Ray And Josh M.
Yelp
Ray: Last Thursday, Josh and I were tossing around a few ideas of where to eat our weekly dinner together. He had a few places in mind, so we headed off toward Ballard. As we were traveling, Josh noticed this place called The Old Pequliar, boasting to be an Irish pub. We went around the block and found a nice parking spot just down the street.
Inside, it was seat-yourself. We picked out a nice table against one of the walls. The interior of The Old Peculair is quite comfortable, warmly decorated, playing background music that was the perfect volume to enjoy either the music or conversation. I did both...
I ordered a Manny's Ale as I carefully looked over the menu. There was really only one entre that I wanted to go with and that was the Sheppard's Pie. Now, this pie had lamb and beef, so technically that would be a Sheppard's/Cottage Pie, but who's really being that technical? Not me...
The Pie came with a salad in a very reasonable time. It was nicely plated in a ceramic bowl, fresh from the oven. The flavors were really great. The gaminess of the lamb was the perfect flavor along with the veggies, beef and potatoes. There was a nice crusty cheese layer as well. Being what I classify as comfort food, I really liked it.
The pub was quite nice inside and out with very friendly, attentive service and wonderful food. I award The Old Pequliar four stars! Definitely on my list as a do-over down the road.
Josh: Last Thursday we ventured back into Ballard, that land fertile with dining options. One could never truly exhaust all the Ballard food options. We found ourselves at The Old Pequliar, highly recognizable from the street with it's dark (black?) front. I think they used to have it painted red, but I don't properly remember...
We walked in and found a seat. This place looks pretty cool inside, kinda like a place you might find in some back neighborhood in Ireland, though the comparison is made strictly out of ignorance having never been there myself. They have a cool curved bar, a neat cobble stone fireplace, I found the atmosphere to be pretty warm.
After taking a look at the menu, I went with the Shepherds Pie. They didn't seem to have a very large selection if actual Irish fair, the shepherds pie and a reuben sandwich seemed to be the only authentic options. Luckily I am a huge shepherds pie fan, so I went with that.
Just a note: When I look up the menu online I'm seeing a few other authentic Irish dishes, perhaps it was on a side of the menu I didn't check?
The food arrived and looked pretty good. Not the best shepherds pie I've ever had, but probably in the top 5. I scarfed it down post haste and would happily order it again given another chance.
It took a little bit longer then expected to get the empty plates removed, and to get the check. The service was actually kinda slow for the evening, especially considering the place wasn't super busy or anything. Because of this, I can't go with 5 stars, but everything else was pretty much on-point. 4 easy stars for the Old Pequliar.