The Ronald Reagan Pub

(Snacked 02÷23÷14 SU @ 2:30pm): A tip of my bottled Smithwick’s Irish Ale to the greatest U.S. president of my generation thus far. This one was for you, Gipper!
Located on the grounds of The Ronald Reagan Presidential [Foundation &] Library on the 1^st floor of the Air Force One Pavilion about one hour into the museum tour, The Ronald Reagan Pub was one of two places where visitors were able to grab something to eat. But this was more than simply a self-​service quick snack shop… oh no, it had a charmed story to boot.
The history of this Irish pub dated back some thirty years ago to 1984 when then-​President Reagan and wife Nancy visited the land of his ancestors in Ballyporeen, County Tipperary, Ireland, and stopped at what was then O’Farrell’s Pub and enjoyed a pint with the town’s folks. Flash-​forward to June 2004 — the same month Reagan past away — a fateful journey was made back to Ballyporeen only to see that the pub had since been closed down. Arrangements were made to purchase the pub, everything in it, and had it transplanted here as an «live» exhibit.
Today, visitors to the museum walked through this bit of history and grab a bite or drink as I did, so here was what I had:
Smithwick’s Irish Ale ($ 5.95), Leninade Soda ($ 3.25), Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Fudge ($ 6.95) — Shame they couldn’t serve the Smithwick’s from a tap, but it was still all good. I bought Leninade strictly for the bottle as it was hilarious, while the drink itself was more line a Orange Crush. The fudge was divine, thick, and I felt it was a bargain at this price!
Service — There was one stocker and cashier, so it took some time to get through the line (I believed there was only one register, too). Sadly, some people got fed up and left. I really wasn’t that much in a hurry so I was fine with that. Again, it was self-​service so you grabbed what you wanted and proceeded to the register. One recommendation: provide bags should visitors purchased souvenir items like fudge or Jelly Bellys; after all, the signage encouraged to «Buy Four boxes and Get Fifth Box FREE», but you didn’t want to carry these around in your purse!
Parking (free) — a decent-​sized private lot, but if that got filled-​up (it did for me), then you parked all along the long and winding road that led up to the museum and they offered a easy shuttle service that constantly ran while the museum was open.
Atmosphere, décor, ambience — Akin to a small airport mini-​mart, It was tight quarters as you made your way through the basically one directional «pub» on your way to the register. There was a double-​sided center section that held a couple shelves of pre-​packaged snacks. As you entered, on your left was a counter area other snacks, in front of you were a couple see-​through refrigerators that held chilled items such as desserts, sandwiches, salads, and drinks. Along the right was the actual mahogany bar with original barstools and drinking glasses, and then you exited.
All the original decorations and signage are hung with care on the walls. There was plenty of seating outside the the store. Both electric and natural lighting were prevalent. There were no TVs or background music.
Attire — Totally casual, so I would usually be in a t-​shirt, boardshorts, and flip-​flops.
Overall, after you took in all the memorabilia of The Ronald Reagan Pub, you were then left with a fanciful «quickie mart» with a limited selection of snacks. But from what I could tell, the prepared food looked good. However, you had some kitschy souvenir snack items with a special Reagan Library logo sticker that seemed forced at best. I found fairly good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (total bill was around $ 17.00; no tip required), which was actually decent for a museum, I mean, I personally wasn’t expecting too much although the term «pub» was used way too loosely. And, although they accepted credit cards, not mine of choice… AMEX! 3.5 STARS

I guess it’s cool that it was «imported» from Ireland… but it’s not really a functioning bar. Would be so much cooler if it was. No functioning taps, you can’t actually sit at the bar (there’s just a large cooler with about 4 or 5 different beers to choose from inside of it), and for food there’s some pre-​made sandwiches and bags of chips.
Think about how cool it would be if you could actually sit at this bar, enjoy a cold beer straight from the tap, order some fish and chips… bummer. I think The Gipper would have higher expectations!
Museum was great though.

Overpriced, of course. But charming and they have delicious cookies and a variety of treats. A nice little break spot in the Ronald Reagan Museum :)