Meg O’Malley's Restaurant & Irish Pub — Restaurant in Melbourne

"Laughter is brightest where food is best." ~Irish proverb

Meg O'Malley's isn't simply the best Irish food I've ever savored, but also among the best food I've ever savored, period.

This traditional pub produces consistently excellent food, hot from the kitchen and crafted with attention to how both texture and flavor combine to produce visually and palatably delicious dishes.

During my last visit as a party of four, I treated myself to many appetizers and sides I hadn't sampled; the results left me wondering what other amazing dishes on the menu I was missing out on.

CHEESE & ALE CROCK - If you order no other appetizer, get this one! Perfect for tables of up to four diners, it's a lovely array of fresh-baked breads surrounding a melting mixture of Smithwick’s Ale, cheddar, and Dubliner cheese. I couldn't identify all of the breads, but each left a strong impression based on texture alone--a knotted one with the consistency of a pretzel, supple brown bread sprinkled with grains, airy soda bread without crust that melted in your mouth, and toasted baguette slices.

POTATO BALLS - The piping-hot masterpiece of a marriage between corned beef and mashed potatoes, coated in a layer of breading and filled with creamy cheddar and zesty scallions. The hardest part is letting them cool for a bit before indulging.

LOADED COLCANNON - An Irish classic! Treat yourself to the loaded variant for an extra-creamy coating of cheddar cheese and crispy bacon bits with a sprinkling of chives for taste.

DRUNKEN MUSHROOM BURGER - One of Meg O'Malley's newest dishes, while not exactly a traditional Irish creation, drew me in with its siren song of blackened beef, whiskey-glazed mushrooms, soft Swiss cheese, and curling-crispy bacon on a brown-toasted potato bun. An absolute must for meat-lovers. There must have been half a pound of beef on it, and cooked to tender-juiciness.

IRISH WAKE CAKE - Last, but certainly not least, no visit to Meg O'Malley's can end without indulging in a lush dessert. This one, appropriately dubbed "Death by Chocolate" sent my sweet tooth to cloud nine. Layers of rich cocoa, drizzled with Irish whiskey cream, massive enough for four people to share (especially after all those appetizers and entrees!). Raspberry sauce adds a ripe tartness to counterbalance the ultra-rich chocolate, while a dollop of extra-sweetened whipped cream provides the perfect, fluffy finale for your taste buds.

And that's to say nothing of Meg O'Malley's interior, which takes great pride in its Irish roots. Inside and outside, it feels like stepping into a restaurant on the British Isles (a notion even more firm in my mind since a return trip from London). Wandering magicians occasionally frequent the restaurant tables, making the brief wait time for food even more entertaining; and, of course, this restaurant is full of lively chatter, bright laughter, and moments of memory-making (I've enjoyed a very lovely birthday celebration there, myself).

That's to be expected though. Meg O'Malley's is where "food is...

Have not been back in Meg’s for two years since Writing my review below. I thought I should just update because I did go back in the other day. I surprisingly had a very good pastrami sandwich, it appears to be a new item. The pastrami Had plenty of flavor and was tender. The only problem when you’re charging $20 for a sandwich you need to put some meat in it. The toasted bread was excellent and thicker than the amount of meat actually in the sandwich. No exaggeration here, but the amount of meat was inadequate, otherwise it would’ve been an over the top sandwich. The person I was with, had a hamburger and as usual, the hamburgers were always good, No disappointment there.

I have not been happy with Megs since they re-opened, but I keep going back giving them another chance just to be disappointed. This is the last time I will go back. I would eat their fish n chips all the time. First thing I got after reopening. Terrible!! greasy and batter just falling off. Then I went for a burger another time. Asked for medium, got a burger that was dried out with no flavor, another disappointment. The other day I went back again. Got there at 4:40 pm for dinner. Did not have a waitress for ten minutes. Ordered fried pork chop with mash potatoes instead of the the potatoes it came with. Waitress said it wasn't a problem but could not get it to come up on her machine. Went to check came back after a few minutes and said she needed to wait until 5 pm for the order to go through.Ridiculous!! Waited a few more minutes for the order to be placed and finally got my simple meal at 5:20 pm. The quality of the pork chop was excellent, they did not mess up the mash potatoes and gravy but I never ate something so salty ever. It tasted like they dropped the salt into the batter. I was disgusted! Practically inedible. I just ate and got the hell out of there. I will never go back. They have become so commercial and absolutely loss the neighborhood touch. There food has sunk to the lowest level. They would never make it on their food, lucky for the bar patronage. Will give credit to my waitress. She...

I could smell the food from my hotel and it was so appealing that I just had to stop in. I took a walk down to O'Malleys and when I walked in, I was immediately greeted and asked my seating preference. It seemed a bit busy and I was offered a table in a more crowded section, but Gia at the front picked up on my hesitance and asked if I would prefer a booth in the less-busy area -- which she was right, I did. I appreciate attention to body language like that to ensure I would be comfortable. So I was sat down in a more comfortable location. After being seated, within seconds my waitress Kiera greeted me and was very courteous and outgoing. I got fast, and respectful service here tonight.

My food was great too! Kept it simple, did a popular choice of potato balls which were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The taste wasn't overbearing of any particular seasoning and it tasted exactly as advertised. Simple fried mashed potato balls. It was a great appetizer for my entree which was a simple and easy plate of chicken tenders. The tenders were crunchy on the outside and soft/juicy on the inside - cooked perfectly. I also got my food in a very reasonable amount of time considering how busy it was in there for a Sunday night!

The atmosphere was also pleasant. No harsh lights, warm colors, looked like an authentic Irish pub. Everything in there seemed a bit worn, but not in the gross way - rather in the way that every little scratch or dent almost seemed intentional as if to tell a story. I had a great dining experience and though I'm only here for a short time with a lot of ground to cover, I will definitely be coming back again before my trip ends.

Pricing are leaning towards "city pricing", but the quality certainly warranted it. I got every penny's worth.

Excellent service, food and atmosphere. 5...