Joxer Daly’s

Yesterday I read my horoscope, and it said that I was on the internet too much, and that I should make an effort to get out and interact with actual people. Thinking this might be a good point, I skipped yoga (HUGE mistake) and decided to visit my (formerly) favorite bar, Joxer Daly’s (now McCarthy’s). McCarthy’s? Why not Flannagan’s? Or O’Brien’s?
I don’t want to put the new owner down. She is a super nice person and she seems pretty proud of her business. She is genuinely a nice person, BUT…
This bar used to be SO much more fun. Honestly, the upgrades are unnecessary. I never went to this bar to watch sports on big flat screens. I went because the crowd was funny and interesting, the owner was hilarious and nuts, and the drinks were cheap and straightforward. I also liked that one mean bartender (she had a cute brother, too). None of those things are true anymore. Except the cool guy with the dog still goes here.
Maybe I just picked a bad night. I mean, not too many badasses go to bars on random Wednesday nights, especially in West Portal.
The evening got even worse when I tried to leave and find a new bar. I won’t even describe what happened there as it doesn’t merit discussion, but let’s just say I ended up saying I had to go to the bathroom and running away. Then I ran to a restaurant to get some food since I was a little tipsy, and there were like 10 police officers there. I couldn’t really leave because it would have looked like I was leaving just because the cops were there (because they were the only other customers in the restaurant). I guess the cops love to hang out in West Portal– because they certainly aren’t at the Civic Center Bart where some innocent passenger is often getting the shit beat out of them for their iPhone.
Sorry, but it was the worst night I’ve had in a long time. Lesson: when in doubt, yoga beats drinking. Joxer Daly’s, you old drunk bastard, we’ll always have 2012. And 2011. And 2010.

Now called McCarthys — same location, new drink specials, new décor (I rarely pay attention to décor at bars because I’m focused on the booze, but even I noticed, and when I walked in I was about 3 Racer 5’s in). Same staff though which is awesome!

Love this place. It’s right off of the West Portal train station, so it’s an easy place to hit up for after-​work drinks. I tend to go there more frequently before dinner at El Toreador (next door). The bartenders are always very friendly, and they always have the games on the TVs. I don’t like to hang out in bars where it’s standing room only and the place is filled with d-​bags. This place is exactly opposite. Though it’s small, there are plenty of places to sit, and the patrons generally seem to be laid-​back, easygoing folks. The drinks are reasonably priced, and there are plenty of places to grab a delicious bite to eat within walking distance.

TRIVIA TUESDAYS!!! They usually start after the Giants game (if there is one around 10pm. if not, around 9) consisting of at least 3 teams with random categories being asked. From advertising logos, to naming the Hollywood actresses, and name that tune with the word «love» in it. Very entertaining hour. What DO you win? When I saw the bartender handing the winning team CASH… wow… I’ll definitely read the encyclopedia or wikipedia before bed every night. (Ok. maybe not.)

Matt is a good bartender if your trying to get a half pint of Guinness. Food is fantastic.

The wife and I had some time to kill before seeing a Sunday matinée at the Empire Theater across the street so we stopped in for a beer. Decent selection of Irish and English beers on tap although they were kind of expensive ($ 5 a pint) for a dive bar.
The bartender wasn’t especially friendly — she just seemed to go though the motions of taking drink orders — It was early so maybe she didn’t have her coffee yet.

Local bar
Cheap drinks and plenty of seating and tvs.
I would come here of I am around the neighborhood to watch a Giants game

Friendly bartender
Cheap drinks
Giants fans
Trivia night
Cool folks
Whiskey
FREE JUKEBOX!!!
instead of pumping money into the jukebox, I can buy another whiskey!

Not a bad place to grab a shot of whiskey and just chill.

Basic beers. Decent prices.
I stopped by this place for a drink before heading over to Mozzarela di Bufala across the street on a Friday evening. The bartender was friendly and made me a pretty strong ginger and vanilla vodka, which I had decided on after seeing there wasn’t much of a beer selection.
Heading to the bathroom I ran into a pet peeve of mine. I hate when I use a bathroom at a place, wash my hands, and then find that there’s no way to dry my hands. No paper towels. Sometimes as backup i’ll use cowboy hats (sanitary seat covers), but that was empty too! Grr. On my way out, I noticed a roll of paper towels on top of an ice machine just outside the bathroom. Wierd.
The patrons here seemed pretty friendly, and we talked a bit with some trying to determine what Johnny Cash song was playing in the background. I’d probably come back for a quick drink if I was in the area.

My GF and I went here the day after St. Patties Day. This place gets extra points because the bartender is actually Irish and I could not understand a word he was saying.
This is a cozy Dive. great for a drink or two.

I’m a fan of this place because it’s one of very few decent bars in the Sunset. Also, it’s conveniently located near a movie theatre and several good restaurants.
They recently remodeled it… when I say recently, I mean they painted it in the last four years or so… but with Irish pubs… this is worth mentioning!
I like their Magner’s cider and the local clientele that you run into everytime you’re there.

Cash only — kind of a bummer, but luckily there are plenty of ATMs around the area.
I always have the same bartender. She’s super friendly and doesn’t mind that we always bring food in. They do sell chips and peanuts if you happen upon the drunk munchies and the pizza place across the street is closed :)
I have yet to make it to trivia night or any of the football games, but there are plenty of big screens around the bar.

Update: Halloween was festive, what with a costume contest and complimentary food!
This is a nice enough bar to go to; it’s inviting, not totally divy, no strange odors nor barflies.
Each Tuesday is trivia night, which we tried once but haven’t since. This was was due to the cash-​only and no tabs policy — and not because our team ended up near the bottom in the standings. Also, not sure how often but each Thursday happy hours also include free homemade foods. The last time I went there to catch a USMNT WCQ, they had complimentary spaghetti and meatballs.
It’s located in the West Portal area of the City, so it’s mostly locals who know and haunt this place.

#11
I’ve only ever been here on Tuesday nights for trivia. Speaking of which, our team hasn’t won in a while — I usually go with a few coworkers. Trivia Night used to start closer to 8:30pm, but for the past few times we have gone, it’s been around 9:00pm. Anyhow, it’s either six or seven rounds (I forget, blame the beer!) with seven questions per round. Each round is themed ranging from current events to music to ‘this day in history’. The winners are the team with the highest cumulative score. What you end up winning is left to random chance as the winners pick a crumpled napkin with cash, beer, or shots written on it. Generally good times and a good excuse to go out on a Tuesday night. I find it tends to make the rest of the week shorter.
As for the bar itself, it is dive-​y and you can definitely spot the regulars. There is one big table at the back (7 – 8 ppl) and four tables on the side (2 – 3 ppl). The Irish bartender chick is pretty cool, attentive on the service. You can order multiple different beers on draft — Anchor Steam, Stella, Amstel Light, Molson, Blue Moon. They have a decent number but that’s all I remember. Also, it is a full bar so you have options. $ 5 a pint. Cash only.
Parking is all meters, but I think they are free after 6:00pm. Otherwise, you could go one block east and find parking where the houses are. If you choose to take MUNI, it’s about half a block from the West Portal station.
It’s not the hottest spot, but I always seem to have a good time here.

So my goal is to hit every pub that has a trivia night in SF and LA by the end of 09. I started early December 08 so this should be do-​able. Joxer Daly’s was on the list and I went in with a team of friends and 10 minutes of studying Wikipedia. I had a crazy flashback when I stepped into the place. I have been here before and while the experience was not that great, it was the fault of the people I was with, not the bar.
Seating was starting to fill up around 8:00, trivia starts around 8:30. The host sets up a portable speaker towards the back of the bar and it is very very casual. Each team was handed a stack of scrap paper and pens. As you get your supplies the emcee makes you say your team name which should be later written on the top of your «answer sheet» scrap paper. The trivia vibe here was not very competitive. Everyone was really laid back and pretty chill. The questions were of course random and nonsensical, but it was good times.
Points are set, there is no bidding here. If a question is worth a point, it’s worth a point. If I lived in this area I don’t know if this would be a great place to do trivia. I would definitely bring newbies here because the vibe is so laid back. Me, I’m more competitive and need more feel of a competition. The bartender was a cool girl and even though there were a fair amount of people, it was by no means crowded.
Overall good times. Laid back Trivia nights and a good crowd.

I’ve been here before, I should have wrote a review. This is definetly a local bar, I could tell because I saw two red face men slunched over the bar. Another pleeeez. Good size crowd for a 6:30 on Saturday night.
Nice dive bar, friendly bar-​tender, fairly clean, a big screen in the back and screens in the front. Nice selection of beer on tap ie. Guiness, Stella and domestics.
I was having a pre-​dinner drink, Jack and diet please. They didn’t serve any those bar snacks or peanuts.
Great Halloween decorations.

We won.
Bishes.

‘Joxer Daly’ is Gaelic for Awesome.
Legit Irish guy owns this place that is the size of a hallway.
Tuesday night Pub Quiz! They used to give out free pencils, but they don’t do that anymore. hrm.
+Tuesday beer is really cheap.
+Parking is easy.
+Bartender gave me free Funions all night!
+ATMs for 2 or 3 different banks are less than half a block away.

We breezed past the smokers and ducked inside out of the rain. «We’re going to get in a fight in here,» he said quietly into my ear. I stared back with mock fright, looked around at the patrons, all of whom looked like regulars, and surveyed that everyone was drinking bottled beer. I ordered a Hefeweizen from the tap anyway. It was refreshing, just as I hoped it’d be.
You feel like you’re in a whole different universe inside this place.
We didn’t end up seeing a bar brawl during the course of our pints and as we finished them it was time for dinner across the street at Roti.