O'Neill's Irish Pub
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Late Night
- Music: Juke Box
- Best Nights: Tue, Wed
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
201 reviews
Neighborhood: Financial District
"Hello Schroeder's after my very first time eating lunch at Schroeder's that last couple of weeks... I have returned once again on a 8 8 08…" read more »
75 Reviews for O'Neill's Irish Pub
I used to come here on lunch hour when I worked at 155 Townsend.
Sometimes, I would have a pint after work if it was that kind of day.
I liked the salad and had a pasta dish sometimes. I came a few times with workmates.
I like that it is a fairly large bar. I have never been on game day.
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This has given me some of the worst dining/bar experiences.
Either I come here and it's completely packed, or it's empty and I don't get served. The food isn't even that good, so it wasn't worth the trouble. I still came here every so often since I worked on that block, but most times I tried I ended up going to Pete's instead.
I want to give a star for having Smithwick's, but I wouldn't come here just for that.
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We had shown up a couple hours before the Giants game so it was very dead. The bartenders were totally chill and fun to talk to....then.....the b-ball crowd came!
I think that everyone should back off of the bartenders...this is def. not their fault! This place was soooo PACKED, I too would have freaked out! People were waving money in front of the poor bartenders faces, like they were hookers!
Word of advice: Order two of whatever you're getting so you don't have to go back up to the bar again. Ya, it might not taste as good as the first, but it will save you frustration and time.
I can see this bar as pretty cool during the Giants away games....
P.S. If the Giants are playing someone pretty good, double up on the amount of alcohol you're going to drink...you're gonna need it!
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My friends and I stopped by for a bite before the game and thought the food was fairly good and reasonably priced. My wife ordered the Asian chicken salad, someone else had the caesar salad with chicken, another person had potato skins with Irish bacon and I had the ribs marinated in Maui barbecue sauce. The ribs were actually short ribs and came with a side of fries. All that with three cokes ran us $50 tax and tip included. I thought that was pretty reasonable. We were disappointed that they didn't have fish and chips or shrimp and chips. We'll have to give that a try next time.
The people who ordered salads were very happy with what they got and the ribs were a pleasant surprise. I asked for the sauce on the side not knowing that it was a light ginger sesame soy type sauce. My dining companions and I agreed they were very good! At $10 I thought it was a good value. You can order the dish as a starter for $8 without the fries. The dish could use a scoop or two of Japanese rice and it would have been perfect.
My only knock on the place is that the music was way too loud. Maybe it's because the four of us are 60 or over. How do you younger folks feel about that? We could barely hear each other talk. Oh, the service wasn't the best either but I've seen worse at places that were far more expensive!
I would definitely try it again. I think I'll bring my own rice from home and get the ribs to go!
A word of advice if you're planning to pregame before the Giants' game here. GET HERE EARLY. I mean, early, like at 3:30. Because around 4:30 the most obnoxious Giants fans start showing up and this place gets PACKED. We stayed at our seat at the bar until it got unbearable and they grabbed a bite to eat down the street before we headed into the park.
The service, I have to say, was pretty good. I was a bit annoyed that they were out of 2 of their 8 or 10 beers on tap. The restroom was one of the cleanest bar bathrooms I've ever been in, granted I went in there before the huge rush of assholes came in.
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If you avoid busy game days, then it's a pretty good bar to hang out at as it won't be too overcrowded. I came here after work, and they were having 2-for-1 drink specials. Good garlic fries.
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3 words "TOTAL RIP OFF! I was so shocked when I found out that this bar offers 2 for 1 drink specials during baseball season. Here I was sitting at the bar after my 3rd round of drinks getting over charged and the bartender didn't bother telling anyone of this drink special! Not only was she overcharging us, she was busy flirting with the guys on the other side of the bar to even bother getting us drinks in a timely manner. She also said she was out of martini glasses so she gave my friend a beer glass for his martini. AND to top off our experience she over charged his credit card. My advice is to aviod this place because they will rip you off!
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Don't even bother trying to get into this overpriced suck ass crap hole on a game day if you're female, over 129 lbs. (and weight proportioned even), not blond, and over 24 years old. EVEN if your unlucky ass gets in, You will not even save any $ as their beer is nearly as costly as inside the park. And the ushers and concession workers ARE FAR NICER then the JACK ASS'ES that man the doors and bar.
Irish my ass. Hell if the IRA was still active they'd BLOW THIS PLACE UP.
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your basic irish pub.
the coolest things about this place is that it's close to the ballpark so you don't always have to go to Momo's after the game, and that they have a phonebooth that is an homage to Father Ted. (http://en.wikipedia.or...)
check the pic.
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Nice bar, really loud music. Crowded at times, but we've always been able to get a table. I love their chicken wings and chicken tenders. Not too greasy. Just enough to satiate that fried food craving. Husband usually gets a burger or the grilled chicken sandwich. I'm always picking off the yummy fries.
I'm not big on beers, but hubby seems to like it. Good place to hang out with friends. Enjoy the crowd and watch some European football.
They have what looks like a stage in the back of one of the rooms. Never ran into any live music there - but I guess they could.
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An Irish pub that serves quesadillas? Hmmm.
$12 for a Smithwick's and a cider? No thanks.
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I would strongly urge you to avoid this place. Drinks are WAAAAY overpriced. Service is friendly but shockingly hard to come by, even early on a weekend night. We orderred food early on a Friday night and they were out of the first 3 things we wanted, including FISH AND CHIPS...this is supposed to be a pub, right? And if you are generous enough to play music for them (and bring 30-40 friends who would not have come otherwise) they reward you by offering each band member ONE free beer.
Overall, I feel like O'Neill's management was telling us "welcome to our pub, we look forward to getting as much money from you as we possibly can, and we don't really care if our you ever come back." Their message has been heard!
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I have never had a good experience here...until today.
This place is one of those places where, you drank too much at the Giants game and an irish pub sounds really cool, so you end up here because it is so close and you are so drunk, places. The food is bad, the Guinness is like 5 drafts away from being the last in the supply chain, and the service is super non-existent.
HOWEVER - today on St. Patty's Day 2008 this all changed. We went for lunch and were served really well, and really quickly. They also were really friendly and kept the Guinness flowing...weird. On the flip side, I knew I could bring my co-workers here on STP and it wasn't going to be crowded....
Updating my 1 star to 3 for this experience.
$6.50 for a Guinness?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Looks like I haven't missed much by walking past this place everyday...
Sometimes I stumble and sometimes I swagger but this time I entered the bar with a hobble. I had been attempting athletic things and I twisted my ankle like schmuck thus concluding the day's fun in the sun. A drink of alcohol would surely kill the pain and make things sunnier on the inside, right? So here I am with a tender foot and thirst when a young woman who was too sexy to be a great bartender (I mean that in a Right Said Fred way) asks us if we were just getting off work and chatting me and my bro ( and I mean that ironically) up. We get our drinks and then another and watched the sport that showed on TV; it was a moment of Zen.
Located just across the way from AT&T ballpark (is that what it's called now?) O'Neill's provides drinks and pub grub for those in the desire to live the sports bar lifestyle, which can be many things. It can bee a nice beer with a big burger in the middle of the day or it can be a ton of people getting overwhelmed by the emotionally cutting yo-yo that is professional and collegiate sport (yes I just said that). It can be a nice warm environment or an F'ing pain in the A!
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Eh, it's okay. I only go here before Giants game, so maybe my opinion is distorted by the crush of drunk fans that pack this place before first pitch, but I rarely want to stay for longer than a beer or two. And just because we're all about to buy $8 Miller Lites doesn't mean you're allowed to charge $6 for a pint of Stella.
Great neighborhood bar. Whenever I've come here, it's never been crowded. I had a blast with my best friend choosing music for the juke box. The crowd is pretty interesting, I met some down to earth people there. I've never eaten here, so I have no idea how their food is. But as I said earlier, this is a great neighborhood bar. Not the cleanest, but nice.
i guess its a nice place to go for a drink before gameday, but i'd rather go to red's. +2 for the stella glasses and magners on tap. otherwise, it took me 30 minutes to get the bartenders attention who never gave me my change and its wayyy overpriced. blah!
Update 11/18/07
Add a star for the great service of the PM bartenders.
Shatangi has experienced quite possibly, the worst lunch in SOMA. Our server had more trouble understanding us than anything. When asked what I wanted to drink, I said I needed a minute and she looked to my colleague for a translation. My other lunch buddy tried to order her burger with both fries and coleslaw (never a problem before) and was served a heaping helping of 'tude instead. Another friend volunteered to give her the slaw from his order which seemed an agreeable solution to our server, but of course that got served on his plate. My club sandwich with no mayo (I asked twice) came with mayo and my black and tan looked like it had been stirred. The food was not bad but the service and the price do not do it justice. Too bad.
Shatangi told you...
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God could the bartender be any nicer? I was so taken back as he was the nicest guy I have ever met working behind a bar who was not totally skeezy... Good times, except for the total creeps next t us at the bar that were married and trying to take these chicks home, which was odd for a non-cruise bar atmosphere. Game day is a whole different story.
None the less, good times, not crowded in the middle of the week, it is fun. Parking is challenging and make sure you keep an eye out of the meter maids after midnight!!!
Ahhhhh, i got nailed w/ a bad ass $40 ticket, when the area was not even marked for the hrs...
Damn the man!!!
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They have stella in stella glasses. (+ 1 )They have great decor (+1) Good Location (+1) They have nice waitresses. (+1) They also have crap security guards that take about 15 minuets, 3 spilt beers, a pushed into the ground server, a couple of broken chairs, and two knocked over tables before they get involved.(-1) It was after a giants game. It was my first bar fight. I would totally go back, but then maybe I wouldn't cause the guys that were fighting didn't get kicked out and started another fight that resulted with what looked like someone dead/ unconscious on the sidewalk...
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I came here with a coworker to visit one of the most talented bartenders I know. I had a special cantaloupe martini with a cherry in it and my coworker had a Stella in a Stella glass. I ordered a Caesar salad with chicken and my coworker order a burger with fries. The fries were yummy. Was also given raspberry kamikazis and red headed sluts. Be entertained by my favorite bartender as he tosses ice, liquid, glasses and bottle over his head, behind him, balance things on the back of his palm and basically have a real good time back there. Sit at the bar if you can. Parking on the street is expensive. A QUARTER for five minutes. Dear God.
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Went in to this place to get some grub after having my hair cut at Supercuts on King St. I walked in with my messenger bag on and a cleanly shaved head, asked for a water and the menu, and proceeded to look through the usual assortment of bar good. Burgers, Chicken, and fried stuff. After deciding on the $14 fish and chips, the waitress asks me for a credit card to hold. This completely floors me. What sort of 'restaurant' asks for a credit card to hold for food? She proceeds to tell me it is because they've had a lot of walkouts, and while she doesn't think I will walk out, its their policy. I ask if she does that for everyone and she says yes, so I politely pack up my things and go to the pizza place next door for some $9 pasta.
The waitress was nice enough about it but I can't believe a business would seriously consider putting any sort of policy like this in place. Treat every customer like a potential walk out! What a great idea!
I wonder how many people walked out before they ordered food because of this policy. I hope this place compares that number to the cost of walkouts and changes thing around.
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Stopped by to watch the Bulls romp on the Heat. I love Shaq, Zo and GP but in a game of highflying dunks and full court press- gotta go wit them baby bulls. I enjoyed watching game 2 here but the lights that help to create a bit of ambiance...are in the way of almost every screen in every angle- they should have consulted some bar-heads in avoiding that BIG f*ck up.
Staff here are cool but not so compelling to return when I am paying $7 bucks for a jameson or $6 for a guiness- come on isn't this supposed to be a pub environment??? Yeah, I suppose the location is the call for this, but passing off the high cost of their real estate to us at the bar...a tad poor in taste I say.
One of the bartenders was a standout helping to increase the fun and experience with his hi-jinks(a heavy irish accent helped flavor things up) and offering some tastings of different beers i have yet to try.
The space seems way too big for the amount of peeps that were here...but i suppose it gets filled up after ballgames and on some of the events they hold down. The new online jukes are cool and provide choke selection, but iam a nostalgic mofo and prefer the box/cd approach...ho-hum.
O'Neill's is a nice quiet SOMA bar. Most nights it's pretty empty after nine, and is nice for a chilled our drink with a friend. The staff is pretty friendly. Never been there during a baseball game, but I can guess it would get pretty crowded.
My local pub - great, friendly bartenders... darn good pub food, sports on TV. Went last night for a delicious Hot Toddy. This place is packed during baseball season. Both in and off season, it's a perfect place for a pint.
This place sucks ass. I went there once and got treated like shit by the bartender who carded me twice after I'd already been carded and stamped at the door. I was there with my friends for a pre-game birthday celebration and was about to drop a bunch of money but decided to take my business somewhere else. The bartender was a greasy dude with curly black hair..if you see him knock him out!
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The worst experience in an Irish pub I've ever had.
Where to start?
Gameday: Why oh why do these eejits think they need more security than JFK Airport? None of the surrounding bars have them and this little pub has three. What is supposed to happen? A war? And, as some doormen are because they're bored, they are needlessly rude.
Bartenders: slow, ineffective. I know it's busy, I've been in busy bars before, but these guys are amatuers.
Lastly: the decor. Pub-in-a-box. Definitely not "authentic" as they would have you believe.
There are other Irish pubs in the city...
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As a bar, this place would rate 3 stars. Decent selection of beers and spirits, prices somewhat on the high end, but that's to be expected given the proximity to the ball park.
As a restaurant, 1 star. The first time we came here, right after the place opened, for a company/team celebration thing, the food was most lame, especially the soggy, greasy, undercooked garlic fries.
Fast forward a few months, and we needed a lunch venue today. Shall we give them another shot?
Service was polite but S-L-O-W. The food was even slower. I counted 45 mins for our 5 -person order of burgers and shepherds pie to come out. It's lunchtime people, not 10PM. Keep in mind there were only 2 other patrons in the whole place, so it's not like the kitchen was busy.
When it arrived, the food was at best underwhelming.
I would be willing to come back for an event or a beer, but I'll never intentionally eat here again.
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"Irish" pub? I don't think so. (If you have to put it in your name, you're probably trying too hard.)
Why? Too expensive, too fake, and the food has almost always been lousy.
I work nearby, so occasionally I'll forget how bad the food was last time and try again. Every time I'm unpleasantly surprised at the food (o.k., I had a hamburger or two that were o.k.), the service and the prices. I think I've finally learned my lesson.
Main example: I've ordered caesar salads on at least 5 different occasions, and each one was completely different from the last. The most recent one was what sealed the deal: it was drowning in dressing, the lettuce had been chopped so small it was practically diced, and the "grilled" chicken tasted like it was frozen, microwaved and then burned on the grill for "flavor." But hey, it was only $10 or so.
Here's a Tip: Avoid O'Neill's "Irish" Pub
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I visited O' Neill's this year for my St. Patrick's Day extravaganza. Although it was crowded and lines for the one-stall bathrooms were as long as a college graduation ceremony, I think I gave it quite a chance. The beer was flowing, the cheer was growing.
About five hours into our binge we had racked up quite a tab, as you can imagine. We had been nothing but patient and respectable with our server and we had kept our voices to a dull roar compared to the drunken noise level of the crowd. We fully intended to stay at O'Neill's and patronize them at full-drink prices until we could no longer stand.
I finally decided to bear the bathroom line and when I returned to my seat, which was positioned in a circle with my other 6 friends surrounding a card table (chair), i found a young man seated there. The chances of me finding another chair in this place are none so since I had occupied my chair for what was amounting to a full work day, I politely asked him if he would return my chair.
Unfortunately, there is a small number of people in this city who have an attitude and confidence level WAYY above their attractiveness level. The 'too cool for school attitude' almost makes me vomit but the sight of their face on top of it causes a full blown hurl. This guy was one of those. A pompous fool who thinks his gold card gives him status in this world. But really, with a face like that, you'll end up on cheaters when you are 40 and your 25 year old wife/model leaves you for your son's best friend.
ANYWAYY, this guy says no. No, female, you may not have your chair. And you know what his reason was? His dad owns 1/3 of this bar. I thought the daddy's little girl phenomenon was reserved for girls, but apparently not. When I argued his reasoning and calmly explained that I was president in my asshole game and he can't take that away from me, he played tough guy. My friends got involved and the next thing you know our bill was shoved in our face and we were kicked out of the bar. We who posed no problem and gave you all of our money.
I will never step foot in O' Neill's again because they treated that situation completely wrong and their customer appreciation is nil. And 1/3 owner-- you should be ashamed of your son and not let him set foot in O' Neill's again because he is rude and his face scares away the patrons. And son-- you should retreat to a cave for three years and ponder the meaning of your life then become a priest because you're never getting a girl anyway.
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Standard irish pub. Space is ok, kind of dark. Bar is huge so if it were crowded I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have to wait too long to get a drink. Bartenders were definitely pleasant!
Would be awesome if they had outdoor seating...
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The place is comfortable. It has a big bar in the middle of the room that kind of divides the place into two spaces. It has lots of stuff on the walls with a strong Irish theme. Guinness signs, a Bushmills Lane street sign, etc. Frankly, it kind of looks like someone sold O'Neill's a kit full of "Irish Bar Decorations" but that's OK with me.
However, O'Neill's can kiss MY atmosphere for charging $5.75 for a very ordinary pint of Sierra Nevada Pale. Maybe that flies on game day, but on a Saturday night in the off season, charging that much for a beer is a deal breaker.
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Gorgeous Wednesday afternoon.
Just out of the Giants vs. Mets.
Why not top off the beer buzz.
Don't want to return to the office.
Let's avoid the Momos after-game hoohaa.
Oooh O'Neills serves Hangar One vodka AND Guinness.
Large and spacious pub.
Lots of people. Lots. Guess the Giants loss didn't affect anyone's appetite for a drink.
Lots of TVs to watch all sorts of sports.
Hmmmm no waiters/waitresses to take my order.
Guess we'll go straight to the source - the man behind the bar.
It's 4pm - perfect time for a martini.
Ummmm yah one more drink.
Okay maybe one more...
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This joint is 1/2 block away from my office...making it a natural choice for after dinner drinks. I went there last night with a co-worker & my boss ("team meeting"...pfffft). I had me a dirty sapphire martini & it was deee-licious.
It's actually cute inside & the lunch is just fine. It's not the cheapest place for what you get, but I like variety.
They must make a killing during baseball season (shudder).
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You served me a crappy Guinness and charged me 6 bucks for it during whats called "happy hour" in the rest of the normal world. Piss off.
I had a genius crack-trivia team that defied you to beat us at O'Neill's pub trivia on Sunday night. Our random brains are connected in one vulcanized mind meld of useless telepathic knowledge. We... are the champions, my friends. We were called, "The Flaming M________s."
O'Neill's has a good beer collection, but I wish they had a better light beer available. Since everything on the menu is fried, I went for the diet beer and they sadly only have Miller Lite, Bud Lite and Coors Light. (Um. I don't think I have had any of those since college parties in the woods. Ew.) But, I did it. Drank em down. Had some chicken tenders and fries. Garlic fries - great! Cheese fries - bad! They use that kind of cheese that Tostitos produces for corn chips. This place is slammed and gross on game days, so don't even bother trying.
I had to take a star away for their immediate cancellation of pub trivia. We used to go on Sundays and they mysteriously cancelled it. How sad. We were the only customers sometimes! Now they'll have none, I guess.
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I like the atmosphere and regarding the prices, I think this is pretty much the same pricing as most bars near the ball park, or downtown. During happy hour they did have free hors d'oeuvres that the waitresses kept bringing around.
I was not a fan of the food, actually liked the appetizers better. My friend had the Asian Chicken Salad and said she'd order it again, I tasted and would agree. Another friend and I shared nachos, not a fan. But the drink selection was pretty good (Scotland Yard, The Don) and again, I dug the vibe.
The DJ was spinning some good beats though there was no dancing happening.
I love this place! It is conviently located next to my work and my home! The bartenders are just perfect! they will never forget a face! Live music, food, dancing and some fun times! Makes for a great starter to a night!
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Plus side: Good Beer and Trivia - What a great combination...
Negative side: Expensive Beer, single Men's room (this can be a very bad thing when you have a lot of guys drinking a lot of beer)...
A decent establishment, I need to go back a few more times to really make a final call but the good news is that I will go back and try it a few more times.
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