Restaurant Review

Abby Calef

Intended Publication: The index

Dining at an Irish pub house isn’t exactly glamorous, to say the least. The food is fried, the people are loud, the men reek of beer, and the displays of tvs and neon lights are, let’s be honest, downright nauseating.  But, no one really goes to an Irish pub to put on a nice dress and sip expensive wines with their pinkies up and napkins folded like swans. People dine at Irish pubs to lick the salt off of their fingers and hope to smell fish on their clothes for the next three days. However, your idea of fun might be a little different than mine.

For those of you who usually dine in downtown Plymouth, you’ve probably walked past Sean O’Callaghan’s or maybe even given it a try. You have also probably noticed the beautiful stain glass windows that decorate the harsh black, Victorian style doors and can easily set it apart from any other place in downtown Plymouth. The inside of the building looks like a traditional Irish Pub and stylistically falls into a more Celtic-like category. If you’re not blinded by the tvs and Guinness signs, you’re probably in the wrong place. The atmosphere of the bar was exactly how you would expect it. Old happy men. I would imagine at night, the atmosphere is live and rowdy, but I dined at around three in the Afternoon, so it was generally pretty quiet in the restaurant section. The dark and rustic restaurant with creaky floors and tasteful stained glass is unique and intriguing.

While it gives off the appearance of an old gem in the downtown area, I was surprised to find out that this pub house has actually only been around for the last 15 years. You would never know.

The beauty and uniqueness of the restaurant is tasteful, as are the Irish dishes. Everything else, not so much.

I decided to do myself a favor and only order the traditional Irish based dishes. I started off with an appetizer of Irish chips and Irish curry. I had never indulged in an Irish curry, so I figured this was a must. I was right. The curry was light and mild, but still held a traditional curry flavor that I had tasted in other cultures. It complimented the perfectly crispy outside of the strongly potato flavored inside of the Irish chips. The kind but slightly unhelpful waitress informed me that the curry mix was actually imported from Ireland itself, but could not give me any further information on ingredients or exact location.

I was perplexed by how I could still actually taste the potato even while smothered in curry. Genius.

Now don’t get me wrong, none of the food I tasted at this restaurant actually looked as good as it tasted. In fact, I would probably give presentation of the food a 3 on a scale of 1-10. But, fried food never seems to look that appetizing anyways.

Mad at myself for eating as much of the addicting appetizer as I did, I still ordered the fish and chips. This may seem like a terrible idea, but it was, in fact, wonderful. Although the fish itself was lacking that fishy, fresh-out-of-the-ocean taste, which I assume is due to location, the tenderness and texture was wonderful. Along with the buttery creamy-ness of the pure fish, it cut beautifully and fell off of my work. It was soft and not chewy at all. One of the best fish and chips I had ever had. The fried was a little too thickly deep fried for me, but that’s all in perspective.

Next, I tasted the cauliflower cheddar soup. This was my absolute favorite part of my meal. The texture was creamy, but not too thick leaving you too full too soon. It was thin and creamy, with little chunks of cauliflower to decorate the texture. The flavor of cheddar filled the soup and devoured the cauliflower whole, but it still wasn’t too much. It was salty to perfection and I could almost taste the beer within the cheese. On a cold, rainy day, I would make the drive out to plymouth again, just for that soup. It is a must have.

According to my family members who tried the more average american dishes, they were only mediocre. The buffalo chicken wrap was average, spicy and bold. However, I wouldn’t go to Sean O’Callaghan’s if you’re looking for food you can get absolutely anywhere. It really didn’t suffice. My side of coleslaw was nothing special leaving it watery and flavorless. I, quite honestly, didn’t even bother to finish it, in hopes that I could save room for my next bite of fried fish. The make your own salad was filled with freshly ripe veggies and real greens! They’re hard to come across these days. The house made vinaigrette was absolutely delightful and it was easy to tell that it was blended well. It was not too oily and showed no separation. It was more of a mild vinaigrette, but had a unique less balsamic vinegar flavor and more of a lighter taste.

Since I was so unbearably full but eager to try new things, I asked the waitress if I absolutely had to try any of the desserts. After informing her of my current stomach situation in which I may explode at any moment, she advised me that I didn’t “need” to order a dessert off of their menu. I think that speaks for itself. Or, maybe she was just confused on how to promote the restaurant she worked for. By previous conversations with her, it could’ve been either.

Sam, the owner, originally studied in Ireland before coming to Michigan to create his beauty. Sam’s goal of the restaurant was to enhance Plymouth’s tourism and draw people in through his culinary expertise.

Well Kalamazoo, paying Sam a visit might not be a bad idea.