Shamrock Pub — Restaurant in Utica

The Sham is a local institution, often cited as having some of the best burgers on the east side. I would agree with that notion. The place itself has character and is situated in the heart of Utica by other bars and restaurants and Jimmy John's stadium. Their prices are very reasonable for the quantity and quality of the food. Those couple of blocks there in downtown Utica just have a cool vibe. All that said, your expectations should be tempered. The menu is very limited and the beer selection average. The cleanliness of the place is hit or miss. It's not dirty per se, but often you'll get a table with food bits on it from previous customers. The wait staff used to be kind of stand offish but that has improved a lot in the last year or two. The service is also inconsistent. There have been times the wait staff has been very attentive and other times where you never see them after the food arrives. But again, that seems to be getting better with time. The parking isn't horrible but you may have to walk a block or so depending on how crowded it is. There is a small lot you can get to from the alley behind the place, else you parallel park on the street somewhere. Parking is tight if there is a ball game. In some weird way this is all part of the charm of the place, it's a neighborhood bar after all not The Whitney. However it should be known that the good outweighs the bad by far. We've been going in there for years and will continue to do so. It's one of those restaurant/bars that's just like a comfortable pair of shoes, they may be a little beat up but you'd never trade them in...

So my husband and I go to our favorite burger pub on Saturday night. What a huge disappointment! First, the doors were locked because "they were too busy for awhile". It was 630pm. But we were let in within a few min. The waitress warned us it would be "awhile" before we got our food as they were backed up. We understood. After 30+ min wait, we got our food. Ok, not a big deal. But the order was more than 50% wrong and it was presented sloppy on the plate. When I asked for my burger the way I ordered it, the waitress looked at me like I was green and had two heads. She reluctantly took my plate, trying to discourage my request as it would "be another 20 min to get my food. They were busy". What happened to good customer service and people who care? When she returned, she approached me with the burger and said, "you're the one asking for the redo?" Really? And a patron sitting next to us said he didnt get his burger the way he ordered it either. I truly appreciate what local, small businesses have endured the last few years. We support them by frequenting their establishments pretty regularly. But owners/managers need to set the bar high for the people that represent them. I don't want to hear, "nobody wants to work" any more. There's plenty of good people out there who want to work. It will be a long time before we go back to the Shamrock or tell friends that its the place to go for a good burger. Or maybe we just go before 6pm before the doors get locked "because they'll be busy". #hugedisappointmentShamrock ...

The place is only ok, don't ask for take out they don't do it ...unless your the mayor.... It's just a quirky burger shop in quirky Utica where all the restaurants are small-town and quirky so expect some quirkiness when you go there. Like servers that have attitudes and locals that get preferential treatment...if you sit on the patio expect to wait longer for your order as the one or two servers that are working the the dinning area don't come out to the patio as much as they should (more of a management issue than a server issue). As with all the shops downtown Utica expect parking to be an issue, especially on a night when there is a ball game at Jimmy John's Field; Wednesday-Sunday, May to September...oh don't forget the shamrock is closed every holiday including Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day when most restaurants are open, the cop shop is diagonally across the street from shamrock be sure not to accidentally drive into the cop parking lot the wrong way or park there as you'll be having a car side interigation with Utica's finest. So make sure you call before you waste your time driving over there looking for a place to park only to find out that the restaurant is closed and or having a convo with your local law enforcement.. Like I said...