Fionn MacCool’s

Do not take kids. They were out of the hot dogs so we ordered the sliders. It was a full patty cut in half then halved again. Not even individual little burgers like most places. Pizza was just Nan bread. Not impressed at all.

The manager of this place that I encountered is an officious ass and is clearly unsuited to being in a customer service role.
This place is right beside the City Centre theatre, so a friend and I popped in there after catching a film. At the front entrance there was a sign indicating «please wait to be seated» so initially we did just that. There was just one family waiting in front of us. The place was clearly pretty dead; at least half of the tables were empty.
We waited several minutes without any sign of any staff members, and several people just walked past us and right in to the pub. Eventually I said «the hell with this» and my friend and I walked in and sat at one of several open tables. We were legitimately confused about whether we were supposed to wait or just walk in given the lack of responsiveness of staff and the behaviour of other customers.
A moment later, a man who appeared to be a manager walked over to our table with the family that had been waiting at the front in front of us, and told us that those people were in front of us and he was giving them that table. This was totally understandable and we moved without complaint and sat at a different open table.
A server came up to us and, to her credit, she was friendly and tried to be helpful. She asked if we’d been helped, we briefly summarized the situation, and she said she’d be happy to settle us in. The manager then walked over, told her not to help us, inexplicably claimed there was a wait list in spite of the fact that the place was very obviously not busy, and ordered us to go wait at the back of the line at the front (behind people who arrived after us, since the only people who arrived before us and had the patience to wait had already been seated) with a passive-​aggressive «if you don’t mind» thrown in. I replied «actually, I do mind, since we waited several minutes there without service, several people walked straight past us and seated themselves, and clearly half the tables around us are available.» I explicitly told him we were willing to sit at any table that was convenient, that multiple people had just walked in and singling us out was totally arbitrary, and that the server had already offered to help us and resolve the situation immediately so I failed to see the problem.
His response, in a wannabe tough guy tone, was that there were plenty of other pubs in the area and that I was welcome to go to them instead. I said that we certainly would, and we left.
Kudos to the server; I feel bad that she has to work for a guy that clearly revels in creating and escalating conflict with would be customers. The only good thing I can say about the manager is that his suggestion that we go somewhere that provided better service than he did was very sensible!

Oh wow, is this a pub or a place where they lovingly take care of you like family? It is a beautiful melding of the two!
As soon as I walked in the first the bartender did was ask my name and he shook my hand. Great start and he made excellent recommendations for craft brew.
I also had the Shrimp Cake Sliders and, wow, that was unlike I had eaten before!
This was a stop from the EIFF to meet my wife after the film and I am so glad that I met her here!

Good service overall… Only tried the fish & chips which were battered well but the fish itself was tasteless and left a lot to be desired! The accompanying fries were yummy & perfectly salted. The extra side of gravy was delish!
P. S. The ladies restroom was clean & well kept! Always a nice bonus!

We came for dinner before Paint Nite here. They set up Paint Nite at the front of the restaurant and it’s great to get a bite to eat before the fun. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get to paint, but we did get to have a great meal.
I like the menu is diverse and has different entrees than the typical sandwiches and burger places. I ordered the seafood pie ($ 17), one of 4 to choose from, and the pastry to made in pub.
The food took about 15 – 20 minutes to arrive so we ate quicker than we usually would to finish before the event. The pie was larger than it looked on the menu, and had salmon, cod, shrimp, carrots, and asparagus. I liked there was lots of seafood and not too much white wine sauce. The pastry was light and flaky. The salad was great and enough dressing on top. I happily finished my meal.
My table mates had the lamb pie, avocado and bacon burger, and steak and mushroom boxty and we all enjoyed our meals. I had a bite of the boxty, a potato pancake, which was drizzled with sour cream. The steak and mushroom sat in lots of sauce. It tasted ok but I’m not a big fan of potato pancakes. It came with lots of fries.
Service was alright but nothing outstanding. Would come again for Paint Nite, dinner before a movie, or a work lunch.

Popped in for a drink and a bite before a movie the other night.
Happily, they brought me a Gluten Free menu, and the waitress was super helpful with the menu. Friendly and brought my Sommersby cider cold, and promptly.
I ordered the salmon and it was delicious. I shared some with my S.O., and he gobbled it up. I’m guessing it was good for the regular diet folks too.
Prices are reasonable, food seems consistent with other locations.
Décor is typical Irish pub, booths, long communal tables with bar stools, regular tables, and an «outdoor» patio in the mall.
I understand that from time to time there can be live music too. We did pop by on our Pedway crawl on St. Paddy’s 2014, and it was a comfortable place to be.

Came to Fionn MacCool’s the other night for the first time before catching a movie next door at Landmark Theatre in City Centre Mall.
We sampled a variety of appetizers — mini yorkshires and shrimp cake sliders were awesome. i had to send back my sausage rolls because they were cold inside :-(But they did fix up some new ones that were piping hot without any hesitation. We also shared the Ale & Cheddar Dip and it was YUMMY and had more than enough dip that you never ran out even if you do like to pile it on :-)
I tried two of their cocktails — with the sumbersby mojito being my fave and the pear & vanilla spiced lemonade being a disappoint (way too sweet and not enough tart for me) but someone else in my group loved the pear lemonade. Check out my pics for the details on each drink.
For main, I had the Beef Porter Pie and it was purrrrrfection! I would not hesitate to order this again anytime I come back!
All in all, the value was decent (specials included beer and appetizer/​main combos) and I would order many of the food items again!
Two thumbs up for Fionn MacCool’s!

Fionn McCools is conveniently located in the upper level of City Centre in the heart of Downtown. It’s cozy atmosphere and modern pub fare make it a great place to enjoy something to eat after a day of shopping or a post movie beer.
I came here for a CMYE with some fellow Unilocalers one evening before a movie for some eats, drinks and a bit of mingling. Before the event I didn’t even know this place existed. Now, I can say with confidence I will most certainly be back!
The menu here has a modern take on traditional pub food. Offering boxties, pies, hearty stews and fish and chips… Just to name a few! Their appetizer menu was what interest me the most; we had the chance to sample almost all them. The Shepherds Pie Stuffed Yorkies were my favourite. I actually decided to have a whole order all to myself as a meal. Imagine Yorkshire Puddings stuffed with Shepherds Pie. I could have easily enjoyed another order! Sadly they were out of quite a few items, but nothing I had anticipated on trying.
Their drink menu was also quite extensive, I quickly chose a Pear Spiced Lemonade. I didn’t really browse it much as it caught my eye and had to have it… Or shall I say them
? I loved it so much I had to have two!
The service here was top notch! I’m going to assume it wasn’t because it was a table of Unilocalers… Jules’ service was fantastic from start to finish! She made a point to ask us what kind of time line we were on and made sure to let the kitchen know. When it was time to ordering mains she made us aware of our «last call», ensuring we wouldn’t miss our show. When it came down to make our way out we didn’t have to ask for separate bills nor did we have to ask for debit machine. There she was ready to go! Always nice when you’re in a rush or have somewhere to be.
Fionn McCools will most certainly be getting my business in the future, this little hidden gem is a new favourite!