McGilvra’s

McGilvras embodies what a neighborhood pub should be; friendly, great service, reasonable food!
They cater to making people feel welcome, open on some holidays, music on the weekends, multiple seating areas-​patio, bar, restaurant.
Wouldn’t hesitate to go on my own, or with a group-​fun neighborhood spot!

Great pub with a local feel. Perfect spot to go in the summer, or simply to watch the Seahawks.
They have a diverse pub menu.
Its proximity to Madison dock is nice too.
Great staff/​clientele with personality and interesting to chat with.

I love McGilvra’s as the food and service is good, and it’s like a pub, where you can bring underage folks and still have a good time. It’s right across from the beach and Lake Washington, which is always fun on a summer day. I think my favorite item on the menu is «Irish Nachos», which is like regular nachos but instead of corn chips, all the good stuff is on potatoes. The owner is Irish so maybe it’s authentic? Haha!

Love this place. Bartenders give excellent service, food is good, the view of Lake Washington is amazing. Also, they are kid and pet friendly. Definitely a place suited for locals, regulars get extra love.

One of the best happy hours around. It’s just like Cheiftian near SU but has an outdoor patio which was a bonus. Nice staff and quick service.

The service here needs work. I live in the neighborhood and refuse to go here because they always keep me waiting. Also the food is very mediocre and the bearded manager is not a very good look for the place. For one, he is convinced that I was some other individual, which is not true, and he’s gossiping this rumor to all the people working around the area. I am very offended by this. He often visits the surrounding bars and tries to bully me into saying I’m this other individual. I’d say if you have the option go visit any of the surrounding bars you should because this one is not worth your money!

The more times I visit McGilvras the more I like it!
This is a great place to grab a drink outside or to relax and have a full meal. Not a huge meat eater so I’ve been sticking with the hot veggie sandwich and its consistently delicious. Always friendly service and really good food.

Consistently terrible service — 2 stars solely because of the patio but anyone would be better off at the Attic or Bings

Had happy hour in their patio which has a ok view of Lake Washington. It was a nice day so my cousin and I sat outside. Their happy hour includes well drinks, beer and a limited choice of wines. The appetizers were $ 5 which was a good deal. We had the buffalo wings which were really spicy. Mostly tasted the hot sauce. The calamari was pretty good as well as the coconut shrimp. I really liked the Irish nachos, which basically were like house made potato chips with nacho toppings and your choice of meat. I read some reviews stating that the food was really salty, which kind of worried me, but our food wasn’t.
Service was good as we were always made sure if we needed anything. This pub is kid friendly as they allow families to sit out in the patio section, unlike some other establishments. Not a bad place for happy hour. I will be back.

We came on a Sunny Sunday at 1:30pm, the waiter sat us in the patio. We sat there for 20 min before he brought us menus, then he disappeared for another 15 min. Then another server showed up to take our order, we waited until 3pm for the food that never came out. In the end we cancelled our order and left. Service is horrible at this place! Not sure how this is still running, is there a manager or an owner supervising? Obviously not!

Very poor service, I can not say anything about the food as we sat for more than one hour, we only had our drinks but no food, so we decided to leave !! Thankfully we at least got to enjoy the sun while waiting for … Well nothing !! I don’t think I m going back again which is unfortunate because i love their location.

Great location, average food, poor service.
Thank god for the influx of two delightful new staffers (Britt, Christina) to outweigh the standoffish, prone-​to-​infighting crew that typically runs the show.

Decided to give this place one more chance. Went in on Sunday and a young woman and a reddish haired man were working. Walked in and were told to «take a seat wherever» and someone would get to us. Well almost 10 mins later the woman walked up and dropped off menus and walked away. Mind you this was during a Seahawks game so I understood the service was going to be a bit slower but not even asking for a drink order? Wow. After another 5 minutes went by it was clear we were not going to get served anytime soon so my wife and I decided to get up and leave. This is the LAST time I will be entering that establishment. Seriously who is Managing this place? Is there even a manager? It amazes me that this kind of place can still make money.

Hmmm. I came in last night and got sat in the bar area by myself, waiting for my husband to show up. When I first sat down the server asked if I wanted to order anything to drink and I said I needed a little bit to decide (since I literally just sat down in the seat). So the server left and didn’t come back. I wanted to order food while I waited on my husband, but server never came back. When my husband arrived we moved to another table and then I had to wave at the server to come over to take our order. It was later in the evening and it wasn’t busy, but I think the servers were probably just over the night… ?
Anyway, we ordered the hot wings. They were really teeny tiny, not much meat on them. Definitely not enough to share with two people. The flavor was okay-​ish. Very Frank’s Hot Saucy.
I wouldn’t return if I were in the area. Although our server was friendly, it was a miracle if he came by. My husband had to go up to him after we ate to pay our tab. Seems like a regular Irish pub, a little dingy, nothing special. Slow service. So-​so food. Meh.

After dragon boat racing on Lake Washington at the Leschi Marina, a group of friends and I were trying to find a cheap food place with outdoor seating. One of our friends, Jenn, lives in the area and immediately suggested Mcgilvra’s, so to the Irish pub we went!
Honestly, it was good. We were seated promptly outside and I ordered their Tacoma lager, with two others in our group enjoying a Stella cider in iced glasses.
The wait staff was friendly and efficient. They were these bros with great smiles and a sense of urgency, which is nice. There were a lot of people when we were here on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and I thought they kept pace really (we were on an hour timeline because my other girlfriend Nalina was going to a Sounders game) for how busy they were.
I enjoyed the Mcgilvra’s chicken burger with bacon and avocado and tater tots. It was greasy delicious bar food.
Nalina and the fried calamari (not recommended) and fried pickles.
My husband Bode had the fish sandwich which he considered tolerable (note: he is an ultra particular critic).
Jenn had her Mcgilvra’s favorite: spicy mozzarella sticks.
It seems like to me Mcgilvra’s is a respectable and appropriate pub when you want a good location, cheap beer, and a place to unwind.
I’d recommend it and will return whenever I am in Madison Park.

The worst table service I have ever received in my life. HANDS DOWN!
It was almost as if the server was doing it on purpose it was so unbelievably baaaad.
Had to wait over 15 min for a menu or any point of contact whatsoever. It was slow and there were only 4 of us.
Our orders were messed up after we finally got our food about an hour later. It was ridiculous and I had to practically BEG for the bill. Then after she brought it she disappeared completely. Wouldn’t split up the check and made us write it down so when I gave it to the bar to run they were utterly confused. Never saw our server again??? Was she hiding in the back? Unbelievable.
Also, Both the beef and fish tacos were too salty and discusting. Ew.
I’ll never go back. It’s too bad because it’s a great location and space but there are total idiots working there.
This is saying alot because I never write reviews, only if it stands out in my mind as terrible and i’m still thinking about it days later.
Then again, if you just order a drink, you might be ok.

The lovely Krystin T. sums this place up perfectly. It doesn’t really feel like anything special, but the place is surprisingly decent.
We came here pre-​Superbowl, and I expected the place to be packed but there were plenty of seats available. We were planning to skip drinks because we were headed to a bar later but none of us could say no to a pineapple mimosa… which was a really great drink that I’d never think to make. I didn’t taste as much fizz from the champagne and it was a little heavy on the pineapple but probably okay since it was 11 am.
It was brunch time when we arrived but being more of a luncher, I ordered the reuben. It just seemed like it’d be a good kind of place to order this from. A little greasy and light on sauerkraut but there was a ton of corned beef which made up for it. I opted for the potato salad on the side but might pick something different the next time. It tasted like the kind that you get from a grocery store. Not terrible but not that good.
Krystin T. said it’s a great place to come during the summer… can’t wait to try it!

It may not be anything special, but I like McGilvra’s. It’s laid-​back enough to just go whenever, but it’s not a total dive. Plus, it’s not crowded for brunch — compare that to the hour+ wait at some Seattle establishments and there’s just no contest. I’d eaten lunch/​dinner here a few times before (usually the mac & cheese) but just came for brunch for the first time.
I went with the «make your own omelet» option, opting for tomatoes, feta, and avocado. I requested an egg-​white omelet and the server said that would be doable. When our food arrived, it didn’t *look* like just egg whites but I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal. It tasted good and came with delicious roasted breakfast potatoes and toast. The toast wasn’t’ actually mentioned on the menu but was a good addition. The portion size was fairly large, but not *completely* ridiculous like some brunches. I was with my boyfriend and my best friend, and all three of us completely cleared our plates, so I think they liked theirs, too.
When the server brought us the check, she admitted that she had just realized my omelet wasn’t made of just egg whites, so she gave me 50% off the dish. I thought that was a nice gesture especially since I hadn’t even said anything and they could have just let it go.
I’ve heard that some of their food is just «okay,» but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve had. You can’t really beat the outdoor seating in the summer — what better place to enjoy a cold beer?

Outdoor seating, bottles of PBR and Rainier, Guinness on tap, and tons of TVs for sports… how can you go wrong?! McGilvra’s is the perfect place to have a beer with friends. Its casual, but not quite as «dive bar» as some of the neighboring establishments. Try the taco salad or the whiskey crab soup in a sourdough bread bowl and leave a happy camper!
Pros
$ 3.50 bottles of PBR
Nice outdoor options for the occasional sunny day
Parking is pretty easy
Cons
The menu is large… don’t stray too far from their known dishes.

There really isn’t anything bad to say about this place. I honestly, can’t think of one.
This is a great place to go to after a long day at work or to watch the sports events with a large group of friends. Locally known as «the bar for people who were not born in Madison Park», it is the cleanest bar in the neighborhood and the newest. The staff is friendly and if you are a frequent customer, they remember your name. It’s popularity is greatly increasing because of these qualities which are not found in the other 2 local bars down the street.
They have a full menu and even vegetarian options for those more health conscious. They also have a full bar with a great selection of liquor and wine, which can not be found at the other 2 local bars. The hard wood design that covered the bar and floors gives it a warm and classy feel to this local hang out.
Definitely a great place to go for brunch or evening drinks.