I was staying in downtown Minneapolis earlier this summer as I had an appointment the next morning with a client in the immediate area. The hotel I was staying at I had never stayed at before and I was sort of curious as to what was close to the hotel to grab something to eat. There were a few options, but one place that stood out was an authentic Irish bar that had been around for a number of years. I thought I had eaten there before, but when I walked into the place I realized that I had not. Here's the story of my visit to O'Donovan's Irish Pub.
Dermot Cowley was born in Dragheda, County Louth along the northeast coast of Ireland. As soon as he was old enough, Cowley worked in restaurants near his home. At the age of 18, he took off for America and got a job as a busboy at Rosie O'Grady's in Times Square in Manhattan. He worked his way up the ladder and eventually became a bartender at Rosie O'Grady's (which closed earlier this year after 43 years in business).
Nine months after coming to America, he found himself as a bartender at Smith & Wollensky at 3rd Ave. and 49th St. in Manhattan. Cowley stayed at Smith & Wollensky for 11 years and while he was there he met a young lady from Minneapolis by the name of Laura Peterson. Dermot and Laura eventually married and she convinced him to move back to Minneapolis for a change of scenery.
Dermot Cowley had no problem finding work at an Irish pub on Nicollet Ave. - the Local - where he eventually became the manager. (I realized after the fact that the Local is the place that I had been to years ago and thought was possibly the same place as Donovan's.)
Pictured right - Dermot Cowley. Photo courtesy Heavy Table.
In 1999, the owner of O'Donovan's Irish Pub was looking to get out of the business. The interior of O'Donovan's was all imported from Ireland down to the tin ceiling panels and many of the light fixtures. Cowley thought it was time for him to take the plunge into restaurant ownership. He purchased O'Donovan's and that was the start of his small restaurant empire around the Twin Cities. In addition to O'Donovan's, Cowley owns Lola's Lakehouse in suburban Waconia.
I got into town around 8:00 p.m. and was looking for a place that was close. It turned out the O'Donovan's was a block away from the hotel at the corner of N. 1st Ave. and 7th Street, just across from the famed First Avenue nightclub which launched the career of Prince and has hosted a number of other Twin Cities area bands and artists such as The Jayhawks, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Soul Asylum, and Lizzo. (see map)
Walking into O'Donovan's is like walking into a pub in Ireland. I've never been to Ireland, but I've been to England and the decor, vibe and ambiance is similar to some of the English pubs I've visited. A stacked stone fireplace was the centerpiece of the restaurant which was actually a lot bigger than it looked form the outside. There were two bars in the place (one was closed off as it was a slow night), and a handful of little rooms with various seating options were found throughout the pub. I have to admit that I liked the place from just looking around before I took a seat to eat and grab a beer.
I took a seat at the far end of the bar and I literally had my own order window for myself. At first, I thought it was a server station, but there was a chair and sitting there and I sat down. It wasn't longer until the bartender by the name of Nigel came over to drop off a food menu. Nigel was one of those servers who is what I call "neutral". He was neither welcoming, nor was he standoffish. You run into those kind of "neutral" people at restaurants from time to time. They had Smithwick's on tap and I ordered one of those while looking over the menu.
I found the menu to be somewhat strange at O'Donovan's. They only had four or five appetizers, a couple of salads that could be eaten as meals, and just a few Irish-style meals such as corned beef, fish and chips, shepherd's pie, and an Atlantic cod sandwich. They had a burger on the menu, as well as a reuben sandwich, chicken curry with fries, and a grilled rack of lamb that had been marinated in balsamic vinegar.
I thought about the shepherd's pie, and they also had corned beef and cabbage on the menu. But I also saw that they had a corned beef poutine - fries topped with slow-cooked corned beef and topped with sautéed onions and a white cheddar cheese sauce. I thought about it for a moment, then realized that it probably wouldn't have come close to the smoked meat (corned beef) poutine that I had in Montreal a few months ago.
The only problem is that when I was ready to order, Nigel was nowhere to be found. They have a patio in front and along the side of O'Donovan's, but there weren't many people sitting out there. I finally saw Nigel walk in from the outside and I thought that he was probably working as a server for the patio, too. But then I saw another young lady who was taking care of people on the patio, so I didn't know why he was going outside.
When Nigel finally came back and hurriedly asked me what I wanted to eat, I told him I would take the third option on the corned beef page - the corned beef sandwich. From the description on the menu - "Tender thick slices of hot corned beef served on a delicious pretzel roll, with sweet onions and whole grain mustard" - I thought that sounded pretty good.
And it looked pretty good when it was set down in front of me. But the first bite into the corned beef sandwich told me otherwise.
First of all, the toasted pretzel bun was hard and dry. The corned beef - while thick - was far from tender. The meat was dry and lacking in flavor. It was all I could do to choke down the sandwich, having to take a sip of beer with each bite to add some moisture to what I had in my mouth.
And within no time, I needed another beer. But, once again, Nigel was gone. I had a clear look at the front door and I noticed he was outside just standing there and talking to a couple people. It was maddening. There weren't a lot of people at the bar, but he seemed to be away from his post for an inordinate amount of time. I had to stop eating the sandwich until I was able to get either another beer or at least some water, it was that dry.
I will say, however, that the fries were pretty good. They were the thick type with a crunchy outer shell and that soft, pillowy filling inside. The fries were the saving grace for the meal.
Nigel finally did come back in and he saw that I had an empty glass. "Another one," he asked again in a hurried manner. I nodded my head and he poured another glass of Smithwick's for me. When he sat the beer down in front of me, he didn't ask how my meal was. If he did I would have told him this - the corned beef sandwich was one of the worst I had ever had. The meat was way overcooked, tough and lifeless in taste.
And that sort of summed up my visit to O'Donovan's. The corned beef sandwich was subpar and the service wasn't the greatest. For as much promise I saw in O'Donovan's when I first walked in, the food and service was beyond disappointing. Maybe it was an off-night, but first impressions count and I certainly wasn't impressed with O'Donovan's on what was my first visit there. And I probably won't be going back in the future.
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