P.J. Whelihan's Pub + Restaurant - Washington Township — Restaurant in Washington Township

This is a joke of a restaurant trading on a legend. I hadn’t eaten there in a while in a while so I ordered something simple. A burger. They couldn't even make a burger to order. My experience was sadly comical and extremely insulting. Let me just tell you what I ordered, and what I got and you decide:

Ordered: Bison Burger, bacon, cheddar, medium, Lettuce, Onion (which it says on the menu you must specify) mayo on the side, and I opted for fries. I haven't eaten a raw tomato intentionally in 3 decades and I didn't ask for it.

I got 1st attempt: A small, well done, clearly a previously deep frozen patty, no bacon, no lettuce, no O, WITH tomato no mayo side...and I won't even go into the fries here.

Sent back second attempt: different servers so more hands, SAME well done burger, with bacon no lettuce, not sure about the tomato or mayo because I took one peek when they set it down (burger check) at that point I was done. I wasn't interested, I just wanted to close out. they sent for a manager which they didn't listen that I wasn't interested talking with...I just wanted to leave but before he came out….another try

The third attempt which from the kitchen door I could see it was the same burger, had a THIRD SERVERS hands, but I could see it had onions added. Did they UNCOOK my burger? Why did they keep sending the same overcooked burger? Their servers were too good to listen.

They just didn't get it or they were too stuck up to listen. If they had just remade it and not tried THREE times to serve me the same garbage I wouldn't have been insulted. Don’t get me wrong, the next burger would have been frozen garbage too, but I was hungry. The manager came out and offered the world, they comped my wife's salad which we didn't ask for. What annoyed me more than anything else is that they didn't even listen. They didn't listen to my order. They didn't listen to why I sent it back....because the same burger kept coming back.

And another thing...Dear PJs, you are not fooling anyone. If I wanted a burger that had been frozen for 2 months, I would have gone to Sam's Club for dinner. Just for the record I went to Five Guys because at that point I was dying for a...

Update as of 7/29/24…

Manager reached out in Google reviews and asked I email, but never replied to my email. I suppose the issues come from the top down. Updating my review accordingly.

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The service is good if you get the right waitress. The hostess station always seems “overwhelmed” even when they are not busy. The bar is perfect to watch sports. Lots of TVs and seemingly kid friendly during normal dining hours.

The food…

Leaves much to be desired. Over the years of coming here, it has changed. The food is not consistent. I really like one of the salads they have, but every time I order it, it looks and tastes different. Between presentation and just overall flavor.

If you stick with the wings, you’ll be fine. And don’t get me wrong, that’s what they are known for. But the fries always come out only the top few seasoned and flavorless. What’s crazy is you pay $1 extra for seasoning and cheese on their “famous” fries, but get next to no seasoning. 😒

So in summary, it’s kinda like how you don’t order steak or seafood at a diner. Don’t go there expecting great food with anything that isn’t their wings. It’s just not consistent. Honestly, it’s a bar. Not a restaurant. It’s a bar with good bar food, not a restaurant with good food.

And don’t waste your money on dessert. Just don’t. Go to a local ice cream shop. You’ll get better ingredients, better flavor for way less and a big portion. What they give you for $8 is a joke and tastes awful.

Wings - good

Fries - meh (especially portion/price/flavor)

Salads - really? Not fresh ingredients. They drowned them in dressing to hide the wilted lettuce. Ask for dressing on the side if you don’t believe me.

Burgers/Sandwiches - good

Shrimp tacos - another inconsistent item. How? I dunno. Some days maybe good, some days maybe not.

King club - another item we always order but I’ve had better at diners.

All desserts - go somewhere else.

Also, this food does not travel / keep well for take out....

My family and I haven't visited this establishment in years, despite it being seemingly popular and certainly close by, because we were disappointed each time in the food. However, we recently decided to try them again. What a mistake. We ordered takeout and selected two surefire hits from a bar/restaurant: Wings and Burgers, yet we were shocked at just how bad they were. The burger was the better of the two, but was still lacking in flavor and certainly size. It was practically miniscule compared to most burgers you'd find in a pub. The wings were absolutely horrible, though. They were definitely large, I'll say that, but they were simultaneously dry and rubbery. The texture was really off-putting. It's a shame because the sauce itself had decent flavor, but I couldn't get past the feeling of chewing on one of those rubber chickens you'd see old-time comedians use. It bears mentioning that my husband specifically asked for extra Bleu cheese dressing and we were given ONE of the smallest containers I've ever seen given out for ten wings. I'm honestly baffled by the crowds this restaurant draws. I can only assume it's due to the fact that it's one of the few places with a liquor license in Twp. I guess if you're three sheets to the wind, your standards for food go way down. I'm only leaving this negative review because I know it won't hurt their business, but hopefully it might save someone else from making the mistake we did until the restaurant can make marked changes in the kitchen quality.

Update: I appreciate the response from the manager, but would like to inform him that we literally live less than an eighth of a mile from the restaurant, there was no excuse for the texture of the wings. Again, I'm very sympathetic to businesses and what they endured during Covid. The only reason I left my honest review is because I knew it wouldn't hurt their business, but rather hoped it would provide them with a wake up...