McNamara's Irish Pub & Restaurant

12/12/2025 drove past this place and decided to turn around and give it a try. We sat upstairs where there was live music. For starters we ordered the Scottish eggs which were delicious!!! For the main dishes we ordered fish and chips, potato soup, and bread pudding for dessert. The fish and chips were delicious!! Perfectly cooked and it didn't need any sauce! The potato soup was tasty nothing overly exciting about it. The bread pudding was good but it needed more cinnamon in it was a little bland. Overall we were pleasantly surprised how good the food was!! Definitely worth a stop here for dinner!!

Very good, authentic Irish cuisine. I went at lunchtime a week before Christmas, party of 3 - seated quuckly. Service was good. Food was Awesome! We will be going back to try other dishes. Appetizer: Scotch Eggs, were Awesome!!! Bangers & Mash, sausages were very flavorable and the potatoes were seasoned excellently. Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake, and Chocolate Fudge Cake.

Very disappointing with such a high review rating. Ordered the chips and curry. Its potato chips with a curry dipping sauce. The sauce was unpleasant with cream in it and the curry taste was very light. Nothing like Ireland. The fish and chip had thick breading and small portion or square fish. The bread pudding was just like apple pie nothing like a bread pudding should be. Overall I give this place a 2.5 definitely not a 4.7

This place was recommended by a family member and when I saw that they actually had Irish cider on tap I was sold. Perfect place to get a warm comfort meal prior to a flight out of Nashville. The ambience of the pub is warm and inviting and the food kills. Definitely check this place out, we will for sure return.

Had a quick lunch here on Saturday. Their Scotch egg was absolutely top notch. Perfectly cooked yolk, great crunch but not too greasy. Fish and chips were also enjoyable. Not overly seasoned and went nicely with their tartar sauce. Their coleslaw was made of cabbage and a lot of spring onions and parsley if I'm not mistaken. A new experience for me but cut down the richness pleasantly.

Their Caledonia Scotch Eggs were wild hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, panko crusted, fried, and served with Cajun mayo. Honestly one of the best spins on deviled eggs I’ve ever had. But the real jackpot was “The Big Fella” burger. A half-pound patty topped with Irish bacon, sharp Irish cheddar, and a fried egg. Every layer hit just right, and the sweet potato fries that came with it were perfectly crisp and full of flavor. One of the best specialty burgers I’ve had anywhere. Staff were friendly and the décor nails the Irish pub look. No live music the night I visited, so the vibe was quieter, but the food carried everything. If you’re looking for a foodie win in Nashville, McNamara’s really does feel like stumbling across a leprechaun’s pot of gold.

McNamara's couldn't have been better! A fantastic atmosphere that feels like a real Irish pub. Bri was our server and she was amazing! I tried scotch eggs for the first time visiting McNamara's and they were great, the Ruben sandwich was one of the best I've ever had. (So good I forgot to take a pic of it.) Would highly recommend to anyone visiting Nashville looking for a great meal!

Set in an old funeral home this is such a wonderful Irish restaurant. Food and service are great. Live music. Friendly and present owner. I loved the corned beef sliders and the cheesecake is phenomenal.

To be fair, I only had white wine and french fries, so take this review with a grain of salt... or the perfect amount of salt, just like McNamara's fries. ;) Seriously, though! Amazing french fries, amazing bartenders, GREAT Irish live music, and chances are you'll meet some pleasant people who are also just trying to have a good time! I go here when my husband has work seminars down the road on Thursdays while live music is going on and it's always amazing!!! Definitely worth checking out.

Good find in Nashville while there during business. Was recommended by my barbershop in Michigan! Then other Yelp reviews co-signed what they said!!! It was good food and the service was good also. As is the case with Irish Pubs, it's loud and in part because of the live entertainment. Sounded like a genuine Irish lad the night me and my co-workers went. Only neutral point-The scotch eggs were good, but not the best I've had.

Our gang of six enjoyed dinner with music at McNamara's Irish Pub, a family restaurant. Easily accommodated our group. Warm and friendly server. BNA airport and Opryland are conveniently close. Especially enjoyed entrees of grilled salmon with two sides of mashed potatoes and Irish cabbage, and Shepherds Pie. Good but mixed likes for entrees of Fish & Chips and Corned Beef sliders on mini-Kaiser rolls. Washed down with round of Tullamore D.E.W. whiskey. Good selection of brewskies, and great selection of Irish Whiskies (the list is unavailable online). Some whiskies were priced out of my range and would have to sell the children. Décor is dark, and family friendly. Parking can be tight, but we found spaces. Lunch and dinner daily. There is also a lunch menu until 3 pm. Closed Sunday-Monday Nosey Flynn is the Irish music group. Audience is made part of the fun. Small Gripe: Suggested gratuity is calculated WITH the sales tax. Will return.

Yes, yes, and more YES! My family has visited this pub twice, and both times were great! My son enjoyed his kid's meals and promptly ate ALL of his broccoli, my husband and I have both had the fish and chips, and the Galway salmon, boxty and spinach dip, and the Irish curry (pictured) were all delicious. Give our server, Kale, a raise and a paid day off: the way he interacted with our son makes me want to visit more often.

I typically leave longer reviews, but this one will be brief. A friend and I had lunch there today. Beautiful facility, inside and out. We both ordered the fish and chips. Hands-down the best fish and chips we've ever had. Excellent coleslaw and fries. Server Jim was outstanding. And to top it off, Guinness on Draft. My first time there, but I'll be back often.

Love the feeling of the place, as soon as you walk in! They have some neat decorations all around the restaurant, I don't think you'd ever get bored with all there is to see. As soon as we walked in we were greeted at the front and seated right away. We came in for lunch, so the place wasn't too busy yet. Our server was super friendly and very attentive, she made some great recommendations and brought out all of our food pretty quickly. All of the food was fantastic and very reasonably priced for the portion size. My favorite was the scotch eggs, they had the perfect meat to egg portions. Highly recommended checking this place out!

I'm still in love with this place!!! We got to stop by for dinner one weeknight when music was going on the main floor, and it was a blast. The singer was fun and shared great stories with the music, and we got to try the Scotch Eggs (absolutely fabulousssss) and the Steak & Guinness which was heavy, but so good. Packed with flavor. Our server was also great and our cups were never empty.

I enjoyed my first visit to Mcnamara's. Upon entering, the first thing I noticed was that the noise level is very loud. Our party had about 9 people, and once we were seated I could only hear the few that sat right around me. Of course, we were there on a night when there was live music, which we did enjoy, but it added to the noise level in the restaurant. Our waitress was friendly and made some food recommendations to us. Our party tried the shepherd's pie (pure comfort food), corned beef and cabbage, and fish and chips, as well as appetizers of onion rings and scotch eggs. I got to try the corned beef, and it was delicious! Next time I'm ordering that. The cabbage was also delicious and came highly recommended. Everyone enjoyed their food and the service was great. We had a fun evening and I look forward to visiting again soon.Fish a

This place was awesome, we've been looking for a good Irish pub for a while and I'm so glad we found it! The food is real Irish food, for those that may not have had it or aren't used to it, may find it hard to like it. But the food was amazing, and we loved the fact they have live music.

Great local business. Fair prices, good portion sizes, easy parking and friendly and attentive service.

Came here while on vacation and lemme just say BIG Mistake. Not only did they have a VERY LIMITED Menu that was not displayed anywhere on their site for "St. Patrick's Day" despite it being a few days before the actual day, it was also exorbitantly expensive for the amount of food you get. The only reason we actually stayed and ate here was we had a kid who needed something for lunch and we were already here. I absolutely would not recommend this place unless you like overpriced mediocre tasting food. The only bright spot was the server was pretty nice

Everyone and everything was a joy beginning to end We had my granddaughter with us in the lounge area and had nothing but a family experience, planing a very special birthday party next time!

Came here to watch some college students from Belfast Northern Ireland who are studying music play on open mic night. Upstairs was cozy & a perfect venue for them to entertain some Nashville locals. This being my first time at Mcnamaras after all of these years of living nearby it was extra special to hear the Irish tongue while eating scotch eggs & shepherds pie. I really enjoyed the setting & the service as well as the food. I plan on coming back regularly with friends as it's a great spot to grab dinner & drinks.

Absolutely loved the food and service here on St. Patrick's day. Even with it being a holiday, the weight was relatively short for a party of four. We sat upstairs and got to listen to music and enjoyed their limited menu for the holiday. Everything was phenomenal and I highly recommended the fish and chips!

My favorite pub in Nashville! The atmosphere, food, and entertainment have you feeling like you're in Ireland. A must go-to place.

15 years later and I still love this place! I don't live in this area anymore, but my husband and I were in Donelson for the morning and decided to drop in for lunch on a Saturday. Service was amazing, their lunch deals were around $11 per plate, and of course, we had to order the scotch eggs! Everything was delicious! The place hasn't changed much over the years, which brings back so many memories for me. I lived in Donelson for 10 years and visited this place almost every weekend for their live Irish music and dancing. Great place for groups and a night of drinks and socializing!

Really cool little spot. This place really sets a particular vibe and I felt like I took a step back into an Irish pub in Ireland immediately after entering the business. Seems to be a pretty popular spot and may have a wait if you're a large party. Upstairs has a full menu and is first come first serve. The live Irish music was great, parking was easy, food was delicious and authentic, staff was friendly. Can't ask for more than that! Oh and the Guinness really helped set the mood

Went here for drinks and music only...definitely a good Irish feel with good live music ...the food coming out to other tables did look good.All the things you'd expect on an Irish menu...Shepherds pie, fish and chips, etc ..I believe the guy singing was the owner ?! They were good and had the crowd involved...we didn't stay very long but definitely go back when out in Nashville

Love the vibe upstairs, which is open seating with live music. Scotch Eggs, Boxty Spinach Dip (spinach dip served with small hash brown potato patties), Fish & Chips and the Reuben were fantastic. Onion rings are ok. Soup is delicious. Do not recommend the steak sandwich. It was a very thin piece of steak that was cooked to the point of leather. Stick with the Irish classics. They do those very well!

Came to Nashville for the first time and this was some of the best food I've had since I've been here. I had the grilled chicken sandwich with macaroni and cheese and they both were good. The people I was with said they enjoyed theirs.

The food is phenomenal! I had the fish and chips and they are one of the two best I've ever had. The service is excellent. The wait staff is eager to please to make sure you have everything you need to have a great dining experience. When we were there, there was no music playing in our dining room while we were there, but the lounge area was going to have music upstairs. I highly recommend McNamara's for the food and the ambiance. I had never had the opportunity to dine here before, but it's definitely an Irish Pub atmosphere and food.

So good! Such great staff and ambience Will definitely be coming back in the future.

Good food, music, service. Loved. The complete experience. Definitely will be coming back

LOVE this place. The vibe is very pub/Irish (as it should be ahah) and the food is spot on traditional. My group ordered the cheese sticks as an app and they were enormous and delicious! (~$15). I got the shepherds pie as my main and it was fresh and flavorful (~$20). We finished with all sharing the cheesecake and the chocolate cake, my favorite being the cheesecake but I'm a cheesecake kind of person ahah, both were moist and sweet and, of course, delicious (~$15 each). The night we went (Saturday) had life music and a party atmosphere. So check the website and socials to see when they have live music! My group went about an hour before closing but weren't treated any type of way (if you know you know). I could not recommend this place more! Will be back! Pro tip: they have a really fun Irish pub theme inside so enjoy all of the photos and history!

This place is a great spot for lunch! I know it's also fun for dinner and drinks with great Irish bands. But the lunch is always wonderful, served quickly and with a great team of servers who you can tell love their jobs there. Make sure you look at the daily special board. Always great items to choose from the great priced lunch menu. Really good Fish and Chips, the daily soups are wonderful. Cornbeef and cabbage. Always a solid wonderful experience. Good teams of staff is a rare find these days. You will get great service and wonderful food every time you visit.

He was t place wonderful atmosphere great service and food plus live entertainment Always a wonderful time

I've been here here three times. Always had a good meal and service had been attentive. My only gripe with the restaurant is that there are no reservations for the live music. First time we went there, we got there at 5PM, ordered appetizers and beers until the music started at 6pm. Second time we got there, we showed up at 5:15 and tables for the music were full. This last time we showed up at 4:55 and we're told the the dining room was full and we might get seated around 7:15-7:30 but there were no guarantees. The hostess added that people were arriving at 4 pm in order to get a table. Why not have reservations for a 6 and 7pm shows so the tables aren't being occupied for 3* hours. Seems like the servers would make more tips and less people waiting around. Just a thought

You won't find a more authentic Irish Pub with real Irish cuisine. From the beer to the desserts. For starters the Caledonia Scotch Eggs were amazing. Flavorful sausage covered the hard boiled egg then rolled in Panko bread crumbs and deep fried. They came out perfect. And the potato soup was so creamy. A couple of traditional plates that were tried were the Bangers and Mash - Juicy and plump Irish sausage on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes. Highly recommend by the server and did not disappoint. The fish and chips was amazing with the crispy crust and flakey real cod fillets! Very popular. I thought the cocktails could have been a little better but they were alright. But the desert, oh wow! Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake Baileys infused mousse and drizzled with caramel and chocolate was divine! And I just loved all the authentic decor. If you're in Nashville and have a taste of some real Irish cuisine. McNamara's is the place to go.

The service was attentive and friendly. The puff pastry was baked earlier so it was very brittle. The meat and sauce was not very hot, and mushrooms must have been really small. Flavor was good. The shepherds pie was hot and flavorful.

First time at McNamara's and I highly recommend it. Our waitress (Belinda) was amazing! There were 6 adults and 1 child in our group and she was very patient and kind. The food and vibe was amazing! We didn't get a chance to listen to much music, but what we did hear was really good. I would definitely come back here for the food (amazing!), service and music!

I don't know if I have ever been so smitten with a place immediately. Says it is "one of the best Irish pubs in America," and from what I've seen from Boston to San Fran, I would say it IS the best! What an awesome spot, with so much room but consistent atmosphere. So cozy and homey. A huge mix of clientele makes it even more welcoming. Just a massive happy vibe here. Then there's live music. An upstairs patio or music room! So much fun! Then there's stunning high, quality food!! Not run of the mill bar food here, and truly elevated quality "pub" food. Great variety of drinks, wonderful staff...I will be bringing everyone here!!

I absolutely love this restaurant. The food is always consistently incredible. The shepherds pie is my absolute favorite. Some nights they have live music which is nice! The service was quick and our waitress accommodating.

Mcnamara's is a fun location and authentic Irish Pub! There is great music and there are games throughout the restaurant like checkers and darts. Very solid and tasty food. For starters, the Scotch eggs are delicious and they are panko crusted eggs. Make sure you dip that into the Cajun ranch sauce that comes with it. Great dish to share! The Steak & Guinness pie was phenomenal! Think of a thicker French onion meaty soup with steak pieces and onions. On top was a puff pastry - I wish there were more puff pastry or bread to dip into the stew of the pie since it was very concentrated. Normally it comes with fries and I guess you can dip those fries into the stew, but I opted for mashed potatoes instead. The mashed potatoes were pretty good and so drizzled some of the stew there. For drinks, get their hot Irish coffee with baileys! It sounds weird but they were amazing. There's a drink with nutty hazelnut Frangelico and that was the best one!

Mcnamara's is such a cool spot that I didn't know about until a friend showed me this place! You don't see many Irish Pubs in Nashville. A little tip: Go to the 2nd floor - it's a completely different vibe than the 1st floor. The 2nd floor had live music, darts, and it's a cool and chill vibe. The first floor was more family oriented but still nice. If you are a Bailey's or coffee liquor fan, this is the place for you!! I had the best spiked coffee here. The Nutty Irishman was phenomenal with a good hazelnut flavor. It's a mix of Bailey's, Frangelico, Hot Coffee and Fresh Cream. The Frangelico is amazing! For appetizers, we shared the Caledonia scotch eggs - lightly fried Pablo covered hard boiled eggs. These were great and it comes with spicy Cajun mayo sauce to dip in. Highly recommend. Beef Stew: Great portion size, I honestly expected it to be a little thicker as it was very soupy, but it was still good. It had beef, carrots, potatoes. Served with a piece bread. Great vibes, good music, yummy food - I'll be back!

Great service and excellent food! My son has been hyping up the place for a long time so my wife and I decided to celebrate our 24th anniversary there. I absolutely loved the quaint atmosphere and look forward to eating there in the future.

Friendly warm welcome upon entering, nice Irish decor ambiance. This establishment is actually family owned and operated, not a chain restaurant. Kind staff and flavorful menu options with good service and food presentation plus quality. Will definitely go back!

The music is amazing. The craic is is awesome. Great cozy Irish bar with good food. Sean is a very nice guy.

The service was great and the building is cozy but the food wasn't very impressive and felt overpriced for the quality.

This review is for the restaurant. They also have a bar upstairs. Smallish selection of mostly Irish and British dishes, plus salads, sandwiches and burgers. Irish beers on tap (Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp Lager), in bottles (Killian's, etc.) and whiskeys. We had the Scotch Eggs, Steak & Guinness Pie, Corned Beef & Cabbage, and the Full Irish (an all day fried breakfast). The food was mostly good, the only disappointments being the small amount of sausage in the Scotch Eggs, and the tiny, thin pieces of black and white pudding in the Full Irish that were bland and didn't have the flavor you get in the old country. Also, much of the plate was taken up by a large piece of fried soda bread; ' cheaper than giving us more bacon and eggs I suppose. They did have both American A1 and British HP Sauces and malt vinegar when asked, so kudos for that. Lots of Irish kitsch on the walls and ledges, and live Irish Music. Service was fine and friendly, but the McNamara's bread pudding had apples in it!? I wasn't even sure that it *was* bread pudding, but as nothing else on the desert menu had apples in it, then it must have been. It tasted good regardless. A popular place and rightly so... By the way, it's properly pronounced MacNa maara's.

Great atmosphere, music food and drinks. Guinness!! What else can I say. The game room/bar upstairs is awesome. If you haven't been here, go!!

First time in. The Fish and Chips was great, and service was fantastic. Definitely coming back.

I wouldn't consider myself an Irish food fan... unless it's McNamara's. The Rueben is Sooooooo good, and the sweet potato fries are right! I've had a braised beef dish here that was great, and a few others... but the Rueben! Also there's a Bailey's Irish cream cheese cake that's fantastic. The whole vibe is cool, and feels authentic. It's a great place for a lunch date, dinner date, or meeting with clients.

Awesome place. Great food and atmosphere love the live band on weekends. True Irish food music.

Customer service was great. Really cool atmosphere but..... my wife had the shepherds pie and thought very it dry. I had the corn beef and cabbage and it was very good as was the scotch eggs (appetizer). For dessert I had the bread pudding which was more like an apple cobbler. It was delicious, just not what I was expecting. I guess each culture has its own spin as I was expecting more of what I'm accustomed to in New Orleans. Overall it was a good first visit and somewhere I'll definitely return to.

We absolutely adore this spot! We've been quite a few times and the heritage and tradition that you feel walking into this spot is real. Amazing, traditional foods & so many drink options! Live music on certain nights will make you really feel like you are overseas in a pub. Service is always amazing as well. Big spot so barely ever have to wait for table or food!

This is the only restaurant my husband and I would consider ourselves 'regulars'. To start, the staff is absolutely fantastic - Scotty, Brigid, Mike, Miss Kathy (Go Birds!), Luke - are all incredibly kind and excellent servers/hosts. This place is consistently packed and they go above and beyond to be sure you have everything you could need or want even when they are very busy. I should mention that my husband is from Co. Donegal in Ireland, so as far as authenticity goes it meets the Irish standard for a pub/restaurant in the US. The food is consistently excellent and as my husband says "it's the closest taste to home in Nashville" and "it's the only place you'll get a proper cup of tea." Our favorites are the fish and chips and the Irish breakfast on the weekends. The best live music is in the main dining room on Wednesday evenings with The Sternwheelers and on Friday/Saturday nights with Sean McNamara (the owner) and Nosey Flynn. If you want a more dive-y atmosphere, the upstairs lounge is for you with full service and several nights of live music also. This place is very family friendly and you can tell with the consistency of the staff and patrons. We love McNamara's and highly recommend for an Irish pub experience!

We had simply the BEST lunch. We were greeted pleasantly, seated immediately. Our server William was excellent. We had the soup of the day, it said broth but I was told up front it had lamb, barley, leeks, etc. it was AWESOME and was mostly super tender lamb! Broth LOL!?!? Move on to the Scotch Eggs. I honestly came here because they actually serve them. They were the LIGHTEST and crispy and tastiest I have EVER HAD! My main lunch was the Guinness Beef Stew and it was excellent and had that gorgeous puff pastry on top. Great little (big) portion in a little pottery crock. Came with PERFECT steak fries! Hubby had the lunch size Corned Beef & Cabbage. Heaven! Just heaven. Will be back again when we come to Nashville. Clarksville just doesn't have these unique restaurants. OH, the restaurant itself!!! So very cute. Great building, eclectic inside. Loved it all around!

The best Irish pub in the USA bar none! I've been in pubs from the California coast to East coast from Idaho to Texas and I have yet to find a pub with better music and better Irish fare than this restaurant! They are in Nashville TN so no better place to get the best musicians the ownership is not only the part of the entertainment but also one of them is one of the best Irish kitchen managers in the US. I guess what I'm saying is you'd be a fool to miss a chance to visit this place!

Delicious food, excellent service at the bar upstairs and fun live music.will definitely be back.

We had take out because the wait was too long, I had a chicken sandwich and it was good. We really wanted the scotch eggs but they messed up our meal and gave us something else (which we didn't notice until we were already home). :( My review for food is 3/5 but I will be back to try those scotch eggs! So look for an update. My 4th star comes from sitting upstairs in the bar waiting for the food. If I could recommend to anyway, that's the way to go on a Friday or Saturday night. The music was AWESOME! Timbo was his name I think and it was just such good vibes, such great talent, to kick off the weekend. Highly recommend it for music.