2 days Ago By Katelyn Umholtz
By Katelyn Umholtz You’re reading The Dish , Boston.com’s guide to the Greater Boston food and dining scene. Sign up to get expert food guides, chef Q&As, and industry news in your inbox every week .
I’ve only ever lived in cities that go big on St. Paddy’s Day , hanging out in Savannah squares among 300,000 other revelers, catching cabbage from Mardi Gras-style floats in New Orleans, and now in Boston, a city dubbed Ireland’s 33rd county. I’ll leave out my thoughts on which parade is better , but there’s one area where Boston definitely shines: its Irish pubs.
It’s not that other cities don’t have Irish pubs. But as Paul Wilson, a Dublin native and the current director of operations at Boston-based Glynn Hospitality Group, puts it, they’re “Irish in name only.” Other than some shamrock or leprechaun decor, a lot of America’s Irish pubs feel more like any other sports bar (and to be clear, some Boston pubs feel that way, too).
So what is it about so many of Boston’s Irish pubs that make you feel as if you’ve been transported to Ireland? I asked a few owners, staff, and customers about what makes the Irish pubs in Boston the best Irish pubs in the country — and the best neighborhood bars in Boston. Music “There’s such a thriving Irish music scene in Boston that doesn’t exist in other cities in America, as far as I know. There’s an Irish session somewhere in Boston any week,” said Patrick Coppinger, a musician who’s played the fiddle at The Burren for two years now.
If you’ve had a pint at the Somerville pub , you’ve probably seen multiple fiddlers and flutists tucked into the corner booth, informally playing Irish tunes by ear. Like The Burren, Mr. Dooley’s offers live music seven days a week.
That’s in lieu of TVs or giving it the feel of a sports bar, said Noelle Somers, COO of Somers Pubs. “It’s a huge part of creating an atmosphere for conversation [and] for enjoying the music, the food, and drinks.” Guinness Lots of bars serve Guinness.
It’s about serving it the right way that can make a Boston Irish pub stand out. “Everyone over here is obsessed with how [Ireland produces] their Guinness. We try to get it as close to that Irish standard as we can,” said John Lydon, who co-owns Scobie’s and Shamrock Pub with his wife, Anne Lydon.
There are a slew of factors that go into that perfect Guinness pour, including temperature, the glass, how quickly you serve it after the pour, and the environment of the pub where it’s served. More on that in a Guinness guide Boston.com is publishing soon! Food matters, too Sure, fish and chips at a bar is something we’ve seen before.
But it’s the little touches, like serving full Irish breakfasts at most bars, that set Boston’s Irish pubs apart. At the Black Rose, you’ll find both black and white pudding on a plate with rashers and bangers. And at the Druid, don’t expect to find ground beef in your Shepherd’s Pie.
It’s traditionally made with lamb, so that’s how they serve it. “Only in Ireland would you hear of a Shepherd’s pie with lamb, which is how it’s supposed to be,” said Cathal O’Dea, a bartender from Doolin at the Druid. Community When Cathal O’Dea arrived in Boston from Doolin in 2013, Ireland, he had zero plans.
He called The Druid for a place to stay. Except for a handful of years back in Ireland and Baltimore, he’s been bartending there ever since. “The guy that answered the phone, I’d grown up with him.
He gave me directions from the Silver Line to the Red Line to the Druid, and [let me] stay on his couch upstairs,” O’Dea recalled. In his time at the Druid, he’s worked with multiple people who he knew from school back in Doolin. Thanks to direct flights between Logan and Dublin , Boston has a strong connection to Ireland.
The pubs here are run by or employ Irish immigrants, and Irish visitors seek out Boston’s pubs. But no matter who’s working the bar, or who you’re serving, it’s about making the space comfortable for everyone, like an extended living room. “When [Irish] people come to visit, it’s a home away from home,” said Wilson, Glynn Hospitality Group’s operations director.
“It’s a place where there’s comfort and entertainment and conviviality — we like to call it ‘craic.’” Nearly everything I get from this Brookline spot is perfect — from the fried chicken to the crispy pork belly. But the yum som-o (also known as a pomelo salad, a classic, tangy Thai salad), blew me away.
I’m not really a salad person because salads are sad, for what it’s worth. But the pomelo brightened it up, the cashews and coconut gave it texture, it had a nice heat, and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. — Katelyn Umholtz Katelyn Umholtz Katelyn Umholtz covers food and restaurants for Boston.
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