On a recent business trip to Atlanta, I made it a point to visit a number of Irish pubs. I did this mostly because I love a good Irish pub, and partly because I enjoy reviewing them. In some small way I thought it was my duty, after work hours, to experience, and hopefully enjoy, Atlanta’s Irish pubs. Now, I wasn’t there for St. Patrick’s Day, but a good Irish pub shines on both March 17, and all other times of the year.
I visited a total of six. Four of the lucky ones made the very prestigious list of ‘Ron Hart’s Favorite Atlanta Irish Pubs”.
These four are reviewed below.
O’Terrill’s
510 Piedmont Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.oterrills.com/
Sometimes there are bars, Irish pubs in particular, that you simply cannot dislike, no matter what. O’Terrill’s is one of them.
By this, I don’t mean to imply that there’s something about it that I shouldn’t like; just that like a cute puppy or the baby of the family, some people and things are destined to get cut more slack than others. There is nothing remarkable really about O’Terrill’s except for it’s unremarkableness. If that makes any sense. And it DOES make sense to those who really love Irish pubs. See, to many, the prefect Irish pub experience is marked by a feeling of complete relaxation, friendliness and the ability to just be yourself, not spend a lot of money and enjoy some great Irish beers. And O’Terril’s delivers on all of those fronts. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but takes its customers seriously, and really But O’Terrill’s offers more than just a relaxed and friendly place that you can’t help but love.
They offer over 20 beers on tap, a very popular outdoor seating area, and a deceptively ambitious menu. The food here is actually the biggest, perhaps only, surprise. I had the haddock fish and chips and they were as good as fish and chips can be; very little grease, flaky and flavorful fish and just the right amount of bread. The prices here are very good and among the most reasonably priced in all of Atlanta.
Irish Bred Pub
74 Upper Alabama Street
Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.theirishbredpub.com/
Call it manufactured, call it contrived, call it less than authentic, but don’t say that the Irish Bred Pub doesn’t try. It fills a need: sadly, many areas of the United States don’t have Irish pubs and clearly, the Irish Bred pub does what it can to fill that void.
That’s hardly a great introduction, all things considered, but bear in mind that it made my list of one of the four best Irish pubs in Atlanta. It deserves to, given the fact that it brings an Irish pub, or at least a reasonable facsimile, to the underground area of Atlanta.
There are nine total locations, and while I haven’t’ been to them all, my guess is that all Irish Bred Pubs in Atlanta work in a similar way in that they are functional, representative and pretty good. The ‘fun quotient’ here is definitely high, as they host events such as “St. Practice Night” on the 17th of each month; or at least on 11 of the 12 months. The one on March 17, is reserved, of course for the real St. Patrick’s party, which is as good as any in Atlanta.
Generally, the crowd here is an after work crowd sometimes, a soccer mom lunch seeking crowd others, and on the weekends at times it’s a sports loving clientele here to watch the Braves, Hawks or Falcons.
Fado
273 Buckhead Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.fadoirishpub.com/atlanta/
Located in Buckhead, Fado is one of the hippest places in Atlanta, while still maintaining its identity as an Irish pub. They pour a great pint here, have an Irish attitude, and intersperse it all with live music, fantasy sports leagues and, best of all in my opinion, a rooftop patio with a heated floor.
As you might expect, the food is tremendous, with the Irish Smoked Salmon bites (my personal favorite) and the Guinness Barbeque Wings highlighting the appetizer, or bar menu. The Bangers and Mash and Shepherd’s Pie anchor the lunch and dinner menu.
Limerick Junction
822 North Highland Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia
http://limerickjunction.com/
Limerick Junction bills itself as “Atlanta’s Oldest Irish Pub”. We’ll take their word for it.
But I can attest to how much fun and well run this is pub is. The thing that sticks out the most is the feeling of friendliness and hospitality that strikes you when you first walk in. This is one of the best places in all of Atlanta to go for live music. They have great local bands and you’ll everything from Irish music, to hip hop from the DJ to old time rock ‘n roll.
The menu is solid, if not exactly authentically Irish. I am a big fan of their sliders as well as their the more traditional Irish dishes, such as the Shepherd’s Pie.
If you are visiting Atlanta for work, new to the area or a native of the region, it’s good to know that there are some excellent options available for Irish pubs.
