Pub McCarold — Restaurant in Montreal

DO yourself a favor and go to McDonald's : you'll get more service there.

I decided to miss a show, that I will probably never get to see again, for, instead, spending an evening with my two friends at the McCarold.

I worked in the food business and could tell this was not a busy night (sunday).

We must have waited over 20 minutes, I don't think it was 30, but who knows. Our server took our order. The drinks did arrive within 15 minutes, which is quite good compared to the rest.

The food arrived maybe 10 minutes after the drinks : we're almost an hour in.

We could not get our server back, don't ask me why, maybe the guy was busy with other people : you sometimes have to make choices, the one that pays more maybe! So we flagged a busboy and were able to get water.

Water seems to be something of value here : you won't see it often!

I wanted to order something else, but after a little while, no more than 20 minutes, I was fed up. We were fed up.

We saw our waiter maybe once. At least once for the initial order.

We stayed for a what... Over an hour and a half? Maybe less than 2.

I have never seen this kind of service in a whole 30 years and from many trips.

We decided we had enough and went over to pay our bills.

We all decided to go for option 5 : no tip.

The guy, then, asked us if everything was okay. We said yes. He then mentioned that the tip is not included on the bill. I guess the service was not included either!

At this point, there is no need to educate a man, probably a little older than me, within the intricacies of tipping etiquette.

The food was good, don't get me wrong. But was it THAT good for the price? After that kind of service, might as well got to McDonald's!

I wanted to go there for over 2 years. I did. And this was...

I spent two years touring and playing bodhran in the pub circuit in the 90s. I spent a deal of time in pubs in Ireland (mostly Dublin and Tipp.) Murphy's stout is a staple food in the south, & Harp is very popular with the Lady's. I couldn't get either here. But they recommended their own version of a Black&Tan and I said "Ok". What I got was a tan coloured beverage. The next one (and last) was what they don't call a Black&Tan but a Blonde&Tan. It is a light IPA with Guiness (well I used cider for mine) and it separates properly. I have to say it tasted delicious. But they have no clue what a Black& Tan is and WHY it is and the history of our Resistance and the "Volunteers" in the land. A Blonde&Tan is a Black&Tan so named to spit on and spite our Occupiers, & their Black n' Tan fists. So named for and by our Volunteers.

Anyway, the fish & chips weren't exceptional but they were edible. Woulda been nice with some Cabbage and carrot coleslaw or something to round out the meal. One tarter sauce (the blonde) is nice. The other is not fit for fish and doesn't have the right synergy, in my opinion. Had a hard time getting it down.

The server was great. The crowd was uneventful. There was no feel of Ireland there though, just U District Canadian city X.

I want to go to an Irish Pub and open my eyes and be in Cashel, or Tipp. Town. I want to hear the sounds, smell the smells, taste the tastes. A bit of lamb shepherd's pie, and oysters galore. Even pizza with corn on it (if you're Irish you'll understand 😂). It was a nice restaurant, but not much of an Irish pub. If it's not passin a hat and a celidhe, then Stream RTÉ...

Visiting Montreal and checked out this pub. The menu looked great. We sat and waited to be served for a very long time and finally flagged a bus boy for help. The waiter came over took our order and informed us they were switching shifts so we needed to pay now which was fine. My friend and I decided we would leave a cash tip since our "new" server would be the one filling drinks, bringing orders and checking on us etc.. The food was good once they brought the complete dish as they forgot an item, our drink glasses remained empty and we had to flag someone other than our server for a refill and then they only filled one glass. which was great.. I poured half into my friends so she could have a drink too.. After meals were complete and we were digging through our wallets for a tip a server came over and basically accosted us that we are required to pay a 15% tip and that he noticed we had not paid a tip on our bill and that was why he was coming to speak to us.. I could not believe this and had to bite my tongue.. or better yet.. my friend persuaded me to. It is also expected with a 15% tip to receive your full meal as well as water and not have to share with your dinner mate from one glass. You should earn a tip it is not mandatory.. ( I did tip, and I was going to still since I get the service industry but due to his comment did not tip as much as I was...