The Curragh Irish Pub — Restaurant in Holland

Disclaimer: actual rating 4.5 but couldn't mark it as such and 4 is to low to rate. In addition all Irish bars and pubs I visit are only rated 1, 4. And 5. Irish styled eateries in my opinion are either really good/excellent, or very poor as there is no middle ground. Also being largely Irish by heritage I do admit some prejudice and will admit this fault accordingly.

REVIEW: Amazing Irish food. I personally had the Shepard's pie; which, is the best one I've had from the local scene. Wonderful atmosphere and seating outside during summer time is a must, Authentic Irish music playing is very appreciated and the typical "pub" style on the inside is iconic of any American stylized Irish interpretation; which although usually over done, in this particular example is one that does it right and very well. The appearance of the food is very appealing and the general flavor is superb, mouth feel I rate highly as well (for the Shepard's pie, the fried fish was unfortunately disappointing as it felt mostly breaded and scored low with both mouth feel and the flavor of the fish is lost, with the house tarter sauce it is greatly improved for taste but still is missing the mouth feel as it feels more like the bread than the actual fish. The burgers are also a local favorite. Now because this is an Irish pub alcohol is a factor in its rating, which for my reviews is usually left out, however, I am personally a rather large fan of all beers/spirits Irish. So without further delay, the alcohol available from this establishment is top shelf. I am particular to Harp and Smithwicks during the hotter seasons and Guinness during the cold seasons and all were at my disposal, if you see these 3 on the menu, then take a seat and get that Shepard's pie, you will not be disappointed. ADMITTANCE: Although I rate this place at 4.5 and reccomend highly to everyone, the reason I scored it at 4.5 instead of 5 was because of the fish, the beer batter was very tasteful and may have kept me from rating this facility 4, as I stated in the disclaimer, I will admit by bias and have done so. Again, I love this place and have come back multiple times, just for the...

I so wish I could give you more stars than this, but then I would not be honest. I used to love JJ Finnegan's and I keep trying here, but am consistently disappointed. Last night was no exception.

We stopped in for a 'late' dinner at 7:15 pm. Our server did not inform us that you were out of brown gravy until we ordered. As that is on the menu for several items and what we were both going to order, we were very surprised. So we needed to change our minds quickly as we were hungry. Then when our food came, his mixed vegetables was almost all cooked carrots, which he won't eat, so we asked if he could get corn, which we were told would not be a problem. But we had to wait longer for that then it took to get our food initially after ordering. Then when we were done eating the server asked if we needed boxes, brought us a box but she did not bring the check. We then waited another 15 minutes and we could see our server in the back just chatting (as the table we were at had the lovely view into the kitchen and server work area) before we finally just left. (So you know, we did try to figure out what we owed and left cash since our server never brought the bill.)

The sad part is, this was better service than our last several times. Such as when we came in for dinner on a Sunday night at 8pm, were seated in a lovely cozy little booth and waited over 20 minutes to even be greeted by our server, when that never happened, we left (oh, and the place was half empty, so the server should have been able to acknowledge our presence) .

While the decor is very nice, and the food is good, if they have it or you can even order any, I am sad to say that I am done hoping for better service and last night is the last time I will be attempting to spend my money at...

Somehow despite coming here during what should have been the busiest hour on a Saturday, we were still immediately seated and the food arrived in a timely manner.

We came from out of town to go to the Holland beach, and stopped here for dinner before heading back home. The food was amazing, and we hope to come back here again on our next visit.

I got the shepherd's pie and my fiance got the Irish lamb stew. Both were incredibly tasty and arrived with soda bread, and it was the perfect consistency. I could tell this was some high-quality food, and the pricing wasn't outrageous either.

The service was really great too. The waiter was on point with fast refills, which I really appreciated after a long day in the sun swimming.

The decor was your standard Irish pub fare with lots of memorabilia here and there. There's a lot of outdoor seating as well. You can tell this place has some love and care put into it, because all the trinkets and memorabilia had no dust whatsoever collected on it. We love to see it.

The bathrooms are down in the basement, I don't know if they have any wheelchair-accessible restroom so it's worth asking ahead of time if that's something that you need.

Parking in this neighborhood is surprisingly easy, they have these big public parking lots that are free and there is one about 2 blocks away from Curragh's. Though I'm sure during big events they probably fill up a bit faster.

If you go down the block to the left of Curragh's entrance, there's a nice little area with lots of benches and sprinklers next to the Marriott. Great way...