1998 Madison Road
Price for a Guinness: $6.50 | Total Rating: 6.25
I wasn't surprised when the bartender served me a below average pour of Guinness in a 16oz baby glass because this place is a sports bar under the disguise of an Irish Pub. Sure, it's clean, the bartenders are friendly and know their stuff. However, the only Irish thing about the place is a clock behind the bar that was almost certainly purchased from Hobby Lobby. To the bar's defense, they do also have a neon sign of a shamrock on the wall as well as a mirror with the Guinness logo on it.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad place to grab a drink. The locals are friendly, it's on a good street with ample parking, it's great for watching sports, and they have a unique drink that comes with a little rubber shark...
There's a nice rooftop upstairs that overlooks the nearby area and the bathrooms are nicely kept. There are some pretty cool signs on the wall that are geared toward the local sports teams, but that's about it. No darts, no Golden Tee, and if I'm not mistaken; no Keno either. Do any of those things warrant a good bar? No. But they help, especially when you get people's hopes up that they are walking into an Irish Pub to turn around and find out that they are just in an American styled sports bar.
I really don't mean to bash the place, it's not a bad spot to hang out. Although, I do need to bring up their wings. They're known for their wings and I must say; they're average at best. Clearly deep fried, not smoked, and there's not much meat on the bone. If you're in Cincinnati and want a good plate of wings you need to go to Knock Back Nats or perhaps Smoke Justis, not O'Bryon's... sorry.
If I was going to give a rating for a sports bar I probably would have given this place over an 8.0. That's not the case here. The awnings outside show the Irish name and an Irish clover, giving off the impression that the inside of the place is assumingly Irish. Well, sometimes when you assume, you just get disappointed. This place gets a 6.25 from me, which is fantastic being that the craic is almost nonexistent.
Slainte.
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