McLadden's Irish Publick House

Had a good time working with these guys on my first Dishcrawl.

I'm very conflicted on McLadden's. I want to love it, I really do. But I just don't.

As far as the food part of the equation goes, I can't say I've tried it. The prices and menu seem to be suited to a larger establishment with a more upscale ambiance. Dining feels like an afterthought due to the fact that there are only a handful of very small booths along the wall and then several large tables in the middle.

Moving on to the bar aspect - you can't argue with the variety. Over a hundred beers and a massive scotch collection as well. Unfortunately that variety proved too much for one bartender I dealt with; when asked after I finished my Ommegang BPA what other Belgian or Belgian-style beers she would recommend, she said there weren't any others and recommended something completely different. I would've been fine if she had just said she wasn't sure, but don't tell me you don't have any when you're within a couple feet of taps for Allagash and Blue Moon. If you want a list of what's on tap, expect to spend a couple minutes huddled around the crowded area with the TV that rotates through the menu. It's not a huge inconvenience, but it is annoying if you just want to sit down and pick a beer.

Speaking of sitting down, the seating is interesting here. The bar itself is huge and quite nice, so that's a plus. But as I mentioned before, the booths are too small and few in number, and the tables are too large and few. If you've got a group of a few friends, you're not going to be able to just get your own place to sit; you're going to be sharing a table with others. For me at least, I prefer to have tables as an option for when you just want to relax with your group, and the bar for when you want to talk to new people.

I plan to keep giving McLadden's a try solely due to their expansive draught list, but I don't love it yet. Here's to hoping that changes.

I joined the Founders' Club at McLadden's along with my husband and two very good friends.  This has become our go-to place.  The staff is incredibly knowledgeable; they miraculously seem to know almost every nuance of  every one of the 105 beers that happen to be on tap on any given day.  They are friendly, efficient and on the ball... can't say enough good about them.  Beer selection, obviously, is incredible.  We've sampled many of the food items, and all have been very good.  The only negative about the menu would be that it is fairly limited.  Would love to see some soups, chili, fresh sandwiches and vegetarian options.  There also seems to be an issue with the big screen not being synced with the POS system and <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbeermenus.com&s=891a066edccadbf54f84df053544d5b5e79ac5f365385f521d2279d81e9915de" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://beermenus.com</a>, but the staff always knows the deal, so we work around it.  

If you haven't tried McLadden's, you absolutely must today!  Cheers!