I have wasted too many hours of my life in this "Irish Pub". It's basically a place where dumb business people, stranded travelers and suckers go to eat standard pub food that is overpriced and underwhelming.
I was unfortunately a stranded traveler on Monday and instead of standing out in the blistering heat where the streets reeked of steaming garbage, I decided to suck it up and head into Slainte.
Oh? You want a drink? I hope you have 25 minutes to wait for it. Oh, you want some Whiz Fries? I hope you like fries that are still frozen in the middle.
This place has two redeeming qualities. Clean bathrooms and proximity to 30th Street Station.
Came here purely out of convenience, since it's so close to the 30th Street Station and the Megabus pick-up/drop-off.
Food was completely fine, not extraordinary, but pretty good for bar food, and the bar/restaurant itself was very clean.
Unfortunately the waitress we had seemed to be new and super forgetful (i.e. left my friend's bloody mary sitting at the bar for like 10 minutes in plain sight after the bartender mixed it), and the bathrooms were in terrible condition (I remember some duct tape on one of the toilets).
Pros: Â Good lunch spot with a nice beer selection. Â reasonable prices. Â good happy hour specials.
Cons: Waitresses rarely know what is on tap. Â They charge $2 to substitute the fries for sweet potato fries. Â Stick with the standard bar food, burgers and appetizers. Â Ordered a wrap and first I noticed it was missing the ranch dressing. Â Told the waitress and she brought me a side of dressing. Â Was also not on a spinach flavored tortilla as advertised. Â Took a bite and realized it was missing the avocado. Â Complained again and she offered to make a new one or bring avocado on the side. Â I opted for the second since the rest of the people I was with were almost finished their lunches. Â She also said she could give us a discount. Â Waitress finally came back with a side of guacamole?!?!?!?! Â Definitely not what I ordered. Â Too tired to complain again. Â The bill came and there was a whopping $3?! discount.
Good food at reasonable prices. I'm surprised at how good it was, given the proximity to the train station. Bartender was great. Very prompt and courteous. Food came out exactly how I wanted it, and fairly quickly too. Good beer selection. Plenty of whiskeys and other liquors to choose from.
Review Source:Went here before a music show at The World Cafe which is five minute walk away. They had a $5 burger special that began at 7PM, so we ordered the sweet potato fries to stave off our hunger before our waitress could put in our burger order. They were good. The angus burgers were also good and we saved about $3 on each of them. They've got a really good selection of esoteric beers. Service was perfect on a slow Monday night. This place must get really noisy when it gets busy.
Review Source:If Slainte was closer to Penn, I would come here all the time! The first time I tried their grill was for University City Dining Days in 2011. They had delicious food, good portions, great prices, and excellent service. What more can you ask for?
The second time, I came here with family for an early dinner. I wasn't feeling very hungry so I ordered the chicken pot pie. It was larger than normal pot pies, and it was very hearty and filling. I couldn't finish it and asked for it to go. The waiter looks at me funny but I'm so glad I took it home. It was just as good after I heated it up later that night. I hope it's the same when I make my rounds before heading back to NYC!
Take note Kildare's: THIS is how you do an Irish Pub. Take note Bridgewater: this is how you do a PUB!
As a frequent commuter into University City I have, on many occaisions, gotten to 30th street, looked at the schedule and gone "AN HOUR WAIT!?! What am I going to do?"
That used to be Bridgewater. When I got tired of paying $10 for a single beer (after tip, admittedly) I decided to try Slainte, and I'm glad I did. The interior is gorgeous and inviting, with tons of dark wood and a station at the front for peanuts for those who want to snack on something while you throw a few back. Drink prices are extremely reasonable and they have a great happy hour (cheap apps and dollar off drinks)
If you work in University City or frequent 30th st station, this is a great location! They have awesome happy hour specials. The food's pretty good, considering it's standard bar fair. I've gone here for lunch as well, and the waitress was great--she brought our check out with the food as she knew we were on a time constraint. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the neighborhood!
Review Source:Probably my favorite spot near 30th St. Station. I have been here about 3 times and have always had a good experience with the quality of the food, the promptness of the service, and drink selection. The Roast Beef sandwich with Au Jus is my personal favorite. Served on a fresh roll with a slice of fresh provolone, this sandwich will satisfy your hunger pangs. The interior is pretty neat, some tables have large, vintage couches for seating. When we dine here, we usually are in a hurry. Thankfully, the servers here are very accomodating.
Review Source:Cheap food and drinks, and everything is really good for bar food. Â It's a little off the beaten path, but its a great place to stop if you going to catch a train at 30th street. Â If you tell them ahead of time that you are going to catch a train, you can usually get in and out in about 30 minutes, which is pretty quick in my opinion. Â
The hickory burger is my personal favorite, and I would even go so far as to say it is one of the better burgers in town (excluding the gourmet burger places). Â If you go during the University City restaurant week, you get a great deal.
Let's start off with the worst service I have experienced in Philadelphia, thus far. Â Waitress took 10 minutes to get to my table for the first time, another 8 minutes to bring my first diet coke, etc. Â I did not get better from there. Â The host seemed to be either doing crosswords or something else at the front desk the whole time (my table was 5 feet from there and he offered no help!)
I ordered the french onion soup and that was good at a good price. Â I ordered the turkey dinner. Â Now, I LOVE turkey, could eat it everyday, etc. Â My plate arrived (after a very long wait and no check in from the waitress) and it looked like a pile of slop like you'd see the troops on MASH getting in the old days. Â The turkey was tasteless, the mashed potatoes were unrecognizable and just a pile of brown stuff. Â I have pretty plain taste so it does not take much to impress me. Â This food was fit for a dog, at best!
Between the absentee waitress, crosswording host, and slop for food ... I will not be heading back here and I recommend you not even waste your time either. Â I should mention this was a Tuesday night so no excuse.
A group of us stumbled upon this cool pub after a show at World Cafe Live (it's right up the road). Slainte has a decent menu (both drinks and food) and the Irish pub atmosphere I was expecting. Their cheese fries were good and I liked the free shelled peanuts available for the taking. They have lots of TV's too so I imagine it would be fun to watch games here.
Review Source:I love this place. I used to come here a lot when I was in college at Drexel and now I make my way back with friends in that area. I feel like it is under-appreciated. Good beer selection, great specials, awesome bartenders. I really enjoy the mountain salad--fresh and delicious, and the burgers are good too. They sometimes have live music, which is fun whenever I happen to be there on that night. It's not a place that I would go out of the way for, but Slainte never lets me down when I am looking for a good meal and a low-key atmosphere. Free peanuts and darts :)
Review Source:Love this place. food is very good, Bangers (sausage) and mash is
awesome. Beer selection is decent, especially if you like the English
and Irish stuff. The inside is nice, dark like a real pub. The bartenders
are all nice as well. Sometimes it gets over crowded with the Irish drunks,
(redundant) but thats to be expected. Cool place.
A good option in three situations.
1) You are thinking about going to New Deck but would like a better beer selection, better food, and friendlier clientele
2) You are waiting for a train at 30th Street and have enough time to grab a beer or sandwich
3) You want to hang out, have a good time, and watch some sports.
The downside of Slainte is the location, but that is also what makes it great. Â It really is the only option within a few blocks of where it is. Â It's a classic Irish Pub with an impressive bar. Â It looks like it was pretty expensive to build this place.
The food is pub grub but better than most places you'll go to. Â
As someone else mentioned the bathrooms are also clean which is a big thumbs up.
Cliiiiche. I do love irish theme pubs, but this reminded me of the Olive garden of irish-themed pubs. Â No real standouts, the same kitchy things stuck around the place as most other places like it.
The only benefit I can see is that it is the fastest place to get a drink prior to getting on a train.
First and foremost- The bathrooms are cleanest bathrooms I've seen in a bar! Major points for that.
My food and beverage experiences at Slainte have  always been great. Awesome beer selection. Food is pretty tasty- better than your usual bar food. Staff is always friendly and welcoming and you can't beat the location. Perfect for pre/post World Cafe Live shows drinks and eats or when you have time to kill before/after catching a train.
Lovely service, average or slightly-above-average food. Â My highly-recommended Salmon BLT was small and dry, but the cheese fries were pretty darn tasty. Â This is a good choice if you need to stick close to the train station and you're not feeling too picky, or if you just want a laid-back place to meet up with friends for a few pints and some pub food. Â If you accept it for what it is, it's actually pretty good (hence the four star rating). Â If you're looking for innovative gastropub cuisine, head elsewhere.
PS: Pronounce it slahn-jah, not slaint.
This is pretty much our work happy hour spot since it's right across the street, and easily accessible to 30th street station. Missed the train? Stop by Slainte. Have a craving for fries? Stop by Slainte. The place reminds me of a classier Kildare's. At lunch time, you'll find construction workers to business professionals. Beware: can be a lengthy wait during the hours of 11:30 - 1:30 pm.
This place has a pretty decent draft list that changes with the season. And a major plus for me - Mad Elf in the winter time! :)
My coworkers and I came here for a birthday gathering on a Friday night, and I was happily surprised at how everything turned out.
Slainte looks a little skeezy from the outside (it's opposite from 30th Street Station, a bit of a rough corner with all the hustle and bustle there) but on the inside, cozy Irish decor mingled with the typical pub fluorescent trimmings and sports bar atmosphere. Â Plus, CLEAN. Â Omg, was it ever clean, from the seats to the tables to even the bathrooms. Â I didn't have a problem putting my elbows on the table, that's for sure!
They have a wide beer selection and a pretty decent food menu. Â Though the food itself wasn't outstanding, it's a step above the usual deep-fry meals you find in lesser places. Â Definitely get the shepherd's pie with the mixed vegetables on the side! Â Our server was patient with our huge crowd and kept coming back to make sure we were settling in fine.
All in all, a great place to come and celebrate after a long day at work, without none of the grubbiness of a lowkey sports bar and all of the fun. Â Whee!
LISTEN:
Food's ok. Drinks are ok. Prices are ok.
Bathroom?
FREAKIN' SPOTLESS. Pristine, immaculate, spick-and-span, remarkable, exceptional, extraordinary, amazing, astonishing, astounding, sensational, stunning, incredible, unbelievable; marvelous, magnificent, wonderful, outstanding, singular, out of the ordinary, unusual, unprecedented; informal fantastic, terrific, tremendous, stupendous, awesome, out of this world; literally wondrous.
Yes, I'm finished with the thesaurus now. I have NEVER been to a food establishment with a bathroom this clean.
So help me God, but I felt tempted to put the cheeks directly on the seat. I'm almost ashamed that I didn't.
I hope the same janitorial crew works in both the restrooms and kitchens. I want to hire them for my house.
A bit out of the way for a normal bite, but this Irish sister of New Deck Tavern definitely deserves some more attention. Â The decor in the place is eye catching with bottles, signs, and trimmings that really take you back in time and across the pond. Â It was nice and dim when we went, so the place seemed cosy despite the large size of the restaurant. Â
The beer selection is also great. Â They have classic mixes like Snake Bite and Shanty, but they also do some other nice beer duos like cider and Guinness. Â Now you don't have to pick which beer you want, you can have them both!
The food is very reasonable. Â The entrees and salads are good sizes, almost all under $15. Â Our fish and chips was light and flaky, and came with a delicious chunky tarter sauce. Â The mountain salad had sweet, ripe strawberries and grapes, despite the less than summery season. Â
This is definitely a step above your average, run of the mill Irish pub and I will definitely be going back soon. Â Slainte!
I returned to Slainte today for a business lunch with about 10-12 collegues - and I have to say my opinion has improved. Â For "bar food" my lunch was surprisingly fresh and wonderful.
Our server was lovely, friendly, courteous and very efficient. Â (Having my firm pick up the tab never hurts!)
I ordered the grilled salmon salad ($12.99) and they added extra cucumbers upon my request, Â The fish was delicious and grilled to perfection - not to overdone nor dry.
The apps we shared included the aforementioned greasy-heavy-cheesesteak springrolls - that the guys seemed to love (I am not a big fan, I guess) and very tasty Chicken Quesadillas. Â Plus a generous Hummus plate.
Good job, Slainte! Â A welcome addition to this nabe!
P.S. Â My colleagues ordered the French Onion and "Loaded Baked Potato" soups and both looked excellent.
Things this place is good for:
-Johnny Byrne's Monday Night Irish Jam sessions
-Happy hour
-Beers before a train or Bolt bus
Things this place is not so good for:
-Lunch
As long as you stick to what's good and avoid what's bad, you can have a great time here. But honestly, I am not a huge fan of the food here; but the happy hour snacks are tolerable when they are super cheap. And its super convenient location make it a no-brainer.
stopped in here to grab a drink with an old friend. Â Live music, friendly bartenders. Â Cheap drinks, and pretty clean for an irish pub.
open later than world cafe live, and felt pretty safe.
two asian men, two black men, a white boy from ATL, and an asian jew in five inch heels walk into a bar playing Rob Thomas music...
there's not punch line. Â That sums up my evening ;)
Was just in Slainte the other day for Happy Hour and had a pretty decent time. My only complaint is really that 1 dollar off draft and some 5 dollar apps is a kind of stringent happy hour menu so I think if they really tried something greater could be taking place. Other than that my waitress was nice, my food was good and my beer was cold (except you always put orange with a Blue Moon, I mean is that something you should really have to ask for ever? really?)
The bar definitely is an interesting mix of clinetele, you have the Drexel kids who don't want to walk all the way to New Deck or are fearing it will be overpacked, you have the commuters on their way to the train from work or play, and then you have the randoms, and what in the work is that guy wearing. Certainly a good place for some wings and people watching.
I am on the fence about Slainte. It seems sometimes I go there and the service is great, sometimes it's lousy. The food is pretty solid, though there was the occasional sweetpotato fry that was undercooked. Their prices are fairly expensive, owing to it's location, I would imagine, but you can get a good amount of food for under 10 bucks if you're trying to be frugal. So we're going with three stars. A little bump up because they have Harpoon IPA on tap.
But all in all, Slainte is just fine, like when someone you don't know very well asks how your day is going. But when there are so many places you could go to that are fine like when you see someone smokin' walk down the street and and say to your self, damn you're lookin fiiiiiiiine, plain old fine just isn't as exciting.
CROOKS!!! Â Went to Slainte for happy hour. Â There were happy hour specials advertised multiple places on menus and printed daily special sheets. Â Apparently the servers were not aware of these specials. Â From 5-7 there were $5 appetizers, $1 off all drafts, and I think $0.50 off wine. Â Also all day on Wednesday there was a special drink for $3.50 for some black cherry Jim Beam. Â
Got the bill and no happy hour prices were used. Â Everything was full price from apps to drinks. Â Asked the server to fix the bill because of this error, comes back with $3.50 off the tab - when at least $12 should've been taken off and had already run the tab on my friend's card. Â
Really wanted to like this place because of its convenience, but will never go back when someone literally steals money from me.
Went here before a show we were seeing in the University City area. Â It is just across the street from 30th Street Station, and just down the street from Drexel University. Â We we able to get street parking about 2 blocks down the street, so that is always a plus. Â
Service was sufficient for dinner. Â We tried the mac and cheese appetizer that had just the right amount of breadcrumbs on it. Â It was served hot, but with average taste. Â We also tried the cheeseteak egg rolls - decent, but not a lot of meat in them. Â Some of the bites I had of the egg roll were merely the fried dough without getting to any of the cheese and meat. Â They were served with ketchup and a special mustard that had some horseradish in it for a bit of a kick! Â I must say, it is a neat thing for a Philadelphia Pub to have on a menu. Â
For our main entrees, we both had the chicken pot pie. Â The vegetables were plentiful, and the chicken was all white meat, though there was not that much of it. Â The crust was somewhat flaky, but there was a section of my pot pie crust that didn't seem like it was cooked all the way through. Â
Dessert portion sizes were huge! Â We had the bread pudding which was average in taste, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Â The brownie was served ala mode with vanilla ice cream as well. Â The brownie was definitely dry and lacking in taste, though I consider myself to be a brownie snob, so maybe I'm being overly picky.
I went in here to grab a quick bite before the Son Volt show at WCL. Slainte is located literally right next to the 30th Market/Frankford entrance/exit and across the street from the 30th St Amtrak station. It's also right down the street from Drexel. So it seems to be at the nexus for commuters and students. As such the crown inside was fairly diverse, ranging from students, professors, business guys, to the construction guys sitting next to me.
I ended up sitting at the bar, since the host did not deem to acknowedge me after standing around for at least 5 minutes. The bald headed bartender/Mr. Clean took my order for beer promptly and gave me a menu. The Sam Adams Oktoberfest was nice and crisp and tasty. The Guinness he poured for me was perfect, not too much head, just enough. Since I came after 7 I thought I'd get charged full price, but he gave me the happy hour price for both beers. Sweeet.
The California wrap I had was ok, but nothing special. Â The fries were decent and plentiful.
Service from the bartender was excellent. He was attentive without being intrusive and was very fast at pours. He also knew his crowd and talked to some of the regulars.
I could see coming back here for a happy hour and to get some of their $5 appetizers. I"m not sure I'd come back for the food though.
Started going here when it first opened and when I was going to school at Drexel. Â The place is nice and the food was good - typical bar food. Â Nachos and fish chips are good. Â I would go back but its sorta out the way now that I don't go to school anymore.
Give it a try if you're in the area.
As other reviewers have said, this place is best for its convenience and not much more. The food is pretty average--I had the barbecue burger, which tasted all right, with some pretty crunchy fries. The drink specials aren't bad, making it a decent place to visit after work, especially given its proximity to Penn, Drexel, and 30th Street Station.
Don't expect anything too great and you won't be disappointed.
This place depresses me. I just get that commuter feel from it. Filled with cougers and cheap suits who are too old for Roosevelts and don't want to venture too far from the train station for fear of missing the last regional out to Media.
But the pub food is pub food. The cheese fries will kill you if you can scale the mountain heaped onto your plate. They have an okay beer selection and plenty of specials.
Three stars?!
All right, all right. I'm only rating this place based on its happy hour deals; namely, $5 appetizers -- HUUUUGE appetizers! generally leaving me so full especially after having downed two or four beers that I can't, or shouldn't be able to, finish my burger but do so anyway because my stomach can stretch to unbelievable proportions even if it means having to waddle for hours after that... [inhale, exhale, calm down]
Music? TV? I'm only ever in a bar for the booze and the food. And it's so stupid good. Are you kidding? I love bar food.
Considering the area around Slainte(across the street from 30th st station), I was surprised how nice it was inside. This is a nice clean pub with a decent beer selection and a nice seating area. The bar is pretty big, and there's also plenty of seating in the adjacent dining area. The service was good and the prices weren't too bad. It's not a sports bar, but there are plenty of flat screen televisions around the bar and dining area so it's not a bad place to watch a game. All in all I'd say it's just a good place to have a Guinness with some friends.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Slainte is Gaelic for 'cheers'.
Slainte is a modest sized venue across from 30th Street Station. We sat at the bar - the bar takes up a sizable portion of space, with flatscreens showing sports games. Reminds me of a less flowery Kildare's.
It was busy and took about 15 minutes for our orders to arrive. We shared a large portion of chicken tenders and fries, a small Caesar salad, and cheesesteak egg rolls (why do restaurants feel the need to make culinary monstrosities - to be fair, they DID taste like cheesesteaks). Overall, we enjoyed our fill of bar food.
Our friendly bartender and server (Mike) got us a Hoegarden and a straight shot of Vladmir vodka. Based on our service, I'd return to Slainte for more drinks - check them out!
From the people who brought you The New Deck, it's another average Irish pub. Â
Slainte is a lot cleaner than The New Deck, a little classier looking and less pub-y. Â It also attracts (when I am there -- I have only been for happy hour) more of a professional crowd and less college kids.
The beer selection is not bad, they do have Dogfish Head 60 minute on tap. Â As Meredith mentioned, they do know how to make a car bomb. Â The food is average. Â The servers are decent. Â The prices are OK; the happy hour deal is not great. Â The location is certainly not conducive to a night on the town, but it is convenient for coworkers who take the train home and right by the El stop.
It gets a little crowded for happy hour but we have been lucky getting tables right around 5:00.
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