mcnellie's public house

my very cute and civic-minded roommate had jury duty this past week, so for the first day lunch break i picked her up, and we went to lunch. we tried an okc institution that used to be called kaiser’s ice cream, and is now called the grateful bean, but they were closed monday’s. we made a trip across the traffic circle to brown’s bakery to pick up some doughnuts and cookies, and then headed more around the circle to mcnellie’s. it smelled pretty good. i started off with some chili as my soup. it was very chunky, and not too bad at all. since the temperature outside was 41f, it hit the spot. i also got the cottage pie, with mashed potatoes on the side. cottage pie is essentially shepards pie, and so had mashed potatoes in it. i didn’t finish the side order, but they were good. the cottage pie was really good, not too spicy, but hotter than heck. it had some peas and carrots in it, and the gravy in it was a good complement. raegan got a blt, and she was very happy they had sweet potato f

what has happened?. mcnellies was the closest thing to an irish pub in okc. last few times i tried to go there, it was more like a club than a pub. did not remind me of ireland. this was one of my favorites places to go.

the fish and chips are amazing here!

bad service. almost always slow service and sometimes actually rude servers. this wouldn't be so bad except that it happens even when they aren't busy. i think it must be their corporate culture. really sad for such an otherwise good place..

best thing ever: cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato soup. just do it. pair with a pilsner or pale ale for a nice contrast.


-----24 jan, 2011-----

just plain good. i always seem to forget to review some of my most favorite places, and i must apologize to mcnellie's. i've been here countless times to sample their formidable beer menu, and still plenty of times to put real hearty food in my belly.

yes, it's pub food. you're going to see fish & chips and other standard fare, and it's all as good as you could ask for. today i discovered my new favorite here against all odds -- grilled cheese with tomato soup. it sounds so simple, it's priced so reasonably (for a pub dinner), but somehow the buttery crispness and creamy tomato basil goodness bounced so perfectly off my sam smith's india ale it became a little emotional. maybe it was the 19oz beer talking, but that's kind of the point here.

all in all you're generally going to have a great experience here unless you're with horrible company, which means you probably just need new friends. they have a little faster server turnaround than i'd prefer, as every time i'm here it's someone who just started, but in each case they've been fun, attentive, and at least moderately knowledgeable.

ps, try the sweet potato fries. you won't regret it.

i went on $3 burger wednesday this week, and the place was packed. i stuck with just the burger for the evening along with the potato and leek soup. look forward to another visit.

cottage pie or fish n chips + half &half = happy me

flat out ignored, never served and left. went here with a friend recently around 3:30 in the afternoon. hardly anybody in the place, but there were at least 5 servers wandering around on the 2nd level where we were sitting. nobody ever came to the table! never!!! i was really hungry and craving one of their wraps with their sweet potato fries (been there 2x's before), so i had a lot of patience as willing to sit there upwards of 10 minutes. my companion was very frustrated and wanted to leave, but i just tried to explain away the bad behavior of the wait staff that was straight up ignoring us. i tried to flag them down multiple times. three of them kept going over to the area where they prep and get drinks. just as i was about to actually get up from the table to ask one of them to come over to us, i realized how ridiculous it was that i would have to do such a thing and decided it was indeed time for us to leave!

i will never go back after this experience or recommend it to another person!

fish and chips. my wife and i recently went to mcnellies and had the fish and chips. i dont know why restaurants mess with a good thing. i dont know when they changed the fish but it is not as good as it used to be. the fish was bland and the only thing that saved it was the tartar sauce. go back to the other fish it was much tastier.

great beer selection. of course, this place has an amazing beer selection. i'm sure you've heard it before, and all the hype is right. however, the service usually leaves much to be desired. i know they are busy, especially at happy hour, but it would be nice to see the servers and bartenders put a smile on their face once in a while. if that's not possible, hire them some more help so they're not in the weeds so much!!

cozy atmosphere. the bar staff are well versed in what's available. burger nights (wednesday) are hectic, but it's a darn good burger for$ 3! sit at the bar. talk to the staff. enjoy yourself, just once. you will be back and don't be suprised if they remember your name.

sitting here at 9:30pm on a sunday hardly anyone here sitting at the bar, worst service everrrrrr. been here for over an hour bartender has managed to give us each one drink and one refill of water.... asked her for a beer she said ok went over took some guys order after ours. forgot our beer so we asked for our tab.. also there were a total of 6 ppl on the third floor. too expensive and awful awful service, waste of time... need new staff who can multi task, this coming from a bartender/server.

fun bar.....lame food. great selection of beers, but the waitresses do not pay attention to their dinner guests. the food was fair at best. my reuben sandwhich was dry and tasted like salt and not much else. my bf's burger was beyond well-done and he had to ask for mayo 3 times before getting it. fish and chips were good, though. i'll be back for guiness and that's it!

great place for a late bite and a pint. we went here after a ball game, and it was the perfect place to end the night. caesar chicken wrap, reuben sandwich, and their crispy sweet potato fries went well with pints of shiner blonde light.

they seem to always "run out" of the special beer. horrible service, good food.