The Rock Irish Pub — Restaurant in Lake Worth Beach

Part I

I finally made it to the much touted Rock Irish Pub located at 614 Lake Avenue in Lake Worth Beach. Filled with eager anticipation of the warm and familiar atmosphere of an Irish Pub along with its libations and distinctive comfort food, I braved the afternoon monsoons and pre-emptively (if not optimistically) called Uber for the ¾ mile ride to the pub. Admittedly I got there a little early, about 5:15, in the hopes of taking advantage of a happy hour to grease the wheels towards Celtic merriment, Gaelic lilts and perhaps a bawdy story about Paddy being angry trying to figure out why his sister had four brothers, while he only had three. A long story I won’t memorialize here, but will share for the price of ale served at the pub of your choice. The Uber driver was courteous and on time. I gave him five stars and a $5.00 tip. I don’t know how these people make money. Exiting the limo, I made my way to the restaurant; my senses tingling, my body trembling in eager anticipation like a young buck on his way to a rut. I bit of saliva wetted my mouth at the thought of the epicurean and hopefully bacchanalian experience not but ten feet from where I stood. I quickly walked to the door, with high expectations authoritatively pulled it open and stepped inside and after months of construction and hype, ready to be dazzled. I stood inside the doorway and quickly took in the atmosphere. My first thought was that neither the architect nor the owners had actually been to an Irish Pub, certainly not one of the County Cork or County Roscommon variety. My second thought was that the months of demolition, renovation and construction had consumed vast sums of time and money only to produce a pub that, in many respects, was no different than Dave’s or Flannigan’s, or any of the myriad of bars and grills in area; so much for ambiance. Now you may ask how I am qualified to judge what an Irish Pub ought to look like. The simple answer is, I’ve been to Irish Pubs, (perhaps have even been ejected from one or two, but that’s another story for another time) the Blarney Stone, Shamrock and Mc’Sorleys in NYC for example. Pubs that have been serving a hungry and thirsty mostly Irish working class for over a century; also O’Connor’s Pub in Delray, Slainte in Key West; just to name a few. Now don’t get me wrong, the atmosphere, while relatively Spartan and unassuming, was not entirely unpleasant. However, it was missing something. I can’t quite put my finger on it, the Erin go Bragh wasn’t quite there. I had high hopes...

Dogs are welcome and that is great with responsible pet owners, however when these pet parents allowed a huge mess of water all over the floors from the bar to the booths, flooding into the isle is a safety hazard. I love pets and and have dogs myself. The patons had to point this out to staff before it was dried up because the pet owners said nothing and just continued to make more of a mess with their dog and cat. 😒

Secondly, Just know the bar owner made it right after the bartender offer only a discount for a Shepards Pie presented as a bowl of meat with teapoon of veggies and no mashed potatoes covered with a cheese topping. Happily the owner removed the dish from my tab which was the right thing to do. Served as an entree, only came with that cereal bowl sized shepards pie mess, no bread or anthing else. I may try again 😔🤷‍♀️.

The Guiness on tap was wonderful and the pour just right.

Also, know there is a credit card fee for this payment, no verbal warning,...

Today we visited The Rock Irish Pub, a newcomer to the downtown Lake Worth scene and we were pleasantly surprised. Generally with any new place you can expect a certain learning curve that naturally happens in the building stages but these guys already have it nailed. Morgan the bartender was refreshingly honest with her menu recommendations rather than the canned response of "It's all good". She told us to try the roast beef sliders and teriyaki chicken sandwich which we both thouroughly enjoyed. They have plenty of TV's, touchtunes and live music to keep the energy up for everyone. One of the owners, Brian, visited us several times to make sure we were having a perfect time. If you are a whiskey fan they have 30+ types that can take down even the toughest Irishman. Bring your friends and enjoy The Rock, downtown Lake Worth's...