O'Neills Pub & Restaurant — Restaurant in Salem

My efforts to embrace this Pub were sincere, having visited it four times in search of a better experience, but each visit left me more disappointed than the last.

Let's dissect the experiences:

Atmosphere:

Although they brand themselves as an Irish Pub, O'Neil's lacks the distinctive features that define an authentic Irish pub. I spent a bit of time in the midwest and I encountered a bar owned by Germans claiming to be an Irish Pub, which felt more Irish than O'Neil's. And they admitted to knowing nothing about Irish pubs. That's telling.

While O'Neil's offer ample space, the crowd and vibe lean more toward a spot for quick connections than an authentic Irish Pub experience. There is nothing Irish about O'Neil's. It's a fancier looking dive bar.

Drinks and Bar Service:

Opting for a beer over a mixed drink seems advisable here. On two out of four visits, ordering a Jim Coke resulted in an overpowering 95% Jim Beam. While I appreciate strong drinks, this was excessive. For a strong drink, I go to the Witch City VFW. Just 2 visits proved these were stronger. If Jon Taffer visited the bar, I'm positive he'd recommend Partender. Lastly, attracting the bartender's attention can be quite challenging. It consistently took over 10 minutes to get noticed and at least another 5 to receive our drinks.

Food:

The food category remains a mystery as, in my four visits, I've never had the chance to place an order due to the staff's excessive mingling. I've tried.

Entertainment:

I had high hopes for their Karaoke nights, being a Karaoke enthusiast with years of experience running Karaoke events myself. Regrettably, all four times I attended, the Karaoke was more than subpar. It's not the singers. Some are good. Some are bad. You still cheer them on. That's how it works. However, the DJ (who I'm told his name is named Nick?) seemed incredilby inexperienced. Maybe this is not his day job? But maybe he should focus on that. This was the second-worst Karaoke experience I've witnessed in the North Shore, with the first being at Bit Bar, despite my overall appreciation for everything else Bit Bar offers. I'm sure they're both good people. But not everyone has the talent or demeanor for that role. Maybe O'Neil's should have live music. Karaoke is not working for them. That, alone, has driven myself and, from conversations, many others away.

In conclusion, O'Neil's Pub and Restaurant is a place I'd advise avoiding unless you're solely seeking a one-night stand. Unfortunately, that's how they made me feel on my four straight visits.

Edit: Gave it a 5th chance by request. "Try it on a non weekend", I'm told. So I did. Nope.

The only thing that changed was we actually had food. Food is good. Great, actually. It still took 30 minutes for a waitress, about as long at the bar and the guy who runs karaoke was a triple level of obnoxious. He was even making fun of patrons. He needs to learn to just stop talking all together and stick to his day job. Avoid this place at all costs. Not...

extremely bad experience here i understand they were extremeky busy however that is no excuse for rude waitressing and very poor customer service we ordered a pumpkin beer it did nit come out with a cinnamon rim like we are use to so asked waitress if we could get a cinnamon rim or just bring us a glass with a cinnamon rim as she said they wouldnt take the beers back to do it which i understand that were met with the response its gonna be a while proceeded with her making us wait so long qe had to get the hostess who was going to get someone to get it for us then our waittress took them away from her and said we would have ro wait told the hostess again who said why sont you ask your waitress we said we did finally she must have said something to her she finally brought it over then i got a crock of guiness stew we had asked for separate checks beforehand which she brought but she had it all mixed up we told her and she went to fix it only to return with it mixed up yet again told her again this time i actually had to tell her i had a beer and a crock of guiness stew then she finally got it right needless to say when i paid as it came to 13.00 and change i paid with a 20.00 bill and had to make sure she knew how much change to give me no she dud not get a tip as she was horrible really needs to work on her people skills or better yet look for a differnt line of work next day gave it anither chance as the had a pumpkin martini that we wanted to get so we had one then got a beer as ut would last longer and they were playing nice irish music which was very good btw although i never got there name then me and my sister started singing along as we always do even the guy in the band was enjoying it then a woman was leaving and heard us singing and stopped and wanted to hear us sing so we were singing to her she bought us another pumpkin martini then she wanted to go outside for a smoke and i went out with her to talk came back in saw our 3rd pumpkin martini on the bar went to the bathroom came back out and the drinks were gone so my sister told the bartender someone took our drinks away and he informed us that we had been cut off which we were all in shock over because we were all fine and noone was doing anything wrong or anything so we asked why he said he didnt know the bartender told him we were cutoff and that they had left so we were just cut off for no reason so yeah this place sucks which is a real shame considering they have a nice guiness stew smaller than what im used to but it was only 7.00 and a good selection of seasonal beer and martinis when they dont decide to randomly cut you off for no reason abd they have nice irish...

October in Salem! Soo busy! We were recommended here by a local tour guide. We waited in line on the street, which we understood. An older woman who we thought was a hostess came out to speak to the guests waiting. There were 4 of us. We asked if we could just go to the bar since we only wanted to drink, while waiting our next adventure. The woman says, "oooo it will be next to impossible to get 4 seats at the bar. " We answered "ok. Might as well keep waiting." 2 seconds later she goes behind us in line and calls out.. Is there anyone just wanting to drink?! The 4 people behind us in line answer yes. So she pulls them from the line and walks them inside!!!! We look at each other in complete shock! We have spent so much only in alcohol in this town.. and we're planning and hanging for an hour or 2 here. I have always worked in customer service industry. I have been a hostess, waitress, in my 20s, sales, learning and development, and now have a team working a fast paced environment in the largest credit union in my state. So i definitely understand how to service my customers very well, I am reaponsible to handle escalations daily, and train it as well!

So a friend goes inside to speak to the woman that clearly skipped us.. She starts using hand gestures and getting all defensive. Never apologizing, being accommodating, nothing. So my friend says her peace and walks put to us, and we leave. Now we are 30-40 somethings. Not young kids.

We leave and walk down the street. She follows us!!!! And says we'll I WAS coming to tell you I found you a space at the bar, but since you are leaving then never mind. Why did you walk 100 feet away from your restaurant to scold us?!? I ask for this woman's name who I find completely immature... she says "why?" I said because you were not helpful and pulled people behind us in line! She says her name, maybe Ann? Then says she is the owner! Lmao! You are the owner? Than own yourself. And deal with your customers! This was a complete joke and waste of time. But we had a GREAT time across the street at...