Dunn-Gaherin's Food and Spirits — Restaurant in Newton

Let me start by admitting that I am reluctant to write a poor review; however, as I recall the evening I become more and more disappointed with the service we received. We celebrated my wife’s birthday at this establishment, which we choose as it comes highly recommended as a place with good food. We were seated quickly, but waited a long time before we were able to place our drink order; nothing that would normally spark a poor review, but in hindsight worth noting. Once our drink order was placed, there was an exceptional long wait for the drinks to be brought over, so exceptional that a waiter apologized on behalf of our waiter, before our waiter apologized a second time. When the drinks finally arrived our 3 year old son’s drink order seemed to have been forgotten, which took us to ask about before it was delivered. We then placed our appetizer and meal orders together. Our meals arrived in good time; however, the appetizer was forgotten. The waiter apologized, and explained she did not know why it was not brought our; we chose not to reorder. The food was good, better then average pub food, but nothing to rave about. I had a chicken sandwich, my wife and her sister had a turkey dinner special. The waiter discretely checked with me about a special dessert for the birthday girl, which a chocolate brownie was suggested and selected. It was delivered with a smiles, song, and successfully surprised my wife. All was well, and the issues with the drink orders, and the forgotten appetizer would have been forgotten (and I wouldn’t be writing this poor review), if it was not for the fact that we were charged for the brownie. It is my experience that a birthday special are often on the house; however, I respect that each establishment will have different approaches to this. My issue and main complaint is, why after having so many issues with our drinks and total neglect of our food orders, to the point that non solicited apologies were issued, is it that we are charged full price. I admit I did not challenge the bill, we paid in full with regular tip and left. But I left being unsatisfied with the service, and wondering should I have challenged the bill? I propose that with good service I shouldn’t have had to. I am not one to dispute a bill, and I am not one to normally go out of my way to write a bad review; however, I am confident with plenty of other places to choose I will not be returning to Dunn-Gaherin’s...

Love love love this hidden family-friendly neighborhood gem. Great Irish vibes in this small cozy narrow pub. The food is excellent. Eggplant fries (the ones I was able to wrestle away from my 5 year old) were delicious with a really nice marinara on the side. The wedge salad was fantastic with tons of bacon and sweet/salty nuts. Best of all was the fish and chips. The fish was light, soft, and flaky. Despite being there on a jam packed Sat night, the service was outstanding. Drinks were fetched immediately after putting my name on the list and brought to me in the waiting line and automatically transferred over to my tab. A minor detail, but one that says a lot. The staff was incredibly friendly and great with kids. The 2 quibbles I have - no Shepard's pie! That was a bit of a bummer. Also, the parking (4 spots) is more than tight. It's brutal, at least on a sat. You'll likely need to park in the neighborhood and take a stroll. Cant ding the establishment for this, but just know that this will prob be an issue for you, esp Fri to Sun. But overall I loved Dunn-Gaherin and I'm looking forward...

This is a great little pub restaurant with tons of atmosphere and character. The food and drinks are tasty and average prices for the Boston area. The quality of the food and drinks is very good, servings are average (we often finish everything), and everything always tastes great. One thing to be aware of is the wait times. They don't take reservations, and although they say they do call-ahead seating, my party of two still had to wait over an hour during the busy dinner time on a Friday night, after being told our wait would be 20 minutes. Many other parties who were behind us on the "list" (a disorganized handwritten scrap of paper) were seated ahead of us and seemed to be regulars as the hostess seemed to know them. We caught a glimpse of the list and my name was written on there three times as we got bumped down. We didn't really mind, we got drinks and had extra time to chat, but it's definitely something to be aware of if that kind of thing bothers you. It's also a bit loud, but that's to be expected in a small...