Molly's Irish Bar and Restaurant Cusco — Restaurant in Distrito de Cusco

Wife and I are in Cusco for a few days, and I noticed there were a couple of Irish style pubs near the center of town. Have visited Irish themed pubs in Japan, Hong Kong, Budapest, Vienna and the US, so thought it would be interesting to try this place.

I'll start right off by pointing out that it's not entirely clear what there is about Molly's that the owner feels makes it Irish. The atmosphere doesn't remind me of an Irish pub, and they weren't pouring any Irish beer. Molly's actually feels more like a sports bar that just happens to have several different Irish style items on the menu. Otherwise, the menu listed Guinness as an option, but it wasn't on tap and I didn't see any sign of cans or bottles. They did have Molly's Irish red on tap, whatever that is. Apparently, its not possible to obtain Smithwicks, Kilkenny, or any other actual red ales from Ireland.

In terms of beer, I think they had 7 different beers on tap and one cider. Most everything on tap was brewed by Zenith. I think they also had the usual ubiquitous light lagers available as well in bottle (Cusquena, Heineken, Corona, etc.). I ordered the Zenith IPA, which was OK, but no better than that. "Pints" here are generally in the $6 range for draught beer.

Service is where things really fell flat at Molly's. The young lady serving me was very polite and nice, but knew nothing about the beers on tap (she mentioned that she thought one of the beers was sweet, but could tell me nothing else). She also had no idea how to pour a proper pint. She short poured my pint and left more than an inch of foam in the glass. Didn't try any food, but I wouldn't be surprised if its pretty good. There seems to be a pretty vibrant restaurant scene in Cusco, with many places serving very good food.

Was here for just over an hour and had just the one pint. I didn't have a bad experience here, but it wasn't so memorable that I felt the need to stick around any longer. Interestingly, Molly's was pretty much dead when I left around 4:30 on a Friday. The area outside was packed with throngs of people. Maybe Molly's appeals to a late night crowd? Or maybe people shuffle in when there's an important Premier league game on the tele (there are several TVs interspersed throughout the pub)? Regardless, I was surprised the place was so empty on a Friday afternoon.

5/24/25 edit. And for the owners edification, I've been to Ireland several times and visited numerous pubs. At least in places Ike Dingle, Dublin and Castletownbere, I never saw one that was anything like Molly's in Cusco. However, as there are over 6000 pubs throughout Ireland, for all I know there may well be one somewhere that is just like Molly's in Cusco (though of course with a much different beer selection than what one can find at...

I would not have given four stars if it had not been for Carlos! We started out with a waitress who was nice but more interested in hanging with some regulars at the bar than checking on us. I don't know if Carlos noticed and took over, but all of a sudden frustration with inattention turned into fun conversation and positive attention from him. It is amazing what high quality service can do for one's experience at a restaurant/bar - and conversely how mediocre service can ruin what would otherwise be a fun evening. As far as the food, my wife and I were not impressed. She wanted shrimp curry. It took fifteen minutes for the waitress to come back and tell her they didn't have any after ordering. The BLAT sandwich she got instead was OK. I ordered Shepherd's Pie having read positive reviews from supposed Irish people. Don't know what kind of Shepherd's Pie they got, but mine was 3/4 mashed potatoes that tasted like potato flakes. There was not much cheese and a very thin layer of tasty meat stew underneath. I scaped off much of the unsatisfactory potato and ended up leaving somewhat hungry. So if I were you, I would ask to sit in Carlos' section and order something...

On our last night in Cuzco we decided to try this Irish bar, and it was a fun experience

The interior is reminiscent of a pub. There’s Irish decor, a bar, dining sections, and an area for live music. They were actually playing live music the night we were there. The singer was playing Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago, and Steely Dan songs. They were fun

The menu offers mostly typical bar food. We ordered the nachos, a couple things of wings, fries, and a pizza. The BBQ sauce on the wings and one of the pizzas is not typical American BBQ sauce. It has a very different taste. While we didn’t like it, it is unique. The hot sauce was also unique, but it was tasty, and it packed a bit of heat. The rest of the food was good for what it was

The service was great. Everything came out very quickly. Our server was excellent

Some tips: The nachos were actually very good. If you get the wings they’re pretty large, and they come with a dozen: Also, if you want to get a beer I would consider trying one of their local beers. They’re tasty. And if you’re looking for a buzz get a beer with higher abv% as all the beers were the same price no matter what...