PJ Gallagher’s Irish Pub Leichhardt

So there I was enduring another 90 degree plus day in the inner west. I think 90 equals 5.2 hector pascals or something like that. Not only was I hot and dry but hungry and thirsty too leaving only one thing for it — a plate of bangers and mash washed down by a cold beer. I selected an Irish pub so what could possibly go wrong?
Just as I walked in the manager hauled a tray of glasses out of the washer and plopped them on top of the bar. Then he wandered off to wherever managers go to do important manager stuff. Waiting. .. .. . waiting.. .. .. .. . A young lady who really was Irish eventually grabbed a glass from the tray of hotties and poured away. Tsk tsk.
The bangers and mash arrived topped with some yellow donuts which were probably onion rings in disguise. They looked and tasted like those chewy, yellow, onion flavored concoctions that you can buy from supermarket freezers. No doubt these are the local specialty somewhere in Ireland. I’m guessing Limerick and the joke’s on me. Beneath that was some red stuff that those in the know call «jus». Word has it that jus is made from a long and secret process. Apparently you start with a cow and a very large pot them come back three days later. However this batch of jus was brewed it was wayyyyyy too sour tasting like red vinegar sauce. When you overcook any meat the juice inside departs leaving the remainder dry and chewy. The banger skins were wrinkled and prune like and the meat was quite dry showing that these bangers were very much overcooked. On top of that the skin had been turned tough and chewy by the excessive cooking to the extent that they were difficult to cut. Not all was lost. The mash was great.
What has the world come to when an Irish pub cannot serve decent bangers and mash with a cold beer? PJ needs to lift his game.
Two stars for the décor which was absolutely brilliant.

I noticed that Google had it that this pub was permanently closed, however that can’t be the case because I had a beer there recently and it was certainly very open. Okay, it has now been turned into an Irish pub (under the PJ Ghallager’s brand), but as a pub it was really nice inside (I’m not a big fan of Irish themed pubs, especially the branded ones). The meal prices were pretty decent, and there was one of those outdoor areas that really push the boundaries of what one would call a ‘smoking area’. I did really like the feeling that one was inside a really old building, as well as the Irish pop blaring over the speakers.

Your traditional Irish pub :) The recent huge renovations are making this place look like a more traditional Irish Pub. The staff are friendly and it wasn’t too busy on a Saturday lunchtime. If you haven’t been recently its worth going in a checking it out.

Popped in here on Monday to try to find some cider that a friend requested.
They didn’t have it in stock, however the smiley faced barman on the other side of the bar totally sold me on some Magners instead.
Let’s blame the accent shall we?
It’s changed quite a lot in here and I think I like the new décor. I will have to come back to try out the food selection when we don’t have a vegetarian with us next time!

Norton’s On Norton is your routine pub. I could probably end this review here but it wouldn’t be a very good review and it would also omit some interesting wrinkles. Namely, they are:
1. For the longest time, the bar advertised girls in lingerie on one of the street facing windows. They were exotic dancers of the exotic kind, it would seem, and they apparently performed in a sidebar area accessed by a matte black-​painted entrance on Parramatta Road next to the bottle shop doorway. The girlie poster is gone and from what I can now discern, it’s some kind of poker machine room, but the combination of Christmas lights and a bad paint job creates very bad vibes.
2. The aforementioned bottle shop is surprisingly well-​stocked and features a walk-​in fridge with a range of frosty and tasty imported beers, ready for transport and consumption in your household.
3. The bar holds karaōke on select weeknights, however, the only person I ever see singing is a middle aged man with tight curly hair sitting on a stool. His status as either karaōke-​master or area participant is uncertain but he attacks the job with gusto and is always worth a watch. If you like The Carpenters or other ‘70s AM hits, then it’ll be right up your alley.

For years Nortons on Norton, the hotel at the Parramatta Road end of Norton Street’s claim to fame was that it had helped Benji Marshall of the West Tigers celebrate his 21^st birthday party.
For years also I had been hesitant to go to this pub because every now and again in the ‘On the Beat’ section of the local newspaper there was something about a fight, or a stabbing happening there, but this was a long time ago and things have settled down.
When I was working at a Pharmacy in the inner west we were nominated and won a small business award. I had just turned 18 and pubs were the best thing ever. There was free beer at the awards night and then of course we continued on to various pubs, ending up at some ungodly hour at Nortons on Norton.
They weren’t going to be open for long but allowed us entry and beer while we played on the pool tables upstairs. The place was quiet at this point, but the bar staff were accommodating and we managed to stay in the hotel until daylight which was nice.
I’ve since been back and utilised the sport watching facilities (Editors Note: You mean the TV?). The interior of the pub is standard, nothing fancy, it’s a bar for a particular crowd and while I have no ill feelings toward the establishment, that crowd is not my crowd.
The drinks are standard price, the bar staff nice and perhaps you’ll love it. But for me it’s just a bar.