McGonigal's Pub

Food was awesome here, its a smaller location upfront with tvs and a bar.  I didn't go to the back of the bar.  But we loved the service and food, we would be back.

Unimpressed.

The service left a lot to be desired.  The appetizers came out at the same time as our entrees -- I don't mean a minute before -- the exact same time.  

Our server came over and asked if that's what happened.  When we replied yes it had, he kind of rolled his eyes and walked away with out a word.

The pretzel and beer cheese was delicious.  I got Bangers and Mash.  The bangers were so hot I couldn't eat them right away, while the mash was so cold I didn't want to eat them at all.

The bread pudding wasn't very good, although I can't quite remember what it was I didn't like about it.

Will not return for dinner, but would go back for drinks and apps.

Overall, McGonigal's was an okay experience.  I would return, but I would hang out at the bar instead of coming for dinner and sitting at a table.   The atmosphere was great!  I've never been to Ireland, but I definitely didn't feel like I was sitting in Barrington, IL.

I ordered a reuben with no sauerkraut (just wasn't in the mood) and I was happy when our food was brought out and my sauerkraut-less reuben hadn't been mixed up with dad's which had the kraut on it.  Everyone's order was correct with all the correct condiments and garnishes, a big plus in my book.  The food was okay, about what you would expect.

The one minor drawback was that the service seemed to be slow.  We were in fairly early on a Wednesday evening (got there around 5:30) so there weren't a ton of patrons.  Most were by the bar.  The service felt slow for the day/time and our very polite waitress took a long time to grab our bill back and run our card.  One thing I really enjoyed about our waitress was her honesty.  My mom asked about the chicken pot pie, and she told her it was the only thing on the menu she wouldn't recommend.  I was happy to hear her honesty instead of my mom ending up with something she didn't like just to get a sale.

Check it out and stay for the drinks.