McKIBBIN'S IRISH PUB - IRISH PUB (WITH THIS NAME, WHAT ELSE WOULD IT BE?)

FULL REVIEW: McKIBBIN'S IRISH PUB (Bishop Street Location)

GOOD FOOD, LIVE MUSIC, AND FUN TIMES

Their website:  http://www.mckibbinsirishpub.com/home.php

1426 Bishop St, Montreal, QC H3G 2E6 (there are three other locations)

Telephone:(514) 288-1580

Their menu:  http://www.mckibbinsirishpub.com/menu.php

Price range:  $20+ for one person including one drink, meal, tax, and tip 

View Larger Map

Mouthwatering summary: A downtown Irish pub with live music, good atmosphere, and really great food (well, okay, the free food isn't great, but hey, it's free, what do you want?) 

Meal to try:  McKibbin's Original Poutine; Bookmaker Sandwich; and if you're insane enough (I'm not), the Rim Reaper wings!

Readers of this blog (if any) will probably notice that McKibbin's Irish Pub isn't featured on my list of favorite bars (you can read it at http://mouthwateringmontreal.blogspot.ca/2013/08/favorites-pubs-and-bars-part-1-update.html ). I assure you - this omission is due to the fact that that list was only PART 1. McKibbin's Irish Pub will be topping Part 2 (currently in the works!).

Here's the thing: I've been going to McKibbin's Irish Pub for over a decade now. I used to come here, like clockwork, every Thursday for happy hour back in the day. I loved it then, and I love it now still. Back during those days, I ordered much less food - during happy hour, there was quite a bit of free food available (and there still is - vegetables and dip, small sandwiches, wienies, and the like). I basically went there for a few rounds of drinks with friends at the end of the day and managed, somehow, to satisfy my hunger just off of the complementary food (well, to be more accurate, I personally cleared a good chunk of food right off the table :P).

I was really doing myself a major disservice back then. Because McKibbin's has DAMN tasty fare. It's not haute cuisine, but it's not trying to be. It's just really good pub food. And so, I share with you all some of my favorite things to get here (and one or two things to avoid).

First, some appetizers.

We have here some frickles ($5.95):

Oh lord - somehow people managed to make pickles even tastier by battering them and then deep-frying them. Who knew this would work so well? McKibbin's frickles aren't just breaded though - the batter has dill flavoring as well, making for an extra flavorful frickle. The spicy ranch sauce is also a delight! I recommend that you have half with the ranch dip and half just on their own. Both ways are worthwhile taste sensations.

McKibbin's Original Poutine with fire grilled chicken breast slices ($10.95; $7.95 without the chicken):

The first time I had this was a revelation. You know what makes this poutine special? It's not the chicken - that part's optional, after all. It's the CURRY. That's right - McKibbin's doesn't use gravy or some other unidentified brown sauce as the, well, sauce. They use CURRY. Oh LORD that was genius! It's a really different way of making poutine, and it's something that I've since been emulating every time I make poutine at home. It just adds an extra kick and a very different and excellent layer of flavor to the overall dish. The underlying fries are great too - thick, hand cut, greasy, and chewy - just how I like 'em. I basically love eating the one or two fries that aren't touched by the gravy just to get a taste of handcut potato goodness before diving headfirst into the rest of the thing. It. Is. GLORIOUS. Now, I don't know why this thing is listed under appetizers, but that's where the poutine is categorized. Don't let the menu placement fool you though - it's big enough to be a main dish! And with the chicken slices it is enough to be a meal on its own! It's my favorite menu item at McKibbin's by FAR.

And now, some mains:

This is the bookmaker steak sandwich ($12.95):

The bread is unremarkable, but the beef and that bowl of beef drippings into which you dip the whole sandwich (and the fries, if you feel like it, and I always like it) are AWESOME. The beef slices are tender and juicy, and the full savory, beefy flavor makes your mouth water the whole time you're eating this sandwich. The drippings manage to add some further beef flavor (and it's all I can do sometimes to not just eat the drippings on their own). The fries are the same handcut fries described above - so, no need to get into that again. They're just GOOD. In the end, it's a simple combo to describe, but pretty damn hard to forget about. Definitely worth checking out!

McKibbin's Irish fish and chips ($12.95):

This dish is a wonderful combo of the lovely handcut fries paired with thick pieces of juicy fish covered in a thick beer batter. The resulting crust is crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside; it tastes rich and has an awesome little beer accent to it. The tartar sauce and coleslaw aren't memorable, but hey, they're not why you order fish and chips, right?

This is their Irish stew ($13.95):

On cold days like today, this is something I love to get. It's thick and rich and full of flavor. This stew hits all the right notes on a bone-chilling winter day. I want one NOW, damn it! My only complaint about this stew is that I wish there was more of it in the portion size. It's by no means small - just not quite enough for me :P.

Speaking of wintry fare, check out their steak and kidney pie ($13.95):

Readers of this blog know that I loves me some steak and kidney pie, and McKibbin's rendition of this hearty dish does not disappoint. The chunks of steak and kidney are tender and tasty, as is the sauce in which the hunks of meat is suspended: A cabernet mushroom and onion gravy that is quite rich. That said, the amount of kidney chunks is a bit smaller than I'd like BUT that's made up for by the fact that there is a MUCH stronger flavor of kidney than in other steak and kidney pies I've had. Again, a great pick for a cold day!

McKibbin's also has great daily specials. The last time I went was on a Tuesday, where I had their Tuesday special of provincial herb slow roasted chicken ($11.95):

Now I know it doesn't look like anything special, but let me assure you that it's delicious nonetheless. I really don't know what spices they've put on the chicken, but it works. It's an interesting mix of seasonings that I haven't quite had anywhere else and I haven't been able to reproduce at home (through trial and error). It's also paradoxically light and filling at the same time. Don't know how or why, but I ain't complaining! The vegetables are pretty strictly boilerplate though. Matters little to me of course - I only eat fruits and vegetables to ward off scurvy, after all!

Okay, so those are the types of dishes I reliably get at McKibbin's. But what do I drink? Well, let's be honest - McKibbin's isn't a microbrewery. Its alcohol selection is pretty standard, and doesn't really merit too much description. It's all pretty much what you'd expect. I will tell you what I get nearly every time though: The black velvet ($8):

 

This drink, a half-and-half mix of Guinness and cidre, is dark and refreshing in every mouthful, and somehow manages to be a good drink in winter and in summer! I do so love it here...

And now we get on to what I don't recommend. First off, one of the things you'll notice on McKibbin's menu is that they don't seem to list desserts. They do offer ice cream ($3.50), but it's just regular old ice cream:

You can pretty much stay home and have the same thing. You want dessert? Your better bet would be to go someplace else. Of course, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the ice cream - it's perfectly serviceable. What's wrong is the orange juice.

Here it is: Orange juice ($3):

Yeah, I don't know what was in this thing, but... yeah, it just wasn't right. It hadn't gone bad, but it just didn't taste right. And it wasn't just me who felt this way - the person who ordered it had an even stronger reaction to it. Basically, this drink was left 4/5 full when we left. I guess the take-home message here is that, at this pub, the drinks you get are the alcohol! Seriously, folks, stick with the beers and whiskey!

Okay, I am HUNGRY after writing all this. But before I sign off, there's two things to mention. First, there is a lot of live music at McKibbin's. I've never been disappointed by the choice of band - the management must be doing something right! You can check out their band schedule here: http://www.mckibbinsirishpub.com/band.php. Beyond that, there's truly something unique to McKibbin's: The Rim Reaper Challenge! The challenge consists of eating 12 insanely hot wings - for which you then win the privilege of getting your name on the "Wall of Flame" (and a t-shirt, if I recall correctly). These wings are made using the world's third hottest pepper, the Bhut Jolokia pepper. This thing is so painfully hot that they won't serve you this unless you sign a waiver first. Now, I'm not ashamed to admit that I have never tried this. I always keep meaning to, but then I chicken out at the last second. I like spicy stuff, but my tolerance isn't that great (my Indian friends routinely call me a pansy :P). That said, I have only ever known one person to have completed the challenge, and he was literally hearing voices that weren't there by the end of his challenge (followed by several days of horrible, horrible trips to the bathroom). He's proud though! And for good reason. For others who I know have tried this crazy challenge, even having one such wing was literally enough to ruin their whole day, and one guy actually went to the doctor (the guy's fine - he just got scared, was all!). Yeah, I'll pass, thanks. But, if you think you've got the stones and the stomach to take a shot at this challenge, then by all means! It's $20.95 for 12 challenge wings, and $11.95 to try 6 of the Rim Reaper Wings. Good luck... :P

***********************************

Map of restaurants I have reviewed:

Mouthwatering Montreal - McKibbin's Irish Pub is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.