In honor of St. Paddrig's Day, I decided to try the full menu at Black Thorn Irish Pub -- having only had their sandwiches before. It sits on the corner of Jefferson and Mason.
Food: 2 Beards and a Mustache
Overall the food is very main stream. It seems very geared toward the downtown, businessman crowd that probably frequents the place during the week and during the day. It certainly did not feel Irish -- even on St. Paddy's.
For drink, I order their Black Thorn cider. I was given Strongbow and told that there was no such drink as Black Thorn -- only to find out later from another waiter that the brewery that made it had discontinued it. Minus points for the wait staff on that one, but I still enjoyed the Strongbow.
The meal was served with a house salad that I did actually enjoy. It was a mixture of field greens, baby spinach, and kale, and was not slathered in dressing, which I like. Overall, a good starter.
I decided to go all out on the Irish meal and try their corned beef & cabbage for my entrée (which they incorrectly called "Corn Beef"). The menu informed me that I would be getting said corned beef, cabbage, mashed potatoes and carrots. I'm not adverse to new things, but generally when it comes to a staple like this one an Irish holiday, I expect to be told when it's going to differ. I was given corned beef topped with a sour cream-based sauce that was very over-powering, potato wedges, no carrots, and red cabbage, which is not a similar taste at all to regular cabbage and was very bland. In the end, I did not finish the meal.
Service: 2 Beards and a Mustache
Our main waiter was very inattentive. My guest ordered Fish & Chips (or French Fries, as they have on the menu), and the waiter did not return after delivering our meals, and she had wanted some tartar sauce. As well, outside of the not knowing that the old cider had been discontinued, he did not answer questions, and he spoke over us more than once when ordering.
In delivering our food, he forgot to ask about our prefer for soup or salad with our initial order. He also did not check in on us until he brought us the bill -- and did not ask if we wanted dessert. Overall, he came off as either very ambivalent or very new.
The Beards go up, however, due to the other waiter who stopped by our table twice and was substantially more knowledgeable and helpful than our assigned waiter. This either says something for the training staff or the managers; I'm not sure which.
Menu: 3 Beards
The menu is simple with traditional Irish fare. The menu is well laid out and outside of the noticeable "Corn Beef" faux pas, was satisfactory.
Atmosphere: 2 Beards and a Mustache
This was another deal-breaker. I felt more like I was in McGillicuddy's than what is touted as "not [sic] your typical Irish Pub. We have mixed a little of the old with a lot of new Irish traditions." There seems very little in the way of tradition here; it's just another Milwaukee "Irish" sports bar & grill posing as a "pub."
Also, the music was way too loud and not at all St. Paddy's appropriate (I like Irish music, especially on St. Paddy's).
Price: 2 Beards and a Mustache
Again it felt like it was catering to a downtown businessman crowd. Appetizers are mostly $5-10 with entrées at $10-20. Other Irish places in town have equally good food for less.
Overall: 2 Mugs and a Shot
I have other favorites, and I would most likely go to any of them before Black Thorn again. Now that the cider I enjoyed is no longer there, there is little to no draw to this higher-than-normally-priced "Irish" pub.
