Jack McShea’s

Let me straight up about this review.
Pro’s: generously poured drinks, sometimes you can get free drinks depending if you befriend the bartender, French fries galore (it’s a lot!), nice brunch, can have a nice vibe on certain nights.
Con: There needs to be better management. No one exactly watches people or staff. I understand owner can’t be there all the time and it can get busy. But even owner is horrible. It’s crazy, but we witnessed a crazy looking homeless man (probably a guy with good amount of cash from pan-​handling) drug one of my co-​workers. We also once ordered a margarita, and it came out wrong. My co-​worker drank ¹⁄₃ of it, and the bartender came by. She told her the order was wrong and would like it re-​made but just add something to the drink so it wouldn’t be so salty. Margaritas have salt on the rim. Not necessarily IN THE DRINK to the point it tastes like they dumped a cup of salt in the drink. It was bad. Bartender returned and gave her the «fixed» drink, which was the same exact thing but with more salt. So, the owner noticed our dissatisfaction and came over. He asked rudely «so, what is it that you guys even want anyway?». We were very astonished by the way he asked and his stinking attitude. We weren’t causing trouble, but we wanted the one drink made right. We always tipped well, we thought they would be nice about it. Our coworker told him the situation and he grabbed the cub, and slammed it on the table… He was frustrated or something, asked «I don’t get it, what do you even want?». All she asked for was a margarita that doesn’t taste overly salty and made the way it should, but yet the owner gets into a hissy fit. No owner serving customers should EVER, EVER give an attitude to customers who aren’t giving attitude at all. Why ask rudely? Why slam the cup? Again, when he came back, he slammed a second cup to my coworker, and said enjoy. No thank you.
Verdict: We used to like Mcshea’s because it was the only good bar that closed til 2am in Ardmore, but the owner is a real jerk. I don’t totally blame the bartender because they can make mistakes and she never gave an attitude. The owner needs to straighten up his act. I’m no longer a customer.

The drinks are short and quality degraded. We do not go there anymore.

This is a weird little spot in Ardmore. They pour a generous drink and have a typical bar menu for food. In fortunately the food is subpar. Is it my imagination, or do all Irish pubs in the US deliberately serve poorly prepared food on purpose? I have been to many Irish pubs in Ireland and Northern Ireland and all took great care preparing their food.
It is a little dark and there are too many TVs around the room for my liking but that may just be my personal preference speaking. I found the service to be okay but it was a slow night so the waitresses spent too much time chatting each other up rather than attending to the customers. At one point, the owner?, came in and started rearranging the bar stock while I was eating dinner which was annoying. In the bathroom were huge signs saying employees must wash their hands, don’t drive under the influence, and another one touting the latest lager special. Odd and weird. The place was absolutely dead on a Wednesday night at 6 pm.
My food was a bit burnt and rather greasy. The hamburger bun was stale. It took forever to get my food and I was the only customer who ordered food. Three stars for for a bar, one for food, two stars for service.

Chicken Panini was very good, potato wedges were awesome along with everything else we had ordered. Very comfortable atmosphere. Bartender was very attentive and constantly checked on us during MNF

Stopped in here on game day to watch an out of market game. Plenty of tv’s, decent beer prices, for game day. Staff was friendly and fairly attentive. One issue we had was trying to get onto the wifi… heaven forbid I make any fantasy trades. I asked the staff about it and she dismissed it as «oh, it’s always going in and out, hahah» well, I would have stayed the whole game but without wifi or any effort put into resetting it… I couldn’t waste that time on just the game.
Food was tasty, the bacon perogies with a free beer were spot on. My burger was well done, stacked high with fixings and melty cheese. Fries were closer to wedge potatoes, but I love wedge potatoes so it was a win in my book… but buyer beware.
Get that wifi fixed and I’d stop in more often, as well as give you guys another star.

I took my boyfriend here for his birthday dinner and even with a reservation we were asked to wait at the bar for a half hour. We were fine with that and after eventually getting a table we sat there for 45 minutes, no exaggeration, an actual 45 minutes for someone to even come to our table. A waiter did not even walk by our table, we actually felt invisible. We didn’t order drinks, get our menus taken, nothing… We watched a family be immediately seated after walking in and then have their order taken after some time. We tried to get the attention of multiple waiters with no luck. Had no choice but to get up and leave at that point. It’s a shame the food seems good but the service was so inadequate I had no choice but to go somewhere else.

Let me tell you, the short rib flat bread is to die for! The horseradish is a nice touch.
Staff is on point. One critique is the fries are actually potato wedges so keep that in mind.

The drinks are good their food is another story. Order their soft shell crab special it was 18.00 for one small soft shell carb cut in half was not worth the money. Had to order some fries to fell up my tummy. Mussels were a joke. They were so small I gave up eating them. Would I go back sure for drinks but not food. For the price they charge it’s not worth it at all.

I’ve been here many times– I live within walking distance. It’s our go-​to place when we don’t care about eating healthy– because they have THE BEST BURGER. Seriously. It’s so juicy and flavorful and it’s served on a delicious buttery and soft brioche bun. The fries (regular and sweet potato) are great too– the bourbon mayo is awesome (if they forget to give you it, ask for it!)
They also have a GREAT corned beef sandwich and cheesesteak. The beer list is decent. I don’t recommend the pierogi platter– but I’m 100% Polish so maybe I’m biased. If you like Mrs. T’s then go for it. I don’t like the pizza here.
Went for quizzo once, it was pretty fun. Also went to see the live music on Saturday nights, that can be a good time depending on the band. Decent happy hour specials and all-​day specials (on Tuesdays, get a burger, get ANY draft for free-​not sure how long they’ll be doing that one!). They also have parties out back a few times a year that they promote.
We actually prefer this one to the Narberth location, where we feel the service has been declining in recent years and it’s not being maintained as nicely anymore. But you know, you’re not allowed to say anything bad about anything located in the special Narberth bubble so I’ll stop there!
The atmosphere isn’t great– there’s some tears in the booths and whatnot, but I don’t let that get to me and neither should you. The burger is worth it!

Awful! The first time I tried this place I wasn’t really loving the crabcake sandwich. Tonight was truly awful — both the food and service. We waited at least 45 minutes for a pea soup starter. I usually like pea soup, but their version was one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten in my life. It wasn’t even hot — barely lukewarm.
We waited at least another 30 minutes before the waitress told us that another server had made off with my niece’s chicken dish, so it would be another 10 minutes. Eventually (after more than 10 minutes) the meals arrived. At that point, the waitress was profusely apologizing to my sister and niece about the wait. She asked if she could bring them anything else. Meanwhile, I was sitting there with absolutely no food whatsoever. She had completely forgotten my order, which was simply a basket of (very expensive $ 7) sweet potato fries. I was told that she had been distracted by the chicken and forgot about them; it would be another 10 minutes to make a fresh batch.
My sister’s steak had a pile of horseradish just grated on top of it. It wasn’t a sauce, or placed on the side — just what looked like a pile of raw, solid horseradish on the top, and no sauce. My niece said her chicken was good. I admit the fries were very good when they eventually came, but the saga I went through to get a horrendous bowl of pea soup and some sweet potato fries was pretty insane. If I ever go there again, it will be for the weekly Irish music and a beer — I’ll be sure to eat at home first.

Have a great time every time I go there… had a bartender that worked part time but he was sooooo cool… really enjoyed rapping with him… he explained everything so well too. Mostly white but everyone was very friendly… I like the mixed spots, its all about the maturity levels… great spot!

Always love visiting Mcsheas after a long work week. The food here is good and the prices are great too. The beer selection is decent and the mixed drink prices are lower than most bars nearby. Surprisingly their thin crust pizza is better than most pizza on the main line. I haven’t had a bad meal here yet!

re: loud smokers out back
While I certainly appreciate their dedication to killing themselves, I only wish they would choose a more efficient mechanism than smoking.

Made a pit stop for some Irish coffee and I’m so happy we did. The bar service was great, good mix of patrons, and the prices were the cherry on top. We’ll have to go back for some grub the next time we are out that way.

A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is from Irish mythology. To hell with a pot of gold! It should be this excellent corned beef sandwich!
On a recent Saturday I blew in around noon for lunch. Note there is a decent public parking lot with cheap meters just west of the restaurant and on the same side of the street.
The atmosphere was completely as expected. This is a faux Irish bar just like a thousand others across the country. Dark wood and a little beat up. Lots of Irish trappings scattered around. I feel comfortable in this kind of place.
I sat at the bar and was greeted by Liz who turned out to be an excellent bartender and waitress. I love it when a bartender is a good conversationalist and Liz was just that.
I perused the limited lunch menu and a hot corned beef sandwich ($ 9) caught my eye. I was elated to see it came with house-​cut fries. I am so tired of frozen fries from a bag! When I see that fries are house-​cut I start drooling.
My sandwich arrived quickly and it was way beyond expectations. It was packed with hot and tender beef that was perfectly cured. And then there was this mountain of delicious house-​cut fries. It was a little embarrassing but I moaned with pleasure a couple of times. For $ 9 it was a very good value.
People joke about chasing after a rainbow to get that pot of gold. I’d run faster for this sandwich!

By far the best bar in Ardmore! I was fortunate enough to live in the area for a few years and stopped in here regularly. This place is great for any occasion: watching a game, brunch, dinner, or late night. It’s always a good time. Food is super yummy. My favorites are the burger and corn beef sandwich, but have tried many others and never been disappointed. They constantly have new specials and a large basic menu so there’s bound to be something for everyone. Also a late night menu (cheese fries– do it!).
Great for sports games. TVs everywhere. They often have specials or giveaways during the Philly games (I have collected numerous Eagles glasses despite being a NY fan). Quizzo on Wednesdays is also a great time. There’s a prefix menu on Mondays which is a great deal for a soup/​salad, drink, and entrée for $ 15. Live music on weekends.
The staff here are really amazing and definitely make the experience as well. The owner, Uncle Neil, is so friendly and fun. The rest of the staff is great too: Annemarie, Madeline, Alicia, Colleen, etc. They will ensure you have a wonderful dining experience!

I’m sort of confused about how to feel about this place because our experience started out horribly and ended amazingly!
My boyfriend and I stopped in here to take a study break. We knew the chances of a quick meal were bleak when it took a solid 15 minutes to be seated, and another 15 for a server to stop by and take our drink order. I was honestly ready to get up and leave by that point, as I glanced around from our cramped table that gave us no view of the TV (sports bar fail)?
However, our waiter for the rest of the evening really picked up the slack. He was super hilarious and made sure our food was brought out quickly after our initial frustration. To top it off, the wings here are the bomb and we really enjoyed our entrées as well.
My friends swear by the bar service here but I’m hesitant to return. If it wasn’t for that one waiter that slew us with his customer service skills, I’d be giving three stars, or less.

Come to jack mcshea’s and you will be welcomed with great staff who are smiling and ready to serve you. The menu hosts any kind of beer and simple heartwarming comfort food. My friend quipped «It will be a Good base for booze you might want to toss in your belly at the show across the street at the ardmore music all.»
My dinner partners ordered the Addictive Irish pierogies and kielbasa with housemade purple cabbage and sauerkraut. Give it a couple shakes of salt and you’re in heaven.
I had a lump crabmeat quesadillas which were priced well and pretty decent.
I liked our cute server man who seems to be happy to work today… Maybe he is the owner?!

Every time I’m visiting my parents I stop into this place to hang out with friends. For the area the drink prices are good and the bartenders never fail to make the drink you want if they have what it needs. I have tasted most of the food and it’s always good bar level food. You have your wings, chicken tenders, burgers etc. but what I most enjoy about this place. It’s never blasting music or the spots game. The game is on or music is playing but you can talk not shout at the person next to you.

Annemarie is the greatest on Sundays. She will handle all of your special requests for your specialty drinks. She is very accommodating to all of my needs behind the bar. If you’re in or around Ardmore on a Sunday, stop by to see her.