John Cowley & Sons Irish Pub — Restaurant in Farmington

Came here with high expectations based on other reviews. Could not have been more disappointed. Arrived at 5:30p, which should be a busy time. The furniture and decor remains unchanged from decade to decade. Sorely outdated at this point, and immediately sends the message that the owners just don’t care. Sat at the bar and there was only one other patron who was on her way out. I ordered a Tom Collins, which the bartender didn’t know how to make so I switched to a simple two ingredient drink that anyone could pour. I ordered the French Dip based on the server’s recommendation. What I got was some sort of steak sandwich. It was not a French Dip. It came with house made kettle chips. There was no flavor to anything. Chips were unsalted, the sandwich had no flavor. I can say the steak was cooked perfectly, but without seasoning it really was a waste. And why was there chunks of steak on a French Dip, which should be a thinly sliced roast beef sandwich? This was served on a ciabatta bun. It was the size of a hamburger bun, also strange but that was not the deal breaker. It was served with “au jus” which I put in quotes because whatever bottled concoction it was could only be described as soy sauce flavored with a bit of beef bouillon. It was so salty it was inedible. I don’t know what that was, but it was just awful. It also came with a horseradish dip and that was good. The food wasn’t horrible except for the fake au jus, but it was bland, not a French Dip, and quite small. The sandwich was $21 or $22 While I was eating, the two tables near the bar finished their meals and left. The server brought their dirty glasses stacked up to the bar and placed them next to me I was the only person at the bar!! Eating! Did not appreciate a bunch of dirty dishes set next to me! I was left alone at the bar for eighteen minutes waiting to pay my bill. I was literally the only customer there. Definitely will not be back. This place is clearly getting by based on their reputation, but this is not the pub...

My husband and I went there for fish and chips for lunch on Saturday before we checked out the Farmington Founders Street Fair. We have been there on numerous occasions for birthday parties, etc...though the last time we gathered for a birthday party, the bartender bumped our reservation because they were "very busy that night"...even though not every seat or table was filled so I decided to leave and go elsewhere. This after we have brought countless patrons in to enjoy the bar and restaurant at least 10 ppl plus my husband and myself. Anyway, the lunch menu is limited from the normal dinner menu, which was upsetting since we love the sweet potato fries and they were out of mac and cheese, I'm sure it had been busy anyway this weekend with the fair. So we ordered fish and chips. Over 30 minutes later, we each got 2 tiny pieces of fish for $9.95...for lunch. We then asked for the bill and I paid with a cash tip but put the bill on my debit card. Keep in mind that I did not run a tab as we were just there for lunch so she did not have my card prior to my paying the bill. When I checked my account later on that afternoon, I saw they had taken a 20% tip OFF OF MY CARD. I called and spoke to the bartender who explained that that is what they do...really? So they can't tell people these things? So if I hadn't left a tip, they were goint to take 20%?? The food wasn't worth it, believe me. I know some restaurants do this for tables of 6 or more so nobody skips out on their bill, but for a couple having lunch, they did this? This is unexceptable and rediculous. I asked for the manager to call me back, no call yet so I decided to call today to inquire. I understand what a pre-authorization is, however, for them to assume and authorize my card for a 20% tip, AFTER I gave a CASH tip is just inconsiderate. The Manager and Bartender were also rude to me when I called to inquire. I can assure you that we will never return to this sad excuse for an Irish Pub. I miss Gus...

We were first time diners. When I called to make the reservation I was asked if I want to be upstairs where there is a band or downstairs in the dining area. I chose upstairs since it was girls night out. I was told the band goes on at 8pm. What they failed to mention was that if you arrive for your food reservation and the doorman has taken his post then there is an additional $5 fee per person to get to our reserved dinner table. Also the band starts setting up a bit before 7pm so the doorman sat and started collecting entry fees. So my table of 7 all had to pay to eat dinner. If this information was given at the time of reservation I would have at least been able to ask all attendees if they were okay with the cover charge, not be surprised with it once we had already arrived. I felt that the prices of food was too high for the quality. The Reuben was not impressive with its small portion of meat and its toasted white bread. We were told it is white rye. 🤷‍♀️ The lobster bake was super salty, I couldn’t give it away to group. Alcoholic drinks were decent but we were never asked if we wanted another. Service was definitely the worst part of the evening. She was rude, basically snapped at us on more than one occasion. Service was very slow also. It took a fair amount of time to get our meals and a very long time to get the bills and have them collected. I would say we were there an hour longer than needed to be. It was spent just waiting, nothing about the establishment that evening said Irish pub to us. We were hoping for tradition Irish food and choice of Irish drinks. There are no drink menus Now the band was really good. They are a cover band and did a terrific job. Had a packed dance floor. Well what turned in to a dance floor. Not sure if we would...