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Business & Tech

Restaurant Review: Tip O'Leary's Pub

This week Patch reviews Tip O'Leary's Pub in Bryn Mawr.

Restaurant:
Address: 610 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Rating: (out of 5 stars): ★★★ 1/2
Style: Pub food
Food: Potato-heavy menu with standard pub food, pizzas and pastas.
Atmosphere: Lively and homey bar
Parking: Street parking is hit or miss
Service: Friendly and casual
Price Range: Inexpensive, most items are under $10
Unique Features: Great selection of beers on tap, pool tables and dart boards.

One glance at the menu at , and you know that you are in an Irish pub (just in case that name wasn't a dead giveaway).

There are french fries, loaded fries, O'Leary's skins, Paddy's pierogies, Irish boxtys, famous potato cream soup and some of the entrees come with mashed potatoes or boxtys. We ordered some Irish boxtys, a cheeseburger and fries and a cheesesteak stromboli in addition to a Dogfish 90 Minute IPA and Flying Fish Ale.

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The beers came out first and were hearty and full of flavor. My dining companion is a fan of lighter lagers and what I consider weaker tasting brews so he was not a fan. I relished every heady and slightly funky sip of the Dogfish IPA. The Flying Fish Ale was also flavorful, though decidedly lighter than the Dogfish.

The Irish boxtys emerged from the kitchen in a proud ring, atop shredded bright green Romaine lettuce with thick sour cream and tomato salsa as sauces. If I were to summarize what these tasted like, I would call them mini hash browns. They were diminutive in size and about half the thickness of typical hash browns. Golden, crisp and bite size, these were ideal for snacking. I preferred a smear of sour cream to the average salsa.

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The burger was solid. The vegetables were fresh and needed just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. The cheese was nicely melted and the large bun was soft. The burger patty itself was cooked slightly over medium rare but it wasn't dried out by any means. The meat was seasoned well and married well with a big dollop of ketchup. The French fries were crunchy on the outside and had a decent potato flavor. 

The cheesesteak stromboli was a strange hybrid of typical pizzeria items. It looked and tasted like you imagined it would. There was a thick casing of dough around thinly sliced beef, melted cheese and cooked onions. The stromboli dough baked a wonderfully golden color and the contents inside were generous in portion. My favorite part of the stromboli plate was the crock of warm tomato sauce, perfect for dipping each meaty piece of stromboli. As is normal for strombolis and calzones in the area, this monstrous dough concoction was simply too large to enjoy in one sitting. We had it wrapped up to go and got our check.

It was miserable outside and raining cats and dogs. It was nice to walk into a neighborhood pub and enjoy some hot food and cold beer. There were plenty of families enjoying a late afternoon lunch as well. The service was casual but friendly. A subsequent visit might include a game of pool or recreational darts. Tip O'Leary's Pub caters to those young and old. The food isn't the most exciting, but you know what you're getting. The service isn't four star but you know that are you welcome there whenever you would like. It's a laid back place to take a load off and grab a quick bite to eat or a pint after a long day of work.

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