It is a sports bar in a small hotel in the burbs.
Think I got a cheese steak, which was unimpressive and not cheap.
Was okay, and my server was nice, but felt not need to eat here again.
Decent place if in a rush or staying in the hotel. Â Think more of a drinking
place for sales people on business.
As most of the reviews mention, this place isn't bad for a sports bar in the basement of a Holiday Inn. Â I dropped by on a Tuesday night after hitting the Sidebar in Silver Spring on my way to my hotel (relocating here soonish). Â As soon as you walked into the lobby of the hotel you could hear the noise coming from the pub downstairs. Â Ample seating, ample crowd but definitely catering to the hotel crowd. Â Lot's of suits, shots and men hiding their wedding bands.
Coming from living near Pittsburgh it was nice to see Yuengling on tap, but beyond that the only exotic beer on the draft list was Guinness. Â The bartender was attentive, but overall the whole experience lacked luster.
The only real selling point was I could walk there from the Wyndham.
Since this is an Irish sports bar.. Thought we'd go on St Pattys day. Â Their website advertised "ALL DAY" specials. Â So gathered my staff and off we went, around 1:00 pm to enjoy the all day specials. Â But wait what? They don't OPEN till 4;00 PM. Â So there were no ALL DAY specials. Â Just specials between 4-8. Â Huh? Â Okay call me crazy, but why would they put that on their website? Â So we left went someplace else. Â But did go back once for a happy hour. Â it's okay for a basement bar. Â Prices were reasonable. Not too crowded either,
Review Source:Fairly decent joint considering it's in a Holiday Inn basement. The beers and food are reasonably priced and the food is probably on par or better than most bars in hotels.
They had a fairly snazzy little spread for free consumption during the super bowl, so that was definitely a thing.
I would only venture to say that the wait staff could be a little more welcoming.
O'Malley's is close to the house and a good place to enjoy a beer. I love the staff here! The food is always good (better than most bar food). Â When they have a DJ, don't expect much. It's the most random, strange mix of music ever put together. That said, the staff more than makes up for the awkward DJ. They're all really nice and super attentive. This is a great place to enjoy a game and a beer without a huge, loud crowd. I like that it's a good mix of locals and business travelers. Don't go looking for an authentic Irish Pub. This is located in the Holiday Inn and there is only one actual Irish Beer on tap.
Review Source:Getting called away on business to somewhere like Los Angeles or Philadelphia is one thing, but going to a city you've never heard of is another. Â That's what I had to do this week and I wound up in the Holiday Inn in Gaithersburg, MD. Â Unlike most hotels I've been to, the area around here is not a wasteland of highways and grass. Â It's actually got quite a few things including a deli, a JC Penny's and so on. Â However, most of what I saw was closed so I opted to check out O'Malley's Pub inside the hotel.
Tucked away on the first floor (which is more of a lower level in this hotel), O'Malley's has an L shaped bar in on one side, several tall tables with bar stools and four booths that could easily accomodate 2-3 people on each side. Â It was clean, pleasant and welcoming in its appearance with dark wood spread throughout. Â There was no weird "bar smell" at all, indeed it smelled more like a typical restaurant than anything else.
Taking a seat at a booth, the bartender/waiter for the evening was right on point, taking a quick drink order almost as soon as I sat down. Â By the time he came back, I was ready to order. Â The menu had the usual bar food assortment of wings, mozzarella sticks etc. but I wanted some "real" food so I went with an herb roasted chicken with a side salad. Â
I didn't quite know what to expect, but whatever they were they weren't high. Â Outside of finger food, my expectations of bar food are fairly low. Â What I got however astounded me.
When the food arrived, the side salad was the whole package. Â Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, crutons, cheese on top with some nice ranch dressing. Â The veggies were crisp and fresh, no mushiness there.
The chicken dish was the surprise. Â When it arrived, there sat a side of wonderfully steamed veggies including carrots and broccoli, a big baked potato (with butter and sour cream) and *half* a chicken! Â All that for $14. Â I was happy to dig in and find the veggies were steamed well but still had a bite to them. Â The potato was just right as well. Â The main feature was the chicken, which had amazing flavor. Â I say this in the context of not expecting a hotel bar's chicken to have any flavor at all. Â The skin was also crisp and the wing tip was nice and crunchy the way I like them. Â One bad part is that some of the breast meat was a bit tough. Â Not dry, just chewier than I would have preferred. Â Still, that did not negate the overall coolness of the dish.
My only complaint, and believe me, it's a minor one, was the noise level. Â The place wasn't even full but there were five people at the bar having a SERIOUS argument over the Mets and the team's history. Â I was trying to read as I ate and I couldn't concentrate at all, but hey, it IS a sports bar so I think that should be expected.
There are other restaurants in the area, but if you are tired, it's late and you just want a quick bite, O'Malley's is worth a look.