Catherine Rooney’s Irish Pub

Stopped in late on a Sunday (Superbowl Sunday, no less) to have a final meal before committing our daughter to the 2^nd Semester warm embrace of the University of Delaware. The place was nearly empty, probably because most of the locals were watching the game elsewhere (and where drinking rules were probably more lenient), but I get the feeling this could be a nice place to hang out and get a burger and a beer as you’re surrounded by a crowd.
The décor is wood with wood, and more wood as an accent. Anything that wasn’t wood was painted blood red. That’s perfect for an American Irish Pub, and the books lining the wood shelves were a nod to the Old Sod’s literary history.
I had made a practice of ordering Fish and Chips to gauge how such a pub fares with its food fare, but wasn’t in the mood and opted for a burger. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, I went with the burger named after the place, The Rooney. Described as «The perfect balance of tradition and novelty wrapped in a tasty, toasted bun,» this burger plays with savory and sweet. House– made bacon jam, house-​made pickled red onions and pickles stand on the opposite side of the taste balance from the meat, Gruyère cheese, and roasted garlic aioli. I wasn’t sure it would work, afraid that it would be too busy or might skew too much toward the vinegars, but it was a tasty burger. Good job! The sweet potato fries were cut thick, and were nicely crisp outside with a creamy interior.
Service was more than competent, but serving a draft beer in what amounted to a brandy snifter left me confused. The glass added nothing to the beer – the beer was too cold for there to be any aroma, and such a short pour of Belgian ale seemed odd when nearly every other brew pub I’ve visited is more generous with that brand/​style for the same price point. Even the brewer, Victory, recommends a wide-​mouthed glass. Strange and, in my opinion, a real miss for a place that has its own separate beer menu.
Overall, Rooney’s – which is part of a group of drinking establishments that includes Hummingbird to Mars and Trolley Tap House – is a solid 3-​star venue, perfect for a casual meal or a drink at the bar (though ask for a pint glass!).

Just spent over $ 100 at rooney’s and they didn’t want to give us a $ 1 parking validation. Food was only so so

Do not get the Irish Brisket. Unless you like tough, fatty beef served luke warm.
In fact I’ll not go back to this place, period.

So this was my first time eating here. I really enjoyed outside patio. When the weather perfect this is a great place to go and have a drink.
Service was ok. Ordered a beer after appetizers and the waiter totally forgot. But I planned on working out so it wasn’t a big deal she saved my workout. She wax a good waiter and was concerned about whether we enjoyed our food but she was slow and it was only two tables outside but it didn’t appear to be much traffic into the restaurant.
Now the food, I ordered the crab bisque which was good. It says it was award winning (not sure how), but it also says it’s loaded with crab and indeed it was.
For my meal I ordered fish and chips. I’m thinking Irish food they should have decent fish and chips but that wasn’t the case. The fries were average but the breaking on the fish was chewy. Hard to imagine but it wasn’t good. Myself and a coworker each removed the breaking to eat the fish.
The reason it a two is the actual Irish food. A coworker had Shepard’s pie that was pretty darn good and a great sized portion. The portion was big enough for two. Another coworker ordered the meatloaf which I didn’t taste but was considered decent.
I would recommend going and trying the Irish food since my coworkers enjoyed their meals!

I wouldn’t have thought to come here for vegetarian fair, however, AWESOME veggie, black bean burger! Highly recommend. No Morning Star here! Handmade and delicious! Recommend highly.
Also, we had awesome service. Always a plus!

Fix the ladies, please. Everything is broken., not just shabby in there. Friendly staff, passable food, too many menus, 4 is too many to give, even if 2 are for drinks. Traditional irish food should be on lunch menu always. Nice outside and indoor seating options. Again, staff is very friendly and super on the ball.

This is one of my favorite outdoor spots in Newark. Its a great location for people watching with a decent beer list. As far as the food goes the burgers are good but the Belfast chicken sandwich is my go to.
The outside seating is somewhat limited but if you can get a spot I highly recommend taking advantage of their location.

My husband and I ate here on Friday night and it was a total waste of time and money. although it wasn’t busy at all the service was terrible. our appetizer was actually came out before our drinks did. the waiter was so slow that we barely had a chance to order another round of drinks. the food wasn’t very good either I ordered a hamburger on recommendation of the waiter and it was not tasty rather greasy and did not have a nice grilled flavor to it. the hamburger bun was run-​of-​the-​mill. my husband got the shepherd’s pie which was a little bit better but still nothing to write home about. I would skip this place because obviously they just don’t care.

Stopped by for a draft at the bar. They have a limited draft selection. The floor and bar top were sticky and the atmosphere looks worn and dated.

Terrible experience, and a boring atmosphere overall. There is ample space for a dance floor downstairs, bit dining tables were left in place until 1am. Who is eating dinner from 11pm-​1am?!? You need music to attract people under 65, if that is your target demographic.
I will be taking my business to one of the other bars on main street.

Bar food, and nothing more. Which is great if its what you’re after, and the bar staff is generally great (especially Patty). Happy hour specials are well priced and make up for any shortcomings on the menu. Otherwise, you can do better on Main Street.

Not the best experience on the morning of St. Patrick’s day. First the positives: We were the first customers of the day so obviously we were seated right away. The service was quick and our waiter was super accommodating and friendly. There is nothing bad to be said about the staff or service.
On the contrary, the food wasn’t the best. First of all, they advertised «pancakes and pitchers» on their Facebook page and there was no such thing. I didn’t see this for myself and the girl who claims she did is pretty stupid, so maybe Rooney’s isn’t at fault. Not sure.
I’m no food critic but I ordered French toast and it was pretty bland. My friends pancakes were crumbly and not the best either. The other 4 people in our group had no complaints about their food.
This was the second time I ordered mimosas at a restaurant and compared to the first these were very watered down. They offer $ 1 mimosas which is sweet, but «doubles» cost $ 5. I don’t get it…$ 1×2= $ 2, not $ 5. To be fair, it came in a large cup that could roughly fit 3. I didn’t feel anything at all after drinking two doubles.
The reviews for this place are generally pretty good so I think it was just one poor experience, especially during one of the busiest days of the year.

Just got say and so far the worst thing is the slamming front door! It is a hydronic hinge just fix it!

Came here with a group of 8– there was a little
Miscommunication between our waiters when they switched shifts, but our waiter was great. The wait time for the food was a little long, which I think can be credited to the fact that we were a bigger party and sitting kind of isolated upstairs. Otherwise, we all liked our food. A huge bonus to this place is the FANTASTIC music selection they play– we were content jamming to their tunes all night!

Of all the eating establishments on Main Street in Newark, this is not my ‘go to” place but it’s fine. Food choices are fine, service has always been good. I have been there for lunch as well as for dinner. When all else is over crowded on Main St., you can usually get a table at Catherine Rooney’s!
Last visit, I had the crab cakes. They were not the best on the east coast but they were pretty good. Corned beef and cabbage was very good — so was the pot pie!
The night we went for dinner there was live music in the bar. The music was actually pretty good and the bar seemed quite lively and interactive.
I would say this is a good fall back place but I wouldn’t make it my first choice. You can probably do better but if you end up here you won’t be unhappy with your selection.

Went for a work function…15−20 of us…
Had the upstairs to ourselves.
Ordered the meatloaf after watching another eating it downstairs at the bar… AMAZING!
Good atmosphere for a college hangout and awesome bar staff!
I’ll be back!

Drove from syracuse this morning to drop my daughter off at school after thanksgiving. Chose this location because we had yet to try it. It was the Sunday brunch menu. I had the Gaelic Dip. It was pretty good. My daughter asked me, and I said I wouldn’t need to order it again next time. I’ll try something else on the menu. Wife and daughter had the Irish BBQ sandwich. They both consider it average. French fries were better than the sandwich.
Service was very friendly and timing was good.
Will probably return at some point to try the dinner menu.

Okay. Fish & Chips — fish was good, but greasy, as were the chips and the salmon and pappardelle was not tasty. Cole slaw was crunchy! Meh. Sorry salmon was dry and not really servable.

As a veteran Unilocaler and too much traveler, I have no clue why this place is only a 3 star. My Irish Burger might be one of the best burgers I’ve had. Sweet potatoes fries are excellent. Other meals were rated as fairly good but overall a 4 with the good service.

Ya know what’s cool about the GPS world? A phone ap that can lead you to your destination by foot. Step by step.
Ya know what is cool about the real world?
You can put that phone back into your pocket, pay no mind to it and have a human conversation while your walking to said (or unsaid) destination. Then you could walk right past the place and miss it by about 2 blocks, scrap it and say «Hey, let’s go here instead. It’s right here.»
This arrived us at new said destination: Catherine Rooney’s.
Rolled on in for the brunch. Lotta choices for brekkie and lunch. Gaelic dip hit the spot. It’s their version of the french dip, not a dip sauce.
Spot was hit. Was told the crab bisque is a stand out so next time we get lost we’ll order that.
Bar was lightly populated at noon on the Sabbath and that was just the way I liked it for a Sunday morning coming down. Staff was cool. Everything was easy. This was important.
I’ll be back.