O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub

A true Irish pub in Virginia. Found this gem while traveling for work and wanted a quick place to grab a bite. Great Irish pub, that in addition to the classics you expect, has american fare is delightful as well. The curry/​chili dip that comes with the curry fries is great.
This is going on my list, for when I’m in the area. Few places serve a decent Guinness or have Smitwicks on draft.

UPDATED After the previous review, the manager contacted me directly. Very classy move, and not only disappointed to see the review, but promised to rectify the situation. With that approach, the atmosphere, the food, and the management… I highly recommend O’Sullivan’s … an authentic experience, indeed.
PREVIOUS Love the food, love the cold Guinness poured correctly. Went for dinner and had a really nice cod sandwich, BUT my server didn’t have his head in the game. He messed up my son’s order, threw out our take away (after I specifically asked him to box it up for take home), but what really got me is as an Irishman, in an Irish pub … he did not ask me if I wanted a second Guinness while my glass sat empty.
Next time I go (IF) I go, I’ll ask for a different server. I’m not shy, and refuse to tolerate inconsiderate service.

Nice mellow pub with good beer and drink choices. Very palatable pub grub, with friendly and attentive bartender. About all one could ask for in a good Irish pub. Generously long happy hour (2 hours) with trivial pursuit and live music. I may have found my new favorite place on this work gig.

Over the last couple years, I had some decent experiences with this place when there were friendlier employees and really enjoyed their Cobb Salad and Shepherd’s Pie. But, tonight was the last night I’ll ever step foot in this place.
I met up with a friend of mine, and we were talking about a recently deceased family member of hers (died last week). Jeremy, the bartender, took it upon himself to butt into our conversation when he heard the words preacher and evangelical and tell us we couldn’t talk about religion in the bar. That he would refuse us service if we did so. Sure he has the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason, and as a business, has the right to say what can and can’t be said within the business walls. But, to interrupt a conversation he knew nothing about, and then argue with us about its content was beyond rude. I had drank a portion of my beer, and when my friend and I decided to leave, he flippantly said the beer was on him. Too bad it didn’t wind up on him literally.

Great wings and a big list of beers to choose from. The service was good and friendly

Went in with the wife after a short bicycle ride. Where going to go to Ice House but they are closed on Sunday’s (really???). Our gain! Cool place. Very typical Irish type setting but not as dark. Good beer selection. Full bar. The wings were outstanding. Service? Superior. Our bartender was attentive without being obnoxious. Gave out some tasters and samples. We will be back. Great place.

My friend and I had been on a bike ride and were looking for a place that wasn’t too busy and offered outdoor seating. This place met all that plus some. I had only been here years ago on St Patrick’s day for the beer so I don’t remember much of anything but only one bathroom for the women’s. Why would a bar do this?
The food was delicious. I enjoyed the ruben minus the cheese with onion rings. My friend took advantage of happy hours special of ½ wings. I also grabbed a beer, smithwicks, but for some reason it just didn’t taste right.
It is a great place to chill out and grab a bite to eat. There was a sign that indicated live music but didn’t stay long enough for that

Good food and beer along with a casual enviroment. Took a little bit for the waiter to come, other than that, I am definitely going back.

This is my favorite lunch spot to get away from the stresses of work. They have the most authentic Irish cuisine on Herndon/​Reston. Sheppard’s Pie is to die for. Whiskey selection is impeccable.

Came in for lunch on a slow Saturday. Two servers working but neither felt the need to bring menus or even say hello. I know they saw us because they made eye contact, but quickly looked away to avoid working. Instead they stood around talking with their friends. After 10 minutes of waiting, I walked out.
I won’t be coming back, plenty of other places to eat in Herndon.

I’ve been to O’Sullivans a few times and really like it. The interior is decorated as a true Irish Pub should be, and reminds me of the ones I went to throughout Ireland. They show rugby games, soccer, and other Irish/​European sports which sometimes can be hard to find in your typical sports bar.
In addition, the food itself is great. I’ve come for brunch and liked it, and just went again last night for dinner. I had a spinach salad and some of their fries with gravy and it all was delicious. They have an excellent happy hour that goes till 8:30pm so my wine was only $ 5 (beer and rail drinks were $ 3 or $ 4 I believe).
Wednesday is trivia night which is also fun! I will definitely return again since this place is the perfect combination of good food, sports, and fun events.

If you want to go to an authentic Irish pub in the area O’Sullivan’s is a great choice! Their staff is pretty friendly, drinks are made just right, and every once in a while they’ll have specialty dishes like the bacon wrapped scallops for bourbon, bacon and beer night. They also have live entertainment including music and Irish tap dance.

This is a nice little bar with a pub — like atmosphere. The staff are always friendly and happy to help. I love to get the curry fries as an appetizer. They are not the most vegetarian friendly place, but you can get a black bean veggie burger.

I just purchased a veggie burger for lunch and it was so amazing! The burger included nice chunks of avocado, lettuce, tomato, and a wonderful side salad. Yummy! I will be ordering this again and again!

I stopped by for a pint during a bike ride (it is near the rail trail). The menu looked interesting, so I brought the family for dinner the same day.
This is very good home cooking (Irish home cooking). The shepherd’s pie was very good, and very authentic. The burger on mashed potato with gravy was divine — out of this world. The kids enjoyed the fries and buffalo wings (and they are very picky about their buffalo wings). The beer selection is good. We’ll be back to try the rest of the menu.
It was family friendly, at least at 6:00pm. Casual service, great pub feel. Sports on the TV. Relaxing, as pub should be.

We came to O’Sullivan’s with high hopes for finding a good neighborhood pub… we were attracted by the live music, the whiskey bar, and the promise of some decent pub grub, having recently visited the UK, and enjoyed pub food there.
We were so disappointed. The service was ‘meh’. The food was not great. I had the beef and Guinness stew. It arrived with a lot of carrots and celery; about 3 new potato halves, and very little beef. My first bite was a cold potato, and it was downhill from there. It is difficult to mess up stew, but I suspect this was frozen. My husband ordered the Guinness burger, which was nice. With their extensive whiskey list, we expected them to be at least a little knowledgeable. They were not, and we are fairly certain served us the wrong whiskey. They claim to be family friendly, but it’s a sports bar, populated by folks whose language I wouldn’t care to explain to a young child! Too bad.

If you like a place where you can hang out with friends, sit down at a table, and actually have a conversation without shouting «WHAT?» at each other, this place is my top pick along Elden street. There aren’t swarms of drunk people dancing or screaming or staring you down. It’s a very friendly, laid back environment. And the staff is super nice.
In terms of food, I’ve only had the curry fries, but the Shepherd’s Pie looks pretty phenomenal. In terms of beverages, can’t go wrong with an Irish coffee after a meal (and they make them strong here)! I also love that O’Sullivan’s has Magners Irish Cider as well as Flying Dog Blood Orange IPA on tap — they’re my favorite summer drinks this year.

New to the area, I’ve been waiting for that first stellar visit to a local joint… Finally happened this Friday!
My dear friend drove in from Pittsburgh and I wanted a nice spot to catch up, throw back some brews, and be outside in the sweet summer weather.
All that and more accomplished at this spot that night… When you want to focus on the company your with, nothing makes that easier than perfect service… And when I say perfect service– I mean PERFECT SERVICE.
Steve is about as epic a server as one could hope for. This guy– the moment we even thought about needing something, he was on top of it and had it handled before we could even ask.
Glasses were never empty and dude even ran across the street to snag a pack of smokes for my out of town guest!
This place isn’t glamorous, they don’t have the biggest or best beer selection around, I’ve never eaten here… But if you are looking for a nice patio, great service, a fun crowd, and above and beyond service… This ought to do it.

Dated and ugly interior, but I guess I would be a regular here. I definitely would if I was staying here temporarily.
I prefer Jimmys across the street though.
It was pretty nice sitting outside by the main street.
Accepts AMEX.

We went here on a Saturday around 5 p.m. At that hour, there were a few people at the bar and 2 occupied tables in the dining area. It’s a bit confusing when first entering. We didn’t know if we should just seat ourselves or if someone would seat us. Finally, after a couple of minutes standing around, we just seated ourselves. A few minutes later, our server showed up to give us menus. I think that O’Sullivan’s would do well to have a sign telling customers to seat themselves in the dining area.
No sooner did our server give us menus, he asked if we wanted something to drink. I asked if there were any house speciality drinks, he said no but that it was happy hour so drinks were a dollar cheaper. He asked if I wanted a sweet drink. When I said yes, he suggested a cosmo. Okay, I said. My husband decided to try a Harp Lager, which he couldn’t recall if he ever had one before. I was surprised at just how strong my cosmo was!
We started out with an appetizer of chicken wings which consisted of 10 wing sections, some sliced carrots and celery plus bleu cheese dipping sauce. You can get the wings spicy, with bbq sauce or with curry sauce. We chose bbq. The wings were meaty and properly prepared. However, the bbq sauce was on the bland side.
For my main course, I ordered Salmon Killybegs. This dish consists of (from the menu) «Grilled 8 oz. seasoned salmon with lemon pepper topped with a roasted red bell pepper sauce served with rice and vegetables of the day». The «vegetables of the day» were a steamed vegetable mix of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Our server asked me how I wanted the salmon cooked and I said «medium». When it came, it was cooked well-​done. I didn’t send it back because it was still moist enough and I could live with that. The sauce was bland — no hint of lemon pepper or roasted bell pepper. Plus there was plain white rice.
My husband had Corned beef and cabbage. Again, from the menu, «Slices of corned beef boiled to perfection covered with a parsley cream sauce and served with red potatoes, carrots and cabbage». Since my husband is very picky about his corned beef, he noticed right away, that the meat had also been grilled — something he’s never seen before. He also asked to have it without the parsley cream sauce, and his request was honored. While he didn’t hate his meal, he wasn’t wowed either.
Some of the bar patrons were getting rowdy which provided some entertainment as we ate. There was a group of middle-​aged men who decided to play 80s music on the jukebox. So, we listened to them sing along to «Billie Jean» by Michael Jackson, along with music by Wham! and Rick Astley. They decided to dance — very badly! — to Rick Astley LOL! Then again, one can expect such shenanigans at an Irish Pub on a Saturday night. I’m sure that as the evening progressed, the place got even rowdier.
When no one was using the jukebox, the background music is Irish music — some old, some contemporary, which all in all, fits in quite well with the Irish Pub theme.
Looking at their website, we learned that this is the second O’Sullivan’s to open in NoVA. The first one opened in Arlington in 2006. They are owned by Karen and Anselm Griffiths. Karen is from County Kerry and her maiden name is O’Sullivan, hence the pub name.
Would we go back? We would have no problem doing so, although, I think that I would try a different entrée. Since we’re not into rowdy bar scenes, we would, once again, go for an early dinner.