Irish Pub

What can I say? It’s an Irish Pub. Has a bit of an angry happy feel to it.
They can our a decent half and half.
Cash only!

They have an old Ms. Pacman arcade game that only costs a quarter. It’s pretty cool to play, just you and the joystick dodging and weaving around pesky ghosts, chompin down those little dots, and eating big dots to OWN the ghosts by biting their heads off like a wild beast. Sometimes there’s fruit or food floating around, worth a bunch of points, but more importantly needed to fuel your gains. High scores don’t just happen, you need proper sustenance.
When you get your quarter in the machine, your hands tense, palms sweat, pulse rises, and you know it’s go time. With any luck, swarms of beautiful women will pack in tightly around you as you guide their 1980s feminine pixel hero masterfully through the mazes, avoiding death with each turn and inching closer to surmounting the high score. The power is in your hands, and people who don’t know that will realize when you strut proudly away from that arcade.
Drinks seemed under poured 3 stars.

It was cold. We needed something warm. They have Irish coffee. Seemed appropriate for the Tuesday night. It was the closest bar we could find to the Overture Center. There was around 7 people in the bar for the 45 minutes we were there. They mostly kept to themselves. It is a very long but tight area so on weekends or game days, I could imagine it getting PACKED. Especially since they have a sign posted saying that if you leave, you are expected to get to the back of the line.
The place was clean, we jammed to ‘90s music, and drank our lovely Irish coffee. We came, we drank, and moved on. It was nice having a warm place to hunker down but would not be worth it if millions of undergrads are populating the place. Good prices on drinks though!

I enjoyed the outdoor seating, but no real food inside for a light eat. But can’t complain about the drink prices. Saw a few dead bugs not really my taste.

Yummy pretzel and cheese dip. Chili fries tasty. And blueberry bread pudding oh my. Upstairs live Irish music played by friends.

I love the IP! Granted-​I was one of Mack’s first hires after the switch from the Bull Ring to the Irish Pub. Now for a few Irish references-​get the burger with Swiss and grilled onions… hand packed «Patty.» The first 3 female employees were all Pattys… the owner married a Patty… and note the address number of 317 — a derivation of ³⁄₁₇ (St Patty’s Day)

This place is a dive. Now before you think that casts a negative light, let me tell you what a «dive» means to me. This is a bar that has been in place for decades. You can feel the history of the personalities and the happenings as you sit there. There are several «notorious» locals who sit in varying spots who are open friendly, and more than willing to provide you with some «color and atmosphere». Everyone roots for the local team, and will kid you over your «tourist» status, but not in a mean way, just in a «getting to know you» way. The atmosphere is dim, perhaps even «dank», but this just adds to the comforting feel of the establishment. If what your looking for is a brightly lit, «Shennanigans» or «Beefalo Wild Things» feel, then you will sadly be disappointed. Fortunately though, I wont, and neither will the other patrons if you choose to move on.

Yeah, it’s a bit dive-​y. Yeah, the bathrooms are small. Yeah, it’s nothing special. But so what, I like it.
I can see how this place doesn’t seem very attractive to passer-by’s, with trendy places like The Icon popping up downtown. It gets better if you keep coming back. To me, it’s simply that bar where everybody knows your name.

What can a person expect from such a nondescript bar as the «Irish Pub»? What it lacks in originality of name and décor, it makes up for with selection of beers, quality of music on the «jukebox», and the danger one feels when pulling money from the ATM… located conveniently next to the dart board. «Quelle dangereux mes amies!»
I had a good time in here. It’s pretty plain, the prices are average, and my friends and I stayed quite a while playing darts while looking out onto State Street at all of the drunks stumbling by.
I’d recommend stopping in for a quick pint of Guinness or Smithwicks, especially if a live band is playing here… which looks like it happens some nights. I could see hanging out here and watching the eclectic mix of local students and old-​timers walk in and out of the door. You can’t put a monetary value on the entertaining drunks on State Street though.

Good calming ambience. Can chill, great big window to see state street. I like it.

Walked in here on a pub crawl around Madison. Not impressed. The service was horrible, even at an almost empty bar. We finished our beer and moved on.

The Irish Pub isn’t going to win any awards compared to other establishments along State Street, but I’ve got a history with the place and even though I can clearly see all the defects and downsides I still keep coming back. The Irish has the kind of feel of a blue-​collar neighborhood-​type bar where the bartenders are chilly to newcomers and the regulars rule the roost. What is incongruous about this is that the Irish is not off Packers or Milwaukee or the like, it’s right on State. I haven’t been here all that often on weekend nights and the few times that I have I remember it being crowded and loud. My favorite time to stop in for a drink was right after class or nowadays work. I’d grab the paper and have a beer or three before heading back to my place and the Irish was the perfect destination for this purpose.
Even with all of the negatives I don’t think I’ve ever really had a bad experience at the Irish Pub, though I’m sure that I’ve got a case of the rose-​colored glasses when it comes to this place. This just so happens to be my first Madison bar. Back when I was a sophomore I was fortunate to know one of the bartenders and although I was underage she’d allow me to stop in for a beer when she was working. Since she worked at another place at night I always went there in the afternoons and the habit has stuck with me through the years. I like the attitude of the place in the afternoons — it’s laid back and casual, with the music turned down a bit and room to spread out a paper and complete the crossword. The taps aren’t too bad but nothing really stands out. I think I usually get a Guinness, Smithwick’s or NG Fat Squirrel when they’ve got it. The bartenders have always been pretty friendly with me but I have been a semi-​regular since 2000. The bathroom is small and unwieldy as everyone says, but when you’re not staying the entire night it’s not too much of an issue. I’ve never tried the food since I’m usually there between lunch and dinner hours.
The juke is one of my favorites in town though I did find the hard way that the queue can fill up hours long on a weekend, leaving one $ 5 poorer with no songs to show for it. There is also a few tables upstairs — nothing secret about it, but it does make for a nice place to stake out if you’ve got a group on the weekends. All in all it might take a few years but this place grows on you.

Overpriced drinks served by lousy inept bartenders.

Probably the best juke box in Madison (formed after many extensive trials and tribulations across the city of Madison, no alcohol was involved during the testing of course). The Pub Mix CD’s have some serious jams on them (search for the «Mullet» Mix CD if you dare!).
I’ve never eaten here, but I have asked my favorite server (dark haired woman, nearly impossible to get her to crack a smile and wont even think about taking a chilled shot of Cherry Three Olives Vodka) what the «soup de jour» is (and no Lloyd Christmas, she did not say «It’s the soup of the day») and it actually sounded good, not to mention they make them fresh everyday.
However, I digress. I did plan something to say to said server for 2 days, came in, slid this undoubtedly witty phrase and I did make her smile. However, like most nights at the Irish Pub, it was tough to recall what I said or did.
Dart boards in the front of the bar, right up on the windows to state street are perfect for when you are looking for a crowd to watch you out-​shoot your friends (Tyler B and Mike F for me).
The IP also boasts what has to be the most unusual, uncomfortable, unique mens bathroom in the city. If you are using the single urinal, the door will get opened up into your ass and back as there is ~1 sq ft of space to work with. Good thing however is that there is at least a chalk board for you to write on while in excruciating pain.
I’ve never sat in the «secret» upstairs portion of the Irish Pub, I want to keep it a mystery. This isnt the roomiest bar, but it usually doesnt get extremely packed in here either. Summer nights I find it to be just right for a beam and coke and 2 hours of playing the juke.
Message me if you want the codes to my favorite songs on the juke so you can punch in the #‘s then belly up to the bar and enjoy without having to wait too much time searching.

Came through here after an interview at their med school, I was looking for a fun looking place to be around some other students, and grab a bite to eat. This place was dark, depressing and had a bunch of old people in it. Why did I come in here? Some guy who had been to San Francisco was inside and called me in (we were walking around together, I prayed he wasn’t going to rob me).
3 stars because the Guinness was well poured (and shamrocked), and the bratswurst was damn good.
Some younger people came in later, taking shots from plastic condiment cups-​must be a Madison thing…