Finn McGuire’s Irish Pub & Grill

I have been going to Finns for a while now, have never been dissapionted by their food. I felt it was necessary to post about there fish fry; not only was it beyond the best fish fry I have had in Milwaukee, but it is the most substantial I have experienced in Milwaukee. Only disappointment was the mojito my wife ordered (I got a beer) it took 20 min to make and was more or less syrup. Other than the occasional lapse in drink service, this place will elevate your eating experience (irish or not) if you are within the Hales Corners /​Franklin area.

Fantastic place. Love their food, staff is great
We come her all the time. We have out of state friends and always bring them here

always a fun time great bands on the weekends in the winter fun place to dance and see your friends

Many other reviewers have covered what I found to be problematic here.
1. This is not really an Irish Pub.
2. There is nothing special about the food.
3. Service leaves a lot to be desired. Hiring adults would be a good start.
Rather than go into the details, I will echo Paul M’s Review of ¹²⁄₂₀₁₃. What he said.

I always get their turkey avocado wraps. I’m so afraid to try something new because the first thing I tried was so good! People are so very nice and the owner does a fantastic job.

I love Finns due to the incredible bartender amanda. She is amazing. We leave so happy and keeps us coming back. Great food too

I went alone to get food to go. The bar tender was nice helped make suggestions because it was my first time there. She bagged my food perfectly with all the sauces I asked for. She made good suggestions. Food was overall good. Kinda average waffle fries didn’t taste like potato but turkey club was great! The wanton corn beef was ok I was expecting more cream cheese. But overall good service and I will come back.

My husband and I recently went for lunch at Finn McGuire’s. The menu has pretty average Pub Items. There were a few specials and my husband ordered the Fish Fry and I ordered the Crab Salad sandwich. My crab salad was imitation crab, very chewy & marinated in vinegar. The fish fry had very thick breading and tasteless fish. In all fairness, when I complained about the crab salad, the manager came over and removed the salad from the bill and offered to send us home with another item. The service was average at best. With so many great Irish restaurants in the area, I don’t see us returning.

Well, I am truly disappointed in the decline in the quality of service and food at this restaurant. My husband and I have frequented this place about once a month since it opened. We have noticed the decline in the quality of food (way it was cooked) the last several times we were there, but last night we ended up agreeing that we would not patronize this restaurant again.
First of all, we requested to be seated on the patio because it was a nice night. Although there were only two other tables that were occupied at the time, the hostess seated us at the table directly between the two other occupied tables. Both of these tables were filled with women who were loudly chatting away. When we asked to move to another table, our waitress stated that because it was a «light» night, these were the only tables open in her station and she was the only person covering the patio that night. Oh well!
We waited forever for our drinks, which arrived with my husband’s salad, just minutes before our dinners were placed on our table.
My husband ordered one of the specials — Steak & Shrimp. The NY strip steak was about ¼ in. thick and could barely qualify as a steak. It was comprised of fat, grizzle and rubbery tendons that made it difficult, if not impossible to eat. The shrimp was just o.k., The green beans looked «sick» and must have been from a can. He would not even touch them.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich on a cibatta roll. The last time I had this, the roll was toasted and stacked with shredded bbq pork. Last night, the roll was not toasted and the only thing «stacked» on the roll was the overcooked and cold shredded onion rings. Also cold were the waffle fries, which I ending up leaving on my plate with the onion rings,
We must not have been the only table with slow service because the ladies next to us told the waitress not to leave when she dropped of their bill. I think they were afraid they would never see her again. We did the same when we left as well.
This is really a shame that this restaurant has gone down hill so much. As we passed two other restaurants right down the street (That’s Amore and Open Flame, their parking lots were completing full with overflow parking on side streets. At Finn McQuires, the parking lot was pretty empty as we had gotten a parking spot right next to the front door.
Management needs to address these issues. This is not the same restaurant that it was when it first opened. Please bring back your quality control person and make sure your staff knows how to work in the food industry.
It will be a long while before we waste our money at this place again. Sorry, we really liked you when you first opened!

This is a sports bar and not an Irish pub. Two bars with tables on the walls and windows with a patio. It’s big and dark with lots of flat screens and wood.
I was seated right away and greeted fast by my server. She had a beer on my table three minutes after being seated. The food was on the table after two sips of my beer and maybe because I had my burger extra rare. I had the bacon cheese burger with waffle Fry’s. The burger was cooked my way and thank you because rare gets messed up so much. See my picture. The burger was ½ pound big cooked rare with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese and mayo and pickles on the side. I liked it because it was tasty and cooked right. The waffle Fry’s were cold and no way as fresh as the burger which is sad because it lowered the Unilocal rating. How they could do so well with the burger and pass off cold Fry’s kind of ruined the meal. $ 12.00 burger and you get cold Fry’s is something else. The slaw was bland and did nothing for me so one bite was enough. They did some things right and some things wrong. This will not be my burger place because of price vs experience because there is better price vs experience places around. Yah the cold Fry’s did them in but the burger was good. I wouldn’t say don’t go there because this is only my experience and you should judge them for your self.

Did you try the sliders? I went downtown (won’t name the restaurant) and paid $$$ for Kobe beef sliders. They didn’t compare to the sliders as Finn’s. I also love the 2 bars. Fun place to hang out.

If you think Michael Jackson had an identity disorder…
Finn’s just doesn’t know what it is, nor what it wants to be. It calls itself an «Irish Pub & Grill». Well… let’s start with the ‘Pub’ part:
An Irish pub is about gathering. It’s about making a group of people comfortable. It is about strengthening old relationships and encouraging new ones. People are very important to our friends across the pond, and pubs have been a cornerstone of their social engagement for centuries.
I admit, there are lots of ways that can be accomplished. Finn McGuire’s may not «look» like an Irish Pub (other than a couple coats of green paint). But where it really fails is the disconnect I feel whenever I’ve walked in. To me, it actually feels like it discourages the social interaction that should be the foundation of any Irish Pub. And to add insult to injury, the weekends are booked with lack-​luster rock-​and-​roll cover bands that play too loud for any meaningful conversion to occur anywhere in the building.
I don’t care how many Irish beers you have on tap. An Irish Pub could be successful serving nothing but Budweiser. That’s right, I said it… and Finn McGuire’s doesn’t get it.
Now… what about the grill part?
Firstly, the confusion begins with having twice as many gourmet burgers as they have «Specialties». I mean, really… the menu has Ahi Tuna next to a sampler platter of deep-​fried goodness. So tell me Finn, what should I want to order from the kitchen? There is nothing on your menu that says, «THIS is what you want to eat because THIS is what we are best at cooking.»
Now this may be a bit more subjective. But to me, comfort needs to trump all else in an Irish Pub. It’s not such a big deal that Finn’s only has a handful of the «traditional» Irish dishes on their extensive menu. But I feel it really falls short on its offerings of comfort food. And don’t get me wrong, the food isn’t bad. But they don’t serve anything that I cannot get at 2 dozen other restaurants within a 2 minute driving radius. They’ve got a couple soups, Fish & Chips, Mac & Cheese, Shepherd’s Pie, and Corned Beef & Cabbage. But that’s about it for what I would consider «comfort food». This is Milwaukee… where’s the beer cheese soup? Where are the sausage offerings? How about some bread bowls?
I’m just sayin’…
So that’s the round-​up for Finn’s. I can’t say it’s a place I would avoid at all costs. It’s just that it’s not an Irish Pub. Well then, smarty-​pants. What is it? My answer: It is just one more offering in an over-​saturated market of mediocre bar & grills.

Heather L. is really good at applying lip gloss every five minutes… she keeps it handy in a glass right next to the cash register. You’d think that would be a sign of efficiency in someone, but apparently the skill is lost on her when she is bartending. Slow service, no follow up, empty glasses:(And we were sitting right at the bar, smack dab in front of her.
Food is average pub food… nothing to boast about and certainly not worth the bad service we had.
Sorry Finn. Get some new bartenders.

We have gone here several times on friday night for their fish fry. This is currently my favorite fish fry that is still in operation.
The price is reasonable and the amount of food you get is very good. My wife gets the baked fish and our friend and my self get the fried. You have the choice of potato pancakes which are very good here. And the cole slaw is very good, not sour like some other places.
It is noisy, but you should expect this level of noise from a good sized pub.

We went there for lunch. I had their Mac n Cheese. It was good but the «garlic bread» that came with it was stale and tasteless. How do u goof up bread? I asked for butter in hope that I could resurrect it but even Wisconson’s creamy butter was not enough to help. I ended up taking it home to my dog. He liked it but that’s not saying much. My daughter had their fish and said it was good. Not the best but certainly good enough to order in future. Service was prompt & friendly. I think this place is overpriced for the quality of their food.

Very busy on a Friday night, the parking lot was packed. Much to our surprise we were seated immediately. It was very loud tho which made it quite difficult to have a conversation.
We came for the fish fry. It was good but very bready. Good beer and the service wasn’t bad.

Big con — Their menu says happy hour is from 3 — 6 pm which includes half priced appetizers. We ordered an appetizer at 5:15 pm but it was at full price on our bill. When we told the waitress it should be half off because the menu said happy hour was until 6 pm she said it was for drinks only. Half priced appetizers were only until 5 pm. Nowhere on the menu did it say that, just happy hour from 3 — 6 pm. She told us there was a big sign out front that said half priced appetizers were only until 5 pm. BUT THE MENU SAYS UNTIL 6 PM AND WE POINTED THAT OUT TO HER!!!
She didn’t offer to correct it, get us a manager, nothing. It’s not like our appetizer was expensive — it was $ 5, but we wouldn’t have ordered it at all if we thought it was going to be full price.
FIX YOUR MENUS FINN MCGUIRE’S!!!

To begin, let me say I would go to Finn McGuire’s again for their food. We stopped in a few days ago (on a Sunday afternoon) for dinner, and mine was fantastic! My husband’s was good, except the coleslaw had some funny aftertaste. I had one of their specials, the shepherd’s pie with a salad, and loved every bite. The salad was very fresh and crisp. The shepherd’s pie was hearty!
That being said, I think the management missed the mark on the ambiance of the place. My first impression upon walking in was, «Good lord! What are they wearing?!» The hostess and servers are made to wear tiny plaid skirts as uniforms! The skirts are green, so I think they’re supposed to be like an Irish kilt, but looked more naughty-​Catholic-​school-​girl. There Our server was very nice, but a little slow. We weren’t in a rush, so it wasn’t a problem until it was time to get home for a nap and it took a little while to get our card run.
The prices were relatively good — two meals, a soda and a beer for a little under $ 30.
Side note: I don’t want to sound like I go to dinner to watch television, but there were three TVs in my line of sight, and they were all showing the golf channel… Were that many people requesting to watch the LPGA tour? Really?

I debated giving this pub one or two stars. I went with two, erring on the side of generosity. My husband acquired free drink tickets to try this new-​ish pub.
It was snowing heavily the night we ventured out to use the free drink tickets with a Friend of ours. I was surprised at how many cars were parked in the lot. I had high hopes that if these many ventured out on a night like that — this place must be rocking.
My first inclination that this wasn’t the kind of pub I was expecting was upon entering there was a bouncer. I have never been to a pub (Ireland or stateside) that required a bouncer.
My second inclination that this was not a traditional pub was the very loud 90’s rock music. Again, not what you usually find in an Irish pub. The music was so loud one was unable to have a conversation across a table.
Third, the attire of the waitstaff was more akin to that of a naughty school girl convention then a pub. Our particular waitstaff was friendly, prompt, and an all around great waitstaff. I have no complaints there. Call me feminist, but I was offended as a women by the attire of the female waitstaff.
We ordered the reuben quesadilla. They were good. The meat was tender, and serving size split-​able for three people. The food was fast.
Needless to say this is not a family friendly eatery.
Overall, compared to other pubs in the area, Brocach, County Clare, O’Donoghue’s, etc… this was a let down. My husband and I will not be back.

Once again a new restaurant for this location, how long will this one last?
My first experience at Finn McGuires was today for lunch.
First impressions:
I thought I was in a bad Brittney Spears video. The waitresses wear short plaid pleated skirts, white blouses, neck ties and knee socks. I can see where they are trying to go with this, trying to make them look Irish by putting them in plaid skirts but it reminded me more of the Catholic school girl look, seemed kind of cheesy BUT the guys love it and sure, if I could pull it off I would ;) Still, I was waiting to hear «Oh baby baby» in the background.
Menu is brief, apps and sandwiches only. I do however love the menu look. It is folded crooked and uneven as if some drunk was in back folding them and was way off — pretty cool.
Décor is nice and comfortable. They have a sports bar in the main area and in the back they have a room that is more Irish home feeling. I think it would be great if they would merge the look, feel and music together vs listening to the oldies channel while trying to take in the Irish atmosphere.
Had a corned beef sandwich. I can honestly saw I have never ordered one before in a restaurant so I was being adventurous. The sandwich was piled high but was lacking in the flavor department. Homemade chips were good.
Had the spinach & artichoke dip too as an app. Love this stuff and it was pretty good here. A little on the salty side but yummy none the less.
I’m glad I checked it out. Perhaps will stop in again to try something different but didn’t experience anything in the WOW factor to make me run back soon but I would recommend you to check it out for yourself.