First, the decor is trendy and the service was fast and friendly. The place is huge so I would imagine you could get a table nearly anytime without a reservation.
We made a reservation for St Paddy's Day and we should have known something was up when they had reservations available with our late booking. I was excited to see their cocktail menu as cocktails are not a "thing" in Ireland. Being a bourbon girl, I was giddy with the menu. Eagle Rare, Knob Creek, Woodford? Ah yes! How could I go wrong? Well, easy. I ordered one of the house modified Old Fashioned which was supposed to be made with Glendalough Poitin. When it came it smelled and tasted like tequila. I asked the waitress about it thinking there was a mix up and she brought a bottle of Micil Irish Poitin and said it was what the bartender had used and that it can sometimes taste smokey and can have a hint of tequila. She popped off the lid and asked me if I wanted to try it. Looking around the table with all full glasses and back at her, I couldn't tell of she wanted me to take the bottle and knock one back or what. Instead I just asked for a normal old fashioned. The new one was entirely too sweet but maybe I should lower my expectations of an old fashioned the further away from Kentucky I get.
For dinner, I ordered the pork belly. When it came, I knew I had made a mistake. It looked like and tasted like an overcooked, fatty pork chop. It needed to go back in the oven for another 4-6 hrs on super low heat to get that really nice caramelizing, cause the meat to fall apart and to make the fat get all melty. Instead, it was tough and tasteless. Not wanting to send it back, I ate it anyway. Everything else on the plate was good; black pudding, mashed potatoes and the sauce.
My husband got the hake which he said was good but the chips and mushy peas were just ok.
If you are in Galway, you could stop by for a drink but I would think twice before ordering dinner. read more