Buck Mulligan’s Public House

I’d give it 5 stars but my friend and I only had the nachos — but I’m guessing the rest of the menu is even better. Atmosphere was cozy and yeah — it’s definitely an Irish bar. (Spent 7 years in Boston and was married to an Irish man so trust me on that one). They actually had half&half and all the good Irish beers on tap. (To the negative reviewer who ordered a Heineken, I’d look at you funny too when there are far better options, but my friend got a Bud Light and they were more than cool about it.) we loved the homemade chips in lieu of traditional «nacho chips». They were fantastic. My only grip was there wasn’t a lot of chicken, but I got over it. Friendly service, decent prices and seriously reasonably priced — GOOD — beer on tap. I’ll be back.

Sorry Chez Fonfon, Buck Mulligan’s «Mulligan» burger took your burger out into the street, slapped it, and took its lunch money. My vote for best burger in Birmingham.

Our first time here was enjoyable. The place is pretty large, with a comfortable atmosphere. The bartender was friendly and likeable, and not pretentious like some of the other local pubs. My husband and I played a few rounds of pool, and the only complaint I have is the position of the billiard tables. One is almost up against a support beam making it awkward to set up some shots. But they do have a Terminator pinball machine, so that’s pretty epic. All in all, Buck Mulligans didn’t let us down, and we’ll definitely be back!

Decided to eat here on a whim, and boy… was I surprised. The atmosphere reminds me of home (New York) where authentic Irish pubs dot every street corner.
The interior is warm with dark woods and Welcoming bar. The staff are amazing, very accommodating and friendly.
The food is downright delicious. Make sure you try their corned beef fritters… they are phenomenal.
The last Sunday of every month starting at 5:00 pm, there is a Celtic band that comes and plays live music.

Food was good. Service was mediocre (Alex). I arrange after-​work dinners for professionals. Sometimes, because I am black and the establishment may not know that I am the facilitator, I did not get adequate service. My events are usually mixed and at different establishments to keep it interesting. I guess after everyone started thanking me it became apparent I was the facilitator. By that time my impression was marred. I won’t be arranging another event here.

I’m glad we have an Irish place that represents a little better than Innisfree. On this occasion, we actually came to see Bernie Maskman Presents, which was in the back room I didn’t even know existed! Apparently, it’s a great spot for standup and is becoming even moreso by the month, according to Bernie himself. But he’s a wannabee luchador, so what does he know?

Finally, finally, finally there’s an Irish pub in Birmingham, AL! We’re all saved! Food: authentic and delicious. Drinks: you NEED to try their Bloody Mary. Staff: friendly and welcoming. Location: 5-​Points South, so super convenient. You can’t go wrong! Please, give them a shot. If you like Irish food, you’ll be happy you did.

Great cozy pub with really good food and service! Loved the brunch. Definitely recommend!

We went not too long after they opened, so I definitely want to check it out again to see if they have worked out some of the kinks. I think maybe they opened too soon after Black Market moved out… because there was not a lot in the space to suggest «Irish pub» other than a few Guinness posters. The bar also looked to be sparsely stocked as well. The menu was very limited, but several of the options sounded good. My partner has some food allergies, so we ended up having dinner somewhere else. We did however have the «pots of gold» appetizer and I found it quite tasty. The server was attentive and very friendly, even though we were one of two tables dining. I would like to try more of the food and hope that they expand the menu a bit. I have noticed that they are having bands around, and even hosted a horror movie night… so would definitely like to check them out when an event is going on too!

We were only staying a night in Birmingham on the UAB campus and decided to try this place for dinner because it was close. We decided to split the Maud Gonne’s Guinness Burger, and it was a revelation. It was a good-​sized burger, cooked indescribably well, flowing with flavorful juices. I didn’t know what the sauce was, but it complemented the burger perfectly and the lettuce and tomato were fresh. It came on a thicker than usual ciabatta bun, which also enhanced the overall flavor of this masterpiece. One of the best, if not the best burger I’ve ever had. My only regret is that I didn’t get the full burger for myself. I had the Good People Pale Ale to drink, which was less hoppy than a typical pale and easy to drink. We also split a side of wings with the Jameson Honey Glaze, which was also delicious. I will definitely come here next time I’m in Birmingham.

I was stoked that Rocky Horror was hosting their official after party at Buck Mulligan’s as I had yet to try it and was excited to see what they had done with the space. Fast forward to walking through the doors and being presented with Black Market v2.0. If anythings changed but an Irish flag pinned to the wall, I didn’t notice. Ironically, they took the place of a bar known for their ‘wicked’ bartenders and yet BM’s were by far some of the rudest I’d encountered in B’ham. I asked for a beer, using my ‘please’ and ‘thank you’s, and each bartender I encountered acted like I was the biggest inconvenience they’d had in the past 24 hours. None of these guys must be in the business of return customers. Even friends who watched me order remarked on this, «Wow, that guy was a complete jerk to you and you were so nice, what’s up?» To add insult to injury, their beer selection is a little strange. They stock a decent cohort of local options on tap (yay!) but when I asked for Heineken (for the beau) they looked at me like I had asked for poison. Okay, then… Corona it is. As for the food, it was meh: delicious at 12am with a buzz on but nothing I’d seek out unless I was a captive audience. All in all, come here if you want a redo of Black Market without the awesome bar staff or the delicious food.

Went in on what appeared to be a slow night. August 30^th or 31^st if I remember correctly. Allegedly there was an Irish band playing, but all I saw was a few old men with flutes and other instruments sitting at a table playing a little off and on. Sat at the end of the bar. Over the course of 2.5 hours, I managed to get 2 drinks ordered. The bartenders were all too busy socializing to take care of customers. There were 3 employees behind the bar at one point, and I raised my hand like a kid in class to try and get someone’s attention to let them know that my food order was wrong. I got tired and put my hand down. By the time my 1^st beer had been empty for a while, and my incorrect food was completely cold, and my friend and I had carried on a long discussion about just what it takes to get service in this place, someone finally came and asked if we needed anything and I said I’d like the food I ordered and another drink. My friend had finished their food and mine had been sitting there untouched for long enough to get completely cold. Mind you, I’m sitting at the bar. The replacement food came out in a smaller portion than the messed up order, and they didn’t bring the 2^nd drink until they brought the food. It blew my mind. So, that being said… the service was absolutely unforgivable. Shameful. Now, on to the menu. First thing you notice when you open the menu is that they only actually have a small handful of items. Like a Mexican place, they’re just rearranging the few things they actually cook into different dishes. The food itself was unimpressive, boring and bland. The fries were something straight out of the freezer and like the cheapest ones you can get from the supplier. Bland. Boring. The beer list… jeez. For stouts they only had Guinness in stock. All the others were crossed out. As far as the other styles of beer… don’t bother. You know how some places have good beer, and other places have the beer you can generally get at a gas station? This was a gas station beer list. Sure, there are a few ipas, and maybe a Belgian or something, but only the crappy, low gravity, cheapo ones that a real beer drinker would be disappointed with. I mean I should be able to get a strong beer at an Irish bar right? Maybe it’s just me but between the poor service, the mediocre food, the aloof staff, the crummy beer list and the fact that everything seemed to take so long when 75 percent of the seats were empty, I just can’t think of a way to leave a positive review. I worked in restaurants for a long time, and felt completely offended by my experience here. The worst part of it… when I paid my tab at the end of it all, I don’t even think they noticed that anything was wrong. Good luck Buck Mulligans, I think you’ll need it if you intend to last very long. If I could give you 0 stars I could.

We have been excited to hear of an Irish pub in Bham, so we went a couple weeks after opening. The food was good although our order was wrong. Few things I am going to give a bit of a pass on… The only Irish decorations was an Irish flag. That was disappointing :(The place looked like Black Market moved out and nothing happened since. Frankly, it was like going on a blind date and the guy shows up in sweats and his old college t-​shirt while you’re wearing a little black dress with stilettos. The big no-​No for the place was the bartender didn’t know Irish whiskey. If a place is going to be an Irish pub, please For the Love know the differences between American whiskey and Irish whiskey. And I strongly suggest more than Bushmills & Jameson, & Dew.
The only reason for the three is the people were nice and the food was good (order wrong tho). Game needs to be stepped up. I will return to give another try.

The food was good… i had pots of gold. I do wish there was more options on the menu. The portions were very large but not alot on the menu that I can eat.

Service was attentive and friendly. As to the food… Delicious. Loved the Pots O’Gold. The potatoes are thick sliced with the shredded meat, cheese, sauerkraut (just enough to add flavor so don’t be scared) and the sauces… Just delish. Fish and chips were nicely done so that you can enjoy the breading with every bite and come with a pea mash that was surprisingly good. The beer selection had a nice variety and the atmosphere is perfect for meeting with up with a friend. Highly recommend.

If I were only reviewing the food, I would give this place four stars instead of three. It earns three stars due to a bartender’s condescending attitude. The bartender who took our order (full dark beard — didn’t get his name) asked us if we had any questions about the menu. My wife asked why the portion sizes for the fish and chips were labeled «his» and «hers» instead of «large» and «small,» as we both thought that was mildly sexist. Not a big deal, really — just something we picked up on. The bartender rudely said, «Maybe you’ll have better luck with your next question.» Again, not that big of a deal, but it left a bad taste in our mouths.
Other than that, I enjoyed it. I’m a James Joyce nerd, and I liked all of the allusions to Ulysses and Dubliners throughout the menu. The «Stately Plump Sampler» was pretty creative.
We started with wings in Guinness sauce. Really good. Some of the best wings in Southside. From there, I had the bangers and champ, and my wife had the aforementioned burger. We were both very pleased with our entrees. The bangers were good, and they came with champ (a tasty version of mashed potatoes) and a slice of soda bread. I ordered the cabbage as an additional side, and although I was very impressed with it, I felt that the portion was way too small. The burger came on a ciabatta bun and was complete with Guinness sauce, garlic aioli, and onions. It was excellent. Our only complaint was that it was cooked medium instead of medium rare, as my wife had ordered.
I’d like to come back, but I think we’ll wait until this place gets its first month’s hiccups out of the way. I hope in the meantime that our bartender will learn some manners.