Paddy's — Restaurant in Charles Town

Food was great, especially for the price point. Stopped in for brunch. We were the second table there, and the next table didn't sit down til after we had ordered, so it was pleasantly slow still (we went right at opening to avoid the crowds). When we mentioned that two people at the table have pretty severe food allergies, all we were told was that they wouldn't guarantee anything. I've been in service for over a decade, and I know that is required to be stated. But no suggestions were made to help find something they could eat (and we did ask for recommendations or for them to check with the kitchen if they didn't know), and when asked to make a note on the order so the kitchen was at least aware of the allergy, they rolled their eyes. Most of the time our server was very busy with.. something out of sight. It is a small establishment, so that in and of itself was impressive. They took a single drink order at a time, and left the table without coming back until said drink was ready. The fourth person at our table didn't receive their first brunch cocktail until after food had arrived, and only got one because they ordered separately at the bar (which was hard because our server had never given a name, so we couldn't tell them which table to add the drink to. Ended up just poining to where the table was). Our server then spent the rest of our meal on their phone in a chair on the side of the dining room without checking on us, or glancing up to see us waving them over, again. Despite the multiple times they checked on the table next to us, they didn't come our direction at all or seem to see us waving to get their attention. We waited several minutes after asking for the check for the card to be run, and then a while longer to get it back so we could sign and leave. Again, it's a small establishment so we could see them the entire time just on their phone. Despite the food and atmosphere being lovely, unfortunately we won't be visiting this restaurant again. I've had bad service before, I've even had my own fair share of bad days in my past days of serving. But I've never been so blatantly ignored before by a server who dotes on the table next to us, especially when we are the only two tables in the place at the time. I understand we are not regulars, but we were still customers and should have at least been treated with half the level of care the other people dining there were treated with.

I only give atmosphere a 4 star because my toddler managed to break into the liquor closet (break into used loosely, as it was not locked or secured in any way) and I was not impressed with the lack of care taken there. Over all, it is a beautiful historic building, and...

Nestled one block over from the main road in downtown Charles Town, Paddy’s Irish Pub seems as if it can offer you a true pub experience - good food, welcoming bartenders, and a warm environment. In reality it fails to live up to any reasonable expectation. I will admit that my schedule prevents me from drinking at normal times so my experience may be with the second string.

I have visited Paddy’s twice. The first time my partner and I ordered two White Russians and pretzels. We received two pint glasses of cream. I had to order an ounce of Kailua, an ounce of vodka, and an empty glass to mix the drink myself. The bartender watched me and never acknowledged that we didn’t touch our pint glasses of cream. We paid full price for four drinks. We drank one.

I thought that maybe it was just an off night so, two weeks later, we gave it a second chance and stopped in for a late lunch. I ordered a Rueben. My partner ordered fish and chips.

The fish was not fully cooked while the batter was well done. The Rueben was only slightly better than Arby’s. When the bartender asked how everything was I questioned the fish and told her the Rueben was average - not bad, but not anything special. I told her of our bad experience two weeks ago and how I was giving the place a second chance. Her reaction was legitimately confrontational. A bartender makes or breaks a pub. This place has the second and third worst bartenders I’ve ever experienced.

The Rueben really was not bad - it was just average. The pretzels we ordered on our first visit were not bad. The fish was, despite the protest of the bartender, undercooked. But the food was decent enough that we’d just order something else next time. We would actually consider going back if the service both times had not been willfully appalling.

This place is big. So, maybe, on a Friday night, when you’re drunk on Jäegermeister and Bud Light, it might be good. But, when you need a real Pub with good food, good bartenders, and a welcoming atmosphere, save time and money by stopping at Arby’s and 7-11.

TLDR: go...

First time trying Paddy's and my husband and I were very impressed. We got the beer battered mushrooms, pretzels with cheese and for entrees we got the Irish onion soup, beer-battered fish and my husband got the chili burger. We also got the chocolate mousse and cheesecake for dessert. Let me just say, the onion soup was AWESOME!! better than any onion soup I've had in a loooong time. It just had that taste, that finishing off taste that was just delicious, it's hard to describe. The mushrooms were yummy with the pub sauce (yummy as well), and the fish was also excellent. I think the beer batter they use was just delicious and anything you coat that with is just awesome. However, I will also state that I ate some of the fish without the batter and it was delicious. It was cod, flaky and seasoned and just perfect. The chili burger was good, my husband did like it, but he says he should have ordered the cowboy burger and the burger really didn't need anything extra. The patty by itself was delicious and that says a lot for this place. Finally, a place that knows how to season their meat correctly and realize that a sauce is meant to enhance, not cover up the taste. The pretzels were, I would guess, homemade as they definitely were not or did not taste like frozen food. And the desserts, I wish we could have tried the pineapple upside down cake, but they were out, but the cheesecake and chocolate mousse cake were also very delicious. This place is definitely a gem in Charles Town that we will visit again. I like to go out to eat and try things that I might not make so well myself, and Paddy's was an excellent place that I got my wish. Fresh, made from scratch food and sauces. Worth it 100 percent. On another note, the server was excellent. We were sitting outside and she gave good suggestions on the food, she made sure our drinks were never empty and she was very personable. Impressive food, impressive customer service. Very much a five star...