Just happen to stumble upon this very rustic Irish pub and restaurant while driving through Middletown looking for food. Bryan, the owner, is in hand to make customers welcome and the wait staff is attentive.
The food very delicious I had "Bryan's Brisket" which is a traditional corn beef and cabbage dish. The great thing about this dish is the steak size slab of corn beef on gets.
The stand out dish the a member of my party had was the Shepherds Pie. I have had this dish in many Irish pubs in NYC but I must say this is the best I have ever tasted. Actually regretted not getting this after sampling it. Bryan's recipe is perfection, one would be hard pressed to find better.
Also recommend the Hot Toddy made with Kilbeggan whiskey hands down one so the smoothest versions of this classic one will ever have.
So if you find yourself in Middletown, Virginia please stop by and give this fine local establishment your business you will not regret it.
As a NY Irishman, I particularly enjoy the pub at the Irish Isle. If you haven't been here before, the pub is downstairs. It can be accessed by the stairs at the furthest part of the dining room, or better yet, by the parking lot which leads to the side door in back. The first thing I noticed on my first visit was - hey! Where's the TV? It seemed insane to me at first to not have a television, but after speaking to Brian the owner, I was informed his goal was to create the social style of the old-time pubs of Ireland. I have to admit, it really grew on me. I actually enjoy speaking to the bartender, or my neighboring patrons, and the nearby tables. I will be the first to admit, when I visit any other bar, I stare at the television no matter what is on. World championship cricket finals? My eyes are glued to the set. News broadcast scrolling ticker? Why am I watching this? 12 year old muted re-run of Frazier with inaccurate closed captions? I can't stop watching. Here at the Irish Isle, I have no such temptations.
  There is live Irish music performed on busy weekend nights, pub quiz on Wednesdays, and if you are especially lucky, down in the pub on select Friday nights, you may be treated to an impromptu session performed by patrons who play guitar, mandolin, fiddle, or the Irish bodhran drum.
  What drew me to the Irish Isle was a craving for a properly poured pint of Guinness on tap, and the Isle doesn't disappoint. They also offer other Irish beers, such as Harp, Smithwick's and Kilkenny's. There is also a deliciously crisp Woodpecker Cider. One thing I really like is the only American beers on tap are Yuengling and Harpoon IPA. No swill. I love when the inevitable rabble comes in, looks to order a Miller or Bud Light, and their eyes kind of glaze over when they look at the unfamiliar names on the tap. It is like Redneck-Be-Gone. Brilliant move, Brian. This seems to be a better deterrent to trashy customers than the no shirts, no shoes, no service signs you see at 7-11s. Another thing I love: the owner doesn't tolerate cursing in the pub. In all honesty, I have slipped on occasion, and he has been understanding, but his message is clear: this is a family friendly establishment. I once observed a patron barred on St. Patrick's Day for wearing a F#$% me I'm Irish shirt. I really respect that.
 Finally what really does it for me is the food: the burgers are the best I've had. Ever. Period. They are huge, they must be a half a pound. While lettuce, tomato, onion are included, the first two toppings after are also free. Bacon, mushrooms, swiss, cheddar, blue cheese, corned beef, etc. The others that I really love are the steak, (although it is not always available) lamb, shepherd's pie, fish and chips, and the Irish breakfast (with rashers and black & white pudding!) I don't think you can go wrong with any of those. I have hear the pork chops are really good too. Staff is extremely friendly and professional. I will definitely be back.
Pretty solid restaurant, especially for the area. Both times I've visited, I've gone fairly early in the evening, so I haven't had to deal with any of the food outages that they seem to be famous for!
Food usually seems to be consistently good. Most recently, I went with my husband and my parents. My mom and I both ordered the crabcake, and we both enjoyed it quite a bit. My husband ordered the corned beef. Oh YUM. I tasted his and wished I had ordered it myself! They definitely know how to do that right! It was very tender and had great flavor. Their pork riblet appetizer is also very good.
We did, however, have one "snag" -- we ordered some sort of apple cobbler for our dessert. My dad has a slight nut allergy, so we checked with the server before ordering it to make sure that it didn't have nuts in it. We were told that it was nut-free. When the dessert arrived, my dad tasted it -- sure enough, it was LOADED with nuts. Awesome. Luckily, he didn't have any horrible reactions, but still... had his allergy been worse, they could have had a pretty rough situation on their hands! We informed the server that there were lots of nuts in it; she looked confused and said, "Oh... really?" and offered to bring us something else. We didn't really want to make too big of a fuss, so we kept it and the other 3 of us kind of picked at it... it wasn't really that great.
Other than that, the food and atmosphere have been very enjoyable! We would definitely go back again (and avoid the apple cobbler).
Their chicken pot pie is equal to heaven topped with a flaky pastry! The atmosphere takes you back into a different world... especially if you head downstairs to the pub in the basement.
Live Irish music Tuesday - Saturday played by the authentically Irish owner.
You may want to check if they think you need reservations whatever night you are going (Friday & Saturday specifically). At times no one is there, other times you have no option but to eat at a tiny table in the basement by the bar (still fun, but not romantic if thats what you are going for).
Ok been here twice. The first time was because of the name. The food was alright, more impressed with the singing owner than anything. Awesome, lively, warm atmosphere that made me feel as though I was in Scotland. Â Couldn't wait to go back!!!
Had family visiting from Scotland, went out of our way to bring them here! My husband called to make a reservation, and being told that the guy would start singing at 7:30. We got there at 8, on a Thursday night. We were the only people in  the entire restaurant. We asked our waitress when the guy would be singing, she said he wasn't that night. Hello, whole reason we came here!!!!
To top it off they were out of 2 beers on tap and one other drink on the menu. My cousin was easy going and ordered a heineken afterwards. 5 Min's later, our waitress returned with no heineken and when asked, told him they were out of that too! They were out of apple juice and had no milk.
They had no lamb stew, NO STEAK. How does this happen? Â They had only one item on their kids menu. My husband ordered the lamb chops (most expensive thing on the menu), When they did not come with the mint sauce that was advertised on the menu, he asked and although it was obvious they had none, we were told she was checking. They had none! So yeah, his lamb chops sucked! He can only eat them with mint jelly. I guess its like eating steak without steak sauce.
So, the food we had was not all that great, nothing to write home about. They were out of so many things! and there was no singing as promised. A real let down. Will not be giving it one more chance......
We came here about two months ago to see a musician we like (Robbie Limon) and decided to try their food while there. We were impressed with the food and are definitely going to return. My wife had the corned beef and cabbage which she said was excellent. I had the chicken pot pie and I liked it. It is a small place, but it has a very nice feel to it.
Review Source:Went here with my SO a few months ago, as it came recommended from the bed and breakfast we were staying at in Front Royal. Â Apparently they use a lot of local ingredients from farms in the area, and pay special attention to the meats they use. Â
When we got there, I'd say the special attention paid off. Â The food was fantastic. Â We had the bangers and mash, and I believe the lamb, along with some appetizers. Â The service was great, despite the fact that it was crowded, and the mood was enhanced by the fact that it was Friday and there was a singer with acoustic guitar. Â Not too loud, but a nice level of ambiance for an Irish place. Â If we weren't so tired, we'd have probably stayed after dinner to hang out at the bar.
I may be rating them a little high due to the lack of great Irish food in the DC area, but frankly everything was fantastic. Â I recommend it to anyone I know who travels out that way, and we'll likely be back when we're in the area again.
UPDATE: Oh so sadly, I have been forced to remove a star from my Irish Isle review. Â The service and food has not been consistent the last 5 times I have been and so I have decided to take my business across the street to the Cricket on the last several occasions. Â
Biggest problem--If you do not arrive by 7pm, don't bother to go at all. Â They will most likely be OUT OF EVERYTHING. Â I showed the other night at 9pm and they were out of cabbage. Â No..I'm NOT kidding.
The lamb chops I used to LOVE have slowly regressed in quality. Â The last time I ordered the waitress said, Â "I have to warn you, they are a little tough tonight." Â And she was right, it was actually difficulty to find a bite of meat that didn't irritate my TMJ. Â
The ribeye I had recently was not so great either, doesn't matter if it's 14 oz. if half of that is fat. Â The potato soup had about 3 pieces of potato floating around...and that was it.
So there you have it. Â Just okay. Â Sorry Irish Isle....
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