Paddy O'Splaine's Montrose / Artesian

Anyone been here?

I did a search but only found a reference in the onion ring post and openings/closings thread.

Before I "Take one for the team" I thought I'd post out and see if anyone has a review. We walked by it the other day and the space is pretty good sized.

Paddy O'Splaine's
2434 W. Montrose Ave
Chicago, IL
773-866-1825

trs23-

I went two weeks ago -- the day their chef of two week's quit. (Note to any restaurant that has a wildly varied menu -- if you have a brand new chef who doesn't know the menu, offer a limited menu!!) Our drinks generally came quickly and the onion rings were decent. Beyond that, I have little positive to report. Food orders were wrong (meatloaf was ordered -- meatball sandwich was delivered; prime rib was ordered medium rare -- we've seen rarer hockey pucks; the replacement prime rib was new york strip steak) and the management was terrible. To their credit, they did end up comping our bill because of the many misfires. It's a nice space, but I won't return.

-Mary

I live in the neighborhood and was enthused to see this place finally open. That said, any built up anticipation was quickly squashed the first time I ordered food. An order of potato skins resulted in burnt potato skins topped with nacho cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. I simply could not get over the combination of nacho cheese and sour cream and ate only one. The bartender was nowhere to be found until my beer was gone and I requested the check. She took credit card and asked when she came back with the receipt if I liked my potato skins. I responded that I did not. She gave me a sympathetic, "yeah" and walked away. I always get a little irked with wait staff asking for feedback if they don't really want to hear it. I understand that they had just opened and will chalk it up to opening missteps. I will give them another chance for food when they have some time to iron out the kinks.

Bummer!

Thanks for the reviews. I was really looking forward to this since we live in the neighborhood as well and wanted something better than Rockwell's (blech).

Ah well. I'll continue to head over to Lincoln Ave.

This place has been through some interesting turns. The opening chef quite. Then two brothers from the Francesca's chain took over the helm. that lasted for about two weeks. The opening chef returned. that too lasted for about two weeks. Now a new one has the job. I'm curious to find out if they have bad luck finding good people to fill the job or if the owners are just impossible to work with and drive chefs away.

This place hasn't gotten much love on LTH, so let me be what appears to be the first to say that it's actually pretty good. Much, much better than I expected given the faux-Irish nonsense and the unpromising posts thus far. Last night I had a huge $6 Caesar salad which was actually darn tasty. Crisp and fresh romaine lettuce, decent parmesan, nicely toasted fresh garlic croutons, and two pretty little whole anchovies on top. I will be more than pleased to return for the salad. Add in the Friday night special of $3 well-poured pints of Guinness and a $6 order of fish and chips, and I've got a pretty good recession-busting neighborhood pub. The kitchen knows its way around a fryer, as the fries and cod were both served hot, and nice and crispy. The fish tasted fresh, and the texture was terrific, though I hope they get rid of the practice of adding what must’ve been "Italian seasoning" dried spice mix to the batter. Not terrible, but wholly inappropriate for fish and chips.

Anyway, with this being a decently short walk from home, I will definitely be back. Free wi-fi, lotsa TV's, and attractive male and female staff - for anyone interested in such things.

we went here a couple of weeks ago.

AWFUL FOOD!

We ordered the Mostacholi app and when cutting into the golf ball sized meatball the middle was ice cold -- like just out of the freezer. The server nodded his head like he knew it was going to be terrible and took it away.

The burger I had for $8.00 was pretty awful too -- over cooked (asked for med rare and it was almost well), fries cold -- I didn't bother sending it back.

We won't be back. Too bad as its right near our house.

trs23,

Interesting how different 2 people's experiences can be. I hope more people go and report back, as I'd like to know whether I was just there on an "on" night.

Kenny

I have had both good and bad experiences here. I had an excellent ribeye steak, very garlicky mashed potatoes, and sauteed vegetables, and it was only $8 as their Monday night special (I think it's a slightly smaller cut than their regular menu version, the special was about 8oz.) On my first visit I had a very nice and juicy burger with some very good fries as well. I noticed a sign that the burger was on special on Wednesdays, so I returned and had an entirely different and truly awful burger and fries - I guess it's not the only place that subs different ingredients on specials, but I wouldn't have paid $2 for the stuff. Next time I go I'll have to ask about which burger I'll receive before I order it again.

Thanks for the tip Kennyz, I'll have to check out the Friday fish special. It is certainly a nice spot to catch a football game on the tube, especially for the Monday night special which I'll be back for.

Forgive the useless non-food-related musing, but does anyone else quickly glance at this thread title and think the restaurant is called Paddy O'Spleen's?

aschie30 wrote:Forgive the useless non-food-related musing, but does anyone else quickly glance at this thread title and think the restaurant is called Paddy O'Spleen's?

I always think of Ricky Riccardo saying "You've got some splainin' to do."

Two things to avoid at all costs: the corned beef (undercooked, thick cut - makes a squeeking sound when you bite into. Same texture as spam) and the garlic mashed potatoes (uses an absolutely disgusting, bright yellow, slightly thickened fake butter product that just has to come from a mass-production, shelf-stable plastic bottle)

They were out of the cabbage part of the corned-beef and cabbage lunch special, so the gross potatoes were a substitution:

What the hell did they do with that corned beef, pan-fry it?

I think so. I took one bite and was too revolted to ask questions. I'm still here sipping a Guinness though, so maybe I'll inquire later. The free wi-fi is still nice.

So is this our first example of live, on-the-scene LTHForum posting?

probably not the first, but feel free to relay any pressing questions from the home office.

that looks good to me for some reason. i wouldn't mind some more raw corned beef; it might be interesting

Banner in front say they are under new management. Based on past record plus keeping the name, I am not likely to serve as guinea pig for any changes good or bad.