Monterey Pub

Monterey is the local Irish Pub in the Mexican War Streets section of the North Side. It is tucked away in the middle of a residential block; you wouldn’t happen upon this bar unless you already knew about it. The lighting was sufficiently dim. The booths were small and uncomfortable and big enough for only two people (or four very cozy people). The barstools looked equally uncomfortable but, as they were all occupied, we can only speculate. The bar was standard sized and very adequately stocked, with nice liquor and a typical Irish pub beer selection (Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp, etc).

The service was prompt and friendly (we kind of have a thing against bars that put their servers in uniforms, though; it makes it feel very generic). Our drinks were brought quickly to our table and when we discovered there were particulates of unknown origin in the bottom of the Jameson (and there were A LOT of particulates, we are not picky types) the server quickly replaced it with apologies. The menu is fairly standard bar food with the addition of some traditional Irish fare, including a variety of Boxty. Fair warning, though, the kitchen closes at 10pm, even on the weekends.

The bar seemed nice enough. It was just populated with exceptionally “normal” people. We struggled for a long time to define what type of bar it was. It was not yuppie: too many hoodies and sneakers (fricking trainers and North Face jackets, people, you must be stopped.). It definitely was not a dive. Even though they were playing pop-indie-rock, it was distinctly not an indie bar. It was just a bunch of middle-class white people who seemed to be having a really good time.

The longer we stayed the more we grew to vaguely dislike The Monterey Pub. Maybe this was just a case of high expectations, like seeing Napoleon Dynamite six months after it came out. Everyone said it was SO good, but we just didn’t get the vibe. It was our second attempt trying to go here as it was super packed the first time, and it was even pretty packed this time, so they really don’t even need us. We expected this to be the North Side bar we had been waiting for, but it was not to be. 

Address:	1227 Monterey St, 15212 http://montereypub.com/	Games:	No
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	yuppyish / normal
Parking:	Wear walking shoes	Patio/Outdoor:	Yes
Kitchen:	Come Hungry	Cleanliness:	Nice
Smoking:	No	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	-midnight/1am Fri-Sat	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Richie Rich	# taps:	8
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Some
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$12!  ($8 "Big Boy")
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	2	Size:	Normal