O'Rourke's

The staff is very friendly and it's a nice place for locals and visitors alike, but the food's not great and the drink prices aren't overly good.  It's a basic pub with the standard menu (drinks and food alike) but what makes O'Rourke's special is that the staff is always attentive and friendly and they chat you up without being annoying.  Every time I go, they're very nice and good with the service.  O'Rourkes also has a great patio that you can enjoy when the weather's good!

When looking at options for a quite drink in Pawtuxet Village, O'Rourke's is probably my favorite spot.

We stopped here for lunch on a rainy Saturday afternoon.  Note that in poor weather you have to enter using the side door instead of the front. People were sitting at all sections of the bar and at one table in the back, but it was definitely not packed.  The crowd at 1 pm was older and it seemed to be mostly regulars and neighborhood locals who all knew each other.

The food portions were hefty.  I had the clam chowder and an order of potato skins.  The size of the clam chowder was standard, but the potato skins had 6 gigantic potato skins!  They were nice and crispy with a good amount of bacon.  My only complaint is that they had too much cheese on them.  (But they still were great!)  My husband had the shaved steak sandwich.  It was slightly overcooked, but it was very tasty.  The portions was huge and he was unable to finish his plate.

Overall, it was a nice place for lunch and we'll probably be back in the future.

O'Rourke's has some terrific features.  Its got a great location along the Pawtuxet River estuary and right at the Cranston border, seconds from the heart of Pawtuxet Village.  And its a nice looking place, with decent drink selections, nice bartenders, and good pub food.  The burger, fish and chips and the Irish Nachos are terrific.  And if you have a private party, the upstairs is very nice.  I'd love to see them open that full time as a lounge.

Unfortunately, there's no parking, the food options are limited to mostly fried foods, the menu haven't really changed in the years its been open, and the waitresses are a little flighty.  

So while I enjoy it, I don't go back nearly as often as I might with some minor tweaks on their part.