McGreevy's

Citysearch Editorial Review. Only 1,200 steps--count ‘em--from Fenway Park, Irish bar McGreevy’s serves up brews and pub grub and offers wall-to-wall televisions like any respectable sports bar. What sets it apart is its location, associated with America’s first sport bar, the Third Base Saloon owned by one “Nuf Ced” McGreevy. Equally impressive and nostalgic are the Boston Red Sox and baseball memorabilia displayed at the bar. McGreevy’s also boasts a famed co-owner, Dropkick Murphys' Ken Casey. Because of its casual menu (like shepherd’s pie and steak tips) and intense sports viewing, it’s a nightlife favorite with a sports-history-geek sheen.…

not for me. What am I doing here? I'm trapped in a Red Sox dominated, Dropkick Murphy's run sports bar, not exactly two of my favorite offerings, as Un-Bostonian as that may be. But above all else, I'm here with friends, and its a beautiful summer day, and it's Red Sox-Yankees weekend so why the hell not? Is McGreevy's a bar that serves food or is it a place to grab some pub food and knock back a few pints while watching the game? I'm not sure, and I'm not sure it matters, but for the purpose of this blog, we want places to eat that serve good burgers. This is not the place to do that. The food isn't bad, it's just food, I suppose a purpose is served, of course not for my high standards though.

I would never harbor on something like service if it wasn't a factor, but the service here is atrocious. We waited a good ten minutes sitting at a table we picked ourselves, because no server was present. We order drinks and burgers and an order of Guiness wings. Drinks come and eventually wings, but no napkins, no silverware, and no refills on drinks after a good half-hour. At long last the burgers arrive, but the food runner has no idea which burger is which, plates are being traded among us, wondering which is medium rare which is medium well. No one knows, especially the food runner, and it's all a guessing game at this point. Oh and we still have no napkins, drink refills or silverware at this point.

Everything gets sorted out and we can eat, at long last. The meat, luckily, isn't bland, but has an unpleasant taste. It instantly reminds me of a chain in Canada called Harvey's, which always made me think of a burger that tasted like a hot dog when I was a kid. The fries are pub fires, we've all had them, thick, decent in taste but dry and flavorless on the inside. The lettuce my burger is brown is spots and the tomato tastes like it was from last winter. The bun tastes stale to me, is untoasted and there is way too much of it. The burgers are supposedly char-broiled, but there is no char, not even a little, and of course it's not cooked to the right temperature, but what else is new. The cheese is unmelted, sort of plastic-y, not worthy of any burger, well, maybe this one. The burger runs $8, drinks are $3 with free refills and the service is horrendous. Still, with friends, watching a baseball game, life is pretty good, I just wish the burgers were too.…

staff, bar, kitchen = fail. I sent back my flat soda and 10 minutes later, the waitress brought me another flat soda. My "medium well" steak tips were burned a bit on the outside and COLD, BLOOD RED on the inside. The nachos we ordered were delivered by an expediter with no plates. I think the "cheese" they put on them was Kraft singles. Just. Plain. Awful.

Steer clear of this joke joint. The pictures on the walls are nice, but you'd have a more enjoyable meal at the Sausage King street vendor nearby.

Worst part of the service? The place was almost empty and they still couldn't do anything right. What a terrible disappointment. I guess if you can play music it doesn't mean you can run a restaurant.…