O'Leary's Restaurant

After watching 5 year olds play soccer, one gets hungry. Yes, apparently there is a correlation between the two. Studies have shown this.

We were right around the corner from this joint, so the drive wasn't too far. It was a Saturday afternoon, and to my surprise, the place wasn't insanely crowded. The big group of us (what can I say, I come from a big family) were seated in the room across from the bar that is set up for larger groups.

Like I said, we were hungry, so we went with the ever famous fried pickles. Yep. That is right. The often imitated, never duplicated, friend pickles.

As soon as the waitress placed them on the table, you would have thought some of these people hadn't eaten in days. Seriously, if you weren't careful, you would have lost a hand. Or finger. Or eye.

The O'leary burger is the size of your head. Seriously. The kids mac and cheese worked well for the kiddos. They pretty much inhaled it before it cooled off. The pickle burger, is yum! Remember those friend pickles, yep, they put those bad boys on the burger. It is a match made in heaven. No, really, it is. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

It has my seal of approval.

Sub-standard service is typical.

I've been to O'Leary's several times.  While the food can be good, the service is always poor.  It seems the wait staff concentrates/socializes with the "regulars" at the expense of newbies (which could be future regulars).

The fried pickles here are awesome, but they aren't the only place in town that carries them so it is hardly a reason to return.

On my last visit, a Thursday evening (4/11/2013) around 7:00 PM the place was not at all crowded which was surprising since there was a hockey game that evening.  Many empty tables but a sign posted saying wait to be seated.  And we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  A bus boy was clearing a table near us but did nothing to get us seated.  A few employees were gathered around the bar socializing.  Yet, we were waiting to be seated.  And we were seated...back in our car on the way to another pub for better food and great service.

O'Leary's is a solid 3 1/2 stars....I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the menu, and the crowd this place attracts.  One complaint is no ginger-ale---helllloooo have the bartenders never heard of a big ginger?  I like Jameson and Ginger...but it seems Ginger-ale is hard to come by in the Lou...I went ahead and let them put some coke on top of it and it was okay---I like the beers on tap...I ordered a black and tan and for some reason it didn't float like it should so it ended up just being brown.  Also being there on St Pat's----I got served in plastic....I really dislike that but I'll let that slide for the holiday.  I opted for the fish sandwich and my hubby got the fish dinner...I should have went with the dinner because he got two big pieces of fish and I got two little chunks of fish....I went home and was hungry.  I left most of my fries on the plate they were nothing special....I do think they were coated with some type of batter but lacked flavor.  I like malt vinegar with my fish and chips and didn't see that anywhere...I didn't ask either because well it was wall-to-wall people....Overall---I would frequent this bar again AND I would even eat there again....not too shabby...