When given a choice, I will usually opt for a local restaurant over a chain, but tonight I took my family to The Claddagh Irish Pub for the second time. My children have very diverse tastes in food, and finding one restaurant to satisfy all of them is difficult, but the Claddagh has accomplished that twice now. The menu purports to contain traditional Irish dishes, though, having never set foot on the Emerald Isle, I cannot speak to its authenticity. Still, the portions are generous and tasty. I also enjoy the ambiance, at least beyond the bar, where the cigarette smoke is offputting. The company's website refers to the ambiance as Craic, which apparently "means a fun, warm, friendly environment." Our local store is much brighter, roomier, and cleaner than pubs I have visited in England, and it has large-screen televisions tuned to ESPN, which give it something of a sports bar feel, though the Irish theme is too visible to go completely in that direction.

Based in Solon, Ohio, The Claddagh Irish Pub is expanding rapidly through company owned stores located mainly in the Midwest. The restaurant we visited is a large, freestanding building in the upscale Greenway Station, so it couldn't have been cheap to build. But if the crowds are consistently as large as those that we have witnessed, it is doing a good business.

Businesses of Note | Bookmark

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8345157d569e200d8343c55c153ef

Links to weblogs that reference Claddagh Irish Pub: