Flaherty' Irish Pub and Restaurant

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  This will be the first review not touting their food. I was very disappointed, as I expected a good fare, having read the previous reviews.  Perhaps we visited on an off night, but the food was way over salted.
  
  I had the Guiness braised beef and vegetable pie, and my girlfriend had the corned beef and cabbage dish.  My pie was edible, but definitely over-salted.  My girlfriend's beef and cabbage was crazy oversalted.  Maybe the chef had a small seizure while shaking the salt shaker, but they should still taste it before they bring it out.  Its really too bad because behind the salt, the dish seemed to actually taste pretty good.
  
  Service was sub par.  Had she actually checked back on us she might have heard from us that the dish was ridiculously salty and might have turned things around.  
  
  My girlfriend ate what she could after dousing the dish with a full glass of water, and we left as soon as we could.
  
  Might give another try during cheaper lunch hours, but I would suggest other alternatives in Knoxville.
  
  I've traveled to Ireland multiple times and have numerous close Irish friends.  They do not salt their dishes like mad.  Its a cold country!

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  Posted on 05.29.13 Solomon L.

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  Awesome menu -- this is the kind of Irish restaurant you'd expect to find in a big city,  only attractive and spotless, with the menu a cross between "Gastropub" and traditional.  Nothing stereotypical or kitschy here!  Every item was generously and attractively plated, not to mention so tasty that no one even wanted to share!  There was an impressive list of beer and the desserts sounded divine.  I had the corn beef and cabbage and won't need to eat again for three days.  :-). I must say, I've never had better.  I'd love to see this place relocate to a building in downtown Maryville with a bit more character, but this is a very nice place.  Suitable for families OR date night.  My party of 12 got the large room in the back. It was a great evening.

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  Posted on 05.23.13 Laurie L.

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  Awesome! Came upon this place on our way home from a weekend getaway...LOVE Irish food. I could snort corned beef. Knoxville and surrounding areas were seriously lacking in a good Irish pub. All there is is Irish Times in Turkey Creek which is a joke and poor excuse for authentic, traditional GOOD Irish cuisine. Flaherty's lived up to my expectations. The corned beef and cabbage was just fresh and delightful. And they have boxty's!! The service was impeccable. The waitress was more than knowledgable about all the food and drinks. The owner is....IRISH! Yep, imagine that. An Irish Pub owned by an Irish person :) Put your nasty O'Charley's corporate chain frozen food down, go visit Flaherty's, and keep this place in business!

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  Posted on 04.24.13 April W.

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  We just visited Flaherty's Grand Opening on St. Patrick's Day and we were lucky enough to be included during their soft open the day before. My husband is the owner's cousin (full disclosure). Their food is phenomenal. We were a party of eight, so we shared everything we ordered and we ordered a lot.
  
  Off their appetizer list, I highly recommend their crab cakes, the Cheddar and Guinness dip and their amazing house-made chips, the Katie's Taters (crazy, deep-fried, cheese-filled potato balls), the similar-in-look, but completely different-in-taste, Corned Beef Bites, and (I can't remember what it was called) a giant bowl of their chips, covered in some sort of amazingly delicious and creamy sauce, green onions, and Benton bacon. If you've never had Benton bacon, it's worth the trip to Flaherty's just to be introduced to it.
  
  Off their entree list, their Fish in Chips with their amazing house-made tartar sauce is definitely worth ordering. The fish is Panko crusted and I would almost just eat a plate of the crust - it's that good. I'm pretty sure that their secret ingredient in the tartar sauce is garlic. It's incredibly good. Everyone who tried it swooned with happiness and commented on its unique flavor.
  
  Two in our party ordered the Irish Breakfast and were incredibly happy with their choice. Apparently, the black and white pudding is special-ordered and imported from Ireland. I'd never had black pudding before and wasn't sure I wanted to try it, but my husband convinced me that it was worth trying. It was. It was delicately spiced and the texture was unusual, in a good way. I would order it again.
  
  Their steaks and hamburgers were very good. We ordered the sirloin steak (with some incredibly good Irish cheese crumbled on top), the filet mignon (which I didn't get a chance to try), cheeseburgers, and we even ordered a custom bacon burger (we couldn't get enough of that Benton bacon!!).
  
  We also ordered two different boxties off of their boxty menu. Boxties are sandwich-type items. They're described as having a potato crust but it's more like the filling is folded into a potato pancake. The fillings for the boxties were incredibly good. We ordered the chicken and bacon boxty and the corned beef and cabbage boxty. They're huge! No one person could finish their boxty on their own because the filling is so rich and the serving size is so big - they do reheat well, though. We ate leftovers later that night and again the next morning.
  
  The sides are also very, very good...they have several different kinds of mashed potato options, including champ, which is mashed potatoes with green onions in it, and another version (I've forgotten the name of this one, too!) which has cheese, green onions, and bacon in it. Get those. Their seasonal vegetables were a nice surprise: mushrooms, onions, and peppers, really well seasoned and not overcooked. I've already mentioned what a fan I am of their house-made chips, but their sweet potato fries and regular, hand cut french fries are really good, too.
  
  I suppose a review of Flaherty's Pub wouldn't be complete without mentioning their bar offerings. My husband, who happens to love Guinness, said that their draft Guinness was the best he'd ever had. I ordered a Smithwick's on the suggestion of our waitress and it was really, really good. They also have a really smooth cider, if that's your thing. They have a full bar and I had the opportunity to sample several of their mixed drinks, too.
  
  We had a great time - the pub itself is gorgeous and everything in it was made in Ireland, including the seating (chairs, booths, and stools), the tables, and the bar itself. It's a great place to sit down and drink for a couple of hours. The waitstaff and bartenders are super friendly (and not bad to look at, frankly!) and accommodating. I would drive out of my way for the Guinness and Cheddar dip with those incredible chips. We plan on going back whenever we're traveling in that direction and we already made plans to go back next St. Patrick's Day (we live in Indianapolis, IN).

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  Posted on 03.19.13 Jessica F.

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