Kitty O’Shea’s

Cracking pub, fav in the city. Good selection of beer which is always bang on, you can tell it’s looked after well. Great wee food menu as well, cheap as chips but still great quality pub grub. Cracking pub for meeting friends as well with the free booth hire. Give it a go, you won’t be let down

5 Feb 2016
I went with a bunch of colleagues to try out Kitty’s for a burger yesterday. I’d not been in since the Pivo Pivo days and didn’t really know what to expect.
The menu had a fairly good array of choices and I ordered the classic burger (which came with salad and cheese). Among the orders of my colleagues were slow cooked spare ribs and the «Inferno Burger» (which comprised jalapenos and spicy mayonnaise).
Upon arrival the food looked the part and I took a big bite of my burger only to be greeted with a mouthful of jalapenos; we had been given the wrong burgers! We quickly decided just to eat the other’s burger as we weren’t in the mood for sharing each other’s food; Mrs G maybe but not my colleagues!
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Inferno Burger was actually pretty nice and I finished it all off. The bun didn’t seem the freshest in the world but it was fine.
The feedback re the ribs was fairly positive albeit he said he normally likes a bit more meat on the bone; cue the obligatory joke about them being the «spare» ones.
A good price-​point for a lunch with colleagues and I would go back to try the Irish stew, mac n cheese and one or two other things that jumped out at me from the menu.
Friendly staff, too.

Full disclosure– I loved pivo pivo and was very annoyed to see a faux Irish pub take its place. But today I actually gave this place a fair go, and I admit I was impressed! Very friendly staff, pretty good beer selection (not a patch on pivo but it was never going to be, apples and oranges) and something very few new pubs think to include — nooks and crannies! Seriously, I’m sick of pubs no longer having quiet wee spaces, tucked out of the way, where one or two people can quietly hide from the outside world for a bit. Too many pubs these days forget to cater for that element, the element which appreciates atmosphere and vibe, sure, but wants to do so from a quiet spot. Kitty o’ Sheas has several such wee bits in odd corners of the layout, and I like that very much. Can’t comment on the food as I didn’t eat sadly. Prices seem about right for the location. Irish craft ale on tap is also very welcome, I recommend the Rebel Red Ale. Mind you, I always recommend the red ale pretty much anywhere.

This place has changed massively since its last incarnation. It now sort of reminds me of somewhere that you would find in a southern town in the states on a cheesy TV show. At any moment I expected the line dancers to head out to the centre of the bar and start strutting their stuff.
If I had to really describe this place in one sentence it would be… An Irish themed craft beer sports bar. So if that appeals to you then this place will certainly hit the spot. There was tv screens everywhere showing the football, there was live Irish music and a decent amount of beers available.
For me though I am afraid it is not somewhere I would return to in a hurry. I’m trying to pick my words carefully here, let’s just say the crowd was the opposite end from hipster. Not that I want total hipster, but this place had a much noisier edge to the clientele. It all felt like it had some angrier undertones to it.
I might have have drank here quite happily 18 years ago, but on Sunday I could not get quickly enough.

Last week I headed out into the cold and wind to new Irish bar, Kitty O’Shea’s, to sample the menu, taste a few Irish craft beers and to finally meet a few fellow bloggers in the process. Formerly Pivo Pivo, the venue has undergone an entire refurbishment to transform what was an indie live music venue into a cosy Irish pub featuring snugs, Guinness-​themed toilets and even a ‘Confessional’.
With 11 beers on tap, Kitty O’Shea’s offers something to suit a range of tastes. Included in the mix is a selection of Irish craft beers from the Franciscan Well Brewery in Cork. The brewery, founded in 1998 by Shane Long, is built on the site of an old Franciscan monastery, along with a well dating back to 1219! The brewery combines modern technology with age old tradition to brew classic beer styles including lager, ale, stout and wheat beer.
We would be sampling three of the beers from the Franciscan Well Brewery, with Julia Bone, a beer development specialist for Molson Coors. Our first sample was the Rebel Red, an Irish red ale that is described as solid, fruity and balanced. Now I’m not a big beer fan, but I found the Rebel Red to be very drinkable, which was a pleasant surprise!
We went on to try the most surprising one for me, the Shandon Stout — a Cork style dry stout. This type of beer is similar in style to Guinness, and this was the one I thought for sure I wouldn’t enjoy, but it actually ended up being my favourite. It was really light for a stout, and smooth with a lovely aroma of coffee and chocolate.

Our final taste was the Chieftan IPA, a Citra hop indian pale ale. Julia claimed this out of the three was her favourite, being a huge fan of IPA’s in general. I however, am not a fan of IPA so I have to admit I struggled a little with this one — on the plus side it seemed to go down extremely well with everyone else! Julia, despite having only twenty minutes for the tasting, was friendly, informative, and clearly very passionate about the brewery and the beer and was happy to answer our many questions.
After the tasting we switched locations for dinner, where we were brought a selection of starters including chicken wings, popcorn chicken and the ‘Caber Toss’ — a filo pastry roll filled with haggis and buffalo mozzarella, yum! To accompany these dishes we were given a range of dips, all made in-​house, including garlic aioli, chipotle ketchup, buffalo, blue cheese, and ‘Volcano Sauce’ — a hot sauce using Scotch Bonnet chillies which is not for the faint hearted!

The wings seemed to be a big hit with everyone, but I was a huge fan of the popcorn chicken, which was full of flavour and seasoned perfectly. All the chicken is soaked in buttermilk so it’s super succulent and tasty.
For main course, I decided to go with their current special — the ‘Timorous Beastie’ — which was a beef and haggis patty with a turnip medallion and whiskey & peppercorn mayo. The burger itself had a great flavour and you could really taste the haggis, but unfortunately it broke apart quite quickly and fell out the bun! The turnip, which had been par-​boiled and then pan fried, was perfectly cooked and complimented the meat beautifully. It was like Burns Supper in a bun!
To go along with our main course, we had a selection of sides including chilli nachos, cajun fries, mac n’ cheese, sweet potato fries and my personal favourite — pulled pork fries! The pork was melt in the mouth delicious, smothered in cheese and BBQ sauce on a pile of skinny fries. It completely ruined my diet but it was so worth it!
James, the manager at Kitty O’Shea’s, talked us through the reasons for deciding not to go with a traditional, stereotypical Irish menu, instead providing customers with comforting pub food and a table service that provides a more personal dining experience in a laid back environment.
After tasting all these morsels, we were all getting pretty full, but dessert was soon upon us! We were given a selection of sweet treats including milk and white chocolate warm cookies with ice cream, billionare and eton mess sundaes. It was a sugar overload! The cookies were frustratingly moreish — all warm and gooey inside — and served in adorable mini red frying pans.
We spoke to head chef Martin Campbell, who said he was still trying to perfect a few of the dishes, and that his key focus was bringing flavour and flair to traditional, comforting pub grub. I think most of us disagreed that the dishes needed improving! I was impressed to see that the pricing was incredibly reasonable too, with burgers starting at around £5.50.
The highlights of the meal for me were the Popcorn Chicken and the delicious Pulled Pork Fries — I would just eat a bowl of them for my dinner if I could! If you’re in the area, I would highly recommend Kitty O’Shea’s. It provides a friendly atmosphere, delicious food that is reasonably priced, and a great range of ale — and who doesn’t love comfort food and a nice pint every now and then?

The atmosphere and the food here are nothing short of awesome.
The rustic, homely décor gives you a warm location to enjoy the great food. I’ve had the «Swine» burger which is a mix of a burger and pulled pork in a bun, with sweet potato fries.
The portions are extremely generous, after half the burger I felt super full and its all under a fiver !!
Today I had a chilli cheese dog with seasoned fries, the fries were lightly coated in something that gave them and awesome flavour and the chilli dog beautifully cooked with a punchy flavour.
I haven’t got to try the desserts yet but they look incredible.
If you want an great dinner for under a fiver in town, it can’t be beat.