I was skeptical about this place given the reviews but ended up going with a group. We sat outside on a slightly cold day so there was plenty of room. We split a few different apps which were all good, and it was half price burger sunday so 10 of us got burgers, I went for the vermont burger and wasn't disappointed. I don't know what the indoor seating or management is like, but overall this place seemed just fine. read more

Are you older and like a place that sits half empty most of the time? Even on Saint Patrick's Day? This is your spot. Honestly, it's very basic pub food that they gave Irish sounding names. People are nice enough but this is not a place in demand. Ambiance is "empty" and built too big for the amount of patronage it receives. Probably will never go back. read more

Uhhhh, since when do nachos have a pile of lettuce on top? Oh maybe it's to cover the minuscule amount of dried up, hardened melted cheese and no sauce Draft beer list is good, but c'mon, how 'bout one gluten free beer option. read more

McGillicuddy's Five Corners - Nacho - Pubs Near Me - Essex, Vermont

We went in for lunch and the restaurant wasn't busy. It took forever to get our food. All three of our meals had cold fries. My husband's maple bbq burger came out with no maple bbq sauce. It then took a long time to get sauce from the kitchen. read more

Food is not good and there is no pride in kitchen . Hostess, server were very good . Priced ok but the food was so bad , in every way. They may have a hard time having garbage truck to accept what was on plates . Hazard waste . Great location, heavy investment inside but no upkeep, dirty and no training that is effective for kitchen or most of the staff . Never will revisit. Owner needs a good manager at this location. read more

It actually used to be a very decent restaurant. Brought in regular good reviews. The staff typically enjoyed being there. It Had regular customers that came in for the service, social structure, and food. Then it seems around the time they got rid of their last kitchen manager, who actually put in the work to keep the kitchen rolling, knew what he was doing, and cared about food presentation, and quality. the kitchen started falling apart again. Bad ticket times started emerging again, staff stopped caring about how quickly food was going out. And I'm sure the kitchen isn't being maintained anywhere nearly as well as it had been previously with a health inspection score of 95. It's a shame. ​I wonder what that guy is doing now if I was the owners I might try to contact him to come back. While hot headed at times, he seemed fairly reasonable. read more

Have to say that I have given this place oodles of chances to impress, but have not been given a good meal ever. When a place totally screws up basic nachos, you know you have a serious problem. read more

Being a yelp reviewer was definitely not on my 2023 bucket list but I've decided to pursue it . I got the maple chicken sandwich which I've gotten before but I had hoped this time the experience would be better. Overall the plating is nice , but the sandwhich itself is drenched in maple syrup , not drizzled as advertised and there's no maple mayonnaise in sight. The chicken was chewy and fried in some weird tasting batter which was sort of soggy due to the excessive maple syrup and 'maple mayonnaise' . As for the bacon? Surprisingly good. Unfortunately I did have to finish this due to my goal of Finishing my food no matter how bad it is. The restaurant itself is definitely targeted towered college boys and grown men who wish they were still, college boys. (Take that as you will). The tv at every booth and turn is great for an iPad kid like me but if you're not into the whole tv vibe? This won't be the place for you . read more

Stopped in for a quick meal after a rather long ride from NYC on the Vermonter (beautiful ride up btw). McGillicuddy's is located right around the corner from the train station - easy to get to a few stops away. The bar is one of the bars opened the latest in the area (til about 11pm) on Fridays. We were promptly seated and greeted by our attentive server who went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed after our journey. She conversed with us and asked us about our day. She was so gracious to give us some insights into the town and even went as far to find out what time the gas station across the street from us closed. On to the food, we ordered a variety of Wings ranging from their Maple BBQ wings to their Garlic Wings. Both were cooked to perfection! The sauce woooo baby..When in Rome...certainly indulge. The Maple BBQ was out of this World!!!! I swear I wanted to bottle this sauce and apply it to all of my meals from that point on...lol Their drinks are decently priced and they also have weekly specials for game watchers. I loved the fact that their booths are fully equipped with TV's for game days. If I were a local here, I would definitely be a regular! read more

Pretty nice Irish style pub! Things I immediately liked: High backed booths for privacy, nice and cozy. Also tons of TV's, with a personal TV at every table. ...Now that makes me wonder if folks stay for hours if their Football game is on! I mean I am newly here from Virginia Beach, VA, and I have noticed Vermonters eat as slow as they drive! I ordered food and even at 7pm on a busy night, food was here in less than fifteen minutes! Super fast. I ordered the Fish & Chips, and my wife had the Shepherd's pie. My dish was as expected, not unique, but tasty. My wife had Shepherd's pie, which was made "New England" style, which she states is just Meat, Potatoes, and Corn. I'm a little more used to a southern version which includes peas, mushrooms, and a couple other unknown spices for more flavor. But overall, great beer list, consistently tasty Irish food, fast service and TV's galore. I'll be back! read more

McGillicuddy's Five Corners - High backed booths, AND you can still see countless TV's - Pubs Near Me - Essex, Vermont

See all

I've been here half a dozen times and this is really a mixed review. There are some very positive 4/5 star things they've done and some really negative 1/2 star things. Let's start with the negative so I can end strong as I am sure I will be back. The booth seats are very large and sit low to the table. There are no normal table options. There are a couple booth, high back options but generally it is uncomfortable for any party over 4 where you must sit three in a booth like I did today. Most of the coat rack/hangers are broken so you must find a place for your coat. Today's service was the slowest I've witnessed from this place or from any place in years. It took us 90 minutes for lunch. While the waitress was super friendly, she was way overwhelmed. Not sure if they were short staffed or what but on any other given day we very well would have had to walk out before lunch made it to the table. Some positives. The food is always very good. Everything from their wings and other pub grub to their plates and sandwiches. I had the clam chowder today and it was amazing. Top 10 ever and I eat a lot of chowdah!! Finally, like I mentioned, the staff is always friendly. I'll sign today off as a bad day. read more

best Ruben on the east coast. Great bar, with tons of tvs and a top notch Moscow mule.

Great place to watch all the games. There are lots of TVs at the bar, and all the booths have their own TVs to watch. Food is good too. The have sunday specials too so you can gets all the chicken wings half prices and sunday night you can get half off burgers. Good stuff read more

I'm so disappointed! Just picked up 2 orders of chilli for takeout. Due to COVID, the bar tender brought my order out in a bag, ready to grab and go. I paid for the 2 orders and brought the bag home. When I opened the package, my first reaction was: are you kidding me? To say the portions are small is being nice. My second thought? Maybe they ran out of full size containers, or mistakenly gave me only half of my order...I called them to ask. The response was, "I'm sorry, I don't set the price." I asked to have my concern shared with the manager or owner only to discover they had hung up on me! Needless to say, I won't be going there any time soon. So much for supporting local restaurants during the pandemic. From now on, I'll take my business elsewhere. read more

Poor service. Bad food. Way too many other options in the area to put up with this. And it's surprising, because the Williston staff is really good and I've had decent (if uninspiring) food at the Colchester location. read more

Very good burgers and a decent selection of beers. I had the rodeo burger and my wife had the Vermont burger. Both we very good, cooked perfect, and juicy. Lots of TVs... would be a good place to catch a game. read more

I came, I sat there waiting for anyone to say hello. After 10 minutes I left never having been acknowledged. Nothing worse in my mind than being seen and being ignored. Place only had 3 patrons, how can you stay in business? read more

Usually I have good things to say about this restaurant, but today I don't. My husband and I wanted to have a nice meal tonight. We chose McGillicuddys, cause it's close to where we live. We ordered our dinner and noticed fruit flies flying around our table once our food arrived. I was eating my dinner and ate a fruit fly. Very unhappy. We addressed it to the waitress, but will not be returning to that restaurant again. read more

This is a really good Irish themed sports bar. The food is always good for lunch and dinner. Sunday brunch has a very limited menu and none of the options are gluten free. If that is your jam, you have to create your own gluten free brunch, which I did by ordering eggs, bacon, home fries and gluten free toast, which they do have. They could add an oatmeal and fruit option, or a basic breakfast (like what I created) or even a Pot O' Gold, which would go well with the Irish theme. That is cheddar bacon potato skins (their spuds O'Grady) with scrambled eggs on top. It's delicious. read more

This place once again was a huuuuuge disappointment from a food standpoint. I've learned to only get chips and salsa because who could mess that up. Well wouldn't you know mcgillicudys can. This was in my salsa cup. About 40% salsa 60% giant onion wedges. Honestly, how hard is it to hire competent chefs to make bar food. I don't get it. I guess I never will. I will never eat there again. read more

McGillicuddy's Five Corners - Onions - Pubs Near Me - Essex, Vermont

Went here for the first time and man it is by far the best one of the three in the area. TV's galore this is for sure the spot for watching your favorite sports while having drinks and some food. The TV's are huge (65")and plentiful covering entire walls of the place. Same menu as all the others, good quality pub food and an outstanding large bar with plenty of seating. Check this place out it's worth it. Hope this helps ! read more

See all

Unfortunately my party received terrible service at the Five Corners McGillicuddy's. To start off, we did not all receive the correct drinks we ordered and we asked for waters three separate times and never got any. We waited for our appetizers and food for over an hour, and came very close to leaving but remained patient. When we finally ordered our food, we asked for the check to be brought out and it did not come so we had to ask the bar. Our waiter apologized by mumbling, "sorry for the wait and whatever". My boyfriend and I were looking forward to eating here more often as it's close to our new apartment but we will not be returning unless the service improves dramatically. The entire visit lasted two hours when we were just looking to get a quick bite to eat. read more

Friend and I came in on a week day afternoon. We immediately noticed how clean everything was. Yes it's a newer place but keeping it up is tough for some places. There's a television for every booth. Our's was glitchy so it didn't really work. Our waitress was Catherine who was super nice! Wasn't pushy at all and had kind friendly attitude. We took our time and she didn't rush us at all. I got the turkey club with curly fries and a juice. I paid around $17 for everything but wow I got a plate full of food!!!! I had to box up some of it for a later snack. The setting here is a little dark but not terrible. It was quieter but not library quiet. The perfect setting sound wise for a meal. Parking was surprisingly easy considering it's 5 corners but there's a lot in the back that's large enough to hold a fair number of vehicles. I'd definitely come back. read more

We were in a few months ago with a very large party and they were very accommodating. Everyone's food was very good and there were no complaints. I've always enjoyed every meal I have had here. read more

Ordered clam chowder & potatoes skins Clam chowder was sour(sent it back). Potato skins over cooked/dry. Melted cheese on paper lining of plate, not in potato skins and bacon bits burnt. Brought out new(freshly made) clam chowder, but was room temp. Don't drink alcohol, so beer doesn't matter. Won't return! read more

The food was delicious!!! Prices fair, service great, and a tv for every table with sport and other options. Our big table enjoyed and can recommend the wings, the fries with gravy and cheese, burgers, fried fish and a wide variety of beers and cocktails. read more

First time lunch at the new location in Essex with family from out of town. Love the Williston location, however Essex was not as good. Space is beautiful, super clean, restaurant and bathrooms. But the food was less than tasty. I ordered the spinach/artichoke dip and you could see the oil floating on the top of the crock, tried to stir it out but not helpful made it worse. The Baked Macaroni and Cheese was tasteless and runny. The Clam Chowder was DEFINITELY NOT chowder, it was soup , very thin , dark in color soup...You cannot really screw up chicken fingers , but they managed to way over batter and fry to way to long. French fries were delicious though! Beer was awesome as usual and the service was good. read more

Food here is always average or below average. Lack luster service. There are so many better options in the area. It's too bad because the location is decent. read more

Not a good experience one of the cooks quit the night before we had ordered our meal over hour ago and still a 20 minute wait. We decided to leave at that point and waitress said she would not charge us for what ordered and still didn't receive lol read more

This location is relatively new and is overflowed with televisions. In my opinion, it decreased the amount of interaction with the people I came with because all of our eyes were glued to the excessive large screen TVs. By the time we left there were people lined out the door waiting to get in. Their draft list is quite nice when I visited with a good selection of beers. The menu is quite large with reasonable pricing, but it's nothing to write home about. It's fairly standard pub food with minimal flavor. Good enough if you're getting drinks. One of the main reasons I rated it 2 stars instead of 3 was the servive. I don't know if they were short staffed or there was a different reason, but we came at 12pm and didn't get out until 1:45. We ordered good at 12 and it didn't arrive until around 12:45, then spent the rest of the time tying to get our checks, but our waiter was no where to be found. Didn't check on us the whole time and didn't see him until we asked a different waitress to get him. TL;DR Decent food, good draft list. Hope you have a lot of time to spare waiting for service. read more

Extremely slow service. The shepherds pie was awful. Took 4 times asking to get the check

It's really hit or miss. Sometimes I get great food here and other times it leaves something to be desired. The Swedish fish alcoholic drink is phenomenal. The Buffalo chicken dip could gag a maggot. It was literally the grossest thing I've ever had in my entire life. It was like random squares of processed chicken in some sort of a funky cream sauce. I couldn't even eat half. The boneless wings are good but pretty pricey for what you get. They're literally balls of chicken dunked in whatever sauce you choose. $11 for small for about 6 to 7 chicken balls. The last time I ordered teriyaki sauce they were all about half covered in sauce with the remaining half naked breading. read more

I was feeling subpar when I woke up this morning. Ended up in Essex, where I don't often frequent. Came to this place and stayed for hours. The food is your typical American cuisine- beautiful burgers, wonderful wings and amazing appetizers. The staff is friendly and attentive throughout the entire visit. I must say, the thing that sets this place apart from all others is their music selection. I found myself listening and loving the greatest of the 70's and 80's. If your a fan of good food, camaraderie and even better jams- this is your spot. read more

Very satisfied with all the 3 resturaunts five corners, on the the green, and the williston location as well their food and servers are awesome their burgers are amazing i highly recommend it read more

The menu features a lot of burgers as well as hot sandwiches . I ordered the blue cheese burger , which was really tasty with cold slaw as a side. Highly recommend . read more

Went here on Sunday 10/28 and board outside of entrance read half price wings after 12pm. Sign did not distinguish bone in or bone out and sever never made us aware of this when ordering so we expected half price wings across the board. When we got our bill, we questioned why bill was full price for bone out wings and half price for boneless. Asked server why this was and was told that held price was for bone in only. On the way out after paying bill we double checked the special board again and said nothing about bone in or bone out. Called manager on duty, tried explaining to Aurora the issue and proceeded to try and talk over my gf and told us it was dine in only which we explained that we had dined in and just wanted to let her know that her board should show that it is bone in only at half price. She was absolutely rude in every way possible. Will never go to eat at this location ever again. Called manager the next day and tried to tell us we were lying about it. Bad customer relations. read more

We've been coming here since they opened and it's always been excellent- until today. After waiting for what seemed like forever, our taco salads were tasteless and both meat and shell were overcooked. New bartender? New management? We'll try a new place next time we're out. read more

Mcgillicuddys has great food and great service. Food is always consistent and tastes great. They have local grass fed burgers and a great variety of menu items. They also have one of the largest selections of local brews anywhere around. As a google guide I would highly recommend them to try. read more

While I have previously dined here and enjoyed it, I have not experienced the best service. This time in particular my friend and I went in to eat dinner and wound up having to leave. We were seated in a section and asked to move, the waitress was really nice and accommodated our request. Our drinks were brought to our new table promptly. The problem occurred when we waited 20+ minutes for anyone to come back and ask us our order. It was even mentioned to the hostess that our table was ready with no avail. Finally, another waiter had to be flagged down to find our waitress. She promptly apologized admitting that she had forgotten us. No manager but nicely enough the bar tender waived the margarita I had ordered but we still chose to pick a new spot for dinner. Not sure this will be my last time there but it sure puts a black spot on how I view this establishment and I hope to receive better service in the future. read more

This was my second time eating here. The place is new and clean, prompt service and staff is friendly. We ordered Nachos, and burgers. The nachos were a huge disappointment. Stale chips, globs of cheese, but lacking in anything else. Minimal hamburger, very few if any diced tomatoes, no black olives or jalapeños. Plus the smallest amounts of salsa and sour cream that came in little plastic containers. Then less then 5 minutes later out came our meal. The burger was good, prepared exactly how I like it. Not over or under cooked, and handful of steak fries. Not a bad place over all, maybe a little more attention to detail. read more