Katie O’Byrnes

Quick review. My wife and I have patronized this establishment 2x in the last week. Once when it was somewhat busy and once when there was only one other couple in the entire restaurant… virtually empty.
Food is ok, nothing to knock your socks off… pub fare. Not bad, not great.
My one major complaint is the service, or lack thereof. Both times we visited the service was bad. Let me say that again, bad.
First visit the place was busy, so we chalked it up to that. The second time we visited the place was empty. Three servers and yet the female bartender had to come over to take our order (10 minute after being seated)/.
The wait for the food to be delivered (both visits) was brutally long. Then nobody came over to see how we were doing, if we needed anything (we did)… then eventually a server came over with a check. Sad really.
Too many other establishments to waste your time here (literally)…just pass it over.

Cute place to visit on St. Paddy’s day with live music! Food was sub par, staff was awesome!

Went here today, food was ok. I had the corn beef & cabbage dinner… its not a big place. I also brought my 10 month old son. Unfortunately there is no changing table in the bathroom. They did have seats for kids for the dinner table however they need a changing station in the bathroom.

It’s a generous 4 stars. The food isn’t that great, but it’s good, and the atmosphere is very nice.
There’s not much to say about the place. It’s really what a bar should be. The wait staff is very nice. The beer selection is just fine. The food is pretty tasty. It’s not bad!

Great place for lunch. Stopped here before Lion King at the Proctors theater. Easy parking available. Friendly staff with super fast service. Food was excellent. Typical Irish menu items. My wife had the Reuben sandwich which was great, my son had pastrami sandwich and his friend had the sliders and al were satisfied. I had the bacon and blue cheeseburger. It was terrific. The wings surprised us, very crispy with a tasty sauce. Definitely order these.

Good place to grab a couple of pints and a nice dinner. They always have a decent band and a good easy crowd.

When you’re getting ravenous while wandering around downtown Schenectady and want to check out Thai Thai Bistro, but find out it’s closed because the demolition next door tripped the building’s seismic sensors, you head to Katie O’Byrnes. And in our case, you are pleasantly surprised by what you find.
I didn’t expect a spectacular experience from Katie O’Byrnes; in fact, I never expect spectacular experiences from the quintessential pseudo-​Irish pubs. While I hope that they are clean, the service is quick, and the food is good, I don’t expect any of these. At O’Byrnes, though, we had the fortune of getting all three. If I could say anything negative about the place, it was that our server was a bit odd.
«I’m sorry you have the misfortune to have me as your server,» he told us upon approaching the table, and then judging our beer choices. That, however, I think has less to do with O’Byrnes management and more to do with a short-​tempered and discontented server, and nothing more.

I like this place. It is not amazing but it is very good pub fare at a great price. The ambiance/​décor is great. It is an Irish themed eatery obviously. The décor is always festive, we went this evening and we loved the st paddys decorations. The service was above average. I’ve always come here when it has not been so busy but the service was good. My drink was never empty and the waitress was very knowledgable and helpful. The food was great. We ordered the Mac and cheese wedges for an appetizer. You can’t really screw up deep fried mac and cheese though. I would recommend a different dipping sauce. Barbecue sauce didn’t cut it for me. I ordered the mixed Dublin grill sandwich. Pastrami/​corned beef on grilled rye with thousand island and Cole slaw. I loved it. Perfect amount of meat. Great dressing/​bread ratio. My girlfriend got the Reuben which was delicious. The sweet potato fries were eh. Cooked well but I think they came out of a bag. We only ate half our sandwiches as they were huge. For dessert I ordered the peanut butter pie. It was phenomenal. I know it probably was pre made but I loved it. I would recommend this place for a quick bite or if you are in the mood for some Irish pub fare.

It’s mid-​afternoon on a lovely day, you had your walk along the Mohawk, and then there’s an emergency.
PUB. NEED BEER. NEED TO EAT SOMETHING BIG AND DANGEROUS.
As a first responder you immediately head towards Katie O’Byrnes, next to the Amtrak Station in downtown Schenectady. Katie’s is a warm and inviting classic Irish pub — clean, well staffed, and solid in all respects.
Fast, friendly service got us through the first moments of crisis. I enjoyed the Goose Island IPA — one of their special beers on tap ($ 5.50, um, each…) — kind of medium/​average, balanced, orange, clear and cold — but it went down smooth, and my panic subsided.
Cookie went after a Reuben ($ 8.99) — a big sandwich of shaved, house-​made corned beef topped with braised cabbage (NOT sauerkraut!), loads of melty Swiss and Thousand Islands dressing on grilled swirly rye. After many years in the Capital Region she says this is all hands on deck the BEST Reuben in the area — greasy, tender, flavorful, salty, and smokey. She was tactical in her methods — mustard and dressing on the side, a cold Corona ($ 4.00, um, each…), and pulled up sleeves — and quickly got that monster under control.
I took on a Dublin Mixed Grill ($ 8.99) — much the same as a Reuben but with pastrami as well and corned beef, Russian dressing, Swiss and coleslaw on the grilled rye. Abatement started with a direct hit into the larger half, which was so delicious it was hard to put it down, but I did, long enough to tuck into their fresh, bright coleslaw and pint #2.
I’m sure you were concerned, but know that with the situation finally under control (and a ½ sandwich boxed up for later) I am happy to report that we fully recovered.
Zena, Goddess of Fire

I had the BEST Reuben here ever. I devoured the whole thing because it was so good. You can’t beat the prices either. My boyfriend enjoyed his Pastrami sandwich which naturally, was accompanied by a Guinness. The only downfall was the service was pretty slow. Our waitress did not pay us much attention. However, I guess the quality of food the food made up for it.

Stopped in between an open house and a showing. Place was clean and wait staff was fast and courteous. Food was very good. I will be back.

First time here at Katie o’byrnes. Mark had sliders with a draft and I had boneless mild buffalo garlic parm wings and coors light draft. Yummy! Service was a 5. We will definitely come back again and we would recommend this to our friends.

My boyfriend and I stopped in on a Wednesday night for dinner. It was pretty busy due to theatre crowd before the show. We took a seat at the bar hoping for faster service. We were wrong.
Drinks (beer) came right away. We placed our order within 10 minutes of entering which included an appetizer. We waited a good 45 minutes before the fried mac and cheese bites arrived. They were decent, nothing to write home (Michigan) about. We were so hungry by then we ate them without pause.
I ordered a personal flatbread chicken pizza which was good. A nice size, enough for me take some home. My boyfriend ordered a grilled cheese with bacon and he gave it an average «B».
Maybe on a night without a theatre show happening our experience would have been better. Just seemed like a long wait for average food.

Delicious Irish food and more!
We ate outside and it was wonderful.
The Caesar wrap I ate was delicious. Perfect amount of dressing. Chicken was prepared perfectly. My friends both enjoyed their dinners as well.
The service was fantastic and personable.
We have been here on other occasions and will continue to eat here.

Just what you would expect. Pretty good food, liquor not measured, but small pours. Ok atmosphere and enough TV’s for a game. All in all just what you would expect.

As an out-​of-​towner traveling by myself, I asked at my hotel where I might be able to watch the Chicago Blackhawks game. They sent me here and I was so glad! I first went there on a Thursday night. There weren’t a lot of people there and the first thing I did was ask if they could put the game on. They were more than happy to oblige. The bartender Britney chatted with me a bit and ended up inviting me to move down to the other end of the bar where she had some customer/​friends sitting so that I wouldn’t be alone. Everyone was super friendly and I felt very welcomed while I watched my game.
That Saturday there was another Blackhawks game and I decided to go back. Being the weekend the bar was more crowded and I was worried that I would not be able to watch the game. Again they put it on and I was very glad to get to watch the game! Everyone I met was extremely friendly and enjoyable to talk to, both staff and fellow customers. My phone battery started to die and since I felt uncomfortable having a dead phone when by myself in a strange city I asked the bartender (who I believe is an owner) if he would mind letting me use his charger. Again with wonderful customer service– he took my phone behind the bar and plugged it in! There was live music that night, and from what I gathered it was a local band. They played a variety of covers though admittedly I was a bit too absorbed in my game to really listen to them.
Overall the staff and customers were super friendly, the food and beer were cheap (though I didn’t eat any meals, the hotel did tell me that the food there is great), and while it was a bit chilly out I feel I should also mention that they have a nice little beer garden. Overall a cozy/​friendly place that if I am ever that way again I will definitely go back!

I really love this place. I always usually get a chocolate martini and the apple pecan chicken salad ! I’m not a big salad fan and if I’m going out to eat the last thing I’m looking for is a salad … But this is great !

This is an awesome place with great beer, hot wings and great food!
This is a place must for return!

I am so happy that I stumbled upon this place. I had the Irish Reuben. It was arguably better than the corned beef that my grandmother makes, but please don’t tell.
The service is awesome. I came on a Sunday. They have every NFL game on. Awesome beer. Awesome food. Awesome crowd.
It’s located right by the Schenectady Amtrak station. I can’t thank the owner enough for helping me print out a bus ticket when the trains were down this Thanksgiving.
I will go out of my way to come here the next time I am upstate.
And besides the Reuben, I’d recommend the Sheppard’s Pie. My first generation father had it, and couldn’t come up with a single thing to complain about… which is weird… trust me.
Definitely stop in if you have the chance!

It is what it is: your basic pub. Your options near Union campus are limited, so on our most recent visit I was grateful to find a place to sit outside and have a beer and enjoy the weather.
I actually went to Katie’s twice last weekend, the first was for a 5-​year reunion party held there Friday night. They have parking, even though I bet most folks walk there. Staff was hustling but still friendly and did a good job with keeping up with everyone jammed all up next to the bar. Music was fun as well (the DJ as playing hit’s from 2006 and 07 which was fun). Beer selection was maybe two stars, but I think I’m pretty spoiled in Austin.
The way they set it up, it wasn’t exactly an ideal place to hold a function of that type; it was hard to hear and pretty crowded. I would suggest if they hold private parties in the future to remove some tables from the back room and open it up, and encourage people to use that space and the patio as well. People could move around and mingle better, even get their groove on…
The next day we went back to sit on the patio, watch the hockey game (by sneaking a peek at the TVs located inside) and have a drink. I’m slightly concerned that they appear to have a 12-​year old server, but overall it was a really pleasant afternoon.