T.C. O'Leary's — Restaurant in Portland

I hoped so much that T.C. O'Learys would live up to the hype Portland Monthly had set in the Sept. 2018 edition.

The wait staff was good up to a point but they put the nail in the coffin.

We got there between 8 - 8:30, promptly given menus and allowed to seat ourselves. The bar had maybe 5 patrons and wasn't by any means busy for a Saturday night. I honestly expected a packed bar and Irish folks songs guided by a band. Quite the opposite, back episodes of Gidget were on TV and a contemporary American music playlist over the speakers.

Craving fish and chips I ordered that and my buddy just fries (so as not to confuse with the homemade actual chips and dip) and a pint of Guiness each. The Guiness was nicely poured and arrived in nice embossed Guiness glasses.

The food came quickly and that's where everything lost its luster. Especially for only 5 patrons I expected better food. The fish portion was huge...like size of my whole hand huge but you could practically squeeze the grease out of it. Trying the pull chunks off to dip, the outside was kind of crispy by the inside was mush. The fish literally slid out of the batter it was so greasy and then it just got all over your hands. The fries were very soggy and limp...again nothing but sponges for the frying oil and barely even salted.

We each left our fries largely untouched. I ate the fish out of hunger but it really wasn't good.

Such a shame because the scotch list looked pretty good. We decided not to stay for any other drinks and closed out our tabs we left open originally intending to enjoy more. My buddy closed his tab and the amish leprechaun behind the counter looks through the cards. Keep in mind again, only a handful of patrons and asked if I'm Hailey. I know it's Portland but where on earth have you seen a dude named Hailey. Complete insult to injury with this place and I can say there's no reason to...

The person who took our order was lovely. She was friendly and engaging and competent. We had a beer, a manhattan, fish and chips, and a hamburger. Our total before tip was $38. Because you order and pay (if you don't want to keep a tab open) at the same time, I tipped 20% without knowing if the experience would be worth it. The fish and chips came in one of those fancy funnel-shaped stands -- chips were in the bottom, one good-sized piece of fish on top. Luckily, a small plate was included (I had to fish my fish out of its elegant, conical prison before I could eat it). Tartar sauce was included, but no lemon. I was asked if I wanted ketchup or vinegar, I accepted the vinegar offer. I think the waiter was just being polite as I never saw him again. Alas my fish and chips were sans vinegar til the not-so-bitter end. The burger was requested medium rare, it arrived gray and thin on a condiment-soaked bun that was too mushy to be allowed. It was left behind. The fries were good. I'm a big believer in second chances, but with so many other options in town, I doubt I'll revisit TC O'Learys.

I haven't followed up yet, but the fact that O'Leary's responded to this review is enough to at least bump it up to a 3. I do look forward to the second chance (everyone...

Really poor service..

I came here with a few friends while we were visiting from out of town. We tried to order a round of “car bombs” and were told they don’t serve them due to the insensitive nature of the name in regard to Irish history. Totally understand the reasoning and have actually been aware of this for years.

The problem is that we were told this in a way that I would classify as shaming. The bartender was incredibly rude about it and instead of taking the opportunity to educate people on the “why” or offering an alternative, I felt that we were wholly unwelcome there from that point forward.

I’d recommend if this is a stance that this bar is going to take, that management trains their staff on how to handle these requests without coming across as pretentious. I 100% sympathize with the stance to not make the drink but there is zero chance I would ever go back based on how we...