New York City: McHale’s (April 2018)



My spouse and dined at McHale’s for an early dinner on a Saturday evening in mid-April 2018. McHale’s is open daily from 10:00 am until 4:00 am for lunch, dinner, drinks, and everything in between. The restaurant accepts reservations via telephone, which are necessary during pre- and post-show times when the masses from nearby theatres are trying to dine.

McHale’s, a second-generation family business, is located on West 51st Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue in Midtown West/Theatre District. It occupies the semi-ground floor (a few steps down) and the second floor in a row of brownstones/stores. The original location of McHale’s occupied a space at the corner of 8th Avenue and West 46th Street, where it was famous for its movie bar scenes from “Sleepers,” “She’s the One”, and “Money Train”. A few items from the previous location were installed in the new venue, including the original bar (which came from the 1939 - 1940 New York World’s Fair), and the 1930s sign hanging in the back room that reads “Cocktail Lounge” in faded gold lettering.

McHale’s serves pub food, some with an Irish twist, including fish and chips, bangers and mash, curry, shepherd’s pie, and pot pie. We shared one the daily special appetizers: a plate of three slices of thick-cut bacon, served with a small dressed arugula salad and (untoasted) baguette slices. For our entrees, we ordered the shepherd’s pie (minus the cheese upcharge); the lamb, pea, carrot, and gravy mixture was flavorful, which blended well with the more bland mashed potato topper. We also ordered the chicken curry over half chips (French fries) and half rice. For dessert, we followed our server’s recommendation for the “amazing” Jameson-Baileys cheesecake, but we found it disappointing; we should have ordered the bread pudding instead. (In our experience flavored cheesecake tends to taste just like plain cheesecake, and this slice was no different.)

We enjoyed our time at McHale’s; it provided a convenient location for our “between shows” needs, and the Irish food was tasty, too.















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