The Hooley Pub & Kitchen — Restaurant in Brooklyn

My reviews come with a caveat when warranted. The Hooley House is a place you'd go to get Irish food. So if you order non-Irish menu items, you might not be getting "the full experience". That said, if a restaurant only excels in their particularly themed items, they shouldn't have a four page, widely varied menu.

That out of the way, it was advertised Build Your Own 1.2 pound "hooley burger" as a happy hour special. So yeah, burgers are a good litmus test for any restaurant, so okay. I order a burger with bacon, mushrooms and onions. Pretty simple. Waitress comes back and says they're out of mushrooms. That soured me because I love mushrooms to an obsessive extent. Okay fine, slap an egg on it. Well, burger comes and egg is overcooked as in no runny yolk. The gooey yolk is the entire reason for putting egg on a burger. The meat had relatively no taste to it as if it were completely unseasoned before cooking and it was medium, not "still mooing" medium rare as I requested.

My companion had wings, the firecracker sauce. He said they were okay but as I've mentioned in other reviews, he pretty much eats anything so his reviews aren't quite as discerning.

As I initially wrote, maybe if I'd went here with a bunch of people to drink Irish beer and eat Irish food, I'd have had a better experience so Yelp readers, if that's what you're after, your mileage may vary.

Service was okay, though one waitress was in tight NIKE yoga pants which last I checked weren't really for work.

Also something funny that happened here - I flipped open the lid to the ketchup and without my even squeezing it, holding it upright, it starts squirting out and goes into my palm and all down my arm. I'm not sure if it was filled too fully or what, but I've never that that happen...

I went there to see one of CLE's local bands, Custard Pie; one of my faves.

I and other people made reservations. When I arrived I read names on the reservation tents to see who else was going to the show. As the place was filling up, one of my friends, who reservered table, told me that she didn't see where she and her party were supposed to sit. Earlier, I had seen her name on one of the tables, so I took her to it only to find other people sitting at "her" spot. The reservation tent with her name on it was still sitting on that table. When she asked the server about it, the server told my friend that the hostess sat these people at this table and there was nothing the server was going to do about it. I can understand that, because it wasn't the fault of the other party. They had been sitting long enough to get drinks. BUT the hostess should have been more aware, as the tables were CLEARLY marked with names. It was an unnecessarily frustrating experience that could have easily been avoided. The food is "meh". Granted, it's bar food, but it tasted like the cooking oil used to cook my food was old and dirty. It almost tasted rancid. The beer selection was weak, especially for a city that has many, many independent breweries in the area. Hooley House could have at least five different craft beers from which to choose. The atmosphere was amazing. Probably because I love the band, Custard Pie. The dance floor is a decent size. The servers and floor helpers were very friendly and sweet. I gave most of them hugs before I left. I...

I like the food at this establishment, the staff are friendly, and you are almost always seated immediately. That said, this location has changed its menu twice since 2015, reducing the number of items both times. The most recent change seems to have been the most substantial reduction. The Nutty Irishman, an iconic favorite of the menu (a burger with egg and peanut butter, among other things) has been removed, although you can still ask for it special. I was a bit disappointed by the menu changes. The tables were also re-finished some time within the last year or two with an epoxy resin that does not seem to have been made for dining: while it was beautiful and glossy to start, it has left all of the tables with a sticky, unclean feeling that is actually pretty unpleasant when you are trying to eat. We still visit Hooley House despite this, and feel their wings are better than most (I like the "hooley hunks" best) and the carnivore tots are extremely delicious- it is an "appetizer" fit for a group of four. Hooley house also has some healthier options, like a portabello raft or the black bean burger. They have a patio with outdoor seating and a fireplace, high and low tabletops, a bar, and booths. They play sports on the television, and they switched it to the world cup for us when my friends and I met there to...