Rating : 8 out of 10

August, 2006

Tariff : Dinner for 4

• 2 appetizers
• 4 entrees
• 4 drinks
• tip
• $160

Atmosphere

Warm and friendly with an attractive facade, wood framed bay windows, and wood doors--just as you would expect from an upscale Irish pub. Tables and booths, an inviting bar, and live music make this restaurant a far cry from the seedy bar it replaces. Interesting framed photos adorn the walls--but not like some chains' overcrowded meaningless memorabilia. My first visit was for a drink and to hear the live music, at which time I noticed several patrons had children in tow. My second visit was for dinner. On this evening no children were present; the crowd was a combination of diners and after work socializers. On both occasions it was a bit loud, but then I wouldn't expect to have a quiet, romantic dinner at a pub after all....

Service

We had very friendly service from a young, inexperienced waiter. As long as you aren't going to be fussy, this was fine. He was more than happy to find out anything we wanted to know, but he didn't know the basic ingredients of the dishes and hadn't tried them. (I should note this visit was shortly after the restaurant opened and to be fair there was probably a period of adjustment for the new staff.) Since then I have been attending the Monday open mic nites, hosted by KC Turner, and service has been very friendly and efficient. Some of the staff even seem to take an interest in the artists.

Food

On that first night we came in for dinner we started with crispy calamari and Irish potato poppers to share. Both were tasty. The poppers, which looked like tater tots, were creamier inside and had a hint of jalapeno. The fish and chips platter was nothing special. Several of our party chose wisely and had an out of the ordinary experience with the braised short ribs. They were tender and flavorful--comfort food done well.

Since then on our visits we've tried the burger--giant and juicy with a mountain of fries, the fiery smokehouse wings--delicious and saucy, the garlic fries--very unusual soaked in a thick, spicy syrup, the pizza margerita, the Ceasar salad draped with large thin slices of chicken and lots of croutons, the triple layer chocolate cake--yum!, and strawberry shortcake--nothing like the traditional dessert, but never-the-less a very decadent pie-like creation with the tiniest of wild strawberries in one layer.

Now that I know there's a friendly place, a place with good food, drinks, and desserts, a place where families can bring their children (or not!), and a place to hear good local musicians--well, I'll be back!

Finnegan's Marin
877 Grant Ave.,
Novato, CA 94945
(415) 899-1516