Ryan Maguire's Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

We were staying in the area and ended up having dinner twice in this pub. 4 stars is average between these two visits. I’d rate one 5 stars but the other 2-3. It seems one of those places where you need to know what to order, even though menu is reasonably short.

I do not recommend ordering salmon, which was a small piece of fish on a big pile of spinach. Also the Shepherds pie rendition I was served was the weirdest one (and least good) I’ve ever tried. It was a very thin layer of mediocre beef with 3 pieces of carrots, covered in a pool of gravy with mashed potatoes piped around the perimeter of the plate. In the gravy pool, there were swimming some peas that tasted like they were hastily defrosted before serving. It was under-seasoned and the large pieces of bay leave I had to fish out of the gravy pool were just the proverbial cherry on top.

We came back only because the kid liked his burger, it was raining and it was the only restaurant in the area without deafening music. I’m glad we did though because I ordered fish and chips and somehow it was actually fantastic. Granted, “chips” were regular fries but fish was plump, succulent pieces of cod meat with perfectly crisp breading. Tiny portion of cole slaw was also good. Vegetarian burgers are frequently an afterthought at places like this but it was pretty good.

Beer on tap was OK, there isn’t a large selection. Got a mixed cocktail in happy hour, don’t recommend it as it was mostly ice in a small glass.

Nothing special to say about service. On the first visit, we were left to our own devices until we asked for a check and on the next visit, the waiter stopped by to ask if everything was ok. Beware of credit card fee, we were able to pay with debit card to avoid it. It does leave unpleasant aftertaste though, feels like being bamboozled. Just roll it into your cost, for...

Took some notes when I visited here on September 12, 2020 at 4:00 PM. My party and I were seated outdoors in this nice little alleyway where there wasn't much foot traffic around the restaurant. There were only a couple other parties besides mine eating outdoors so it didn't feel too busy and so the outdoor atmosphere was calming and the nice weather was a great bonus. The waitress was also very nice and attentive. As for the food, everything looked and tasted pretty good!

Two minor things that I would want them to improve on is for them to season their vegetables! A little bit of salt, black pepper, and/or butter can go a long way to make cooked vegetables taste a little bit better (otherwise they're completely flavorless!). Obviously this draws away from the healthiness of the vegetables, but when cooked vegetables are not seasoned well and paired with a steak and fries, I can't help but desire just a little bit of more flavor. Another thing I took note of was their Coke/Pepsi (I didn't write down which one), tasted VERY watered down which was especially surprising because it didn't even contain much ice. I asked for a refill at some point and the second one also tasted very watered down, so maybe their soda fountain wasn't mixing properly or something, but I didn't deem it as something worth making a complaint about.

Overall, the food and the service was great and those two things I mentioned are definitely not enough to drop their rating down a full star. I enjoyed eating here regardless and will return again soon to try other items...

I'm giving this place 5 stars because the owner of this establishment, Mena Maguire, made us feel absolutely at home. She saw my wife walk in with flowers and she asked what was the flowers for and we told her that her dear friend gave them to her as a gift for our wedding. Mena immediately found us a table for the 4 of us and we placed the flowers in the middle of the table as a center piece. Mena even went as far as to grant us a photo op afterwards which was so cool. I also gave this place a 5 star rating just because of the most friendliest hospitality of an ambiance this place holds, because after we had dinner, there was a couple sitting by the wall next to us and they surprisingly picked up our bill for the evening, just because we were having an awesome time and because we were happily married. We thanked them like a million times over. Mena was even in shock to what had just occurred in her establishment. Thank you Mena for the most awesomeness of a time we ever had. Sorry for posting...