Ballydoyle Irish Pub & Rstrnt

01/06/09

Little Touch of Ireland

by BarryLincoln at Citysearch

Downers Grove doesn't appear to be much of a destination, but they have quite a few nice spots to stop off by for a drink and a snack. My friend and I decided on Ballydoyle Irish Pub and I have to say that I was glad we did. The decor inside made me feel cozy. Lots of old stuff makes the place feel much older than what it is. We sat at a table in front of the stage and the bartender came around to wait on us. I ordered a scotch (1 cube, splash of water) and my friend ordered a "Hot Kiss". Her drink was a coffee drink with some creme de menthe and white cream de cacao. The best part was the fresh whipped cream on top. I watched the bartender make it right behind the Bar! Anyhow, our bartender Mark (we ordered our drinks so fast that he didn't have a chance to tell us his name at first) recommended the corned beef bites as an appetizer. We agreed and when they arrived I was a bit apprehensive at first. BUT after biting into one, we found rich cream cheese and corned beef. Very rich, but very tasty. Mark came back by with a couple of waters and we paid our bill. All and all, exactly what I expected from an Irish pub. Good drink, good food, good service. We'll be back!

• Pros: atmosphere
• Cons: drafty front doors

03/17/08

Bad Food and terrible service

by finleykathy at Citysearch

We were with a party of 10 yesterday. I want to let you know that their service was terrible! They were understaffed for the crowd they were expecting to receive. We asked for a meatloaf dinner about 7 times over the course of an hour that was ordered at the same time as our other dinners and finally received it when we were ready to pay the bills. One of the times my husband actually walked back into the kitchen area. We couldn't even get anyone to ring up our check. It was ridiculous. Several employees knew we were having trouble but just stood around without trying to help out.

Fish and chips were not good. Too much coating and very little fish. The corn beef was the only thing good - it was very lean.

They did do one thing right, they had a man standing over our table with a bus tray to clean it off before we started to stand up to look for our lost waitress. Maybe he should have taken care of our bills instead of hovering like a vulture. We were more than happy to leave.

First time at their restaurant - not planning on returning.

• Pros: corned beef
• Cons: bad service, bad food

09/28/04

Fantastic place

by alohamu at Citysearch

I went to Bally Doyle pub on Sat Sept 25 for Prodigals, a great celtic rock group from New York. Place was very crowded but just terrific, overall. Sometimes it was a little difficult to get a waitress for a drink, but understandable since big crowd. People in crowd were great and then later met owner Phil Cullen. Still need to email him pictures. Overall, would definitely go back. Also had $3 appetizers after 10 which were tempting, but I did not get any. Stage for band was small, but they did fine. I think place would be great for dinner.

• Pros: Atmosphere, $3 Appetizers
• Cons: , Crowded, Not much parking