j k o'donnell's irish ale house

don't expect traditional irish food. i visited j k o'donnell's for dinner with my mom and sone. she orderedfishand chips and i ordered bangers and mash. the only thing irish about the food was the name. the "chips" were potato wedges, not the traditional soggy, steak-cut type chips you get in the uk or ireland. thefishwas also battered in a crispy, fishstick type batter.
as for the bangers and mash, the sausage tasted like bratwurst and the gravy looked and tasted like instant brown gravy. the gravy was milky and opaque instead of dark brown and more like onion soup broth, which is what i have had at any other traditional irish/english pub.
neither dinner was bad, but they were a huge disappointment when we were expecting traditional irish food.

will never go back!!!. we arrived as a family of 5 and it took them.at least 10 min to acknowledge that we were even standing there. finaly a waiter came and said we have a party getting ready to.leave we will seat you soon. 15 more minutes past and he finally sat us. we ordered our food which was the cheddar fondue salmon and full order offishand chips. we sat for 40 minutes to.get our food not once did our waiter come up to.us to see how we were doing no refills nothing. we got our food and it wasn't what i was expecting. salmon didn't come with anything it didn't look good at all. it looked like they cut a hole to.put the "wild" mushroom mixture in it then they had soggie very small potato cakes under the salmon it was very dry it wasn't good at all! this meal was $17 way too much for just salmon. then the fondue came with bread which was very stale.fishand chips a "full" order was two pieces of fish. it was sub par but it was the only thing that was with it. all this time not once did the waiter come and see how we were doing, no refills at all. we are all done and waited for a least 15 minutes before the waiter came and asked how everything was. i said it was the worst food ive had and we have never been here. he said let me get the manager first. well another 10 minutes later we were ready to go because our kids were still hungry and the manager gave me the excuse that they are very busy so that pretty much why food wasn't good. then he argued the pont that their bread isnt stale that is how its supposed to be that way. then he just walked away and took the salmon off the order he didnt come back to.me nothing.
not very happy with this place. we will never go back needless to say we took our kids to.mcdonalds for a bite to eat.

where else can you get corned beef and cabbage?. jk o'donnell's does offer something that no other place in the area does. i've never been to ireland but i imagine a nice pub there to look and feel exactly like this pub does. the owners have done a great job showing characteristics that are unique and fun. the grub is also pretty tasty. there are many menu items that remind me of all those traditional irish dishes that i always see on rick steve's europe. the corned beef and cabbage, irish stew, andfishand chips are a few of my favorites. as a whole, i feel like everything is about a dollar too much overpriced, but part of the appeal of this crafty pub is its uniqueness and originality. the craft beer list is outstanding. if you aren't a beer drinker be sure to check out their wine list. surprisingly, it's very diverse.

i love this pub for a multitude of reasons: excellent beer selection, chill atmosphere, free music on wednesdays, decent food and friendly staff. their chef is creative but the specials often sound better than they taste. the fried pickles are tempura battered and great. favorite entrees arefishand chips and bangers and mash. i adore the chocolate mousse served in a half pint glass with stout syrup.

good time bound to be had.. their beer selection is impeccable. any place that ever has three floyd's artic panzer wolf on tap is five stars in my eyes. but their food is pretty damn good too. the first time i ate there i ordered the ploughman's lunch, a make your own sandwich comprised of smoked turkey, ham, swiss and cheddar, greens, tomato chutney, mustard vinaigrette on potato bread. when i ordered the ploughman's lunch, i did not realize i was going to recieve a platter of sandwich goods i was gonna have to assemble myself. i have to admit i was severely disappointed by that fact. other than that minor set back i was thoroughly impressed by the combined tastiness of the sandwich ingredients; once assembled it was divine. the second time i attended a dinner at jk o'donnell's i ordered thefishand chips. the chips (basically thick cut french fries) were unimpressive and the sauces that accompanied the chips, a irish curry, garlic aioli, and spicy smoked whiskey, were all very very disappointing. you would be much better off asking for some good ole' ketchup or malt vinegar to top your fries. however, thefishwas off the wall crazy good. fried to perfection in a delectable batter, thisfishis some of the best i have had, as a good ole' indiana boy. i plan on revisiting jk o'donnell's many times to come.

great beer selection. the beer selection is great. the place looks like an irish applebee's though. an irish pub needs blood on the floors, a couple dart boards, not cold duck appetizers and "right out of the freezer"fishand chips...did i mention the great beer selection?