Keagan's Irish Pub

Style: Irish Pub

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Website: http://www.keagans.com/index.php

My husband and I have been house-sitting an estate on the James River since we met about seven years ago. It has been a lovely place to live with extreme natural luxuries that I have come to take for granted. One of these amenities was living with furniture that was not ours. For years we have lived with only one bed and a bookcase in our room that was actually ours. We also own a desk and a kitchen table. That’s it.

Now our homeowners are placing the estate on the market. We are not being forced to move just yet, but we’ve decided that the time is now right. Therefore, all day we went furniture shopping for nine hours. In and out of stores, dodging creepy salesmen, sitting on couches, opening drawers, imagining a space that we will be renting but do not yet live in takes a lot of energy. We went to five furniture stores and eventually purchased a couch and a TV stand from Ashely.

In the middle of the chaos and decision making, we were hungry. I personally needed fuel to continue because I was emotionally, intellectually, and physically exhausted. We had a Groupon to Keagan’s that was going to expire soon, so we decided to go. We had been there once before when it first opened a little over a year ago and enjoyed it. I was looking forward to it.

Walking through the doors at 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon, I noticed that it was very much an Irish pub: there were quite a few loud drunk people. There was no fighting yet, but perhaps the time was little too early. The décor was the same with many outdoor tables along the sidewalk, dark green colored walls in the inside with dark wood furniture.

We ordered an appetizer of Irish potato skins first. These turned out just to be loaded potato skins with cheese, bacon, chives, and sour cream. They were rather good, with enough toppings to have an explosion of savory meat with a bite from the onion. They were gooey with cheese, which blended with potato and held the toppings. I would order them again, but am always keeping in mind that they are not as good as the Irish Nachos at Sine down in the bottom.

Both Brad and I ordered the Corned Beef Boxty. A boxty is a potato pancake that has been folded over a filling. In this instance, it was corned beef and sauerkraut with Guinness mustard. I like this dish because the pancake is soft and absorbs the juices of the beef, kraut, and mustard. There is a lot of corned beef in the middle and I have yet been able to finish one boxty in one sitting. I have to take half of it home. There are vegetables and mashed potatoes as sides. Being an Irish restaurant, it is excellent that they have tasty mashed potatoes. These have broken red skins for texture, with a buttery salted taste on the tongue.

Now, although I like the food at Keagan’s, I will most likely not return often. The atmosphere is a little too “trendy” for my taste. The waitresses walk around with an air of superiority, and the majority of the patrons seem to be bar crowd: present to get drunk, to get laid, or both. 

DoG Street Pub

Style: Gastropub (Beer and Food)
My Rating: 4.5 / 5 Stars

Website: http://www.dogstreetpub.com/

Likes: Quality ingredients, a beer for everyone, friendly service, gorgeous setting, standard fare with flair

Dislikes: It's on Duke of Gloucester Street, so parking is a pain


In the past, Duke of Gloucester Street in historic downtown Williamsburg, VA has been a source of disappointment and frustration. I have always wanted to like going there, but there are three things that highly annoy me. Parking is very frustrating, everything is generally highly overpriced, and the food and service in the area have been lackluster. So when I heard that DoG Street Pub opened up, I was very interested but hesitant. It took me almost an entire year to work up the motivation to check out the restaurant. But I finally did so and am so happy that it worked out.

We walked in at about 1:45 on a Saturday afternoon. It was a lovely spring day, with sunshine and temperatures in the mid 60’s being carried by a gentle breeze. The pub had seating outside, but we decided to sit inside because of the intense amount of pollen that has been plaguing the air. Inside I was stunned by the décor. Beautiful tiled floors and ceilings, with gorgeous wrought iron chandeliers and gates. 

There was also an interesting mix of people here. We were sat down next to a group of elderly women. Looking around the room, I also noticed young families with children, tourists, and college students. It seemed basically as a neighborhood restaurant where everyone is welcome. 

The pub had a descent menu of beers and our waiter could actually recommend beverages. It seems like many times in a restaurant, the serving staff has limited knowledge of the drinks. I was lucky to have an Old Rasputin from North Coast on draft and my husband had a bottled Fuller’s London Porter. The really cool thing was that they kept blue swing top bottles on the table for water so we could serve ourselves as needed. They were gorgeous bottles. 

I ordered the Honey Ham and Cheddar sandwich and it was worth every penny. It was a double layered sandwich with three slices of thick homemade bread. The bread tasted slightly like it had been smeared with garlic butter so that it would grill nicely. It had a generous amount of ham and cheddar between the three slices of bread, which was garnished with bacon. It was served with crispy kettle chips.

Brad had the hamburger. It was done to the perfect temperature, a medium, leaning towards medium rare. It was served with a special pub sauce which looked like remoulade, but tastes gentle and robust at the same time. The french fries that came with the burger were served in a cute little pail. The fries were thick cut steak fries with a touch of seasoning and partially skins were left on.

I wish that we had tried DoG Street Pub a little sooner. I enjoyed the scenery, the service, and the food. Now, we look forward to returning soon.

The Green Leafe: New Town

The Green Leafe (New Town Location)
Style: American Pub Fare
Website: Green Leafe Website

My Rating: 2/5

Likes: Great burgers, Salad and Onion Rings Substitutions

Dislikes: Wait Staff that seemed to walk off of the set of the Shameless TV series, taking an hour and a half for two beers and two burgers, having to ask for silverware (maybe I should I ordered it?)

Brad and I have been visiting the Green Leafe in New Town for about five years. When we first started going, the place was rocking. We used to go an enjoy a multitude of different microbrews, such as North Coast Red Seal, Weyerbacher Raspberry Stout, and Southern Tier Pumpking. They also had great food. The burgers were cooked and done to cooking preference. I have had the best bacon cheddar burger in the world there. They also have really good fish n'chips, sandwiches, and salads... my favorite is the calamari salad!

Brad and I went for a bite of lunch over the weekend. We have not been going as often as we used to because the place seems to be going downhill.. Their wait staff has gone down in quality and they have not had the beer selection that they used to. When we first got there, there was no hostess on duty and we were told to seat ourselves after five minutes of waiting by the ONE waitress. We found a clean table among all of the dirty ones,

Our server was the bartender, who reminded me of William H. Macy on the Showtime series Shameless. We ordered a beer, mine the only Southern Tier and Brad's the only Lagunitas on tap. Their beer menu has definitely gone down in quality. I really don't think of Michelob Ultra as high point. 

The atmosphere in the restaurant was terrible. It has become more like a sports bar. There were drunk guys yelling about the football game. Families who were drinking and yelling at the football game with their kids present (who were also roaming around the bar area because they were bored). All the tables around us were covered with dirty dishes. It was just weird.

After we ordered our food, it took it about 45 minutes to get to us. When the bartender brought us the food, I had actually finished my beer and was going to order another. But, another couple came up to him to complain that they had been sitting on the patio outside waiting for their check for over half an hour. He went to work with them, and left me with nothing to drink... and no silverware! We had to flag down the lone waitress with 12 tables and ask her for silverware and napkins.

I ordered the kona burger prepared medium with a side Green Leafe salad instead of french fries. The meal was very good. The burger was cooked almost well done, but it had a great flavor with ham, havarti cheese, and a pineapple salsa on it. My side salad was fabulous. It came with field greens, grapes, dried cranberries, grated parmesan, and candied pecans. With a side of ranch, the whole thing hit the spot!

Brad ordered the Kitty Hawk burger, which has been our favorite for years. The burger comes with bacon and a crab dip on the top, making it hearty and rich. He decided to have onion rings as his side instead of the french fries. He enjoyed his as well.

Overall, we will probably come here again, but not soon. We really have to have a hankering for a burger.