O'CALLAGHAN'S IRISH PUB — Restaurant in Monterey

TLDR: Forget what you think you know about Irish pubs and their mediocre (but filling!) stew, shepherd’s pie, and soda bread. O’Callaghan’s has earned every one of its positive reviews by making pub fare that is delicious, of the highest quality, authentic, and still soul soothing in the way that only Irish pub food can be. O’Callaghan’s has great food, great drinks, friendly and helpful servers and bartenders, live music, good prices, and an owner who takes pride in presenting the best product possible. This may now be my favorite Irish pub in the US. Background: We stayed at a nearby hotel for a quick weekend and could see O’Callaghan’s from our room. I have a weakness for Irish pubs and try them out everywhere I go - even though the food is usually mediocre at best until you drink enough that it begins tasting better. I read many extremely positive reviews, and then heard a live band playing (evidently every Friday and Saturday night they have live music.) That was enough for me to drag my long-suffering wife across the parking lot to try out O’Callaghan’s. O’Callaghan’s is a smallish venue with tables and the bar inside and other tables and music out on the patio. We sat down inside and were quickly greeted by our very friendly waitress, Tammy, who took our drink orders. When she came back with our beers, we ordered the pretzel and cheese sauce appetizer and a cup of clam chowder to start. For our mains we decided to share the beet and pear salad and the shepherd’s pie. I didn’t take pictures of the food because there are already great pictures on the websites and our food looked as good as the best of the photos. The pretzel bites (sticks?) and cheese sauce was surprisingly good. I expected a broken, grainy, or completely artificial (think theater nachos) cheese sauce and was astounded to find a perfectly executed, smooth, flavorful homemade cheese sauce that complemented the perfectly cooked pretzels. My wife is the clam chowder aficionado of our duo, and she said it was one of the better clam chowders she can remember. It is evidently also made from scratch. Our only complaint about the beet and pear salad was slightly overdressed, but the dressing was light and tangy and complimented the beets and goat cheese. The salad was just the right size for the two of us to share. The shepherd’s pie was a home run. It was well seasoned without being so overly salty and gummy like so many others I have tasted. The potato topping was so flavorful, it could have been eaten all by itself. And the meat filling was tender and nuanced with the herbs and spices contributing to the overall complexity instead of trying to hide mistakes. Simply great. We felt the food here was approaching the execution of the $200 per person meal we had the previous night at Chez Nior! Their bar has a respectable amount of whiskey options for being a relatively small bar. The bartender, Danny, must be one of the friendliest and most engaging bartenders I have met. I asked him to make a drink I read about recently, and he was all in on figuring out a way to make it considering he didn’t have one of the more esoteric ingredients. And the end result was tasty! He chatted with us for quite some time exhibiting his high energy and kind demeanor and making us feel like we really belonged. We also had a chance to meet Brent, the owner. What a great person! We complemented him on the shockingly good food and the obvious care and attention to detail he put into the menu. He smiled and deflected the praise onto the chef and said his contribution was making sure they had the best quality ingredients to use. We spent almost an hour talking with Brent about the area and his work with Cal Fire. He was a gracious and engaging host and seemed to take guest experiences very seriously. The food was great, the drinks were good, the music was lively, and the vibe was welcoming and fun. We will be back every chance we get when I am in the area. I would give them 6...

Spent two nights in Monterey and ended up eating here both nights! Great atmosphere and the quality of the food is so much better than one first expects when walking through the door. The first evening we ordered the Shepherds Pie and Irish Stew, which were cooked to perfection and served in a timely manner. We eat a lot of Shepherds Pie as we travel and this was one of the best we've found. The Irish Stew however, was hands-down THE best I've ever had - super-tender, succulent, Guiness-braised short rib in a mouth-watering sauce, served with a side of warm, Irish Soda Bread! Brent, the owner, stopped and chatted with us for about 10 minutes, as we finished our meal and as we talked, it became evident he was much more interested in patrons having a dining experience, rather than a drinking opportunity.

The second night my wife and I shared the wings, again some of the best we've tasted; the fish and chips, which will now be that standard against which I judge all others and a side of the apple slaw (you guessed it - delicious). Hats off to Brent, Daniel, and the rest of the staff!! Do yourself a favor and put this place on your...

While the food was pretty good, what was lacking at this place was service, drink knowledge/taste and decent pricing. Upon being seated, I ordered a beer and a shot of well whiskey. The beer was Guinness and it wasn't poured well and kind of flat/funny tasting. They might need to clean their lines. The whiskey, for some reason, came on a huge ball of ice, even though I ordered a shot and not a rocks pour. The somewhat apathetic server asked if that was ok and I said sure as it was already there and I don't like to send stuff back. Food came out relatively quickly and was the highlight of the experience esp the hand cut fries. I got the fried chicken sandwich and it was flavorful but the chicken was somewhat dry due to how thin it was. Upon receiving the check, I was quite shocked to see that a regular shot of well whiskey was $12. I'm not sure outside of LA, Vegas or NYC I've been charged that much for a simple 1.5oz pour of well whiskey. Just kind of a mixed bag from my visit and I would give a 2.5 rating but rounded down for the above...