Drove my parents from RI back to Arlington yesterday. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a new-to-me place, Paddy’s Public House in Newton (I’ve not been to the sister pub, O’Hara’s, either). Mom and dad are both in the need for comfort food these days and Paddy’s was just the kind of place mom loves. It’s quite dark when you first walk in (my eyes needed a few minutes to adjust) but both the bar area and dining room are snug, homey, and welcoming. Lots of dark wood, bric-a-brac/old photos on walls, comfortable booths (if a bit on the small side). We started with the huge portion of mussels, done Portuguese style with chorizo. Wow, those were some of the plumpest mussels we’ve had in a long time. Almost no grit, perfectly charred bread to accompany (they gave us more bread on request). Mom and dad were glad that we had only ordered crocks of spicy chili (man, they gave us raw jalapeno slices that were super-spicy) and French onion soup…mom brought half of the chili home. Dad got the full-sized order of shepherd’s pie, which both mom and dad enjoyed (and they had enough left over to have for lunch today). They offer smaller lunch portions of 2 different items for $12 - that’s what he’ll do next time.
Finally, one really nice scene I observed - the place filled up to capacity after we got our food. An older man came in alone with a walker and got seated right in the middle of the busy room because there was no other place for him. And I don’t think that bothered him one bit - he ordered his food and a big glass of wine, seemingly savoring both. And the server made him feel right at home. Now THAT’S service.
Paddy’s is on a small side street off Washington, so there was plenty of street parking (at least at 12:30 pm). There is also a sizeable pay lot right across the street. By the time we left around 1:30 pm, I could see that parking might a little tough, but not impossible.
The onion rings are very good at Paddy’s–next time I go I am ordering an extra side of those! I’m willing to bet they use the same batter for their fish and chips as well. I’ve only been to Paddy’s once and had their burger, which was quite good. I did find the beer to be a bit pricey.
Thanks so much for this suggestion. We went this past weekend (cold and rainy and wanted comfort food). Couldn’t have been happier. The host was great, our waitress was great, the food was exactly what we wanted and the location was just as you described - dark and cozy.
We had the Irish Nachos for a starter (don’t judge, remember cold, rainy, comfort food) which is essentially fried potato discs covered with an ale cheese sauce and bacon, green onions - salsa and sour cream for dipping. The potatoes and cheese sauce were great - way better than we were expecting from an Irish Pub.
They have a “Pick 2” lunch option for $12 . . . I’m thinking it is one of the best deals in town. We each had the french onion soup, I had chicken pot pie and SO had the shepherd’s pie. The soup was great and the used a rye bread for the crouton portion, which we both decided we really liked - and it was big portion of soup. I had plate envy for the shepherd’s pie but my pot pie was tasty too. I later found out that the pot pie is normally in a bread bowl (full portion) - mixed feelings on bread bowls but I’d still eat it. My 1/2 portion was just in a cup, which I was told wasn’t typical but they had run out of the bread they normally use for the 1/2 pot pie portions (Mother’s Day).
All in all, very happy you brought it to our attention - it’s easy to get to to and we were really happy with the food and service. We’d much rather drive there than go to our local “Irish Pub” - and we will again.
Glad you had a good experience. Sometimes places like Paddy’s just really hits the spot.
Incidentally, we returned during the lunch rush on a Saturday so our experience was not as good but the service was still great. Three of us did the 2 for $12 and it is a great deal - can’t remember what we ordered. Mussels were not as plump as on the previous visit. We will be sure to go outside of prime time hours.
I went for lunch today and really enjoyed the place and the food. The do lunch every day. The two for $12 is an excellent deal. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
