So with all the mediocre reviews, either people read these reviews and have foregone this location, or it was just an off night as only 12 people were here and the place appeared empty for a Tuesday night.
For starters, the location at night never really seems to have any lights on, and with the tinted glass and shutters, it is very deceiving that this place is even open for business. They have a nice large sign above the door, but the lights were not on.
Lucky me........they were open, on a Tuesday night, and we were promptly greeted by at least three people wearing Irish green shirts.
I really enjoyed the decor, and atmosphere they have, especially the wood chairs and covered seat benches. The bar looked really inviting, I gave up drinking years ago, but from my past experience, this place would be where I would end up drinking and would enjoy doing so.
My wife had the Plain Jane Burger with Provolone cheese and bacon, I had the Costigan's chicken w/ mashed potatoes, gravy, and fries. ( I have added a pic). The burger was cooked medium, a nice pink center, and very juicy. The chicken was grilled to perfection, it was moist, easy to cut with a fork, and was a great value for the portion.
Our server was very prompt, courteous and attentive to our drink glasses through out our entire meal. Â The meals were spot on for flavor, appearance and taste. Â I was a little skeptical at first as the place was empty except for a few folks at the bar, but I was very pleasantly surprised during my dining experience.
The last few reviews seem to be dated somewhat, so I would recommend anyone in the area to stop by and give these guys a chance.......If I went by past reviews, I would not feel that I was missing anything, but after my experience, I almost feel as if I have missed out.
I have put these folks on my short list, and I will be back. Next time I will add more photos, as the food not only tasted good, it looked good, and was enjoyed.
NCFoodGuy
I ate here about 7 months ago, and it was OK, not great.
Tonight, I went in this place, waited for 10 minutes at the hostess stand while NO ONE attempted to even acknowledge me. Â A girl ran by and said "Give me just one sec", and never came back. Â Then, this slob said "We'll be right with you" without even looking at us because he was cleaning bar tables.
I will NEVER go back to this place again, unless Hickory Tavern, Fox and Hound, BWW, and every other sports bar, pub, and tavern in Charlotte go out of business.
I had high expectations for this place as we were looking for a place that would serve up our favorite Irish beer on tap as well as all that yummy comfort food that the Irish are well known for like the Shepard's pie, Irish stew, Corned beef and Cabbage, and the Reuben. They have it all and we wanted to try it all but finally decided that we needed to pace ourselves and stick to three items. First off it was packed as it was Friday night and people were standing in and outside of the pub waiting for tables and stools to free up. That is the first sign, to me, that the quality of food might just wavier a bit. Second, they didn't have our favorite Irish Draft on tap even though there was a picture of it on their website which we found out was pretty old. Three, we felt pushed and hurried to make a decision out of this huge menu that we had never laid eyes on as well as finding out that there was certain of the foods we could not eat as they put pork in them and that is something that we cannot partake of. So Four, for an effort to gain some more time to decide on our entree's we opted to order some of the Onion Rings. It took a good 30 minutes to get them and thank goodness that we were able to go on and order our meal just 10 minutes after ordering the rings or we would have been there still I'm afraid. Five, the rings came out and they were dripping with grease. Hot mind you but just dripping. Six, the food came as I had ordered the Shepherd's Pie and my wife the Reuben Wrap. Â The wrap was o.k. but the kraut that was used kinda smelled funny and the wife stopped less than half way. My pie wasn't much better as it came out in one of those small oval shaped casserole dishes which when I stuck my spoon into it I found that the meat and vegetables was less than a 1/2" thick and the mashed potatoes more like 2". I got maybe a third thru it. The fries were o.k. and I had asked for a side of gravy as some good Irish like their fries with gravy, but this was more like a watery au jus sauce. We didn't like this visit but we are going back to try the Irish Stew and the Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad. Those we saw around us who had these made them look very good. Maybe they will be good enough for me to come back and change my score but until then they get only 2 stars. The service was negligible at best as there were so many people packed into such a small space that it was hard for even the most seasoned of staff to maneuver. Like I said, we are going to give them a second chance but it may be a while.
Review Source:Well as luck would have it my wife decided that she wanted to go back for dinner tonight. I brought a pair of reading glasses so I could finally take a look at their beer/wine list.
I ordered the Irish Onion Soup & the Irish Nachos. My wife ordered the Spud Soup & a Cobb Salad. Strangely enough the soups were brought out first then the nachos & the salad.The nachos were meh tasting. I think the only flavor came from the extra jalapenos I had them put on. My wife wasn't happy with her Cobb salad. Everything we ordered had very little flavor, except for the sweet tea. I think we got the dregs of the sweet tea container with our first glasses. The tea improved throughout the meal.
I ordered a piece of Key Lime pie for dessert. It had no flavor. But I took the decorative lime slice & squeezed the juice from it out onto the slice of pie. That really woke it up.
We both agreed when we left that the meal wasn't anything special. Too bad.
We've been here several times since they opened a year or two ago. The service is okay, but I agree with others that their food needs a lot of work and their beer selection is limited. The issue I have with PJ's is that they have a real good game on the outside - their bands, their decor, their service, but their drinks and food just don't deliver.
For instance, "Sassy Chicks" isn't a menu item I would want to eat anywhere, although it's PJ's ridiculous name for one of my favorite (usually) Â menu items (chicken fingers) in other restaurants. Don't get me started on the similarly unappetizing and stupidly named "Barney Stone Sliders" or "Flapping Arms". I sincerely don't know how the wait staff refer to these menu items without sneering, scoffing or otherwise looking put out, and I sincerely don't know what the owners were thinking when they put together a menu with such outrageously hideous names. I don't want to sound like I'm at some stupid themed restaurant when I order food, and when I go to PJ's I end up trying to convey to the waiter what I want without using their unbelievably sophomoric names for the items. Seriously, PJ's owners, how hard would it be to refer to chicken wings as "chicken wings" and not as "flapping arms"... is that too simple and straightforward for you all to consider? Do you really think you're adding value with stupid names?
Second, for an Irish place, they simply don't highlight classic Irish food at all. For instance, there's another very successful Irish bar/restaurant in Charlotte (which shall remain anonymous) with a menu that offers Shepherd's pie, Irish potato cakes, potato and leek soup, and soda bread. PJ's offers none of these, although they have ridiculous names for imitation items like "PJ's Pie", "Loaded Spud Soup" or "Onion Soup" and God help us all, "O'Fries".
I hate gimmicks and PJ's is relying on cheap gimmicks for their menu, the food from which is served on cheap black plates and looks like fast food when it arrives at the table.
While PJ's is an okay place to stop in for a quick beer, I'm disappointed by it greatly, overall. Mostly because I feel the owners have a real opportunity to showcase Irish food and Irish bar food in south Charlotte and they've totally squandered that opportunity in favor of gimmicks. I sincerely hope that PJ's someday becomes the Irish bar my husband and I dreamed of walking to several times a week before it opened. Because we discovered after it opened that it's really just a cheap imitation "Irish Disneyland" wannabe that isn't really worth visiting.
Like Shauna, I am also surprised at the other reviews. Â
I have visited PJ's several times, and have never had a bad experience. Â The food has ALWAYS been spot on and the wait staff has been incredible each time. Â
My personal favorite is the fish and chips, which has always had a great flavor, and a wonderful breading on them, that definately does not dissapoint. Â The price seems a little bit steep until you see how much fish you get! It definately has plenty of food on the plate for you.
The atmosphere has always been clean, and with the live music that they have, its hard to turn the place down.
If your looking for someplace to sit and enjoy, this could very well be the place for you!
I really am surprised about the other reviewers experience- mine was so completely opposite.
I did not drink- but much of our group did. They had pretty good specials including a $5 Long Island- not bad! I was feeling hungry so I ordered the cheese chunks ( kind of like a cheese stick in ball form) - they were absolutely incredible! Probably the best I've ever had. They were beer battered in Guinness and served with marinara and a smattering of Parmesan cheese. The marinara wasn't awesome but considering this is bar food it could have been much much worse.
I also had a french fry which was fairly typical - hot served with malted vinegar. Some people in our group ordered the fried pickles- which looked almost like spring rolls. They had positive things to say about them...I may give them a shot next time. Â The food was priced just right.
They had an awesome band -which played some Pixies and Radiohead (score!)
Our service was fast and friendly.
I did notice the place closed down early- almost completely empty by 12:30 on a Saturday night, but I do here this is typical of the area.
Great little pub for the area in Ballantyne that seems to be growing overnight. Â Good food, especially if you like corned beef and homemade potato chip / fries. Â Bartenders and servers are friendly, and great live music...especially when I saw the Sun Dried Vibes here - a blue eyed reggae sound that jammed out pretty hard for only having 3 members!
Review Source:I met a friend here to grab lunch the other day and was less than impressed. Â The decor is really nice and it gives you a nice Irish feel but the food is really lacking.
I decided to go with the fish and chips. Â It took awhile for us to get our food and they brought out 4 fish sticks and some fresh potato chips. Â Not exactly what I was expecting for $11.99 but that's what I got. Â The fish sticks were pretty decent size but were very bland...thank goodness for the tarter sauce! Â One of the fish sticks was so over cooked that it was crunchy all the way through, they should have never sent that out. Â The "fresh" chips were bland as well and not even warm. Â
My friend had a pita and mashed potatoes which actually looked pretty good. Â Our server was friendly and kept our glasses full while we waited forever on our food.
I may stop in here for a drink sometime but I won't be back for the food!
This place is.....OK. Typical  bar food, not great, but not bad. The homemade chips are pretty good. The beer selection is pretty thin for what purports itself to be an Irish pub.
Trivia night on Wednesdays is fun (go Phorever Philly!). The questions can be VERY outdated, but it is good for some laughs.
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