What a great place to drop into. Head over on St. Patrick's Day for the best time SLO has to offer. On New Year's Eve, McCarthy's is the place to be if you want to participate in a New Year countdown on Dublin time. read more

McCarthy's is our local dive bar! I say dive bar with everything that comes with it, which you can read about the other reviews. They're kind enough to allow a local Autism benefit to take place on their outdoor patio. Crawtism benefits kids with autism. Our local founder Michael McGee has been hosting it for 19 years Many of the people that attend were participants in the late great San Luis Obispo Mardi Gras festival, so there's a lot of camaraderie. There were also a lot of new faces students and locals who have taken up frequenting McCarthy's. The food was hot and earthy, a great Jambalaya served in bowls. The crawfish was the star of the show, with the rosy red beasties arriving hot from the pot, steamed and juicy. Corn, potatoes, and bread came with the crawfish. It was fun to watch the attendees learn to eat the little crustaceans, everyone expressing their delight in the seafood. This was truly a wonderful celebration with a great heart and soul. We're looking forward to celebrating many more years in the future! read more

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After show coming from NJ and was recommended this dive bar. I don't care that it was slow . It is a Tuesday.. but played jukebox and bartender wouldn't turn it on and could care less bout me Expect this in Seattle.. not in a very friendly city. Much better places. Very disappointed read more

Fun place to stop for a cold one. Staff was very nice. The bar was busy and it looked like the locals were enjoying themselves! read more

McCarthy's Irish Pub - Pubs Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

We were just there a group of 10 tonight at 12:00 bartender rude disrespectful quit serving us because the tip was in good enough tall white guy we are local as we go there often we will not be going there back no more ever again I hope the owner sees this message we were going to leave 40 tip on the credit card we were not even finished drinking our drinks when he was saying if you don't tip me right now no more service I really hope the owner gets this message read more

the worst experience i've ever had in my life. Brought my friends who are visiting to show them the "great" atmosphere of SLO and the bouncer outside completely ruined it. Called us fairies and told us to "take our costumes off" when we were waiting 30minutes in line and wouldn't let our entire group in at the same time... then got mad because we didn't want to separate? Absolute worst service i've ever experienced in my life and i've traveled the country. I will never reccomend this establishment to anybody i know and in fact i will reccomend they do not attend. -100/10 experience. this place is garbage. read more

Great 49ers fans and bar that are friendly and fun to cheer your team. GO NINERS! GO FIGHT and of course, WIN!!!!!

Came by for a drink after a Cerro hike. Place has inside and outside seating. Upon entry, I felt like I was entering a cave. It was bright outside but dark inside. Took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Planning to get a usual Bulleit but saw that they had Pliny the Elder on tap. I always wanted to try it so I asked for a pint ($8). Take note that they charge $1 if you use a credit card (so $9). I only had one drink. Beer was very good and the pour perfect. Staff was very friendly and welcoming. read more

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Great experience here, however that "croatian sensation" has continuously provoked me, ignored me at the bar when trying to order a beer. The other bartenders are great! Great music, great ambiance. 8.12456/10 for ignoring my order :( read more

Nice atmosphere. Attentive staff. Cold beer. AMI jukebox. Nothing more you could ask for. Making this a regular stop every time we hit SLO.

My girlfriend does not drink, but she will still enjoy good food and non alcoholic drinks with me at a pub once in awhile. We stopped here for the heck of it when we were walking around town. I ordered a Heneiken with some Fish N Chips, and it was wonderful. Nice patrons come here. Pretty mellow without any trouble makers. Compared to our Orange County pubs and bars lol. Bartenders are friendly, and so are the locals. This may be our go to spot every time we are in town. read more

The experience here was absolutely awful! I've been here before and the food is bad :/ didn't want to have to write a review but tonight the man at the entrance didn't let us in due to "being done for the night" but proceeded to let others in despite this statement. MIND YOU they were white..my friends and I are people of color???? We clearly experienced racism. I have overheard that this is a big issue in this college town and I was so unsettled by this experience I had to leave a review and make sure others know that the ambiance here is not up to par with todays standards! The owner of the restaurant should communicate with the staff and proceed to implement inclusivity training! read more

McCarthy's Irish Pub - Pubs Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

Visited McCarthys on 10/11 and purchased one Moscow Mule. I tipped one dollar, finished my drink and left to a different bar. On 10/13, I had a charge of 110$ on my card. I called and left a message with a bartender who mentioned he would pass it on to a manager. I did not hear anything for two days, so I visited in person in hopes I could grab a copy of my receipt and it could be sorted out quickly. I was told by the bartender to leave (another) note and he would pass it on to the manager who would be in the next day. Five more days went by without hearing anything, and I called again, where a man told me he passed the message on. It has been almost three weeks since this happened, and I haven't been reached out to at all. I hope this was a mistake on McCarthys end and they don't do this to people hoping they don't notice but the lack of communication makes me think otherwise. read more

We loved this bar when were visiting SLO. We had Pliny the Elder pints. Our server, Thor was super friendly and regaled us with stories about the area and gave us great recommendations on places to eat and drink while we were in town. This bar had a great vibe. read more

This is our go to bar when we are in SLO. Robert the bartender and Chewy took good care of us. String drinks, chill atmosphere, smoking patio with games, and plenty of local characters! Drink prices are reasonable. Fun fact, they have been the #1 Jamesons seller in the entire USA three times! Have a few and help them reclaim the distinction! Five out of Five! read more

This place is very hit or miss. One of the bartenders is funny and we had a great time chatting with him! However, the other bartenders didn't have the same vibe and only focused on what drink order you had. The inside isn't as big and tends to get crowded easily during the late hours of the night. McCarthy's does have an outside area but it isn't really nice. Upon checking in, a Yelp check in deal is shown which is a whiskey shot with a free beer. It was difficult to show and explain to the bartenders as well because they were also trying to convince us that it exists. read more

I called at 9:08 on 7/10/25 a gentleman answered the phone I asked him if there was way he could check and see if my boyfriend was at the bar still his phone turned off and he was very drunk I was supposed to pick him up I had to take a detour and I didn't want him to try to drive home because of how long I was taking so I thought call the bar ask if he's there if he is just tell him to wait his ride got delayed your employee said no I don't know who that is (my boyfriend ) I don't know what you want me to do don't F**"" call here again laughed at me and hung up the phone !!! thankfully I managed to call his friend and he went over there and by the grace of God he got there right in time because my boyfriend was already getting into his car and he was in no position to drive I understand your business isn't responsible for the choices your customers make after they leave your establishment but I mean not caring about a customers well being was very disappointing and the way he talked to me was completely unacceptable regardless of the situation read more

I am not a drinker, but I still love a fun festive drink to celebrate. I went to McCarthy's and asked the bartender for a mocktail. He said "I don't do mocktails. Why don't you just get a coke?" The atmosphere was not very friendly. read more

Love the food and atmosphere Steak was cooked perfectly and my husband loved the Chili.

0 Zeros. Racist and we were hate crimed. Bartender even complained about a tip after we tipped him. We got 6 shots, and 2 were not taken and were just missing. We politely asked if we could get another 2 since they were stolen or taken from us. Bartender immediately got defensive saying to kick us out? I've never been treated like that. We are in the tip industry, we know what it's like to live off tips. Guy with beard, shoulder length hair, huskier, and a Giants hat. He wasn't even our bartender and we only ordered that round. It was the beginning of our night. Being in the customer service at a casino, we get yelled at and people get aggressive, but we never act unprofessional to them. Thumbs down And it was my birthday. Bartenders could have ate with our tipping. Their loss. Worst customer service EVER. Not a welcoming vibe, although advertised as such. read more

RACIST PIECE OF GARBAGE BARTENDER BOOOOOOOOOOO he threw out shots that other customers already paid for because they were playing rap music on the jukebox like what the actual hell????? never going there again, bartender (tall, big, wears giants hat) was unprofessional and immediately denied everything and kicked out the whole group and they weren't even doing anything wrong. I have a feeling it's bc none of them were white :( so so wrong read more

BAD EXPERIENCE. I was out with friends for my BDay. Had 2 beers before heading over to Mccarthys for drinks. We're all laughing as we arrive at the ID check. The door guy Paul appears trashed slurring his words and can barely ask for IDs he checks everyone but mine and flirts with my girl. Then looks at me and tells me while slurring "no mas, no mas" we were confused and I ask what? He says I'm drunk and I'm cut off. We all ended up leaving. I decide to call and report him. The manager tells me to come back so he can take a pic of my ID and I can file a formal complaint. So I come back. Paul recognizes me I tell him I'm filing a complaint and to get his manager. He comes out and when I tell him who I am he laughs, refuses to receive the complaint and says "that was a fucking joke" your not filing a complaint get out of here. At this point I'm beyond pissed. I ended the night on 2 lousy beers. Happy Bday to me. My girl and I will never recommend this place to anyone. read more

This was another dive bar that a few friends and I went to while in San Luis Obispo. Unlike most of the other places we went, there weren't quite as many college kids here, though there were some. This place had a crowd that was closer in my age than the other places we had been. Probably the funniest part of the night was when a couple of inebriated college girls pulled me out to dance with them in the aisle, now notice I said inebriated. It was funny because Of the fact that years ago, I taught Jazz and Funk dance classes professionally. And even though I was probably 20 years older than these girls, I still schooled them in dance (at least in my mind...wait, or was I just inebriated), who knows? It was like 1:15 am. I just remember that I had to catch one from falling flat on her face as she was trying to do something that didn't quite work right. Oh well, just another night at the local Irish pub in SLO. Cheers! read more

McCarthy's Irish Pub - Pubs Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

Was my friend's 21st birthday and towards the end of the night I told her she should order her first drink at the bar. We saw the bartender do a few blowjob shots on the bar so we thought we could get one too. My friend asks for one and the bartender in a very condescending way said that he had already done more than he wanted to that night and that my friend "was asking for the wrong things". Just overall rude service and she was embarrassed as it was her first time ordering. Will probably not be back if this is how they treat paying customers. We left soon after that with nothing because of the experience and went to Mclintocks, where we got two shots and had a great time! read more

This is my kind of bar. Friendly bartender, excellent music, dark. No food is served but they don't care if you bring it in or order for delivery here. Easy all the way around. read more

The first place I go when I get to SLO and the last place for a beer before I leave. Classic locals pub. A little dark, a little dingy; filled with people who love each other. I always play shuffleboard at least once every time I visit. Great place for the Super Bowl, by the way... read more

Great bar. My favorite spot in SLO. Have a great time each visit. The old school vibe is right up my alley.

We have visited McCarthy's Irish Pub multiple times and had a great rapport with one of the bartenders which made us a regular. We always check in and get a treat like a free beer once we order a shot of a Jameson Whiskey. However, we just came in and they disregarded the check in at Yelp. And even mentioned how company's like Yelp does not give them any benefits whatsoever. Definitely would only come here when the bartender we like is working but other than that, it was a disappointing visit on a Saturday night. read more

I've been coming here for years, and the bar is great. I'm writing a yelp review for the restroom remodel only in hopes that the owners see this. I'm not sure if the remodel is supposed to be a temp solution or not, but would like to offer some comments. The wall and floor tiles being installed are "Home Depot" style slate, which are porous and brittle and will not hold up in a high-use commercial situation such as this. Their rough surfaces will be hard to clean, hold a lot of grime and be unsanitary. Commercial and institutional facilities usually get full-set glazed ceramic tile on walls and quarry tile on the floor with epoxy grout. A floor drain would make it easy to clean and hose out, and a bonus would have been to install a stainless basin w/grate below the urinal to catch the overspray, like they have a Giuseppe's. Saturday night, with the restrooms freshly opened, the entire area around the urinal was completely soaked with piss (drunk people can't aim). The tile will soak up the piss and start to smell bad - no matter how much it's cleaned. I would have used stainless or HDPE toilet partitions, and installed a new countertop at the sinks too. It looks like they installed a used countertop.... after spending all that money. read more

Paid to use their jukebox and listen to a song we love. Waited an hour to hear it buying drinks while we hung out. 5 seconds into the song the song skipped. After asking the bartender why our song skipped he said it was because the owner was there and skipped songs that weren't popular. What a douche read more

I like coming by for a tasty Bloody Mary while the wife gets coifed. They don't look like much, but they are damn tasty. Friendly enough crowd on Saturday mornings (yeah, in the a.m. -- no other bar is open before 10), and the bartender is always on his game. Cheers! RS read more

McCarthy's Irish Pub - BMary - Pubs Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

As you can see, most good reviews are from few years ago and recent reviews are so poor. It's not even because of drink or food but the people working there... I was refused to enter the pub by a bouncer because the way I walked looked drunk according to him. Well I had a glass of wine at a restaurant before going to this place but I was totally sober and am pretty sure I walked like a decent human being. I tried to have a civil conversation with the bouncer to explain and prove that I'm not drunk at all (like I told him that I can demonstrate that I can walk straight) but he didn't listen to me. No other workers bothered to care about this situation either. I guess I will just need to practice on my walk and show up like a model next time I go to other bars. There's no next time for this place though. read more

Very average "pub" (even though the "irish pub" part of the decoration is not very present) Young crowd, (not very friendly btw), very nice bartender serving huge pours of Jameson for 5$! OK for that "one last drink for the road" after spending the evening in SLO. read more

McCarthy's Irish Pub - Giant whiskey shot...!!!! - Pubs Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

I really enjoyed hanging out at this pub. It was an unexpected part of our journey around downtown SLO on a Friday night. We just walked around and happened to end up here, which is a little off the main path but not far. I love a good Irish pub. The first thing I noticed about this one is that it was done in an authentic and fun way. It wasn't tacky with little leprechaun posters everywhere. It had real pictures of real people, Irish flags, a huge shuffleboard table, and a nice big wood bar top. They played a lot of the best classic rock and oldies until it got to be after 10pm, then they played some current stuff too. After we sat down, a super nice bartender helped me find the right thing. He let me try a couple beers until I found one I liked because the selection ranged from classic every bar beers to very unique crafts. The tap section was pretty big. This place was a great break from all the super hip and upscale places in downtown you see these days. It had character and charm. I would definitely recommend checking it out! read more

First time in slo and John was the best bartender I've ever had. Outgoing guy and amazing at his job. Highly recommend McCarthy's.

as a young woman, this is the only bar where i feel safe. the bartenders are nice and the drinks are cheap. the people are cool. i will always recommend this place. read more

Traditional bar with a lot of history. Used to live in SLO years ago but make a point of coming here on every trip back. Always great when Robert Gaslight is working. One of the few must-go places in SLO when visiting read more

Horrible time. Bartender was rude to a bunch of people who were willing to compromise. Lines are short for a reason. Don't go not worth.

I would rather kick a soccer ball with a toothpick under my toenail than have another drink in this bar. The staff is about as pleasant as an unclean fair porta potty on a hot summer day, and the atmosphere is somehow even worse. read more

Fun & lively crowd, good vibes on the juke box & service is spot on. Definitely a local pub that we would frequent if we lived in SLO.