Waxy O'Shea's Irish Pub — Restaurant in Branson

Traveling with the family this summer to Branson, Missouri, we did much of the same things most tourists do when they visit here: Attend shows, go to amusement parks, visit theaters, and so on. But no vacation travel is complete without beer and when I inquired with locals on the best place in the area for craft beer, it was recommended that we pay a visit to Waxy O’Shea’s Irish Pub.

Waxy’s is an Irish themed pub and this fact is obvious upon entering the establishment. You see the Irish elements all around you and this continues when you reach the menu. They serve traditional Irish foods, but there are plenty of other food options also, with something to suit most anyone’s tastes.

We found the food served at Way O’Shea’s to be good overall and everyone at the table seemed satisfied; not elated, but satisfied nonetheless. With the drinks, I was more than satisfied with the beer selection and was happy to see so many different Missouri beers on tap. Whenever I visit an Irish pub, I’m always wary that I will find nothing but Guinness, Harp, and the usual macrobrews, but Waxy’s is different. They serve a good selection of craft beer and I discovered many new beers when I was here.

One issue we did have at Waxy O’Shea’s was the service. There were very few people here when we visited, but the wait staff was still slow and they didn’t check back with our table as much as I would have preferred. This did get a little frustrating and it also cost them some business, since I would most certainly have ordered more beer if they had been more attentive.

Waxy O’Shea’s is located in Branson Landing and its location is a definite plus because, once you finish eating and drinking, you will be right in the midst of other things to see and do. Aside from the slow service when I was there, the location, the laid back pub vibe, and the fine selection of craft suds are enough to make Waxy’s a place worthy...

This place is receiving one star only because the food that we received was good. When the server came over and said it was his third day and we were a nine person party, we should have known…. Some of the highlights, had to find our own menus, appetizers and food rang it at the same time so everything came at once, Tito’s and soda arrived twice at Tito’s and sprite, I asked about salad dressing and the server point to one on the table…it was malt vinegar and we never even received an appetizer we ordered. The incident that topped it off was that I had ordered a house salad which when it finally came out looked like a side salad. So I asked about the size, the food runner left and the “manager” came out and I inquired about the size of my house salad for $7. I took the lettuce, tomato and onion off my husband sandwich and I’m not joking when I say that would have made a bigger salad than what I was served. The manager informed that it was the house salad, I mentioned that very small for a $7 house salad and the manager, manager said to me…well we are so busy right now we’re just pushing food out as fast as we can. I said he could take my salad back and have it spruced up. At that point I told him to take it back and take it off the bill. The manager seemed more concerned about just pushing food out then actually making sure it was suitable. Also, the only things on my salad that I saw were lettuce, onion and croutons. It also concerns me that the server came around no less that seven times asking if we wanted about round of drinks…we couldn’t get our food, menus, or silverware, but we could have gotten...

During my first visit years ago I was introduced to the Scotch Eggs and Beer Cheese Soup and fell in love to the point I bought it every time I visited with my partner.

My second to most recent visit my partner and I made the same order and we couldn't stand the Beer Cheese Soup because it was just way too salty. I figured it might have been a bad batch and next time would be better. They included a slice of bread that had some cinnamon in it with cinnamon butter that I enjoyed (and ate my partner's as he doesn't like cinnamon) so I felt it compensated for the salty soup that I couldn't finish. I can't say if the bread was to please customers who were there Labor Day weekend as it was busier than non-holiday weekends or if it was a new addition that they didn't include with our most recent visit.

Sadly, the most recent visit had the same extremely salty Beer Cheese Soup. I had to send it back and let them know that it's too salty. From what I've seen from another reviewer here, it seems like it might be a permanent thing, but I hope I'm wrong.

The wait was also quite long even though it wasn't that busy. I usually don't mind waiting, especially if the food is amazing, but to wait 20-30 minutes for a bowl of extremely salty Beer Cheese Soup isn't it.

I will say though that their Scotch Eggs are great, the bread pudding is amazing, and their alcoholic drinks are pretty good, especially their Irish coffees. They're a little heavy handed, but I don't mind it at all. I hope that the salty soup and long wait are just things that need some time to adjust and isn't a permanent expectation...