Poet & Patriot Irish Pub

Came across this little gem, on a girls weekend, and we were all happy with this find! Shawn, the bartender, made our day… he was friendly, attentive and super laid back! A little backgammon going on, at the end of the bar and an open mic for local talent. I can’t wait to go back to this place. If you’re looking for a laid back, frills free, local pub, this is your place!

Came here with my boyfriend on a whim while on vacation in Santa Cruz. They have a really decent wine/​beer selection, and ample seating. There’s also a room to play darts. The bartender was really helpful and super attentive and cheerful to pretty much every who came in.
I would come back here, even though they are cash only. They did have an ATM, so if you don’t carry cash, you don’t have to leave to get some.
⁴⁄₅ Would highly recommend to someone wanting to chill with a good beer in a really great atmosphere.

This place is always so much fun!!! It’s cash only, fyi. Don’t worry, there are ATM machines inside. It’s just a good ol bar with beer and wine! It’s a nice mix of individuals of different ages, and I always have a great time when in there.

This is one of the best Irish pubs I’ve ever been to. You can’t go wrong with an Irish pub that has a huge picture of James Connolly on display.

Personal cosy little pub. Great drinks and ambience and even better service! Came here for a performance that was supposed to be a week after. The bar tender played the music from the performer for us. Definitely coming back!

Great small bar, great local beers, great bartender. Small bar area perfect for someone who is travelling and doesn’t want to go to some busy restraint or club in Santa Cruz. Thanks for the good time

If you want to play darts and/​or talk to the locals. This is the place to go. The bar tenders have been around forever. I spent many of my college days and evenings in this place and it’s awesome. They don’t take cards.

Happy hour: Mon thru Fri 4−6pm. everything on tap is $ 3.75! That’s the best deal I’ve heard.
A quick aside – to my fellow Unilocalers:
boobie, boobolah; PLEASE post full details when you submit reviews. Please. We need the who, what, where & when just as I’ve done in a single sentence above.
As Unilocal ELITE for three years running this is all I ask of you. You’ll get lots of ‘useful’ votes if you do it. That’s my promise to you. Who knows, keep it up and you might get to be a Unilocal elite, like me, someday too. Wouldn’t that be something to write home about?

This is a no frills traditional pub. Its has fantastic service good beer and a very relaxed atmosphere. Larry and the bearded one were very friendly and like to have a chat. If you like a game of darts this is definitely the place to go. We made our local while we were staying in Santa Cruz.

Decent Irish bar. The biggest issue I have is the «Cash Only» bar. It’s 2015 and the IRS hasn’t caught on to this yet? Come on guys. The bartenders are also slow. Nice dartboards, though.

We were on a mission to visit the pub that our colleague owned in his former life. And this place did not disappoint – a great Irish pub with excellent beers on tap, a friendly and knowledgeable bartender, and a nice atmosphere. There’s also a great game room with a pool table and a dart board. Very nice neighborhood bar that is well worth the visit!

This is the best Irish bar in santa cruz.
Long hardwood bar-​check. Bronze foot rail at said long hardwood bar-​check. Walls covered with Irish historical miscellany-​check. Solid pints of cider and Guinness-​check. Redheaded barmaid with a fiery temp… er, very strongly held opinions-​check. Lots and lots of snug-​double check. Pool table and steel dart boards-​check. As you can see it hits all the high points for a good pub.
Inside it’s very cozy and in the afternoons the best place to be is at the bar itself as they have no waitstaff during the slow times. so if you are away from the bar you will act as your own server, which rally isn’t really the trouble it may sound like at all. Need a drink? Go get yourself one. No waiting. It’s also the place yo be if you are conversational.
The tiny parking lot which is shared with a jazz club will fill very quickly so the odds are that like everything else in santa cruz you may be best served by parking a block or so over and walking in.
The have about ten taps more or less evenly divided between local beers and Irish ones. There’s about ten more selections available in bottles, but in a good Irish bar such as this pints from the tap are best. Wine is available as well but the focus is totally on the taps here.
No hard liquors-​this is a beer (and some wine) place only. Also, cards are not accepted-it’s cash only and no kitchen is available, so no food.
Why the five stars? because this is a totally awesome Irish pub within Santa Cruz. It’s an outstanding place to meet up with friends for a pint or three. Or four. Hey who’s counting eh?
One word of warning-​the little alley by the entrance can be a trouble magnet late at night. For some reason many people after a night of drinking come to grief there, perhaps because it makes a convenient place for the local police to park. Be strongly warned that this alley is not the place for late night drunken shenanigans.

Haven’t been here in about 10 years but the thing I remember best about this bar is that it is the ONLY place in Nor Cal that my Brit friends were able to find a REAL snake bite black. They made them perfect and they go down a little TOO smooth… If you’ve never had one, PLEASE do yourself a favor and order one… and then another… and then another…

Need better bar stools. Bar tenders need to pay more attention to guests. Since they only serve beer and wine it would be helpful if the bar staff knew just a little bit about the wines they’re serving.

Ordered a margarita here and the bartender said «Oh no, you don’t want that» and then I pondered my life and my decisions till that point and realized that I DIDN’T want that and ordered something else. I like it when people can take a hard look at your soul and help you make the right decisions to constructively destroy your body.

Love this bar for what it is: local and laid back. No heady craft beers, but they have an IPA that will do, darts, live music and some cool peeps that roll through. My kind of bar.

PROS: I’m not a local, but I visited here recently with some friends. I was here for a couple hours, and was really digging the place. It had a really cool atmosphere. I walked in, and there was a small band playing gypsy-​sounding music with a belly dancer. The staff and other patrons I encountered were all pretty friendly. I wandered to the next room, where they have the dart boards. I met a couple of friendly locals who taught me how to play darts, and played a round with my friend and I. Once another board freed up, my group started playing and we ordered a pitcher to share. We all had a good time, and if I lived nearby, I could see myself visiting more often.
CONS: It’s a little small and can get a little cramped, but eh, it’s no big deal.
OVERALL: I definitely want to come here again next time I’m in Santa Cruz. I was really enjoying the atmosphere and vibe of the whole place. I ended up really enjoying darts, and I appreciated the friendly crowd. This little joint is cool in my book. Oh, and on the way out, there was a different band playing Irish rock covers. Gotta love it.

A great little Irish Pub tucked along an alleyway and a parking lot. My friends go there regularly, this was my first visit. Great selection of IPAs, Stouts, and Porters on tap, plus lots in bottles! Music is typically Irish but can vary from oldies to Oi. It can get crowded after 5pm as it only seats maybe 50 people. No food served here, but there’s food all around. A great place to tip back a few pints, I’ll be back for sure!

Neat little bar with a lot of personality. Originally touted to me as a «hipster bar» It’s closer to a Irish pub with better lighting and live music. So… yeah it’s a hipster bar.
Barkeeps are friendly to regulars, so I’m told, but I’m glad that mine had the sense of humor to make fun of my outdated ID card that I took in 2008. Drink selection is pretty nice, with rotating taps and staples like angry orchard, Guinness, and bass.
I don’t think they have a schedule but they do have musicians who come in irregularly, even on Mondays, which was a nice treat :-)

This is a great little bar tucked back down an alley in downtown Santa Cruz. This place is always packed, on the weekends you can barely move around inside. They seem to always have live music which is a plus in my book. Pete Bernhard cut his teeth here (from the Devil Makes Three) so your sure to find the local talent on open mic nights. If your sitting at the bar, service is pretty good but if your just floating around it can be a bit tough to get a drink when they are busy.
They have a great selection of draft beers as well as a full bar so you’re sure to find something you will like. Ill be back.

Sehr netter Pub. War dort 2010 eine Nacht mit einem Freund und wir hatten eine gute Zeit.