Pat O'Brien's — Restaurant in Saint Clair Shores

I've been here twice, in the past month but first impressions weren't good lasting ones.... despite hearing someone tell me this place was incredible. Went for the Monday Prime Rib buffet for $24. Prime Rib was good, but everything on the buffet was WAY over salted. I was eating green beans and CRUNCHING on salt crystals, no joke. Nothing was exempt - the halved and quartered potatoes (they weren't redskins but redskin sized), the green beans, the cheesy potatoes AND the prime rib. After I left I felt like a Mummy.

Went a 2nd time, not on prime rib buffet day and decided to try their Perch dinner. I did not get the pound of perch because the server described it was a lot of perch. She was right - the Regular dinner serving was way more than I could finish. But not just because they gave me 6-8 filets, because the fish was brought to my table cold, it was not tender at all, it was the weirdest perch I have ever had to be honest. I picked a pretty big bone out of my tooth, and stopped eating it when I kept breaking off pieces to eat from the other filets, and saw more bones. I know thats beyond their control, of course, but the fish WAS cold. And really greasy.

We got the Shepherds pie (Technically it's cottage pie because its not lamb but lets not get too picky yet) too, it looked good but the ground beef wasn't broken up at all in the Cottage pie. It was big chunks of ground beef, like the side of a golfball. I have never had a shepherds or cottage pie at an Irish place that had a TON of cheese in it, it was truly different for me. And I'm Irish, I've had quite a lot of cottage pies. Also it was served to us lukewarm. I'll give them credit where its due - it was warmer than my (cold) perch!

Idk, maybe I had 2 "off days" or something, not sure, but not particularly eager to rush back there, and definitely not listening to my friend who said their prime rib buffet and perch were the best thing on this side of the country. Its all hype. I woke up around 3am and had a stomachache. It didn't result in any further illness but thats all I could think about was our cold food we had had...

A home away from home. For being my first time there, it almost reminds me of “Cheers”. With so many enjoyable old time favourite foods from my past, what a treat it was last Saturday night. Maybe my choices wouldn’t blend with yours but, I enjoyed every last one of them. And some new ones, too!

I started with clam chowder that was not only hearty but, I’ve never had one with so many chunks of clam. To me, a ‘10’. Then my main course was Shepherds Pie. And boy was I glad I ordered it! Not only was it filling, and great but I took half of it home. It was huge. Not knowing the portion size, I also added the 4 piece perch as an extra. So tender, next time I will have the Perch. And just to clue you in, I am not a tartar sauce guy but, Pat O’Briens is really, really smooth and delicious. I got to say that I really liked it and would want it again! I guess that their chef has a special recipe and I have to admit, it’s dam good. Our table group shared a trio of desserts. We had the Cheesecake. OK but it needed to be half the size and with cherries on top. The Creme Brûlée? ... Fantastic! A definite “‘10”!

But, the piece de resistance? Something that I have never had before or heard of, Deep Fried Carrot Cake!

That my friends, is absolutely fantastic!

The decor requires some updating but, until that happens, and I heard that it’s in the works, try Pat O’Briens. You will like it a lot! I did. My wife did. (and she’s hard to please). And we will most definitely go back again! And we came from Belle River, Ontario!

Our rating? ... a 9+ for delicious food!

Don’t take my word, try it for yourself. You will be really glad you went. We were and we are going...

So this place has shockingly good food and amazing service! I went on a Tuesday when it's half off after 10pm and I can only rant and rave about how friggin amazing the beef tips and the gouda cheese sticks are! I swear to God I felt like I could die after that meal. (Whoever the chef(s) is(are) my hat off to you! Nothing but kudos for those responsible for that perfection!) Then, to top it off Cindi and the other bartender whose name I can't remember are amazing! They are professionals! If you're left wanting more from their service then I don't think they're any pleasing you because they basically always asked me if I was ready for another one mere seconds before I was about to look for them! They make sure all the customers are taken care of and they keep that bar immaculate! I can't even imagine they have to do any cleaning behind the bar after everyone leaves because they stay on top of it the entire time as they go! I've never seen anything like it before and I cannot become that this little bar has managed to get not 1, but 2 true gems of the service industry! They have an AMI jukebox so the music is always good too! If you don't like it you can pay money to change it, but every time I've went people are usually picking great songs! If you're a smoker, or just like to be outside they have a massive covered outside area that is perfect! If you're looking for a great place to kick it with some friends, especially late on Tuesday this is a great...