name of them, but one was an amber stout (a little too hoppy for me), and this AMAZING cherry draft that is now stuffed into my arsenal of one of my favorite beers. It's a Cinderella story, really... I went to the ball, we danced, and I left without even finding out her name. All I have is this pilfered pub glass to find her with. (Just kidding Finnbar, I didn't snag one. This time.) I'm anxious to see how they further develop their specials and, dare I say it, a happy hour?
Overall, beer and atmosphere will make me come back to this place. But if you want this boat to float, take more pride in your service and your food.
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