Mick O'Malley's Irish Pub - Brisbane

Free wi-fi comes in handy down in the pit of the underground!  I love this place when you feel like a long relaxing lunch with plenty of carb-loaded comfort food. The guinness pie and beef burger are always good, and the specials are usually quite good too.  The place really needs a do-over tho, it looks so dingy - and the meals aren't cheap.

Mick O'Malley's - Brisbane CBD. *crossover with Orange Blossom Special* One weekend I was doing a meet-up with another Prime member who happened to also reside in Brisbane. It was decided to try somewhere in the central business district, and after exchanging some messages to suggest where to go it was decided that Mick O'Malley's Irish Pub would be the chosen place. This turned out to be a good choice. There is a lot that Mick O'Malley's has going for it. Walking in and sitting down, there is the feeling that it has everything that is needed for a good meal out. With long, late opening hours it is a good, friendly destination for practically anytime of the day to get a good filling meal, most of the options in which are hearty fare. Finding it is takes a little exploration at first, though it is hard to miss the signs. Right in the middle of Queen Street Mall, the pub is located right under your feet in the Wintergarden basement. Once you find it, it is a one stairway or a short elevator ride to somewhere unlike anything else in the city center. The amount of space is enourmous. This is after a refurbishment from a few years back, which means there are plenty more seats to go around. A good mixture of booths, tables and stools adorn the place. There are even seats right outside the elevator, which is an efficient use of space especially for quick drinks. Instead of being dank, it has more of a calm (in spite of music blaring) tavern feeling to it than anything else. Just a really big one at that. This adds up to a real feeling of atmosphere. There is a room for pokies and apparently outside there are sometimes bouncers - this time around there none. Mick O'Malley's is a popular venue for entertainment; literally any day something is guaranteed to be happening there whether it be music, trivia night, open mike nights or possibly stand up it has the welcoming, exclusive environment to warrant it. In between times, live sport plays on the television. In fact, it is such a safe venue that there are regular events that happen on a weekly basis. It has its own nickname, The Craic by the Irish population and tourists. Service is really good here, and there are some of the friendliest staff on show here. To order your items, it is by counter service. Drinks you go to either the whiskey bar or the general bar to collect them, and for the food there is a small window with a waitress there to collect orders. The waitress was a gorgeous, friendly lass who had impeccable customer service skills; it is times like that you appreciate good effort put in. While most of the time there would either be a beeper or a table number, it was outside the peak times therefore they memorised faces and where people were sitting. With the menu, definitely expect the usual fare from the menu as this is a pub and pubs are a big part of the Irish food scene - whether we are talking about native or overseas. Therefore, there is not much need to say that it has an Irish twist to it; though there certainly are many of the Irish cuisine staples. Ingredients are distinct to the cuisine, with examples including Guinness and Kilkenny being used in their cooking. Whatever you chose, the servings here are massive. Plus there is the bar which takes up the width of the place at the far back. The range of choices for beverages is immense. There are dozens of varieties of whiskey, many types of wine and certainly a lot of types of beer amongst cocktails, mixes, vodka and everything you could think of. Even if you do not drink, there are still quite a selection for choosing. As expected around town, they have coffee - that day I went they were out of beans (dangit!). Additionally, they have sodas and there is more than the standard variety - think Cascade. With the coffee machine out, I went with a sarsparilla. I am not much of a soda drinker, but on a hot day it was refreshing and it came in a glass bottle which makes a big degree of difference. Before going here, I had the dish selected in mind. It might be a basic one, but it is characteristic of the cuisine that I was eating. The order was none other than the classic dish, Irish Stew. What else but lamb, braised with a medley of vegetables that included carrots, onion and potatoes with a subtle taste of rosemary throughout. On the side were a few slices of toasted bread. Was it mentioned already that the portions were generous, because even with generous portions some items are skimped on. For the big carnivores, breathe a sigh of relief because the lamb was by far the dominant ingredient in the meal. The stew was really wholesome, filling and was made with good quality ingredients. This is particularly aimed at the lamb, which was tender. The vegetables were not cooked to a mushy consistency; this meant the carrots still maintained a crunch and the potatoes were soft and fluffy soaking up the sauce. I also managed to nick a fry, which was pretty good as well. It was well seasoned and had a crispy crunch to it. That is all that is really needed for great fries, aside from the obvious requirement of being piping hot. While Ms. Blossom was not keen for any dessert, I was encouraged to order one. So, I essentially went ahead and did so; my eyes stopped immediately at seeing Sticky Date Pudding. This was served with some vanilla ice cream and was smothered in butterscotch sauce. Desserts served here are considerably smaller, probably because the rest of the meals are so large that there is only a bit of room left. As usual, the pudding was delicious - you can't go wrong with sticky date pudding, and add on creamy vanilla ice cream plus delicious butterscotch and that is a heavenly flavour combination. The pudding was served warm which melted the ice cream, making it all the better. This was one great way to finish off a satisfying meal. When all is said and done, this is one of the best pubs that can be found around town. For the most part, the prices are reasonable and will not set you back too much; and even with that still in mind, expect the usual deals on certain days to get cheap steaks. While around the city center, there is definitely not a shortage of options few destinations have that perspective of being an escape from the hustle and bustle of outside. Going down here, all that is in another realm making it be one of the more unique dining destinations. With all the conveniences that it has, added on to good food and a charming atmosphere, Mick O'Malley's is one default back-up option to find a filling meal after hours.

Mick O'Malley's - Brisbane CBD. *crossover with Orange Blossom Special* One weekend I was doing a meet-up with another Prime member who happened to also reside in Brisbane. It was decided to try somewhere in the central business district, and after exchanging some messages to suggest where to go it was decided that Mick O'Malley's Irish Pub would be the chosen place. This turned out to be a good choice. There is a lot that Mick O'Malley's has going for it. Walking in and sitting down, there is the feeling that it has everything that is needed for a good meal out. With long, late opening hours it is a good, friendly destination for practically anytime of the day to get a good filling meal, most of the options in which are hearty fare. Finding it is takes a little exploration at first, though it is hard to miss the signs. Right in the middle of Queen Street Mall, the pub is located right under your feet in the Wintergarden basement. Once you find it, it is a... read more

Is a reliable ally in CBD. drinks are cheap. meals are generous. the place is an underground cave with comforting wood cladding and worn leather. vibe is in line Irish. / the guinness cake we saw delivered to near tables filled teller the size of my head. ****, they had a belt. we ordered the far more polite chicken pest salad to moan our oh-so-responsible, which it delivered in this sight. no more, no less. what is good if priorities lie elsewhere...

Is a reliable ally in CBD. drinks are cheap. meals are generous. the place is an underground cave with comforting wood cladding and worn leather. vibe is in line Irish. / the guinness cake we saw delivered to near tables filled teller the size of my head. ****, they had a belt. we ordered the far more polite chicken pest salad to moan our oh-so-responsible, which it delivered in this sight. no more, no less. what is good if priorities lie elsewhere...