Denyce M.
Yelp
Can't believe the number of times I have walked past this place and never stopped in. That will not happen again.
One of The Doctor's suppliers was in town and wanted to take us out to dinner. Since he and his colleagues were in walking distance of this place, this is where he decided we would meet. The Kerryman has a lot of charm and I love the woodwork. Very interesting layout...as you walk in the front door, there is the main bar with several booths. There are also tables and a full bar upstairs. I know it is supposed to be an Irish pub, but honestly other than having Irish dishes on the menu, I didn't get that vibe. That's not a knock against the establishment, it's just some places downtown Chicago literally knock you upside the head with trying to remind you that they are a hip Irish pub.
Let me start out by saying that they had me at the sparkling rose they had on the menu and it was a reasonable price for downtown (Zardetto Prosecco Rose, $40). There is also a nice selection of beers, wines, whiskeys and mixed drinks. The next time I go will be on a Tuesday as they have $6 glasses of wine and half price bottles of wine. For those that are watching their calories while drinking, on Wednesday there are $4 Truly and White Claw cans during Happy Hour (4-7 pm).
The bartender was very nice, didn't get his name but he was friendly and attentive. Although there were quite a few people at the bar, he took care of everyone equally.
For dinner there was eight of us. We were seated upstairs at a large high top table with chairs on one side and a long booth seating on the other side. We started off with the Baked Artichoke Dip (baked artichoke hearts, irish cheddar, cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, roasted peppers, green onion, cilantro and grilled toast points). This was very tasty and I could see ordering this as a snack to have with bubbles while people watching in the summer from their outdoor area.
For dinner I got the Shepherd's Pie (ground beef, vegetables, beef gravy, mashed potato, cheddar cheese and house irish cheddar soda bread ) and a side of Macaroni & Smoked Gouda Cheese (cavatappi, smokey cheese sauce, potato chips, breadcrumb). The mac and cheese comes as an entree dish as well. Both were very good and deceptively large as I ended up taking them home.
The Shepherd's Pie was very good, but it had a different flavor to it that I didn't expect. Not sure what it was, but the gravy had a slightly sweetness to it that reminded me of tomato sauce. It isn't that it was bad, just different, but delicious nonetheless. The dish itself looked small because of the dish it was prepared in, but the dish itself is deep and really retains the heat of the is dish. by the time I finished eating and asked to get it wrapped up, it was still warm by the time I got home. The soda bread was nice and hearty; I didn't have my leftovers until about 3 days after the fact and that bread had retained its flavor and texture. Delish!
The mac and cheese was also pretty good, nice and creamy. Not sure I would do it as an entree because that would a very heavy meal, but it was good.
Our host got a grilled Reuben with a side of mac and cheese. The sandwich looked pretty good and our host said that he enjoyed it. One of our guest was vegetarian, so she got the Quesadilla without the smoked bacon. It was made with queso fresco, baby spinach, sour cream, salsa verde and guacamole. For an appetizer, the size definitely could pass for an entree.
The Doctor got the The Irish Cheddar, which was a half pound of black angus beef, irish cheddar and bacon with marie rose sauce. For those of you that don't know, marie rose sauce is a British condiment often made from a blend of tomatoes, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and black pepper. The Doctor thought the burger was excellent and he liked the sauce as it was his first time having it.
Service was great. Can't remember our server's name (think it was Shaun?) but he was great considering the size of our party. There was a another gentleman that jumped in to assist our server in terms of removing plates from the table. Even the bus guy was great and responsive.
We didn't do dessert because we were stuffed from the meal but the Maple Bourbon Apple Bread Pudding looked interesting (chantilly custard, brown sugar caramel, vanilla bean gelato). Another snacky side to consider while drinking bubbles and people watching.
The Kerryman hit a note with me and I will definitely be stopping in there soon. For those that like to drive, there is a parking facility right next door. With Spot Hero it was $10 for the evening. That makes it worthwhile drinking down there for dinner when the weather starts to get colder. We will be back.