Paddy’s Public House
The neighborhood Irish Pub. It's all about comfortable surroundings, comfort food and a well poured pint of Guinness. The challenge is finding an Irish pub that has a diverse menu and really good, fresh food. But that's why we ended up here at Paddy's Public House in West Newton.
Paddy's has been around since 2002 and it's run by the O'Hara family. They also run O'Hara's in Newton Highlands. Here at Paddy's, this place just has the look and the feeling and the flavor of a true Irish Pub. So you have two levels, you have the dining room, has the low ceilings, dim lighting, the red leather booths, there's a long mahogany bar. They're pouring lots of draft beers. The walls are filled with dozens and dozens of old black and white photographs. A few years back, they totally renovated the second level. Now they call it the Dog House, and you are literally surrounded by hundreds of photos and paintings of all kinds of dogs. And when it comes to the food I am telling you right now, everything on this menu is doggone delicious.
To start your meal, you can go a couple different ways: pretty light or pretty heavy. On the lighter side of things, they have some awesome salads, including this Cobb salad. But listen, I'm eating at a pub. I don't want to go light. I want to go heavy. So I go for the Irish nachos. So you have crispy waffle fries, crunchy bacon, super creamy and delicious, IPA cheese sauce and just some scallions thrown over the top. Now that is some serious beer drinking food.
If you're coming into Paddy's, you probably want to experience some of their real, traditional Irish Pub classics. I'm talking shepherd's pie, chicken pot pie, fish and chips. These guys know how to do it, and they know how to do it right. Shepherd's Pie, to me, is the king of all Irish comfort foods. So first of all, the shepherd's pie must weigh two or three pounds. I mean, this thing is a beast. It serves piping hot in this big blue casserole dish. And inside are all of those traditional flavors that you're craving. You got the seasoned ground beef, all the vegetables, you got a nice, dark, satisfying demi glaze. And on top you have a big layer of whipped potatoes that get a little brown and crispy in the oven. This is the kind of dish that you stick a spoon in there, and every bite is like a full meal. It is super hearty, super savory and incredibly delicious.
Now let's talk about fish and chips. Fish and Chips are just always so satisfying. It's something you find all over the UK. In this case, they serve haddock, not one, two big, nice, fresh filets of haddock that are hand breaded and golden fried, served over a bed of crispy French fries, and on the side some homemade coleslaw and creamy tartar sauce. And to make it really authentic, I think you gotta go with the malt vinegar on top. And by the way, this is the real deal stuff that they use in Ireland, Sarsons Malt Vinegar. Dab some of that on the fish. You gotta put some right on the fries. It is malty, it is vinegary, it is tangy. It's just awesome. You want a dish that's really gonna warm your bones and make you feel good inside?
Get the chicken pot pie served in a bread bowl. So this is very rich, slow cooked to really combine all those flavors with big chunks of white meat, chicken. You have the vegetables in there. A nice, thick, homemade gravy. It's served on the side of cranberry sauce. And not surprisingly, my favorite part is the bread bowl itself, because as soon as you're done eating all of that delicious chicken inside, then you can eat the vessel in which it was served. All you have to do is grab it, fold it up, kind of like a taco, and eat. That's a good pot pie.
The other side of the menu has all kinds of dishes that you may not expect to find in an Irish pub, but they are worth ordering. I'm talking dishes like chicken stir fry, mac and cheese, burgers, steak tips, pizza. I don't know how it happened, but they make some of the best pizza in Newton. The crust is nice and hardy, so it can stand up to a lot of toppings, like my personal favorite, the O'Hara's pizza. So this is like the kitchen sink of everything you want on a pizza. You got meatballs, onions, peppers, mushrooms, sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella and provolone. The sausage is a crumbled sausage. And I always like that, because the flavors kind of spill out across the pizza. And the pepperoni is cup and char pepperoni, so it's singed around the edges. You got some oil on the inside Italian pizza in an Irish Pub. Nailed it. Honestly. It's shocking, shockingly delicious.
And for dessert, I don't even know what they have for dessert, just get another Guinness. So this place has the atmosphere you're looking for, the food you're looking for, and some. Dishes you weren't even looking for, but you should at Paddy's Public House in West Newton.
