I grew up in Evanston and Nevin's was always a regular spot for my family and I to go eat. Â The food has always been great and fairly consistent in quality at a fair price. Â I would recommend eating here.
So I'm a little hung up about what kind of rating to give Nevin's. Â Its a decent place to eat, but I have had some issues in recent years when I go there to have drinks. Â It has made me think twice about going there on a few occasions. Â For this, I would consider 2 stars, however, I don't believe in being a total jerk yelper when there is always room for improvement. Â Today, Nevin's gets 3 stars.
I'll try keep my summary of my issues with Nevin's as brief as possible...
They have a tendency to hire some very inexperienced staff. Â Most likely college students and younger folks. Â (Nothing wrong with that. Â Everyone needs a job). Â There was one occasion where I was on the patio having drinks with friends when our waitress accidentally opened up another tab Identical to the one we currently had. Â The check was twice as much and I spent about 15 minutes arguing with them about it until I finally just threw in the towel, paid the whole thing and left. Ugh!
Another time, I was out on the patio bar with a friend trying to grab a beer. Â We were the only ones at the bar and the bar tender was seemingly staring off into space, looking in our general direction, while we had money in our hands ready to buy. Â It took a few seconds for him to notice us but he was friendly after that. Â I actually don't consider this a complaint. Â Just a little odd and funny. :)
Overall, this is a good place to eat. Â I like the food a little better than Prairie Moon which is right next door. Â However, I think Prairie Moon is a better place to drink. Â I will definitely be stopping by Nevin's to eat in the future for old time sake!
Never again!!!!
OK, I have to say, I am finally giving up on Tommy Nevin's ironically because of Tommy (or at least his namesake waiter) himself. Â We used to dine here 1-2 times a week, but will be be moving on to other establishments due to issues with this particular waiter.
Here's a recap of our last two visits:
1) Tommy takes our order and disappears for most of the rest of our meal. Most of the staff actually congregates out front smoking while we are left to fend for ourselves inside. No follow-up, no recognition that we are regulars. Just the same ambivalent attitude.
2) On another recent visit, Tommy once again takes our order (why do we always seem to get stuck with this guy?) Â and disappears. We later notice he is huddled behind the server station eating and literally see the guy licking his fingers. Glad he enjoyed the food so much, it seemed like he got his meal a lot faster than we did.. because we waited...and waited... and waited for him to return. No apology for the delay.. he plopped down the plates and went on his way.
I do have to say that the rest of the wait staff at Tommy Nevin's ranges from good to great, but 9 times out of 10 we seem to get this guy and it ends up being an unpleasant experience.
Sorry Tommy Nevin's ...we're done. There are other local restaurants that appreciate the business and employ wait staff that at least make an effort to be pleasant.
My husband and I were dining here at around 6:30pm on a Thursday last week. We sat in the back with all the televisions because there were several March Madness games on the televisions in that room. We were told at the door that the back room was the only place to watch those games. There were several families with little kids running around in that room and we were enjoying our evening out, having left our own 15-month old at home. Soon a "situation" ensued with drunk patrons and their pool game.We witnessed the entire showdown. Twice the balls flew off the table and one narrowly missed me. One actually hit our waitress. The players were using profanity, slurring their speech and acting like hooligans. They were clearly intoxicated and yet had pitchers of beer before them and kept returning with shots. When the manager (I suspect?) finally asked them to leave, chaos ensued. In that chaos, one of the intoxicated patrons went to put his cue stick back on the wall right next to where I was sitting. He did so with such force and anger that it bounced back and hit me hard in the arm. Had we brought our daughter with us that evening, she could have easily been smacked in the head or worse. I personally have a sore shoulder from the incident and was visibly disturbed. The waitress offered us a round of drinks but I had enough.
A few things have to be said about his entire debacle. First, it seems to me to be entirely nonsensical to mount a pool stick rack between patron tables. Any one of those sticks could become loose and fly off the wall--as it did here--and hit someone. I was this someone, this time. If God-forbid this happened to a child, the situation would be exponentially worse. If my daughter was sitting next to me and this happened to her, this would have turned into an epic problem. Second, these patrons were clearly over-served. When we arrived for dinner and a few drinks, it was around 6 p.m. or so. They were already obnoxious and clearly intoxicated. Nonetheless, they were served over and over again. Their pool playing was sloppy--balls flying everywhere--and their profanity was offensive. I am not a stainless maiden, but to have such vulgarities in a place where there were at least five little kids and entire families dining is in bad taste. It was even before 7 p.m. on a weeknight. Management should have stepped in earlier, at least to cut them off from drinking and offer them water.
This really should not have happened. I really hope this situation is a learning opportunity. First, those cue sticks should be removed from the wall where patrons are dining and potentially move the dining tables away from the proximity of the pool table. Further, cue sticks are dangerous weapons. Punches were being thrown. If any one of those patrons got a hold of the stick and decided to use it to hit someone it would have been a mounting problem causing a serious security issue--larger than the one that occurred. These are all issues you must consider--legally and on a common sense level. The safety of your patrons is key. Â It is NOT acceptable to have a patron smacked with a cue stick.
By the way, I contacted the restaurant and they IGNORED me.
This place used to be 5 stars in my book, but has gone down since a management and menu change a year or two ago. They used to have amazing Lamb Lollichops and a London broil with whipped mashed potatoes that were both heavenly. Unfortunately, they have Americanized the menu, which would be okay except the quality of food went down. The beef tips were super salty (almost inedible), the Shepherd's pie is alright (mine is better), and the beef stroganoff left something to be desired. As you can see, I've been back several times to try to let Tommy's redeem itself. Unfortunately, I long for my old Irish pub food, not the mediocre fare they're serving now.
I have never had a problem with the bar service. As a bar, Nevin's pub is still a fun place to go, especially on St. Pattie's day. It is crowded, and sometimes it takes a while to get a drink, but I always found the staff and service to be accommodating. Too bad the food went downhill.
No more clam strips. Â This was the only reason to go there (for me). Â The pool table is $1.50, that's kind of steep. Â
We were forced to listen to golf on tv in an empty room, they wouldn't even turn the volume down. Â We were the only people in the room! Â Golf narration is up there with a swift kick in the shin.
Nice, comfortable place across from a parking garage on the northern edge of Evanston. Â
Nice visit -- will probably return for dinner. Had a decent shepherds' pie and bread pudding dessert ; neither great but both solid and good, reasonably priced. Â Look forward to trying their beef and lamb Irish stew and a few other menu items. Â Good drinks, good Irish music in the barroom by a jam group. (Sunday, about 4 pm)
Other reviews do give me pause, though -- and our experience confirms that the kitchen and service may be lacking. My shepherd's pie was not fully hot (I didn't complain), our waitress was nice, but  inexperienced (we repeatedly had trouble flagging her even in an almost empty room), and the kid who cleared the table almost grabbed an appetizer plate that still contained appetizers!
There were also two puzzling "rocks" charges, each $1, relating to my friend's drink.
The manager came out and explained that was because they poured a longer shot.
(? why not just charge more for the drink?) Â But he was very nice and took it off the bill, even when we said that wasn't necessary. Â (So, as always, it pays to ask).
Just this side of terrible.
Take this review as one of an Evanston resident on an Evanston restaurant, not one of those sorta-snobby, nose-sniffing "I hate to have to leave the city of Chicago to eat food in the always-inferior suburbs" reviews.
Presumably as one of the few bars in Evanston, Tommy Nevin's is doing just fine and doesn't need to care about the lackluster dining experience of just another local couple. This was my fourth or fifth visit, and I'm not likely to go back, and no way will I take anyone who I think cares  a thing about food.
First, the good: The pickle that came with my hamburger was quite tasty. In fact, the tastiest thing I ate at Tommy Nevin's. And they left a water pitcher on the table, so we could fill our own glasses. Less work for them, better service (mine) for me. Win-win. And our server was pleasant enough, though I don't think we were well served.
The bad. Where to begin. With a half-empty restaurant, the hostess tried to seat us next to the table with the loud, running kids. It appeared she was just seating people at the first empty table with the fewest steps from her station, thus giving me the first impression of a restaurant that just doesn't care about anything. We moved  to a table by the window--much better.
The "pub sticks." Yuck. Like deep-fired potato straw shoved in a Guinness glass. The other component was shreds of corned beef in a casing of breading, deep-fried. A) Not enough beef to taste through the grease (indeed, I dissected mine, and it was 98% breading in my estimation). B) Gross concept to begin with. I think you would have to be drunk to not notice how bad this was.
The hamburger. On the menu it said the Chicago Tribune had named it "best burger." I just wasted 20 minutes of my life trying to Google that honor, and I've come up dry. Like my burger. I ordered mine medium, with blue cheese. My husband ordered his well-done. They both came out the same: well-done. Mine had not even not a trace of pink. It was additionally flavorless, altogether mediocre, and a total waste of a noble cow's life. Really. If someone were ever to decide to fatten me up on feed-lot grain, kill me, chop me up, grind my muscles and serve them to people for profit, I would still hope to be treated with more respect than that.
My burger also had very little blue cheese on it--not even enough to thinly cover 2/3 of the beef patty. The waitress never came back to ask how our food was, but when she came around at the end of the meal to ask if I was "still working on that" (the half burger I had pushed aside and was going to take home to feed the cat), I told her I wasn't going to send it back (it was the end of the meal, after all), but they had over-cooked the burger. Her response? "I'll let the kitchen know."
Another thing. And this is about value. My burger was nine bucks, and it came with the usual choice of sides, most of which were fries and the like. For $2 extra, you could forgo the fries and get a cup of soup instead. I did. It was a small cup of potato soup (with three or four huge chunks of potato that filled up most of the soup space), topped with all the junk you'd put on a baked potato if you didn't give a hoot about health or calories. The cold cheese shreds and the cold sour cream, which made up about the top third of the serving, made the soup kind of cold, too. In short, it was cool, tiny and fatty, and not at all worth giving up a normal side and incurring an up-charge on top of it. So I paid $11 for a poorly cooked cheeseburger and a little cup of not-great soup. Not the end of the world, but not something I want to do again.
My husband had the jalapeno burger with sweet potato fries, which he didn't think was at all good either. I tasted the fries, and they were soft and greasy. My husband additionally ordered the french onion soup, which was fine, like most onion soup the world over. Really salty. Not sure if I should put that in the plus or minus category.
It didn't add anything to the ambiance to be seated about as far away from the bar as a person could get and still hear outbursts of cheering and a woman screaming, "Go deep!", but that's not a factor in this review. Â The dining room is inexplicably looking kind of geriatric, too. I don't know if it's the preponderance of forest green, the lighting, the chipped up tables or what. Also not a factor in my review. For me, it's 80% about the food, 20% about the service.
In all, it made me really appreciate the several places around here where I get far better burgers, usually for less.
True story: I worked with a man named Tom Nevins for 5 years. Â He was an older gentleman who was well respected and had no interest in being promoted. Â When you walked into his office, his feet would be on the desk and he would be blankly staring out at the window.
I truly believe that Tommy Nevins pub in Evanston is named after him. Â I mean, who wouldn't want to be feet-on-his-desk Tom Nevins?
The bar is whatever. Â It's huge and has lots of different rooms. Â It looks like a college bar that should be in a movie where some pivotal scene happens and a townie yells, "How do you like them apples?!". Â It's low-key, casual and attracts all types. Â I'll be back because it's easy. Â Is that a good thing? Â Eh, who cares.
Worst bar I've ever been to.
That's really all it needs. Came in after class with some friends to unwind and waited almost a half an hour for a drink. Finally, I said "Hey when you get a chance?" To get the bartender's attention. He told me he planned to make me wait another 20 minutes.
For a $5 glass of beer in a dump of a bar? No thanks. I don't plan to ever spend a dollar at Tommy Nevin's.
In Evanston with a bunch of 30-something friends from college for dinner, from the moment we walked through the door, I suspected it was a bad choice. The place smelled of stale beer, and there were flies circling our table (it's 60 degrees out right now, not like we were on a patio). Everything felt really dirty and worn out. The service was very slow, our waitress took 20 minutes to show up and take a drink/appetizer order- then my gin & tonic had about 4 ice cubes (not very cold) and one of our three appetizers never showed up. The food was a solid O.K., nothing spectacular- our table had a few burgers selections and orders of fish & chips. There are so many great Irish pubs in Chicagoland- I would avoid this one.
Review Source:The only thing this bar has going for it is the $6 Bud/Bud Light special on Thursdays.
First and foremost, the staff is lackluster. The service is spotty. The hostesses have no idea what they are doing and don't greet you when you walk in. I've never seen a busser.
The food is meh. Not bad but nothing special.
The worst part about this place is the seating in the bar section. The tables look like they are meant for hobbits. Sitting in kiddie chairs as an adult is uncomfortable and weird. Not to mention the place looks like it hasnt been cleaned in 20 years.
Oh I almost forgot another perk. They have free darts and the boards are nice. But seriously the only thing that continually brings me back to this place are those $6 pitchers.
So I wanted to have a bar/dinner get together with friends for my birthday. Â Knowing that Nevin's would be a pretty middle of the road price for everybody, I picked it. I booked for my part on OpenTable - a party of 15 people.
The day of the event, I called and spoke to a hostess (and I know her name so clearly I did call) and asked to add a few more people. Â She took my name and said "oh, ok, sounds good - we'll add a few more chairs".
This made me believe that I had a reservation and that everything was fine. Â When I came in at 7pm on a Sunday (the day of the party) with my husband, the hostess said, are you sure you made a reservation? I was pretty confused by that and said "yes, I even got more than 1 OpenTable reservation confirmation and spoke to your hostess today to add more people." She seemed really confused, but super overly friendly said "we can make it work". Duh. It's Sunday and I'm giving your almost empty restaurant close to 20 people who will eat and drink.
Then a "manager" came over. Jeans, untucked shirt, and a backwards baseball cap. He proceeds to very sternly say " You made a reservation and didn't think to call and confirm?" I very calmly said, "Excuse me? I made a reservation on OpenTable, received my confirmation from them, so why would I call". He proceeded to basically scold me for not calling to confirm - so I Â mentioned my lovely add more chairs to the party chat with the hostess earlier that day. Â I then followed up by saying, "I'm sorry, but I think you just yelled at me and I'm not really seeing an issue with me offering to have a big group of people in an empty restaurant." Again, I was told "we can make it work". Thus, I was already pissed by the time my FREAKING BIRTHDAY DINNER started.
So then everything gets set up and this manager man brings me 4 half empty glasses of champagne, and says "Sorry you made the reservation and we didn't have it, have a happy birthday." Sorta nice right? Well, 1 glass had a bug in it, and he brought 4 to a table that already had at least 9 people sitting. Â It was weird.
Was it horrible? No. Was it something that I was super pleased about? No. Â Don't be rude to guests. They remember.
I like Tommy Nevin's. Â I frequented this place during a recent trip to Chicago (Evanston, really) and it had nearly everything I needed. Â The food was good and hot, with good-sized portions that weren't too big (borderline though, whew - I left stuffed each tie I ate there). Â The beer was cold and plentiful and there was a good variety to choose from. Â They had cider, too, which is a hallmark of any decent irish pub in my opinion. Â Nothing refreshes like a cold, crisp cider. Â Ahhh......
Oh, yeah, any way, the place gets three stars because they ran out of Jameson's. Â What?!?! Â Say it ain't so! Â Sadly, dear reader, it is. Â They ran out of Jameson's at like 9:30p on a Thursday night. Â Alas, that's not all. Â They ran out of Tullymore Dew as well. Â Man, what a bummer. Â I need me some whisky when I go to the pub and get to drinking. Â I can't drink that Bushmill's swill. Â Come on, Tommy Nevin's!
Nevin's: also known as "The First Place Robert Can't Necessarily Remember"
Yes, Yelpers, this was my first bar. And what a fantastic experience it was! We visited Nevin's on our first night in Evanston, celebrating our friend's 21st birthday. Round of Guinness for all! Shots all around! And hey, you know what would be a great idea after: a round of darts (which, apparently, I'm really good at)!
Oh, Tommy Nevin's. You will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Three stars because the bathrooms are gross and the service is meh. The bartender almost kicked my buddy out of the bar over some misunderstanding about his credit card, and refused to give my friend his card back until he added on a tip.
This place opened up during my tenure as a graduate student at NU. Â Unfortunately for me (and fortunately for Tommy Nevin's), its location was right around the corner from my apartment. Â This was a time when it was not commonplace to walk into a bar and find Guinness on tap. Â This is the first place I ever tasted the dark, earthy liquid of paradise known to mortals as Guinness Stout. Â They poured (as I found out much later in my beer education) a perfect pint of Guinness. Â I've never had a pour to match it. Â Of course I haven't made it to Ireland yet, either. Â This was also my first experience with the always delicious Black and Tan.
After a night of practicing, Tommy Nevin's was on my walk home from the music building - eternally beckoning and welcoming me in to its warm mahogany haze of Guinness-fueled delight. Â I have very fond memories of it.
Oh yeah, they have pool and darts, too!
Dear Tommy Nevin's,
On Saturday, July 7th, there was a tallish, dark-haired, semi-attractive man tending bar. Â He is the only reason you get a 3 star review and not a 2. Â And NOT because of the tall semi-attractiveness.
We got to the bar right around 9 to meet a few friends for drinks. Â We started off in the back by the dart boards, sitting at a couple of the low tables with shorty stools. Â After about 10 minutes of watching MULTIPLE SERVERS walk by to tend to the one LARGE group in the room and completely IGNORING us, I went up to the bar for a round of drinks. Â
Upon my return, I realized my drink was incorrect (an easy mistake, I asked for goose & sprite, I got goose & soda.) Â I drank it. Â No big deal. Â I also managed to choke back half of one of the WARMEST jagerbombs I've ever consumed. Â Gross. Â Keep yo' red bull where it belongs, on ice!
When I went to order my second drink, I corrected cute bartender man on what I had ordered, and he immediately apologized for the mistake, and also told me the next one was on him for the trouble. Â (3 stars, not 2.)
When the rest of our group joined us (there were 4 total), still no server. Â In fact, they all had seemed to have disappeared to the front bar area. Â So, we found a high-top table there, and moved. Â They were more comfortable than the short little stools anyway.
Still, no server. Â At this point, we'd resigned ourselves to ordering drinks from the bar only. Â But what if we'd wanted to order food? Â There were several servers wandering the restaurant that night, and none of them could be bothered with us. Â It's unfortunate, really, since we each drank enough to make the tips worthwhile, and probably would've ordered a snack given the opportunity.
The patio looked nice, but with a threat of rain, we stayed indoors. Â Also, with such shitty service, how would we have EVER gotten drinks?
Being the best bar in Evanston is like being the best Fisherman in outer Mongolia because there are not that many choices...
The service is always good and sometimes after 10PM on Saturday Nights the eye candy comes out and then you dont wonder why you came down from the city anymore :)
If you want to sit on one of Evanston's nicest patios and drink some standard beer, Nevin's is a pretty great place to be.
For reasons other than that? Not high up on my list.
I've found better beers right next door, which isn't really that big a deal to me as iced tea is my best friend. However, I came in once for a late weekend lunch. I ordered the fish and chips and saw that they had curry sauce on the menu. Curry sauce + chips = happiness. SO, I order a side of curry sauce. Out comes our food - the fish and chips are good, but the curry sauce is missing (boo!). When we're checked up on, I ask our server for a side of curry sauce. He brings me a side of tartar sauce. Whomp whomp. I didn't really have the patience that day to order curry sauce 3 times.
I'll be visiting the Celtic Knot to satiate my chips and curry cravings from now on.
For a burger and a beer point of view.
Nice looking outside, charming and worn inside. Worn to look like it has seen good service and been taken care of. The staff - ever member - was extremely polite and helpful. The burger was average. not bad, but nothing to write home about either. So this will be a simple easy review. Go with friends, You will love this place after your second beer.
Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on the slow and un-attentive service since we came during Game 6 and the place was pretty packed. Â But, I am going to be. Â Because this was not a surprise event. Â They knew the Bulls game was happening. Â EVERYONE knew the Bulls game was happening. Â So, slow and un-attentive service.
A member of our party can't have gluten. Â They asked for, and received, a gluten-free menu. Â The gluten-free menu indicated that any of their sandwiches could be ordered and would come out on gluten-free hamburger buns. Â This was true. Â Except for the bread. Â The sandwich came out with no bread. Â That's not really a sandwich. Â More of a turkey club salad at that point.
Two other members of our party ordered the chicken pot pie. Â Which was not chicken pot pie at all. Â It was a bowl of chicken stew with a croissant on top. Â Which Tommy Nevin's seems to believe is worth $12. Â I disagree.
I got the BBQ Gouda melt sandwich. Â The chicken was dreadfully dry. Â Long story short (too late), I wouldn't come here for the food. Â Or the ambiance. Â Or the service.
I would suggest coming to have drinks if you happen to be nearby and don't know of anywhere nearby that is better. Â Their drink specials were fine.
Probably the most frequented watering hole in Evanston, Nevin's serves food and drinks in a distinct dining area and in a more free-form pub area. During the summer, they open their second bar and patio, which is great for those who enjoy drinking in a nice evening breeze... next to an El.
The food here is pretty good, albeit expensive. I recently had their bruschetta and shepard's pie, both of which were made well. Because of St. Patrick's Day weekend coming up, they had Irish drink specials, which was a good deal. They typically have deals for every day of the week, so it's not a bad place to check out. It's important to note that service can be spotty, especially when it's busy.
I LOVE Nevin's and I love bringing people here, especially to the restaurant section.
The pub fare here is great - my favorite is probably the pecan-crusted tilapia - it's well-cooked and the pecans add just the right dash of sweetness. Their sides are good too - I only wish they had sweet potato fries! [They don't (yet), so I usually just get the seasoned fries or the cinnamon sweet potatoes instead.] Everything I've gotten at Nevin's has been classic pub fare without the gallon of oil, which is always appreciated.
The drinks are well-mixed and there's usually some type of special every night. In the summer when the beer garden is open it's also a nice place to relax after a long day at work.
Yum, had the pesto salmon salad here and it was arguably one of my favorite salads ever. I'm surprised at how great the food was, because I always thought Nevin's was just a bar -- like the Keg, which serves food but no one orders it (admittedly I don't go out enough to know). The salmon was perfectly cooked and flaky, and all the elements gave it so much flavor that I barely needed any dressing. I also had the Irish rover, which consisted of Bailey's and Jameson. It was fun and girly, because anything with Bailey's is considered girly to me. And I tried a bite of my bf's pesto salmon pasta, which was not too shabby although richer/heavier than what I prefer.
Service was great, and we used a livingsocial deal which made it even better.
Now without the keg, Nevins is one of the only bars in Evanston that we have to go hang out at. The food is ok, pretty big menu, lots of pub fare. The best things on the menu are the appetizers. The fried cream cheese balls with bacon and scallions are amazing (even though loaded with fat). I love the fried onions and calamari too. The appetizer plate is good also. I get their salads a lot when I come for dinner (usually for trivia on tuesdays). The service is ok, they never tell you about specials even after you ask.
I have had issues with my id there. They say to come in you must show two forms of id. I do not always carry around two picture ids especially when going out at night, so I have been turned away even though I am over 21.
The crowd on the weekends is definitely older, like this is a place people my parents age (50s) would go for a drink. Its a good place to chill and watch a game- if you can find a place to sit! Nevins is an Evanston staple, and I will probably end up coming here a lot as long as I am still around the area.
Stopped by here before a NU/PU bball game and I wasn't too surprised when there were more Boilermaker patrons than home-team supporters. Â The place was a decent size with even what looked like a family dining area to the left of the entrance. Â The real party aka the bar scene was to the right. Â Plenty of seating & plenty of TVs for viewing. Â They have a good menu and the food was okay. Â But we did just split a bunch of appetizers: the cheese balls & sliders.
The service was kind of slow but we were sitting in a kind of hidden spot, not quite at the corner but behind a taller table (we were seated in lower seats along the wall).
I never went to THE KEG but with that local establishment closing down, I'm am guessing business here should be picking up. Â I would come back here next time I'm around the Evanston area...the real question is: When IS the next time I'll be in the Evanston area?
Since your server won't tell you the specials (really, wtf not??) you should probably look here first. <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tommynevinspubs.com%2F001%2Fhome.html&s=b60137f1b097ba132442041cb0978da639c4343eea61b9aa2f3ceac259ddd7fe" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.tommynevinspu…</a>
And and the specials that weren't mentioned to us, weren't mentioned by ALL 4 servers. Seriously, you guys have good drink specials, TELL YOUR CUSTOMERS!
We were there from like 4pm till 11pm and ended up with 4 different servers...that's pretty annoying. I would understand 2, but 4...really?
I chose to eat the "Mary Robinson" (portobello sandwich) and it was pretty tasty. They have delish fries, btw.
3 stars for the following, nice restaurant/bar, very clean, real darts, decent food.
Looks like you guys aren't getting much Elite love... not a good thing Mr. Tommy Nevin.
I used to go to Tommy Nevin's Pub pretty regularly and am assuming that I enjoyed it, since I kept going back. Â Last month, we went there for a quick bite and so I can enjoy the "old days". Â It was nothing that I remembered. Â The decor, eh. Â The crowd, ok. Â The food, bleh. Â We ordered the turkey burger and it was like nothing I have seen before. Â The patty was overly pressed with a rubbery consistency. Â Not to mention, the taste was extremely off. Â The fries were mushy and greasy.
Our waitress was attentive, but I guess some experiences should stay in the past.
Have you ever gone back after many years to a restaurant that you used to go to quite often? Yeah, that's what happened here. My date raved about how she used to come here back in the day and how good their food was. Personally I've been to enough of these kinds of places to know what I was in for. She on the other hand was amazed to find that maybe it really wasn't that good and or she just doesn't like to eat this kind of greasy flavorless food anymore. I'm not trying to be a food snob or anything but if there was any of a place to be put on that kitchen nightmares show... this is it. Â Â
Greasy bar food that will always regret eating in one way or another. Everything is dirty, the floors, tables, chairs, and the silverware. My turkey burger had to have been frozen, it was sick and flavorless. I didn't finish it along with the pathetic serving of fries (which must have been frozen too). The staff is nice but a bit spacey, doesn't seem like anyone is giving them any direction. And the worst of it is that I hate it when a restaurant do things like call themselves whatever nationality but their menu is nothing like the food that they would serve in that country. Example, so this is an "Irish" pub and one of the the items on the menu is "Irish" soup. I asked the waitress what made it "Irish" and she politely said that she didn't know. I was just plain chicken soup. There are many other example on the menu.
I give it two stars because the service was trying and I believe the place has potential. They just seem like they have given up. Also, replace the nasty moldy carpet. Carpet in a restaurant... why?!?
The patio at Tommy Nevin's is a lovely destination on a summer weeknight to enjoy beer, food, and good company.
Their tap selection was pretty impressive. Â It certainly excited my dining-companion, since they had his favorite on tap. Â I enjoyed the Rogue summer seasonal. Â And the beer prices weren't too bad either.
Food was nothing amazing but not bad. Â I wish my fries had been warmer. Â Or salted (though I remedied that problem myself). Pretty much what you expect at a place like this. Â And other menu items (surprisingly, salads) have been pretty good!
But the service... Â we just could not get the waiter's attention. Â Ever. Â Luckily we weren't ravenous because I think that 30 minutes passes between when he took our drink order and when he finally came back to ask what we wanted to eat. Refilling beers was no faster. Â But the kicker was when it took a good 45 minutes after we were done with beers and food to even find him to get our check. Â Finally my friend had to go inside and ask another server to flag him down. Â
Luckily, I've been back since and it seems that the service issue was limited to that day or that server. Â
Decent food, great beer list, walking distance from my new digs - I'm sure I'll be back. Â Just maybe not if I have anywhere to be afterwards.
I don't mean to come across as undignified but F this place right in the A. Walked in with wife and child. Wait for 4 minutes to be greeted. Sat down at table. Ignored for 10 minutes. No water. No eye contact (I tried). A douchy blond post pubescent waiter walks near the table, says "hi there" and immediately walks away. No water. No eye contact. There were 3 servers covering a total of 5 tables (I counted).
We walked out.
Any place run in a way that allows that, must have mouse poop in the food. My opinion but based on a lot of experience. Tommy Nevins, you can suck it. Thanks!
Tommy Nevin's has the best turkey burger in the tri-state area.  I've come to believe it is laced with crack.  This is a meal I actually crave and that rarely  happens.  It is perfectly seasoned and it doesn't taste gamy.  It comes with white cheddar cheese and grilled onions.  It's juicy enough to fool my stomach and brain into thinking I'm eating a real hamburger. Â
A word to the wise. Â If you are in a hurry, do not go here for lunch. Â I don't think my co-workers and I have eaten here in under an hour. Â Luckily, we are allowed leisurely Friday lunches. Â The service could definitely use some improvement. Â
Other than that, sit back, relax, and enjoy a pint or four.
If you're looking to enjoy our fleeting warm nights on an outdoor patio, Tommy Nevin's has a nice one. They also have a full menu filled with Irish (or, Irish-esque) favorites and a long beer list. However, they don't actually have a 'list' but a server will be happy to recite all 20-something like it's her phone number. Impressive! I do wish their beer selection was a bit more impressive, though. Maxim magazine must have given them some kind of recognition for a perfect Guinness pour because the menu makes mention of it. Next time, I will investigate!
We didn't try the food, but I relaxed with a Bell's Oberon before calling it a night. Though this bar doesn't have any bells and whistles like designer cocktails, recycled furnishings, or fancy trimmings, it's built on good drinking climate at a real bar. And that's enough for me.
Oh, and they have a fireplace inside. I'm a little in love with fireplaces!
So, last Monday I had plans to have a nice lunch.
Nevins was chosen.
I went with a friend, and I ordered the beef dip sandwich with fries, and he had the "traditional Irish breakfast". Â
His breakfast looked amazing, as did my sandwich.
The sad part was everything was luke warm, nothing was hot. Â The decor looks as if it had seen better days, and the tartan carpet could have used a good hoovering.
Our waiter was alone in dealing with our side of the place. Â He seemed utterly disinterested in waiting on us. Â I noticed at one point that the bar tender also came out to serve a table near ours. Â To give them the benefit of the doubt, waiting on 6 tables doesn't seem like such a task - but seemed like it was a burden. Â I'm a librarian so, perhaps I don't know about such arduous labor.
It seemed odd that they were playing "light favorites" over the sound system - didn't really add to the already waning allure. Â The deocrations on the shelves need a good dusting, as they were boxes of crackers and tinned goods from Ireland. Â My dining companion recalled many of the products from his childhood in Ireland - but they seemed sun faded, and the boxes were losing their shape. Â Kind of like old groceries on a high shelf.
I did like the wood burning fireplace, it smelled good. Â
I have to say I was overall disappointed with my dining experience here. Â I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, and call it an off day - but judging from the other reviews here, bad customer service is the norm, not the exception.
I also happened to use the mens room, and it was clean but nothing to write home about.  They had a sports page carelessly  tacked up in a shadow box, but to be honest, I don't care about such things when I have more pressing issues to take care of.  Peeing is tantemount to taking in sporting scores.  Plus, I would have had to pee on the wall to actually read them while I was in there, and that didn't seem like a good idea.
I wasn't expecting leprachauns to wait on me, nor to have a pot of gold under my chair, but it did seem like a very generic Irish Pub. Â Such potential...unharvested.
I'd go to Nevin's again, but only if someone else paid.
I finally found a fish n chips pub nearby that I am satisfied with. Â The milky cod and the golden batter met my UK standards. Â Another dish I fell in love with in the UK were minted lamb burgers, so I was quite ecstatic to find it at Tommy Nevin's. Â Unfortunately it wasn't a minted lamb burger, instead it came with a cucumber/cilantro relish, but I was quite happy.
The <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> certificate also made it almost reminiscent of English pubs because it allowed for basically a 2 for 1 entree.
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