What a fun little place ... In a tiny plaza behing the Great Basque Bakery on the Square in historic Sonoma. Good selection of beers. Â Decent food. Â Particularly fun on their once a month open mic night. Â There's a regular schedule of live entertainment, BUT ... it's a tiny venue. Â No bloody need for a sound systom.
And Hey Yelp! Â I live in Sonoma County California, not in Parsonsfield wherever ! ? ? ?
A boring little pub off the Sonoma Square with mediocre food, high priced drinks, and sub standard service. Have been to Murphy's a few times. Options are limited on the square, gave it the benefit of the doubt visiting them again figuring they might have had a bad night. Not in the case of this pub, consistently bad. Most notable, be prepared for the slowest service you will ever receive in restaurant history. Don't say you haven't been warned!
Review Source:Sat. 04/13/2013 Â My family and I (4 generations in all, from Napa & Sacramento, 1 orig. from Sonoma) dined here for lunch and let me tell you, it was a miserable experience. From top to bottom it was ALL horrible - prices, food, service, seating, cleanliness.
Back in 2010 I had a wonderful lunch here. What happened???
On this day, there was a film festival going on in town and that contributed to the restaurant being overly busy, but still it doesn't take much extra time to at least act like you care about your guests. Only TWO waitresses for serving indoor areas and outdoor area. RIDICULOUS!
***NOTE to the owners and manager: If you want to know what a REALLY great Pub Dining experience should be like, then go to SEATTLE where it is done to perfection on the west coast. Try Owl'n Thistle &/or Kell's Irish Pub. You will truly benefit from their examples.
First timer at a pub! Whoo.
After wine tasting, my friends and I decided to end the day with a shot. We didn't know what we wanted, so we walked into Murphy's Irish Pub and was overwhelmed by their selection of liquor. The bartender was kind and made us a mixed shot which tasted a lot like coffee ice cream. Yum!
We came at the perfect time! Hardly anyone was there so we were assisted immediately. I thought the shot was going to cost us about $8-$10 a person, but it was only $5 per person! Nice :)
Definitely will come back when my alcohol tolerance is higher
Located in beautiful Downtown Sonoma this little gem is hidden between other shops kind of looks like an alley almost. It's really well decorated almost makes you feel like your in an actual irish pub in Ireland. The staff was really nice and sweet, they were pretty busy  but still accomadated me and my bf into a nice seating area. They were very well attentative and waited patientlu while me and my bf took forever to decide. (our first time here) So we decided to go for the onion rings for an appetizer and  OMG they were huge! The first bite I was in heaven they also had this really creamy dill sauce to go with it and of course I had a long island to go with it. By the time we were done, we were way too full to even look at any entrees! But I had to give 4 stars, the long island was slowly lacking it tasted like a water down coke and it's a little more on the pricer side as well. But the service was awesome and I mentioned about my long island and they replaced with a new one!! That was much better.
Good place to stop by if your in sonoma!
It was a lovely day on the square so we ate outside here. I didn't even go inside to see what the place looked like.
I had the bangers and mash - it was mediocre. My mom had the chicken pot pie and she really enjoyed it. She's very picky about crust and she liked theirs. and there wasn't enough food. So it's off to the bakery for a sweet treat......
I noticed a list of events they have there on a regular basis which I thought was pretty cool (even an evening for kniiters).
Murphy's - I love you!
Murphy's is always good, always comfortable, always tasty.
The manager is doing a great job- there seem to be a lot of employees but things seem to flow very well, even when it's very busy (which is most of the time!).
Thank you for the delicious fried foods, tasty beers, and quick service!
We wanted a locals hot spot for some dinner & our hotel told us about this place. They had some amazing Irish food to warm our bellies on that cold night! Irish beef stew, bangers & mash, corner beef & cabbage, and such. We then celebrated our new engagement with a flight of whiskey for my fiance and an Irish coffee for me. I would definitely come back again.
Review Source:This is a cool Irish pub down the alley off the main square. Our service was good. The have great live music and okay food (room for improvement!) Being a local we love that they allow well behaved dogs on the patio. Unfortunately they also allow smokers on the small patio and that sucks because you can't get away from it and the nasty smell drifts inside.
Review Source:We had an amazing time at Murphy's! We had our wedding rehearsal dinner there and the manager was more than accommodating! He allowed me to make up my own menu and I put items on the menu that they never had! The chef did a wonderful job with the croquettes and everything else that I asked for. My husbands family is from Ireland and it was their first time in the USA, which is why we wanted a little Irish culture and fun with our wedding and Murphy's added a great spice to everyone's experience. We had the private room upstairs with our own bartender, she was great with my guests. I also love the fact that Joe (the owner) asked me my budget and I got everything I wanted and more, plus amazing service for our party of 20.
My uncle, who lives in Petaluma (I'm in Sacramento) has gone back several times because he loves the burger and he is an incredibly picky eater, as are my husbands family and they also enjoyed the food. Joe was also willing to set up decorations and set the room up any way I wanted and accommodate us with music of our choice. Our only disappointment was that they didn't have Murphy's stout, but we enjoyed the 99 cent mimosas on Sunday on a few different occasions. Murphy's definitely brought us back to Ireland with it's authentic feel!
What a great Irish pub! Â No, seriously, this place was awesome. Â Fantastic bar tenders who actually talked us down in price on a whiskey recommendation, because they had a rare bottle in the house. Â And, he was right, it was fantastic; Jameson's Crested Ten. Â Fantastically smooth, and from what the bartender said, unavailable in the USA, unless brought back personally. Â
Incredibly delicious curry fries (chips) and a nice, broad range of beers on tap and in bottles. Â Fun and lively atmosphere with a healthy mix of locals and tourists.
If in Sonoma and looking for a drink (other than wine), I would start and end your night here.
Service was great! Â The location was perfect, off the street so it wasn't loud. Â We were able to eat outside and enjoy the sun! Â The 50/50 burger is worth trying, comes with a generous portion of fries. Â The calimari was chewy, but still good. Â Overall an excellent dining experience!
Review Source:Seemingly simple request at bar: Dry Vodka Martini.
Not so much.
Received a Grey Goose (no vermouth) shaken and served with ice cubes floating in the glass because "the strainer isn't working" Â
Also turns out that the bartender was the manager. Which worked out great because she served a drink with a heaping side serving of apathy.
So, here's a couple of links for you to get that complicated martini recipe straight:
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rachaelraymag.com%2Frecipes%2Fdry-vodka-martini&s=0f2102f3782c4a4a7554f5870eec07850cce4027624e46726a0ee77a9eb96fba" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.rachaelraymag…</a>
or
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drinksmixer.com%2Fdrink6569.html&s=2b9a661eaaa5c24066065ba70262e534de4d8894b566ef2ad804f078e88bb2c1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.drinksmixer.c…</a>
Good luck.
It's an Irish pub in the middle of wine country. Popular with locals and tourists alike. On Summer weekend nights, it may get a little busy with wedding parties coming in for a nightcap after partying all day.
Trivia night is on Wednesday nights. Open mic on the second Thursday of every month. Live music at least four times per week.
They do not serve Anheuser-Busch products, but their beer selection is broad enough for the discerning beer drinker.
Their menu has improved with the hiring of a new executive chef. However, don't expect five-star dining. This is great food for an Irish pub.
Unfortunately we don't have much good to say about the experience...
Burger meat was tasteless and over-cooked.
The buns were stale and too big for the burgers.
Fries were probably cooked in old oil...but they do have potential.
The mushroom burger was flavorful...but it too was on a stale bun.
The service was lack luster as well :-(
We do recommend the beers during happy hour and if you don't mind hangin' with the smoker crowd, the outside seating is pretty cool.
I am sooooo upset at Murphy's. We were so excited to eat here because of the cute outside seating, they get a star for that, but the service was horrible we ended up just paying for our appetizer and getting  up to leave. They wouldn't serve my boyfriend a beer, it could be bc we look like we're 18, but we aren't (check our ID's)... our server said it was because we were on a wine tour.  I told him to speak to the manager and that she would understand, but I guess she didn't. She also told me that we weren't going to get served anywhere else in Sonoma, whatever that means... But it was BS because we just walked right around the corner to this awesome Mexican cantina called La Casa where the bartender was super friendly and we got to enjoy beers with our delicious fish tacos :)
Review Source:Stopped in for an afternoon beverage while touring the square and found the bartend to be friendly and helpful. Â We started with a chardonnay and irish coffee to get the blood flowing and wanted to have something light, not the easiest task at a pub! Â The bartend recommended a half order of the fried pickles and we were pleasantly surprised with what was served. Â They had a variety of spears and rounds which were freshly fried, crispy, and hot! Â This was a great place to start the holiday weekend!
Review Source:I went to Murphy's for the Wednesday night trivia a little bit back. I ordered the steak. My friend said that it looked kind of weird, but it smelled alright so I ate it. I had never been so sick in my life after that! Obviously without going into details, the next couple of days were pretty rough. I don't know what was wrong with that food, but it was unacceptable that something like that was served.
I have also gone to Murphy's a few times previously over the years as well. I always thought that it was pretty mediocre at best, but I had never had an issue like this. In an area with so many quality bars/restaurants, I would suggest going to going to places like Swiss Hotel or El Dorado Kitchen for food/ quality bar drinks, or Olde Sonoma for beer (awesome place!)
Enjoyed a late afternoon/evening here on a recent Sunday with the hubby.
We came because we wanted to listen to the Irish jam session that they do here once a month. The music was great!
Can't comment on the beer or selection. My hubby said he had had most of them already, but there were a couple that were new to him. He had 3 pints over the course of our stay. (I'm expecting, so I stuck to my 7up.)
We had the chips with English curry sauce to start. Wasn't a huge fan of the sauce. Well, scratch that. The sauce was good. I just wasn't a fan of the fries/curry sauce combination. But the chips were good.
For our meal hubby had some sandwich. Can't remember what it was. But he liked it. I had the shepherd's pie. It was very tasty and served piping hot. It did seem to be a little greasy on the bottom. But other than that it was very very good.
We saved room for dessert and had the chocolate and Guinness creme brulee. Soooooo rich and chocolate-ty. And sooooo yummm yuummmmm yum! We also got the bread pudding which neither of us have had before. It was also very rich and filling and delicious.
We had some leftovers from my dinner (which were still good heated up the next day) and the bread pudding (which we forgot about and had to toss unfortunately).
The service was ok. Not great. There were some times that it was slow and we thought they forgot something that we asked for. But just before asking again it would be brought to us.
Other than that, the music was good. Atmosphere a ok. Might visit again for some pub grub someday when we're in the Sonoma neighborhood.
This is still my favorite place in town, when I go up to the wine country to visit. The little alley setting is very pleasant on warm afternoons. I like to sit outside in the courtyard. That I think is perhaps the best place to be. I have not yet been to any of the life music nights. I will have to go some time.
Yet of all the places I like to go while in Sonoma, Murphy's is my favorite. Last time I was there I tried some of the Irish stew.
Figured we'd hit up a pub on our stay in wine country. Saw a sign for a band at 8 and thought "why not!".
As we get there, the band is playing in a back room with tables, no seating (it was a packed Saturday night), and no bar. The actual bar was in another room, with no way to see or hear the band. Didn't make much sense.
In addition to getting ignored by the bartenders, I overheard the couple next to us on the phone with their drug dealer and was arranging a meeting outside.
Fantastic.
Life local to Sonoma, I used to only really come here for exotic whiskeys and the awesome popcorn chicken... Oh and the occasional shepherds pie ans mushy peas... With chips.. Yeah!
However I just had the dark chocolate w / Guinness crème brûlée... And I have to say that with all the crème brûlée I have eaten in my lifetime.. This one is simply out of this world. I really think it should be called something else though because it is so tasty that it is making all other crème brûlée look(taste) bad.
*Update
Since the change of ownership, this place has gone seriously downhill... Avoid the food here at all costs...
Comhghairdeas Murphy's!!
Remodeled. Revitalized. Rejuvinated.
Murphy's was always a go-to because of the complete lackidaisical, lazy casual feeling - but not for the food. It was standard, sometimes bland basic pub food.
No longer.
The menu is exciting and new - some old favorites - but stepped up to culinary greatness instead of it's past passable history. Everything is fresh and flavorful, perfectly tasty and truly, a delight in not just Irish fare or pub food, but for any sort of standard.
Totally impressive were the inspired take on the old popcorn chicken, the new and improved are fried buttermilk chicken skewers with perfectly delicious honey mustard that you may just want to drink - depending on how many vodka gimlets you order...and a hot and spicy bbq dipping sauce.
Crispy gnocchi is NOT to be missed, accompalined by fresh peas, shredded parmesan and bright asparagus, these almost chewy oversized potato lumps are lucious.
My bibb salad was simple, but great with big chinks of crispy bacon, sliced tomato and avocado and peppered creamy dressing on the side.
Sitting outside is no longer a showdown with the sun, new metal leuvered overhang with heated lamps makes the outside seating a much desired alternative to interior. Speaking of, the bar has bene completey rearraged to a guest friendly and inviting space. The outter room off of the patio is also opened up and much more usable and cozy.
Murphy's, you have outdone yourself. I will not only go just for the drinks these days, this is oh so casual fine dining at its complete finest.
I don't think I'd ever order food @ Murphy's again, tho I would certainly come for a beer, especially when you can sit outside on a warm Sonoma day or evening.
Today I had a very unsatisfying order of crab....it was overcooked AND had a weird flavor of propane, as if maybe it had been heated up by putting it right on the range top? I dunno. My dining companion had a seafood pot pie which was ok, but her fries were large and limp.
We stumbled upon Murphys this week while escaping to Sonoma to visit friends. So down this little alley, we saw Murphy's Irish Pub tucked away. Â Now every town has an "Irish Pub", so I was a little skeptical...I'm Irish (yes, I have citizenship!!), so I think I can be a little critical if I want to!
However, one glance at the menu and I knew that we were A Ok. Â Who has colcannon anymore?? Great menu - real irish beers. real irish food. Â But the real test is the Fish and Chips. Â These were the BEST fish and chips I've had outside of Dublin in years! GO MURPHYS!
The staff was really friendly and laid back. Â Great way to start off our Sonoma weekend!
We loved Murphy's on Sunday afternoon. The staff was incredibly friendly and update, despite the Memorial Day hustle; they served great beers, and yummy Tomales Bay oysters, lightly steamed on the grill and the splashed with BBQ sauce or garlic/mozzarella.
Music was great, sun was out in the courtyard, it was a perfect close to the day. Will definately come again.
Was looking for a place to hang in Sonoma because apparently this town shuts down early ... all that wine! Guess everyone went back to their little B&B's to sleep?
Place has ALOT of beers ... friendly staff & it seems like lots of regulars (maybe all the locals come here? or hang in the square? remember those high school days just hanging out ... I can see why the youth get in trouble in towns like this ... ain't nothing to do!)
They have live music here too but we missed it .. although they had it playing on the speakes in the main pub - thought it was the radio - turns out live music next door - if we had known we would have been over there. Oh well...next time!
I would go back - also because nothing else happening in Sonoma!
Try the corn beef sandwich here w/ cheese, cabbage on rye bread. Â Â Â Â Â It sounds like something that you could make at home , but you probably dont. So get it because it's super yummy. The coleslaw was the side that I ordered and it was pretty good. My Fiance had the habenero cheese steak sandwich w/ fries which he thought was just ok but agreed my sandwich was kickass. We will be back for more cornbeef.
Also, if you sit outside beware of the people smoking across the way at the coffee and tobacco shop. You can definetley smell it, I personally dont mind but others might.
This pub is nestled way back in a little shopping square in the heart of downtown sonoma, and for being in such a cute, quaint little area, I was expecting slightly better food.....
Our onion rings, however, were so fatty and delicious and perfectly made!! We saw an order sitting on a table over yonder and we all decided we had to order some to split, and I kinda wish my whole entree had been those onion rings even if they would have clogged up an artery or two!! Perfectly bad for you, but great for your taste buds!!!!
My meal however was just okay.....hence me wishing we had ordered more onion rings to go around!! I got one of their chicken sandwich specials of the day and it just didn't have enough flavor really for me....i just felt like I was wasting space I could have used for onion rings!! And I got cole slaw on the side which had even less flavor ha ha But my friend's Spinach Salad was really big and everything was pretty fresh and I wish I had gotten a salad to offset those tasty, finger licking onion rings ha ha
so did you catch that the onion rings are the reason to go here? i hope so!
After an afternoon of wine tasting, we were in need of some serious grub to soak up the wine in our bellies. Â So, we came here to Murphy's.
It is set on an alleyway just off the Square. Â A nice setting and a nice place to sit outside and eat in the Sonoma sunshine. Â
We started with the popcorn chicken. Â The order that arrived was enough to feed a family of 8! Â Huge. Â Our burgers, albeit a bit overcooked, were pretty good too. Â But, the buns they came on were too big. Â The fries needed a lot of salt and looked better than they actually were.
Down a small brink alley, on the left side (coming from the street, at least), is this quaint Irish pub and restaurant. Â Much like the rest of Sonoma's downtown, Murphy's is a nice little place that falls in line with the tourist-y essence that oozes from every part of the downtown square.
Relatively busy on the Sunday night I went, the staff was quick and courteous. Â It was initially a bit vague as to whether you just seat yourself or wait to be seated, but after we seated ourselves (as we found out we were supposed to do), there weren't any further confusions.
The menu lists plenty of old Irish favorites including cabbage and corned beef, shepherd's pie, bangers and mash, and other unhealthy delights that go well with beer. Â The food was brought out quickly after we ordered.
While it was Irish food, so I wasn't expecting too much, I felt the food was a bit bland. Â The shepherd's pie that I ordered was nicely presented, but not very exciting and lacking any real flavor-y punch. Â The cole slaw that came as a side was similarly unexciting. Â I know, I shouldn't expect a compendium of flavors from any foods coming from the British Isles, I should seek out the cuisine of the places the British Empire once held for that, but some poignant tastes would have been nice.
Also, despite the fact that I had no problems with the beer, it was a bit expensive at $5.50 for a glass of Boddingtons or Guinness.
Decent in its quaintness, but otherwise decidedly average.
Sometimes weddings do end a bit early here in the US. So what do you do if you're stranded in Sonoma with a bunch of out of towners, all still in full knowledge of their name and all still able to speak in coherent sentences?
The groom actually suggested Murphy's before he and his new wife disappeared to greener pastures, so we walked over there with a dozen people, groomsmen, bridesmaids, all in full regalia. Turned out that they had live music inside and not really that much space available yet, so we settled for the outdoor patio area.
This being November, it was a bit coldish around 10:30pm, but the excitement level was raised after a bridesmaid spilled her full pint of beer on me - hooray for black suits. She disappeared inside, slightly embarrassed, and probably cold, too. The staff was cool with the whole thing and brought more beer.
Eventually, we all ended up inside. So did yet another wedding party, this time with the couple included. Some of them got mightily interested in some of our bridesmaids while one of our guys who only could move in slow-motion started deep and serious conversations with random people from their party. And the staff brought more beer.
By midnight, they asked us whether we wanted to pay or stay. Well, this being a Saturday night, we wondered about the happening factor of Sonoma and said we wanted to stay - so they kept the place open. The other wedding party was from Los Angeles, as we were told and the amount of blondes with somewhat fake body parts underlined, but they started to trickle out of the door - without any of our bridesmaids, despite them trying really hard. Some Jaegermeister shots? Sure.
In the end, it was four of us: a friend, two bridesmaids and I. And here's how Murphy's Irish Pub loses a star: they brought us a bill just south of $100 despite the fact that people who left earlier left some money for them, too. Two of us decided that they should at least finish all unfinished drinks still on the table, even though some things are better left unfinished.
On our way out, we noticed two people from the Los Angeles party still on the premises. The groom, head in his hands, miserable and not moving. The bride, standing next to him, helplessly. And probably thinking that she would have to unbutton her wedding dress herself that night.
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