Bridie McKenna's Highwood - Worth the Wait

The husband, child and I ventured in to Bridie McKenna's last night. I think that it was the first full week of having been open (finally). We arrived around 6, the place was full and they put us on a wait list.

The place is quite nice, gorgeous wood features and light fixtures. The bar is huge, there is actually two bars in one, each connected but in adjacent rooms. We were told the wait was going to be between 15-30 minutes. Looking around, it appeared that there were more tables just drinking than eating. There were two tables by the front entrance with reservations signs on it. After about 10 minutes of waiting with a fidgity 5 and a half year old, I asked the host what time the reservations were for. She said 7:30 so I asked her if we could sit there - we'd be sure to be out by then. She checked with someone, came back and sat us down. I guess they initally decided to take reservations then decided not to but still wanted to honor last nights.

On to the food... Fidgetly child was hungry so they brought her some pretzel bread and butter, nice departure from a baguette and such. Our waiter was Tony "the only Irish man named Tony" he informed us. Great guy, very personable, good suggestions. I started with the Blue Moon Mussels. I was honestly surprised they were so good. Nice broth with blue moon beer and garlic, mussels very fresh and you could taste the garlic. I also had the goat cheese and pear salad. I asked for the dressing to be light and it was perfect. Nice salad, goat chesse was rolled in breadcrumbs and baked. The husband had the burger. The menu states Kobe/Angus burger, whatever that means, do they have Kobe sometimes and then Angus the other, not sure. I was sure that the burger was terrific. Cooked perfectly, medium rare. You have a choice of toppings, husband chose grilled mushrooms, Irish cheddar cheese and horseradish sauce. It really was a good burger, I only had a bite but the husband finished it off quite fast. The fries were pretty good, with skin on. The child had the kids mac and cheese, meh. She loved it and the accompanying ice cream with chocolate sauce that comes with kids' meals.

Service was good, people were pouring in while we were eating. Not sure of the wait but I do know that a few people didn't want to wait so went next door to Alex's Washington Gardens. The set up is sort of strange. There are a lot of tables for dining but they have lots of open floor space.. it looks like they (or whomever started the project two years ago) may have planned to just be a pub first (thus, lots of room for standing) but now have turned eatery. The menu is quite large and I think a lot of people came in last night to eat - I think they were surprised by the number of people. We'll definitley go back, most likely on a weeknight. There are a lot of Irish specialities on the menu along with salads and pub grub. Drink list quite nice, I'm not a whiskey or scotch drinker, but there are a lot of choices. I had a black and tan and the husband had a Smithwicks.

Yes they have to work out the opening kinks, but the area really needed something like Bridie's. The husband and I hope the food remains great with good service, it'd be nice to have another regular spot other than Isaac's to hang out in.

Bridie McKenna's
254 Green Bay Road
Highwood, IL 60040
http://www.bridiemckennasirishpub.com/

debsdiningdigs wrote:Bridie McKenna's

I had no idea this place had a name let alone that it is now open. I will have to check it out.

Thank you for the kind words. I'm so glad you enjoyed your visit! I apologize for the ambiguous burger description. I use equal amounts of Kobe and Angus chuck in the burgers, hence "Kobe/Angus". The reason I use both is because I like the richness and tenderness of the Kobe beef and the flavor of the Angus. I very much look forward to your next visit. Please tell your server to let me know so that I may introduce myself. Customer reviews are so helpful to me. Thank you again.

James Coffey
Executive Chef
Bridie McKenna's

Welcome to the board. It's especially enjoyed when the pros comment about their other favorites in the city - please feel most warmly invited to join us in any other threads. Good luck on the new venture.

FWIW, I got an impression from the opening post that I now realize may be somewhat inaccurate. I read "Irish pub" and "burgers" and assumed that this establishment was basically a bar with a very limited menu of cheap eats. Fortunately, I clicked on the above link to the restaurant, and took a look at their menu. They offer far more than what's mentioned above - not just the usual pub type food, like wings and nachos and sandwiches, but also items like crab cakes, an assortment of salads (the goat cheese and pear sounds yummy), more elaborate entrees (e.g. rack of lamb, slow roasted salmon), and interesting desserts (sticky toffee pudding, rhubarb cobbler). Chef Coffey has created a menu that sounds really scrumptious, and I look forward to going there to try it out.

I had a nice lunch here today while killing time before an appointment. I was able to try the Muligitawny soup and the Curry Chicken entree. Both are typical Irish takes on Indian inspired cuisine. If you have ordered either of these dishes in Ireland or at an Irish pub, you know what I mean. Both were pretty tasty.

The pub itself is huge and beautiful. It is divided into many rooms with nooks and crannies for privacy and conversation. They advertise live music on the weekends. I didnt try a guiness but I have heard from friends they give a good pour.

The place is immaculately clean which might account for the
Disney-Ireland feeling another poster remarked about. The place will look more autherntic with a little breaking in. Overall a very nice place in Highwood.

Unfortunately, we were less impressed. We only had hamburgers, so we will probably go back and try something else.

Arrived at 5:45pm on Saturday and seated immediately, though the waiting list started quickly after us. My wife ordered a hamburger rare and I ordered medium rare. We were disappointed because: both hamburgers were over-cooked, the fries were tepid not hot, and the bun was horrible. Food-wise, there was really nothing to recommend here with the limited menu we had. The room is wonderful and the service was excellent.

We had a very positive experience this weekend. We tried two dishes, the mussels and the fish and chips. The mussels were O.K., and the fish and chips were excellent. The fish has a thin, somewhat spicy, outer coating, and the fish itself was very moist. The fries were skin on, had good flavor, and were reasonably crispy. The portions were huge, as my wife and I split one order of each and had leftovers (but we're lightweights).

This place is currently quite the hotspot, at least by North Shore standards. By seven, it was two deep at the bar, with moderate waits for tables. Service was friendly.

Jonah

HI,

I was there last Tuesday evening after the elections. They had live acoustic music in the bar area. While not amplified, it was still loud. Fortunately they have a room for dining where you can just hear the music and not shout to make yourself understood.

I ordered the rarebit from their small plate or appetizer menu. Their presentation was black bread you dipped into the savory cheese. If I ordered this again, I would have them toast the bread and pour the cheese sauce on top. Especially since I was the solo diner of this dish.

They serve the full dinner menu until 10 PM, then a smaller menu until closing. Their hours do make it attractive:

Sun-Thurs: 11 AM - 1 AM
Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 2 AM

I was seeking a restaurant after 9 PM, which is not the best time in my area. If Bridie McKenna's did not serve dinner, then very likely I was heading to Denny's. I'm glad I didn't have to pull the trigger on that idea.

Regards,

I just confirmed that John Williams is running the session there on Tuesdays. He's a good musician and I look forward to stopping by for a pint and a few reels.

I love the idea of this place, and hope it stays and does well. I'd like to see them improve the mini-rueben appetizer (big corned beef slices overhanging too-small store-bought squares of rye-ish bread). I did love the curry fries. And I loved reading through the Irish American News and dog-earing all the articles and ads about other places I want to check out. My sister and her husband ate there recently and loved all the food and and how much they were served. Personally I'm on a Lenten survey of Chicago-area fish-and-chips options (Cod at Elephant and Castle, two thumbs up!) My book club meeting at Bridie's comes up in a week or so, and I'll report again then. I'm really hoping this place gives me enough reasons to become a regular. I'm sure I can think of at least two reasons per month to visit Highwood. Now maybe three.

My wife had heard good things about Bridie McKenna's at her nail place in Highland Park, where all the good gossip happens. So we decided to check the place out.
We arrived tonight about 5 pm to beat the maddening Saturday night crowd.
We started with their Blue Moon mussels, which were extremely nice. Haven't had mussels that good for a long time. We asked for some bread to sop up the sauce. Just the right amount of garlic. We almost made a meal out of the mussels and bread.
My wife had their fish and chips. She let me try some. The coating was crisp and the fish very moist.
I ordered the corned duck breast. The waitress informed me that they corn (brine) the duck themselves. It was served over fingerling potatoes with some cabbage and a marvelous cherry sauce. One of the best duck dishes I've ever eaten. I love duck and order it whenever I see it on a menu. Too bad more folks don't like dark-meat poultry. That's were all the flavor is hidden. (As an aside: I married into a family where no one likes turkey dark meat but me. So I end up with both legs and drumstick. I tell everyone that's the only reason I married my wife!)
I note that Bridie's is open for lunch so that should be a good way to avoid the crowds.
I also found out that the restaurant is a one of a kind place. The menu goes well beyond your typical pub food. I'm anxious to try some other dishes.
I personally wish the owners well. They've paid a great deal of attention to the decor and, based on this one experience, seemed to have done a fine job with the food and the menu. Birdie's is a welcome addition to the Highwood restaurant scene and I wish them continued success.
Regards,
Grandpa Bob

That duck sounds yummy! I was at Washington Gardens with some friends on Thursday night, which is right next door, but one of the women heard less than stellar things about Bridies so we stayed at WG. Which was fine. Wonder if anyone would want to try a group outing at Bridie's sometime?

I'm up for a meeting at Bridie's! It's been too long since I've been there - or to Highwood at all, for that matter.

A heads-up: At lunchtime it's easy to park across the street, but some evenings of the week, parking is terrible along that street. Your options are to valet park, arrive early in the evening, go blocks away, or, I think (correct me, someone, if I'm wrong), park at the train station after the commuters are gone.