D’Arcy McGee’s Irish Pub

Traditional as it get’s this side of the pond. Irish run with GAA jersey’s on the wall. Huge selection of beer and below the awesome Sky Bar and LiFT nightclubs

Terence Trent D’Arcy opened this place, and was very dismayed to find out that people Signed Their Name not across his heart, but all over the bathroom stalls.
I’ve been in here 2 or 3 times, and no I wasn’t drunk. It wasn’t much to shout about, and honestly, I miss the place that was here before it.
This is a pale resemblance of the business that used to be here — The Coliseum Nightclub. One of my favourite dance clubs in the USA, not just WNY. They used to let me in to dance when I wasn’t even 18 yet, so I might be biased.
This Irish pub on the other hand doesn’t utilize the space the way Coliseum did. The music isn’t half what it was. It’s more of an overpriced watering hole now than it is a night spot. A shame really because Coliseum was the reason I’d journey down to Chippewa. That, and Continental. And both places are as extinct as fair play in football (soccer) now.
But if you like McGee from NCIS (or even Tony DiNozo) like my friend Stephy always did, then you might love this place.

my wife and I dined here today and it was atrocious. It’s a perfect location, the décor and interior are quite Irish pub-​like, unfortunately this is where the irishness stops. I should have known better when I saw «Black and Tan» onion rings on the menu. Obviously these people know nothing of Ireland. The food tastes microwaved, and the fried food was beyond greasy and overcooked. I ordered the safe foods, chicken fingers and fish and chips. Simple right? As i said the fries were beyond overcooked. Burnt is the best way to describe them. I took one and squeezed it and all that came out was grease. The fingers were also overcooked and unpleasant. The fish was not any better, overcooked and the breading or whatever they put on the fish was awful. The fries accompanying the fish were not any better either. The shepard’s pie was edible but had a distinct feel and taste of microwaved. While we were eating friends of the owner/​manager/​or bartender, whoever she was came in to say hi, they had just eaten at dinosaur BBQ down the road, do yourself a favor and follow suit. If her friends won’t eat there what else is there to say…

I stopped in with a gift certificate I had. It was a cool day with nothing happening downtown so the space was pretty much empty at 6:30. The food was meh. After trying D’Arcy’s shepherd’s pie I think prefer my own homemade version. The portions were generous, the prices were reasonable, and the bar was well stocked, so I did feel satisfied, just not wowed.
The biggest advantage D’Arcy’s has is the space! It is REALLY big! Aside from the indoor space they also have a semi-​enclosed area outside with a stage set up. On a slow night with two people it feels vast but I enjoyed the thought of coming back with a sizable group of friends and not having to fight for elbow room as I’ve done at other bars. I think for happy hour/​late night and bar food this place is fine.

Over all it was a pleasant experience. There were low points and high pints to my dining experience.
For starters the bar does offer a great atmosphere. The place is quite welcoming and comfortable.
Our waitress was a bit of a challenge. She was not very professional and seemed as tho she drew the short straw to waitress that evening and was not happy about that.
Onward to the food. The soup we had as a starter seemed more like a pre-​packaged soup than an in house made soup. I wish they did have a real Shepherds pie (lamb) on the menu. But it was ok. Then again the bar for Shepherd pie is set quite high after my visits to Ireland and England. They are quite proud of all that is Irish but lack the details to be an Irish dish. The fish and chips are definitely the best in buffalo but are not served the Irish way as stated but a facsimile of.
As stated above the over all experience was pleasent. With a bit more effort and tweets they could a high quality destination for diners and pubbers alike.

If you are looking for authentic pub fare, this is the place to go. The Sheppard pie is hands down the best in buffalo. The corn beef and cabbage is a huge portion and quite tasty.
They have a pretty small menu however, so dont go expecting a big selection, aside from burgers, salads and some sammiches. This is either a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. The french fries are fresh cut, and yes, it makes a huge difference.
The décor on the inside is classic old school pub, complete with awesome fireplaces and wood everywhere. The bar at this place is pretty damn impressive.
The prices for somethings are a bit high. However overall, I recommend this place. Have a Guinness and a Sheppard’s pie, you cant go wrong.

Very spacious, w/​a killer roof patio and public elevator ! Had fun at cigar bar there when it was named coliseum years ago.

I only went because I got a gift certificate. Food was average. Nothing to rave about. Service was pretty much non existent. It even took long to get a Togo box and check. Kitchen also closes at 8:00 PM so get there early

It was an okay place, the party was upstairs which has a great view, but they have only crappy beers upstairs, in a can for the same price as the pints of the good stuff downstairs (Like Great Lakes Eddie Fitz) – you have to go down and sneak it up.
Didn’t order any food, but if you want beer and are going upstairs, make sure you order beer downstairs first.

If you come to this place there are 3 things that earned it 2 stars. The atmosphere, the fries, and the shepherds pie. Or I have been told if you just want to drink this is a great place to come to also.
We came here not having enough time to wait to eat at Dinosaur BBQ. I agree with Bethany M. who says I wish this place was good because of the cool atmosphere. I thought we found some secret since just ½ a block away Dino BBQ had a 45 min wait and this place was dead. No, there is a reason this place was dead at 6pm on a friday night.
I was lucky and got the shepherds which is great, the other 3 people in my party got all different things and only could eat about a third of their meals. My friend who works down town says every time he comes the food looks different and isn’t consistent. The Chicken fingers are awful, honestly how do you mess up a chicken fingers? One person said «the fish and chips were gross.» I got the onion rings and they were way over cooked, almost burnt.
Do me and your self a favor and don’t go here for the food.

Just got to Buffalo coming from out of town. These inconsiderate owners let people stand in line for over a half hour only to turn us away at the door for out of stare ID. I have a legit ID not to mention IM 37 and in no way look under 21. We ask for the manager who we think would make an educated decision as to letting someone in that looks old enough. NO F’in Brains in this guy. I’m gonna spend more money than 20 of idiots that were on the crawl for one beer. I would not have been offended if you don’t accept the out of state ID but AT LEAST MENTION IT TO THE LINE or post a sign. YOU JUST WASTED A HALF HOUR OF MY FOR NOTHING. I hope to see an out of business sign on this place the next time I come back.

I don’t understand all the low ratings for this place. I came here with my parents for lunch last weekend and it was the nice finale for our tour-​of-​Buffalo that we did that afternoon. My mother was the only one who had ever been there before (for a work party) and she was willing to return, so…
She had some sort of chicken sandwich. My step-​father was excited to find the Ulster Fry on the menu and I went with the Shepard’s Pie. No complaints from anyone on the quality of the food although considering the place was near-​empty, the food did take a bit longer to get to the table than one would have expected. The Shepard’s pie was HUGE; definitely cannot complain about the portion for the price. I ate half of it and was stuffed. The leftovers were brought home for dinner the following night. Everyone tasted the mashed potatoes on top and loved them.
The ambiance is «an old pub» and was fun to explore. The place is very spaced out with various areas which I liked because if you were to come here when it was busy, I liked the idea that your party could find it’s own separate space from the crowd. The place is pretty dimly lit however. Our first choice of seats near the fireplace was just too dark to eat, and so we moved.
Our server was attentive (again, only a few other customers so maybe that made a difference). Overall, everyone agreed it was a good experience and that we’d be back.

What a great place, cozy in the winter and great to sit outside in the summer. Best Shepard’s pie I have had in a while!
I am not sure what others are speaking to but my waitress was wonderful, the folks next to us were a bit loud and obnoxious and not only did she apologize but she gave us a round on the house to ensure we had an excellent experience. My friend had told me how good this place was and she was right!

This is one of those places that I just WISH was really good… I really, really want it to be good. Like, I want to buy this place and make it good. Somehow.
The interior is almost there. It has the pub standards — a great, roomy bar, a snug bar, lots of available beers, and cozy dark wood furnishings. But the lay out of the place is just plain awkward at times, and too spaced out. It’s also really dark inside. The patio is great in the summer, it’s huge and full of those cool swinging picnic bench things but unfortunately attracts those pesty smokers.
The food, as you can see by the other reviews, is not good. The chicken fingers were fine, almost good actually, but man can’t live on chicken fingers alone. I see there’s a few new things on the menu so I might check them out next time I’m in for a drink, but I don’t have high hopes. I’d love to see a few more chicken sandwiches and a few less pasta dishes.
The bar is great — lots of selection, dry cider on tap, and lots of seating. BUT it’s got a college crowd later on the weekends, so beware if that’s not your thing. In the summer there’s a bar on the roof (Skybar) so the downstairs isn’t as rowdy.
As for the business plan itself, a few comments: I HATE restaurant websites the require either a) flash or b) downloading a pdf to view the menu. it’s 2012, make your site more accessible for smartphone users. Also — a 20% service charge to parties of 6 or more. 20%?!? 20? I don’t even have words for that. I like to regularly leave 20%+ tips… when it’s deserved. But I don’t like being forced into that… it lets the server know s/​he no longer needs to try. I get adding 15−18% because large groups can often undertip (which I certainly experienced in my years as a server) but 20% is just… weird. And 6 doesn’t qualify as a large group.
After having been to other pubs in other cities… D’Arcy’s doesn’t stand up to them at all. But I’ll keep watching and hoping that they turn it around.

I love Irish pubs… If there is one in the city I am in, I usually stop in for one (or many if it is a good place).
The service here is really bad. The bartender stood and hung out with a couple of people the entire time I was there. I literally had to walk over to her on several occasions to ask for another beverage.
There were only four other people at the place so it wasn’t busy at all.
The food was okay but the service was pretty much as bad as it gets.

My girlfriend and I visited for lunch on a Saturday. Dead. The place was completely empty. Immediately I was wondering why.
The inside of the restaurant is beautiful, very vintage looking and comfy. Nice wood and stonework. The menu however does not reflect this. It’s a heavily cartoonized, laminated, over sized placard full of leprechauns and phrases like «something for the immigrants.»
It took at least 15 minutes to look over the menu, and I’m not really sure why. Too many options? Or maybe it was just the distracting color scheme and leprechauns.
My girlfriend chose their «award winning» secret recipe Shepherd’s pie. Let me just say that if you are going to use «award winning» or «famous» to describe your food, you better be ready to back it up. I chose the Penne Pasta with sun-​dried tomatoes, asparagus, pine nuts and balsamic dressing. It sounded like a winner to me.
The side salads were very nice. Perfect portion of fresh spring mix.
Then the food came. I could tell that there were going to be issues as soon as I saw the Penne pasta dish. Disgusting. Plain overcooked Penne noodles, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. A pool of oil sat underneath the pasta. Completely tasteless. The sun-​dried tomatoes were like chewing gum. I couldn’t even bite through them. The asparagus was good, but it couldn’t save the dish, neither could the pine nuts that were drowning in the pool of oil down below. Where was the seasoning? Awful.
I also tried the Shepherd’s pie. Not amazing, not award winning, and no need to keep the recipe a secret, no one would want it. The mashed potatoes on top were good. They added a bunch of cheese on top of the mash, I think to make up for the lack of seasoning throughout the dish. It reminded me of a dish anyone could make. Their claims on the menu gave me high expectations that were clearly not met.
The service was forgettable. The server didn’t even check back with us to see how the food was. Now I know why. He was probably embarrassed.

Service was terrible on a weeknight (over an hour wait for food when the place was mostly empty), and the food was incredibly bland. The only upside is the bill wasn’t too high. Won’t be visiting again

We were looking for somewhere to eat on the Chippewa Strip on a hot Thursday night, and decided that a pint of beer and some pub food sounded good. We should have been tipped off by the fact that although everywhere else around was getting pretty busy (~7pm), D’Arcy McGee’s was *deserted* — no tables seated at all, except an elderly couple that arrived at the same time as us. The beer was fine, but the food was terrible. Fish and chips was salty and fried into oblivion– very dark and almost unchewably dry inside (how does fried fish get that dry??) Pulled pork dinner was also overcooked and dry. We choked down what we could and left the rest. Hopefully it was just an off night, but I’m not rushing back to find out…

i really enjoy this place, i like sitting outside, and everytime i go, its never too busy. i love the food, it is awesome. the service is a little hit or miss„ some of the waiters are not friendly. i recommed the place and will def be going back

Okay food and plenty of it. Large beer on tap selection.-Unfortunately no IPA on tap.
If possible I’d recommend heading down to the Peal Street Brewery instead. This area of town (D’Arcy McGee’s) is more of a College drinking area. More young professionals on the other side of downtown.