Cleary's Pub — Restaurant in Howell

This is a great place to eat in downtown Howell. The building is vintage and the interior is spacious and nicely done. It's aesthetically pleasing, but indoor dining did not appeal to us on the Saturday we visited because 1) it was a nice weather day and sitting outside seemed like a great idea and 2) they were busy and the observation of safe COVID practices was pretty lax in the bar area from what I could see (I'll lay that one more on the patrons rather than the establishment). But outdoor dining was a great option, so no harm done.

They were a little better at doing the Irish pub theme than most. They offered an upgrade from the boring standard fare served by most of these sorts of establishments. My wife was the most pedestrian among us in getting the Chicken Tenders dinner, but that was so there was something to share with our grandson. She liked it well enough. It came with fries, as did everyone else's. It's worth mentioning that the unanimous opinion was that the fries were exceptionally good. My son got the Fish and Chips, for which he had high praise. My daughter-in-law had the Irish Melt sandwich, which features sliced turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and basil mayo baked on a ciabatta roll. She was very happy with her choice. I opted for the Dublin because, to me, Irish fare means corned beef. This sandwich was composed of thinly sliced corned beef, swiss cheese, pickles, red onions, thousand island dressing, and coleslaw. This is grilled on rye bread prior to serving. It was excellent.

The service was essentially good. There were a couple of small things forgotten (dipping sauce, for example) when the food was first brought out, but that situation was rectified fairly quickly. The prices were very reasonable. With everything together including food, drinks, tax and tip, our bill was $76. At $19 each, plus feeding a 1-year-old, this was a very good value. We will definitely try this...

I had a really great experience at Cleary’s. Found a seat at the bar between a few locals, possibly the last seat available on a Friday evening. Bartenders were very attentive and friendly. I had the fish and chips, which was delicious and had a drink for dessert. My bill was around $25 with tip, very reasonable IMO. They were really busy, which I love to see so they must be doing something right. Great food and even better service, and that’s hard to do nowadays. My only critique would be for the gentleman(I presume to be the manager/owner) Who brought soup out and put it at the back of the bar and left, to either 1-learn seat numbers or 2-Get the bartenders attention so they can point you in the direction of the correct guest. If that was my soup and it sat anywhere other than in front of me getting cold, I would not be happy. Other than that small thing, I’ll be back if I’m ever back...

Went to Cleary's at 8:45 PM on Sunday night. Two members of the staff saw us come in and said nothing. They just walked passed us like we were not even there. We sat ourselves and another member of the wait staff looked at us but never said a word. Now it's 8:55 and I get up and go to the bar to ask someone for help. The person at the bar grabbed menus and walked the wrong way to where I said we were sitting. When I pointed out our seats again to them and sat down, they proceeded to tell us that the kitchen closes at 9:00 PM and stated to us that it is 8:58. They continued to tell us if we hurry we may be able to put in an order. It was obvious that it was a total inconvenience to accommodate us! Needless to say we did not hurry and put in an order, we got up and left. Will NOT be back and I will definitely tell everyone I...