This place is alright, I am on the verge of giving it two stars except I realize there is little else like it in the area. The beers are priced like they are in Boston (~$5-6) and whatever you do, don't order the alfredo with chicken and broccoli. Literally a big pool of oil made the dish really impossible to eat and it was a whopping $14. It wasn't even anything that inventive. I'd go for the non-pasta dishes. My friend got the chicken pot pie and that looked quite good. Our waitress was also very nice, personal and attentive, albeit a little too apologetic for everything! read more

I've been to my fair share of Irish bars/pubs in the Annapolis, Baltimore area and Castlebay is my favorite, by far. Offering good food, friendly service and awesome beats. Normally its live acoustic music, which pretty music rules. You normally find this pub crawling with midshipmen, but you wouldnt know it. They are the calm and collected ones, that dont want to attract a lot of attention. It's a chill atmosphere, so if you're looking for a chill time visit Castlebay for a drink or two and tip the awesome bartenders. read more

Stopped in for apps and a drink. The Guinness was good. The wing nicely done as well as the calimari but the sliders were so so. Would come back again to try some other apps. read more

Castlebay Irish Pub - Irish Pub Near Me - Annapolis, Maryland

Great pub food, ask about the specials. I got a 5 dollar pulled pork sandwich that was phenomenal. Best guiness pour in Annapolis, and great bar staff - will remember your drink preferences after just a visit or two. Can't beat that. read more

On one hand, I feel like I'm being generous with four stars. The beer selection is slightly above average for an Irish pub, and the food is good, but there's nothing exceptional. The interior is wide open (it gets pretty packed on Friday and Saturday nights, and they offer live music as well), and the bar itself is pretty weathered looking. Then again, CastleBay has extremely friendly staff. The prices are pretty reasonable for the area (most places in historic Annapolis *will* do their best to gouge you). Furthermore, a lot of places here don't make the effort during slow hours to provide top-notch service - CastleBay does. I've been a handful of times over the last 8 or 9 years, and I've never had a bad time, and always felt the most comfortable here. I think that says something in a high-traffic touristy area. read more

Do not recommend they do not service well at all first time here and was worst experience ever. Juliana can suck it

Food was decent, not overwhelming, but good. Giving three stars because the bouncer and the staff were always chatting and the bouncer was standing outside the restaurant and swearing loudly when he talked. I swear like a sailor, but, it's unprofessional to do it around customers and on sidewalks with children nearby. I also thought it was strange that the servers all wore the same black polo shirt with the pub logo but the bouncer didn't have to. read more

I can't attest to the food for this place because we did not eat here. We stopped in for drinks on two separate nights. I'm a sucker for pubs and especially Irish Pubs. Both nights we were here the bar staff was great! Got to try a couple new beers that we liked but the big draw to this place was their live music. Both nights they had guys singing and playing instruments and they were ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! I definitely go back and probably would eat here in the future. Only negative was that the beers were a little pricy. read more

We came here after the fireworks to wait for the traffic to lighten up. Typical bar/pub. We didn't drink, so this review is only for the burgers we ordered, which were a pretty decent price for downtown Annapolis ($9-10). I had the cheeseburger with mushrooms. It was a pretty good, juicy burger. The only downside to it was that the bun was way bigger than the patty. Carb overload! read more

Cold drinks, fantastic bartender Brandon, and incredible music. Can't ask for much more than that! We'll be back!!

Very much in the 3-star range food and beer wise. Atmosphere is as you would expect any Irish Pub. It is fairly small inside and dark. TVs going and quite crowded. Tap selection left something to be desired with your regular macros plus Guinness and Harp. Food on people's tables looked average and unappetizing. I've stopped in here probably twice just to get out of the heat and grab a beer. Bartenders have always been friendly and conversive. read more

I love Irish pubs! The atmosphere is fun. They always feel divey (which I'm a fan of) even if they're nice. Unfortunately, this place charges $5.75 for a Sam Adams draft. That's ridiculous. A domestic draft should not cost that much. We actually ordered the Sam Adams because there was a sign that said they were $4 and we got to keep the glass. We mentioned this to our waitress when the bill came back wrong, and although she couldn't change the price of the beer (um, why not??), she did let us keep our beer glasses. The live music was great! read more

Typical Irish pub. We probably should have stuck with the Irish fare, but we ended up getting shrimp scampi and a shrimp and crab with creamy pesto sauce special. We thought the prices were pretty darned good for Annapolis. For example, the shrimp and crab pesto dish was $14.99 compared with a restaurant closer to the harbor which offered a lobster roll sandwich with fries and slaw for *gulp* $26. Overall, we were happy with what we ate except for the following two sticking points: 1) No salads to go with the entrees 2) The crab on my dish was canned/pasteurized. Considering the price, I was not overly upset about this, but I would have rather it cost a little more and have fresh crab. This is Maryland (Annapolis!), for goodness sake, and really no one around here should be using canned crab in their dishes! Great selection of draft beer! Great service, too. read more

Ended up here after terrible experience at Acme; 2+ hours later we stumbled out and into a taxi. Needless to say, it was a great time. LIve acoustic music on a Friday night; generous pours of Captain and Vodka for the lady. We had so much fun we even did a car bomb, something I hadn't done in about 5 years. Very friendly bartender and fun crowd. Highly recommend. read more

A decent place to duck in for a pint on Main Street. We went in there on the 4th of July and the service was a bit slow. I think maybe they weren't expecting the volume of people prior to the parade. The food is pub food....it's probably not winning any originality awards but it's good. They do have half priced appetizers during happy hour which is a pretty good deal. read more

Love this place, the food and the service. Waiters are super friendly and attentive. Guinness burger was super good! Trivia night was tons of fun. read more

Castlebay Irish Pub - Guinness burger - Irish Pub Near Me - Annapolis, Maryland

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Okay, I tried the corned beef dinner, and it was pretty bad. The corned beef was fairly fatty and I couldn't detect any seasoning. It tasted like it had been cooked in salt water only, or possibly only brined and then roasted, as it was rather dry. The cabbage (which should be cooked in the same spiced water as the beef to give flavor) was about as bad as cabbage gets. Obviously also seasoned with only salt. The boiled potatoes were bland, but then they're supposed to be. And there were boiled carrots, also bland. Not even any salt. No juice or flavor at all in the dish. Really a disappointment, as corned beef and cabbage is one of my favorite meals anywhere else. read more

Always an exceptional experience. Compared to the nearby Galway, the staff at Castlebay are extremely knowledgeable, professional and friendly. The owner is very nice, as well and the live music was phenomenal. Authentic, quality Irish music. The beer selection is excellent and the traditional Irish fare is fantastic. Love the Sheperd's Pie, and I love the sliders. The pricing is very fair, and the location is awesome (right on Main Street) central to most everything. If you are looking for good food, great service, and a lively atmosphere, Castlebay is a great choice. Always seems to have great music. Our family has been there over a dozen times in recent years, and it is always consistent...unpretentious and accommodating ( and child friendy). We love it! read more

The atmosphere is very homey-it's small and you can tell there are lots of regulars that are there often. I go there for one reason (other than the good service and good food)...the beef stew. Enough said. Served piping hot in a large bread bowl. They let it cook for a full 24 hours. It is worth the nearly hour-long drive that we make to get there and we will keep going back. Not a bad beer selection either. Very fun place. read more

Completely doable Irish pub on Main Street in downtown Annapolis. Though I prefer Galway a few blocks down for the crowd and atmosphere, this joint has pretty average food and above average beverage selections. The inside is much more open and the atmosphere is a bit more of a sports bar. Not too many locals and more of the visitor/Navy crowd. read more

Came for dinner and service was off. Long gaps between when my friends drinks came out and when mine did, had no silverware when food came out etc. My food would have been decent (crab Mac and cheese) but it was cold. Many at our table thought their food wasn't hot enough. Wanted to give it 3 stars because I liked the atmosphere but my beer was not cold and food was not hot, which is the least I feel you can expect when you pay over $20. read more

Great atmosphere, music, drink and food. Irish stew and Shepards Pie awesome. Thanks Vincent. read more

Castlebay Irish Pub - Enjoying the evening with Mr. Quinlan. Great host. - Irish Pub Near Me - Annapolis, Maryland

Unfortunately, need to give this place a 1 star review due to false advertisement. Castlebay lists itself in a few beer publications as a Brewpub meaning that they make beer onsite, however, when we stopped to check out the location there was no fermentation tanks in sight. After asking them about the situation they said there was an equipment issue which has been unfixed for 1 year... sounds like a bait and switch method to me. If I owned a brewpub, I would ensure any issues were fixed straight away to ensure not losing my brewmaster or homebrew clientele. Due to this shoddy business practice, we decided to not go down the road to Rams Head Tavern (associated with Fordham Brewing). read more

Food was bad. A group tried sandwiches and soup. Service was poor. But the beer and ambience were fine, for Annapolis. Stick with their drinks and apps. read more

Possibly the worst service experience I've ever had. Four of us walked in to a nearly empty bar; when our four beers arrived, two were served and then the waitress dropped the other two right into our laps. "Oh, Ill get you new beers and take them off the tab.". What about the other two people now wearing beer-soaked clothes on a cold November night? We were determined to grin and bear it, but things only got worse. Our waitress didn't tell us some key menu items (Bangers and Mash, pretty basic for an Irish pub!) were out of stock until the second we placed our order, and then didn't understand we needed to find something else; she was back at the table every single minute to ask "are you ready yet?" We finally placed a new round of orders and it took her five trips back to the table to clarify "Did you want the sandwich or the entree?", "What side did you want?", etc. We had no confidence whatsoever that she understood our order. By her fifth question back to the table, we decided to cancel our order and leave; when we informed the waitress of this, she sent over the manager. Well, maybe. She sent over an older gentleman who never introduced himself, was in no way apologetic, and seemed more interested in finding out if we had caused her to spill the drinks than finding out how to make the situation better. We explained what happened, gathered our things and left four unfinished beers on the table. Go to Galway Bay. No, it's not on Main Street, but it's worth the three minute walk, even when you're soaked in beer. read more

Best bar, best karaoke night, ever ever ever. A gem to duck into on the middle of a tourist strip.

Castlebay has a great happy hour in the heart of Annapolis. Our favorite deal is the chicken tender appetizer, which should be requested "breaded" and not the default "beer battered". Once we forgot to request breaded, and the battered were served, but our server was happy to accommodate and replace the tenders with our desired preparation. Castlebay makes sure to keep their customers happy. read more

Love this place and the bartenders. They are experts at their craft and are very attentive to all customers no matter how busy it is. The bar itself is a perfect example of what a bar should be. Massive selection of different whiskeys bourbon and more and a nice beer selection as well. The food is always good and I have never been disappointed. The ambiance at night makes it even better when the lights go down and the nightlife really begins. They have karaoke sometimes and it's always a blast, live music and local bands and musicians round out a great night out. Whenever I am in Annapolis I always stop here to see some of the best bartenders Annapolis has to offer. They never let me down and i always have a good time at Castlebay... did I mention the great food and libations? read more

Honestly one of the worst restaurant experiences I've had in Annapolis. The place was dirty, the server rude, the music was crappy and the food was sub-par and overpriced for what it was. Had the Guinness burger and it was totally not worth it. Stick to other choices in the area for better Irish food as this place seems to be an Irish pub in nothing but name only. Avoid. read more

We checked into this Irish pub at a summer afternoon, it's cool inside and the interior was pretty nice as a pub. We tried the $16-corned beef with sour cabbage, $14 Irish beef stew, and the $14 fish and chips. Well I can't help thinking were they trying to give us a historical feeling ...? Plain water boiled potatoes, chopped carrots, with sour cabbage and humble beef steak that looks like a piece of ham. The food really ruined everything... They just taste like 19 century. Everything else was good though. read more

We visited here on 18 July. The server was very attentive and polite. The food was pretty good, no complaints. Only issue was the Sprite was flat both times he brought it out. I love the look of the place. read more

We asked the waiter for a drink menu and wine meun, he said "I can tell you most of the wine...." which he mention about 4 kind of wines....At the end, "he said we don't have any menu for wine or drinks. " Service was slow with the place may be 30% full, we waited 20mins for the drinks. read more

This was not as fun as the other bars we went to that night. Kind of a mellow keep to yourself kind of bar. Not packed and people kind of stared at their beers and talked to themselves. We had one beer and had to get out of there b/c the place was kind of lame. Not sure we will go back. read more

There were all of 7 people in the restaurant and we had terrible service and our food took so long we eventually just left. Would never return or recommend. read more

We stopped by here around 11:45pm on a Saturday for a beer and a late night snack. It's your very typical Irish Pub and we enjoyed ourselves for the short time we were there. We ate quesadillas and mozzarella sticks (have I mentioned how much I love cheese? I have a problem) both of which were very good and hit the spot. The solo musician playing guitar and singing was pretty good. read more

I've just drank here but every time I have, it's been a good time. Grabbed some beers here outside on Saturday, late afternoon/early evening and enjoyed the hell out of myself. I love people watching and that is what I feel Annapolis was created for. The draft list/bottle list is medium at best, the inside is very spare, the bathrooms are kinda eh....but the service is always great, hence the 4 stars. read more

My wife and I stopped in for a quick drink while waiting for Lyft to arrive. Definitely closer to a college bar. Ok for a standard beer.

I've eaten at all of the Irish restaurants in Annapolis, but I won't make a second trip to Castlebay. This past Thursday - Midnight Madness in Annapolis - a friend and I met for an early dinner before hitting the shops. I ordered corned beef and cabbage, something an Irish restaurant shouldn't be able to mess up. The corned beef, cut incorrectly and shaped like a piece of salmon, was cold. Not just sitting-out-for-too-long warm, but actually cold, like from the refrigerator. The vegetables were bland and without any attempt at seasoning, although some parsley flakes had been sprinkled around the plate. The restaurant wasn't busy, so that couldn't have been the problem. Regardless, it was unsatisfying, too say the least. Luckily the spice shop down the street was offering delicious hit chocolate and other treats to take my mind off this unfortunate meal. read more

Fantastic Cider on Tap - Amazing food - try the curry fries!! Bartenders are great as well! Come in a couple of times and they'll have your drink memorized and typically waiting for you before you sit down! read more

I went here while on vacation and met the owner. Very nice guy despite his tough exterior. The place is great and local. Good Irish mentality. read more