One of my favorite place's to go to in college. Â They revamped the bar scene now with a DJ and strobe lights. Â The decor is awesome. Â The Irish theme makes the atmosphere really fun. Â They have great drink specials too. Â My friends and I loved doing fish bowls. Â They were fruit flavored drinks with vodka. Â They were in fish bowls to drink out of. Â I remember (but mostly don't remember) many nights in Kildare's that were a blast. Â There's great food, great drinks, and a gaurenteed good time. Â I highly recommend Kildare's.
Review Source:You can tell who is in the kitchen by how they treat their ingredients. At the height of food service during the UEFA Cup my expectations were high for this Irish landmark in downtown Scranton. The staff were well-balanced and perfectly chosen. The atmosphere lends itself to any range of customers in the same large open space, a difficult feat for many but executed well here. It's a different place after 7 and that is when the bar scene shows up. Seriously. You can easily carve out your own niche here effortlessly, so yes, it is welcoming.
A fresh cut of vegetables (you can try and fool me, it won't work), hand-made deep-fried and baconized burger on a standard onion-potato-bread roll, natural-cut fries. I received a well-done burger almost perfectly made. I would say this to let you know that hyphenated food does not mean you have cooked. The bun was the shortcut taken. A quick toasting would have sealed the deal.
It's official, Scranton needs a better beer. Yuengling is always better the closer you get to Pennsylvania.
For this, Kildaire's gets an B+ for delivering what's expected.
Since it's St. Patrick's day my dude and I thought it would be a good idea getting a drink at an "Irish Pub". What a terrible idea. Upon arriving at the door, we were told there was a $5 cover (there were also signs stating this, but only because a band would be playing). We paid it, sat down and had a drink. I paid $6 dollars for a shitty drink that took me two gulps to finish. Having sat near the door I noticed a few people walking in were not being charged the $5 ( a person) cover we did. The signs were also removed? I informed this to my boyfriend and we kept a close eye on a few more people arriving, still no cover being charged. A women who was also keeping a close eye ended up complaining to the bouncer over it. I listened to the whole conversation, as I also wanted my money back. The bouncer explained she "willingly paid the cover, and also there is no drawer to give her the money back. What a bullshit lie, I'm sure the bouncer pocketed both of our money. I asked the bartender why a cover was even being collected since there was nothing going on. She informed me that the band never showed up. Since the staff knew this why was the cover still being collected? No money was returned to either me nor the other women. I will not be back here again, and either will my friends. I'm 22 and too old for a place like this. My money will not be stolen like this again. Where's the 0 rating?
Review Source:Overpriced for what I got. The vegetable boxty was promising on the menu, but the reality was soggy vegetables, and the promise of Guiness caramelized onions was not fulfilled. The mashed potatoes were good, but cold. I didn't even try the vegetables, which were yellow squash, zucchini, and red peppers. Again, everything was so soggy. The service was good and the wait staff friendly, but I can't imagine going there again.
Review Source:Came here on a Thursday for lunch. Â It took us a minute to find the entrance and once we did and stepped inside we couldn't tell if they were open or not. Â The place was completely empty. Â We noticed they had opened at 11am and it was around 2pm. Â The entire staff was in the back clearly in the middle of a meeting with the manager or owner. Â We felt like we were interrupting something but we were starving so we decided to stay. Â This place came recommended by the hotel we were staying at. Â
It is an Irish pub and the decor in the place was absolutely amazing. Â Such a cool vibe I actually felt like I was in Ireland. The booths were cool, kinda different, kinda uncomfortable but definitely sticking to the Irish theme. There was no bartender on so our server was responsible for getting our drinks as well which was not a problem since again we were the only people in there. Â Our waitress was AWESOME. Â So attentive, knowledgable and sweet. Â She engaged in conversation but wasn't overbearing. Â
We started with the pretzel tower which was different and tasty. Â The pretzels came with honey mustard, regular mustard and cheese dip. Â Our waitress recommended the BFG wings. I'm not a wings girl but she ensured us that they were the best appetizer on the menu. Â They were definitely delicious except the raw one that I happened to pick up. Â Of course it was my third wing so I because sick to my stomach. Â I didn't want to say anything but was so skeeved out that I just had to. Â The waitress told me that she promises they were cooked and that she watched them put it in the fryer even though clearly it was raw. Â I even showed her and she could clearly see the pink. Â She was trying to talk me out of thinking it was raw; but there was no talking me out of it. Raw is Raw. Â She seemed like if she had taken it back in the kitchen she would have been reprimanded. Â Maybe it had something to do with the staff meeting that was going on. Â Who knows, all I do know is that I stopped the wing eating at that moment.
I did the sizzling burger and he got the buffalo blue. Â I asked for mine to be cooked medium and it was brought out well done. Â I ate it though and it did the trick. Â Overall the best part about the meal was the waitress's friendly demeanor and the cool Irish decor and overall vibe of the restaurant. Â I think they may need a new chef.
Ever since Hardware Bar closed and then opened as Mulligan's, this place has been completely dead every weekend. I don't even bother checking it out anymore. Everyone on downtown pretty much ends up at Mulligans now. And since their food isnt really that good, i have no more reason to come here
Review Source:Disclaimer: This review is more about the late night bar scene rather than the restaurant aspect. If you're looking for a place to eat, read another review.
Kildare's is a hit an miss place for me. Â One night, its filled with hot young 20 somethings partying all night and dancing to a great band or DJ. Â The next, its like a crappy singles night at the bar with 30+ guys sitting at the bar watching sports or trying to hit on anything that moves. Â There's no rhyme or reason to this pattern it seems although when college isn't in session it tends to be the latter of the two more often than not.
Service is usually very good at the bar. Mixed drinks are just the right strength, doesn't feel like you're drinking paint thinner but you get that little bite that lets you know there's some booze in it. Â Prices are reasonable for the "well drinks" but the higher end liquors come with an inflated price tag. Â Prepare to pay $7-8/drink for mid range booze (Captain Morgan, Absolute, Jack Daniel's) and even more for top shelf (Ketel One, Jameson, Johnny Walker). Â Specials are great if you hit them at the right time. Â There's been nights when I stumble out with a tab under $25 and other nights when I can do a field sobriety test and dropped $50.
All-in-all, if you're looking for a party atmosphere with good looking people, stop by Kildare's at the beginning of a night. Â If its hopping, go in. Â If not, go elsewhere then stop by around 1am and try again as its a frequent last stop for a lot of the college crowd.
Went here for lunch on a weekday. The place was pretty dead. Two waitresses working about 5 tables total. The burger was good, but there were several "unexplained" times when my waitress disappeared for 5-10 minutes or more over the course of an hour and 10 minutes (which is way too long for one guy who orders fast, eats fast, and is usually in somewhat of a hurry to get in and out of a place for lunch). I get it, waitresses take smoke breaks, etc., but to have to wait 10 minutes for a water refill, 10 minutes for the check, 10 minutes for my card to be run through, etc. is nuts, especially when there are like 15 patrons in the whole place total and this waitress was serving pretty much none of them during that time. Maybe they make the waitresses cook the food on slow weekdays? Judging from the look of the young-20s-ish waitresses here, she must have gone out for a child custody hearing or something.
Review Source:I seem to be hitting a lot of Irish pubs recently and food wise, Kildare's is pretty much OK.
I generally don't expect much from pub food and this was a bit above expectations.Bangers and Mash. Five plump, juicy bangers, a great pile of mash, topped with good onion gravy. More than this guy could finish off for lunch and quite edible.
I'd visit it again.
I have been going here for months at lunch time since I work close by. I started going for the $5 burgers on Tuesdays. It seemed like a good place to eat with friends for a quick lunch. The burgers were OK so we stuck in and would meet up ever few weeks. It has slowly gotten worse.
I went with co-workers at lunchtime and checked in on foursquare. It turned out it was my 3rd check in so I was supposed to get 1/2 off any appetizer. It took them about 15 minuets to get everyone at the table the water we ordered. About 15 minuets after that one person at our table was served their food while the rest of us just sat there. it took another 15 minutes for the rest of the table to get there meals.
When we were getting out checks I told the waitress this was my third check in on foursquare and that it says I was entitled to a 1/2 price app. The waitress says well you need to print it out. I said I can't as I just checked in when I arrived at the restaurant. The waitress rudely says well "I don't know what to tell you". I said I have used this before when it was my third check in and didn't have any problems. The waitress says well it's just this manager won't let us I tried earlier with a customer.
If I did not have to go back to work I would have asked for her to get me the manager however then I would have been late for work all because the restaurant was being difficult. Instead I will choose to not give them anymore of my business.
A few months before this incident I had a waitress roll her eyes at us while we were ordering and asking for refills on our drinks. I think Kildare's needs a serious lesson in hospitality and I will not be going back to the restaurant ever again.
Decent food, I had a Shepard's Pie last time I went, and I've had a Boxty before that. The Boxty was particularly good. The waitress usually will ask you if you've ever been there before. If you haven't they will ask if want to take a tour of the place, it has several distinct Irish styles that they will tell you about. I would say come for lunch and dinner but later at night it turns into a club almost with loud music and its can be crowded, especially when the University of Scranton students are in town.
Review Source:Definitely not an authentic Irish Pub but still worth a visit if you have a hankering for fish & chips. During the day the restaurant is pretty low key but nights and weekends are a different story. The girls here wear "kilts" (that look more like a school girl outfit), the bar can get very loud & packed and on Parade Day this place is a madhouse. The drink deals are great but this place is really a bar and not a traditional pub.
Review Source:Enter Irish Bar in search bar and "Kildare Irish Pub" pop up. Came in for lunch with our two year old, but our server looked like she is from hooters with a super short mini shirt (kilt). This is NOT an authentic Irish Pub.
We both had a burger, BBQ Bacon and Sizzler. Mine was a bit on the salty side but pretty tasty otherwise. My little ones tenders was over crispy. She settle for the fries.
Bathrooms were pretty clean. Service was good but their uniform was bit over the top.
I mean it's Kildare's. What was I really expecting? I have to admit, I was only there for a couple beers, an ill-advised shot of well vodka and one extremely drunken dance to a song I requested but now can't recall. It was the end of the night. We should have stayed at Backyard Ale House.
Should I return at another time of day for a bite, I'll update. This review is based solely on the nightlife experience.
After multiple recent visits that were sufficiently impressive, I feel that Kildare's has earned a higher rating from me, with special weight given for the excellent specials. Seriously, you can stuff yourself for less than $10. Including drinks. If you're small enough, including the tip!
- Tasty things: Summer burger, EU burger, Jameson glazed wings
- 1/2 price apps & drinks (happy hour Mon-Weds)
- $5 burgers on Tuesdays (choose one of 4 patties & 8 preparations!)
- Kayla was an excellent server who spent considerable time with our party, exhibited thorough menu knowledge and checked in regularly
The day and time you choose to visit Kildare's will have an impact on your experience - it can go from "frat party" to "forty plus" or the other way around in a matter of hours.
The menu was recently revamped and the intriguing new "bubble & squeak" appetizer (a potato & leek cake topped with a cucumber sour cream sauce) might have been good if it spent a few extra minutes frying. The new Reuben spring rolls (don't be scared) are a unique twist on one of my favorite classics. Crab dip was served in a smallish tasty pretzel roll, but was accompanied by grilled sliced pita.
Just to reiterate - happy hour is really a killer value. With the improved level of service and consistently good food (the usual pub items are pretty solid), Kildare's is once again on my radar.
There was something odd about the atmosphere here. Â You definitely walk in and think I am going to an Irish Pub. Â However, you end up in an atmosphere that is a little Irish Pub mixed with large format dining and mountain lodge appointments. Â It is well lit, which is not necessarily a bad thing, however, most Irish pubs are a bit more dimly illuminated. Â I'd give the venue two and a half stars. Â It is clean and nice just a bit off the Irish Pub mark somehow. Â Perhaps it will be better after a few thousand gallons of drinks have been spilled and absorbed into the floor and bar.
I had the pub burger with cheese. Â It was good, but not great. Â I thought the portion of fries was actually very small. Â Most places serve about twice as many. Â I'd give the food three stars. Â The bartender was my server and he did a good job of getting things to me a chatting me up a little bit. Â I'd give the service four stars.
Food isn't that good but the service we had was okay. The fried chicken sandwich I got tastes like it was marinating in grease for a day or two and the fries were burnt.
I had no idea this was pretty much a night club until the first time I went there. The only redeeming quality is the drinks aren't too expensive and the outside smoking patio is nice on a cool spring or summer night. Other than that, the place is full of dickhead college kids and popped collar jersey shore wannabes. They don't move out of your way when you try to walk by and a lot of them put of a wannabe tough guy vibe. Won't be going back.
Kildare's is an ok bar, nothing more than that. Â I believe they bill themselves as something like "an authentic Irish pub"...which they are not. Â A huge Guinness-like symbol out front, and Irish stew on the menu does not an authentic pub make. Â
It's...trendy. Â Too slick, too polished, too commercial to be authentic anything. Â Well lit, tons of weekly promotions; it strikes me as a bit gimmicky. Â "Hey, we're the most Irishy pub in the city full of Irish bars. Â You know we're the most authentic because we told you so." Â Not even the most Irish bar in Steamtown...try the Banshee on crazy-ass Irish music night. (Seriously, try it)
But then again, it doesn't mean you can't drink there. Â I wouldn't really choose to go there to eat, but it's suited fine for drinks with co-workers or meeting up on Parade Day. Â If you had made me choose between Kildare's and the now defunct Molly Brannigans (mercifully defunct) I'd have chosen Kildare's every time. Â
Anyway; it's ok to drink here, maybe I'd skip the meal.
Stopped here on a whim. Hungry tourist. Veg-friendly menu. High hopes.
Got the veggie boxty which is a huge stuffed potato cake concoction. Not memorable in the least.Green beans unadorned & undercooked.Mashed potato side, dense & institutional. (My ancestors fled Ireland to escape such bland fare).
Hubby's veggie 'cheesesteak' was a melange of chopped vegetables in a crusty roll. He was underwhelmed & {gasp} only ate half. Enjoyed the $2 Blue moon beer special, though.
Waited way too long at the end of the meal for the vanished waitress to clear our plates & bring the bill.
When your most vivid memory of a place is the bent fork you soldiered on with it's probably best not to return.
Kildare's has a great Express Lunch for business and other folks. You cannot beat it for $5.99. They make their own potatoe chips which is a plus for chip addicts. It's a classic American attempt at an Irish pub. The food is decent and the beer list is okay. I highly recommend the onion soup.
Review Source:This a part of a chain or 'authentic' Irish food/pubs.
The menu selection is a bit more than what I expected, but still very Irish. All of the typical Irish dished were on there. I Â only stopped by for lunch so I grabbed a sandwich and fries.
There is a bar area with some seating around it and some a larger dining area. It looks they also going for a sports bar feel with all the flat screen TV's they have hanging around.
The food is just OK and the beer selection is what you'd find at any other restaurant... They do carry Guinness ale but that's about the only Irish type beer you'd find.
Bottom line: If you hungry in Moosic and you're shopping or watching a movie there, stop in. It's nothing impressive but the place is clean and the service is decent.