Walking into McGettigan’s bar feels like walking into an Irish pub two hundred years in the future. Many of the elements of a traditional Celtic watering hole are present, such as old whiskey bottles, Irish beers on tap, and scenes of Eire, but everything is bigger, brighter, and more modern. None of this is surprising, since McGettigan’s bills itself as the “Modern Irish Experience.”
Jim McGettigan from Donegal first opened the original McGettigan’s in Dublin in the 1960s. Since then, he and his son, Dennis, have opened locations in Dubai, Singapore, and across Ireland. The New York City bar, which opened June 2015, is the first location in the United States. The Manhattan Sideways team stopped by only a few days after their opening night, when things were still in boxes and the fire alarm was being tested. Despite this first-week chaos, we could see how exciting and grand the bar would be.
We met with the general manager, Alan Murray, who encouraged us to explore the vast woodsy yet glamorous space. Birch trunks surrounded sleek leather banquets and high tech screens displayed black and white pictures of Ireland. Glass and cask wood exist side by side and a half circle of modern shelves hold bottles of whiskey and old books. There is even an artificial fireplace surrounded by logs. My favorite part of the décor was a clever curving bookshelf in the back room that created the illusion of guests in the booths being enveloped by books.
Alan guided us down to the clean, new kitchen, where we met Adam Maciejewski, the sous chef for head chef John Reynolds. The cooks whipped up a plate of sliders, served on a slate, topped with small gherkins, caramelized onion, and truffle mayo. Bowls full of French fries tempted us from all corners of the kitchen. We were not surprised to hear a chorus of Irish accents – the menu has a lot of traditional meals from the British Isles, like fish and chips, bangers and mash, and the delectable dessert Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Taking a seat at the vast bar, the bartender began pouring some Irish beer. He told us about the opening night, where the Coronas played on the elevated, blue-lit space right behind the bar. As he made us a Cosmopolitan and a refreshingly sweet Margarita, we got a sneak peek into his friendly rapport with the clientele. The bartender told us he only knows everyone on a first name basis. He turned to the Irishman sitting at the bar and said, “I’ve known him – what? thirty years? – and I just found out that his last name is O’Reilly.”
