Restaurant Review: Claddagh Irish Pub
March 1, 2009 by T.J. Farrell
Filed under Restaurant Reviews
The Claddagh Irish Pub restaurant in Geneva Commons is just what it claims to be: a recreated Irish public house. The interior is warm and inviting. Varied stylized rooms give it charm and a unique feel. My wife, Lisa, and I sat in the Lower Cottage Room with its timbered ceiling and warm, inviting fireplace burning on a cool night.
Our appetizer of Loaded Pub Chips with bacon, tomato, green onions and ale cheese sauce served with a tangy but not overpowering sour cream and horseradish sauce got our taste buds started. Since it was cold we both opted for soup. Lisa’s Guinness onion soup, a classic onion soup with rich overtones of Guinness stout, delighted us both. I ordered the Claddagh chowder, a meaty, thick clam chowder whose richness we enjoyed.
The entrées were both excellent. Lisa enjoyed a Jameson Drunken Steak, a sirloin grilled perfectly, topped with a Jameson Irish whiskey glaze, sautéed mushroom, white cheddar cheese and crisp onions carried delicate flavors in each bite. Champ potatoes (Irish mashed potato prepared with scallions) and steamed vegetables accompanied. I enjoyed traditional Irish bacon and cabbage, the Irish predecessor of corned beef and cabbage. Irish bacon, similar to Canadian bacon, is saltier with a bit of fat for flavor. It came plated over a bed of champ potatoes and cabbage cooked al dente, with a little snap to each bite, unlike so much soggy cabbage served on St. Patrick’s Day. A mustard sauce topped the dish, adding excellent flavor. Portions are abundant.
Dessert was the decadent St. Patrick’s frozen mud pie: mocha ice cream, chocolate cookie crust with a chocolate and caramel drizzled. It pleasantly concluded a wonderful dining experience.
The Claddagh staff is warm and friendly and really cares about you enjoying a wonderful dining experience.
T. J. and Lisa, owners of Spring Clean, Ltd., and their three children, Jack, Liam and Gretchen, are long time Geneva residents.
This article first appeared in the April 2009 issue of eGeneva Magazine.
