McGinty’s Public House

They closed … poor customer service.

Closed!!!
We tried to go here for NYE and it’s closed. Bummer too, because we were going to see an artist we love. :(

No wonder their customer service sucks; they can’t afford to correct their inedible food:
The county’s meals tax delinquency list is sort of like a health meter for local restaurants. If the amount owed to the county keeps going up, bad things may be happening for the restaurant financially — or at least managerially.
(The county collects a 4 percent «meals» tax on all prepared foods and beverages sold in Arlington. Often, this tax is passed directly on to the consumer.)
A new meals tax delinquency list dated Dec. 14 shows mostly stagnation when compared to the list released on Aug. 31. The amount owed by the three biggest debtors has increased slightly in the past three and a half months, likely the result of the 10 percent interest the county charges on such debts.
McGinty’s Public House, in the Market Square at Potomac Yard development, owes $ 19,751.18.

This place was a major disappointment. On the way to Potomac Yards, we saw a sign for McGinty’s and decided we’d check it out after shopping.
We rolled in with our 1 and 4 year old at about 6:30 on a Saturday night. Looked like a nice Irish pub. We were especially pleased to see a sign that stated «Kids eat Free» 5−9pm Saturday.
The meal came– food was OK. Service was mediocre. Beer and beer selection was good.
Then the bill came. They had charged us for the kids meals. I asked about the «Kids eat Free” — was told this was «only in the lounge” — which is a room up front with no sign– now mind you there had been no one to seat us to tell us this– it was seat yourself. You’d think if you weren’t trying to screw your customers that the waiter would have mentioned this when we sat down, but nope.
I asked to speak with a manager– got a heap of attitude from the waiter and then was told tough. Sorry– you need to pay the $ 8 for each kids meal (+2.50 for kids’ milk).
I looked carefully for the «lounge» on the way out– it’s a back room off to the side, which at that point had sliding doors closed– suffice to say not readily apparent that this was an active seating area.
Might be a fine place to have a beer, but on principle alone I’d want to avoid a place that actively screws its customers.

I went in there today to have a beer and watch some soccer. The bar tender was rude, even though the place was totally empty. I was going to order food and stay for the whole game, but instead I had one overpriced beer and hit the road. The place was so empty, there were tumbleweeds rolling around in there. I can see why. After I was there for about ten minutes, someone else came in and ordered a cheeseburger. He said it was overcooked. I wouldn’t know, since I felt too uncomfortable to order food. Whoever that bartender is, she’s not gaining any friends or customers.

I have been here on two seperate nights. My first visit I had the shepards pie with seasonal veggies (broccoli was delicious) and my friend had the bangers and mash with the baby portabellos and grilled tomatoes. For dessert we had the warm apple crisp and the Irish coffee chocolate cake. Everything we had was absolutely amazing! We both left way over fed because it was just that good! So we went back the following night with a couple more people. I ordered the corned beef and cabbage, my friends ordered the pub steak, corned beef and cabbage, and the lamb stew.
It was ALL delicious!

It’s an Irish pub lol! I mean it was cute and pubby as a pub can be. We sat at a booth by the bookshelves near the fireplace. I felt like I was in a Sherlock Holmes novel or something. We looked at a menu before sitting and I saw they had decent vegetarian food so we went in. It was around 10pm and apparently the menu we looked at was the dinner menu and they were then on a special late night menu. I settled with spinach and artichoke dip and a small side salad since I could not get a veggie burger. It was pretty good. The Cabernet I ordered was pretty good. McGinty’s was fine for something quick and late.

This place has potential! Love their brunch. Love their Happy Hour. With time and more development of potomac yard, this will be the «it» place watering hole for post-​work happy hour.
It was packed on St. paddys day and I got a free tshirt :)

Good Irish food and drink!
After four or five consistently good visits, I feel like its time to review this place… If you’re looking for some tasty pub eats, then this is your place. The Bangers and Mash, Steak and Stout, Fish and Chips, and the Irish Breakfast are all winners. The beer list is quite nice, too… they have all of the usual hits (many on draft), and the beer is fresh (I’ve had old Guinness at some area bars… ick).
In addition, the service has always been great… We’ve always sat in the bar area and had Heather as our friendly and helpful server.
If I had to pick why I didn’t give the place 5 stars, it’d come down to one small issue: the non-​British Isles food can be hit or miss (but why order a salad with crab and avocados at an Irish place?).

I was here a couple of months ago and the food was great, a nice beer selection, our waitress was friendly and attentive. I would definitely return.

I had high hopes for McGinty’s as a candidate to be our new go-​to pub in Crystal City, and they were met and exceeded.
Specifically, I was hoping that this new Irish bar would have a great draft beer selection and tasty pub fare, and it had both. Smithwicks (and many others) on tap, excellent chicken wings (good chicken and a great hot sauce), and perfect burgers (ordered medium rare, delivered medium rare, and the meat and toppings were fresh and quite delicious).
Looking forward to returning for live music during the week.
Service is very good and friendly, the décor was comfortable and warm, and parking is available in the building for free. The place is quite large — plenty of room at the bar and a lot of tables for dining. Outdoor dining area as well. The only thing missing — people. I assume this place isn’t on the radar for most Crystal City diners/​pubgoers, because it was totally empty at 6 PM (albeit on a Sunday night). It should be more popular, because it is a great place.

The co-​workers who introduced me to Del Ray have introduced ME, a person named Kelly, to an Irish Pub. What an experience.
For happy hour, this place has plenty to offer. $ 5 martini of the day, $ 5 food (chicken tenders, calamari & shrimp, fried cheese, tempura green beans, or burger), $ 1 off well drinks, $ 1 off pitchers. Plus darts, a jukebox, and on select nights, trivia, karaōke, or live music.
I had the martini o’day (GA Peach) & the calamari & shrimp. Tasty on both counts and generous portions for the happy hour $ 5 if I do say so myself.
I mentioned I was here with co-​workers, well it was actually an office happy hour called ORCR and Friends. This group pretty much filled the place up. A few other people were there, but basically, when we arrived, the place was a ghost town. We theorized about the lack of patronage: unoccupied condos upstairs, obscure location, or possibly even nice weather that lured potential patrons away to other venues with outdoor seating that are NOT located directly across the street from a sewage treatment plant.
Whatever the reason, we enjoyed the friendly, attentive service. I left early to attend another event so I do not know how the evening ended. I do know I will go back and hope for more of the same.

Went here the other night with Jamie M., where we were promptly presented with the lunch menu. Apparently we qualified for the early bird special, since we came in before any other diners at around 4:30ish (we are in our 20s, but we’re tired, working women)!
Anyway, that ended up saving us a few bucks, since the lunch menu (as expected) was quite a bit cheaper than the dinner menu.
I ordered the caesar salad and Shepherd’s Pie to continue the search for an Irish restaurant that can match up to my Mom’s rendition of the dish. I’m still picking my Mom’s, but McGinty’s is the closest I’ve come by far. There was no cheese baked into the topping and the meat mixture was sweet, not savory. I was VERY pleased – FINALLY!
Our server was very friendly and helpful. Overall, a great experience! I’ll be back!

This place just opened up down the road from me, in the Harris Teeter/​Eclipse Condo complex. Gwen B. and I already had plans to go grocery shopping so we decided to swing in for an early dinner at McGinty’s beforehand. There were a few folks at the bar but we had the dining room pretty much to ourselves the whole time we were there. Our server (Katie?) was awesome, very attentive and friendly.
My doctor is constantly harping on me to get more iron in my diet… so I got a burger… probably not quite what she had in mind but oh well. It was pretty good — huge, with a big pile of fries, it lasted me two meals and was cooked how I ordered it. I also ordered some bread pudding to go so I could have a late night sugar snack. It was different from any other bread pudding I’ve ever had, it was very dense and rich, more like a brownie. It was pretty good, just not quite what I was expecting.
Since this place is so new and kind of outside of Crystal City it doesn’t have the crowds that you’d normally face at McCormick & Schmick’s, Crystal City Sports Pub or Ted’s. I’d gladly make the trek (or hop on the 9S bus) to grab a quieter dinner here with some friends.

Once you get past the wave of varnish-​smell that hits you when you walk in the door from everything in this bar being brand-​spanking new, this is a worthy Irish hangout with a good beer selection, lots of room, pretty hardwood throughout, and tasty desserts.
I live two blocks away, across from Potomac Yards, and have been waiting and wishing for this place to open for what seems like and ETERNITY since I hate going to Hops and there are no cool bars remotely close to here. When I would shop at the Harris Teeter (which is under this bar), I would see banners for the last 8 – 10 months that said «McGinty’s, COMING SOON.» Well, it is FINALLY open. We went this past Saturday night. Drove around the circle, and from the circle, I will warn you, they look closed because it is the back of the restaurant that faces the road, nor do they even have a SIGN or anything. Not the wisest of planning if you ask me. Anyway, went up to the door, saw people inside. Free parking in the parking garage. You have to walk around the side of the building to get to the front door (again, this is kind of weird). I would have guessed this was their second weekend of being open, but our waiter said they had been open six weeks already. (Really poor signage, like I said).
We had just come from dinner in DC and were in the mood for dessert. Surprisingly, the desserts were GREAT! Gooseberry crumble wasn’t so much a crumble as it was a gooey cobbler, but who cares when it is piping hot with vanilla ice cream?! The three of us also split the Irish Chocolate Cake w/​Irish Coffee Liquor, equally delish… I posted a picture of it on here (half-​eaten). Menu had interesting items on it; looked expensive for «bar» food, but I would pay it considering how good the desserts were.
Band that was playing was actually good, which is saying a lot considering I don’t like bands at bars… I go to bars to talk to my friends and I hate screaming over mediocre dudes doing covers. This band, however, did a nice job and gets points for doing a particularly sweet rendition of Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’.
Too bad I am moving to Chicago in two weeks. This could possibly have been my new watering hole. McGinty’s, why did you have to take soooo long to open?

I visited this restaurant last night and loved it so much I had to write a review. It’s a brand new restaurant that opened underneath the Eclipse Condos at Potomac Yards. The atmosphere was great. The brand new wood bar is beautiful, shiny and clean. I ordered the fish and chips and loved it! The service was also very good. I never had an empty glass. I highly recommend this place if you are in the mood for some delicious traditional Irish cuisine.