The Burren

Reviews 5

NU

Nuf Ced McGreevy

I get it, your Back Room hostess was stressed out. Still, I don’t need to be screamed at after paying for my meal. Sunday afternoon after St. Patrick’s day, it must have been a long 4 days, even tho the restaurant was not full. In 30 years of thousands of restaurants, I have never been yelled at by staff. Not once, until now. We were looking for an Irish type place after the Southie parade, and chose Burren based on online reviews. Plus it’s been there for 20 years, so they must know what they are doing, right? Never mind that the Fish in the Fish & chips had no taste other than grease, and was small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Never mind that the side order of onion rings consisted of 3.5 rings. Never mind that they don’t hire enough waitresses so we hardly ever saw ours. I am OK with all of that. I have paid more for less. My bar is set low. As long as I don’t see spit in my food, I’m ok. Fine, we paid our money, tipped 20A% plus, and are on our way. Out the back door, the way we came in. We were parked in the lot out back, with a sign over Burren’s back door reading PARKING LOT IS FOR BURREN PATRONS ONLY!!! We are stopped at the entrance the back restaurant by the hostess. (White female, black hair, black clothes, 50’s) Incredibly rude off the start. Both hands up to my chest, “You can’t come in here, there is a show going on!” Ok, I would have preferred a “how can I help you?” but whatever. And the stage was bare, but whatever. “Just leaving.” “You have to go out the front” “But we came in the back door.” “No you didn’t. Now get out.” “But our car is out back, with our jackets, and…” “NO ITS NOT!!!!” “Our car…” “NO ITS NOT!!!!” “…is in your lot…” “NO ITS NOT!!!!” “….out back.” “NO ITS NOT! NO ITS NOT! NO ITS NOT!!!” Ok, I can take a hint. You are mad that I gave you money. And you are convinced I lied about what door I used. And where I parked. Making a U turn, another employee (white male, dark hair, heavy, 20’s) told us the back lot was for “staff only”, also a lie. I can understand a policy of “the Customer is NEVER Right”, but Burren staff disagrees with Burren’s own signage. Normally I would ask for the owner, but screw it, it was a long day and we just wanted to get home. We walked around the block, freezing. Yep, car was still there, next to the door marked PARKING LOT IS FOR BURREN PATRONS ONLY. At this point I was just happy they did not have me towed. You are pretty busy, and don’t need my business. Don’t worry, you won’t be getting it ever again.

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TA

Taylor Ahern

Pretty much my favorite and most preferred Irish pub/restaurant in the whole Boston area (and there are dozens upon dozens). Always a Great experience in The Burren, always a Great and superbly poured pint of Guinness, Great food, Great service, this Great and relaxing atmosphere all while featuring Great and spiritually uplifting music that can often be heard percolating throughout the Old Country styled interior. Love it! Ireland in a nutshell! Yes, this slice of Ireland in the heart of Davis Square, in Somerville, yet always drawing this thoroughly diverse and eclectic crowd, with this fine array of various elements, Bohemian, college aged, artists, urban professionals, tourists, locals and even the occasional celebrity (such as Bono from U.2.). Also, the inside ambiance is just perfect, just dark enough without being too dark, while the usually fantastically diverse and amazingly mixed crowd helps to keep generating such positive and feel good vibes that seem to be this perpetual presence. More-over, Ive experienced many fascinating intellectual discussions and debates while guzzling pints of Guinness inside that beloved neighborhood watering hole, often while there was this soothing, pleasant and traditional Irish session being played, usually poignant enough to transport one, even if only temporarily, right back to the green fields of the Old Country. Cant say enough about this famed and popular Irish establishment, while its always ranked as one of the finest and most genuine Irish pubs in the whole United States (no surprise there!). I would highly recommend The Burren to anyone, as it truly is one of the best, most enjoyable and most thoroughly Irish pubs to be found this side of the Atlantic. Check it out!

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JO

John Napp

My experience at The Burren was comically bad. One thing I noticed before we entered was a small sticker on their window that said something like, "Real people dont do drugs. We support our narcotics officers." I found this pretty funny given that they serve alcohol. Upon being seated we found our booth dirty, with bits of food all over the place. I ordered the "vegan burger", and after waiting well over a half hour for our food to arrive, found that they hadnt given me the fries that the menu claimed all the burgers came with. The waiter insisted that the veggie burger came with a side salad instead, despite the menu saying nothing to this effect. The burger consisted of patches of cold and slightly-warm regions. To my amusement, I recognized the recipe for their veggie burger as being lifted without any changes from the popular vegan recipe website "Oh She Glows" (Ive literally made this burger at home). We also got the "vegetarian cottage pie" which was not good -- its mashed potatoes seemed either extremely old or made from a powder, as they were very dry and grainy. To top it all off, I bit into a sizable piece of some sort of pork in my burger. Im afraid to know what sort of kitchen practices they have that would allow a piece of pork to get into a veggie burger. We were refunded for the "veggie" burger, and will not be returning. This place is probably fine to just get drinks or perhaps simple non-vegetarian food if you dont mind slow service, but is an awful choice for vegetarians.

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GR

Gregory Marton

Ive loved coming here for a long time because of the down-to-earth friendly nature of the place, and how accessible the musicians are, and how wonderful the choice of folk musicians that choose to gather here. I finally write today because a month ago, my wife and I, expecting, came in and commented to ourselves that, well, itll be a while before were back. Not so! Our one-month-old was warmly welcomed and was highly entertained tonight by the music of the Bag Boys, and we had a similarly good time bringing my mom and her new grandson here a week ago, too. The food, its pub food, but pretty good for that. Weve stuck to Smithwicks for beer. She orders the half, has a sip or two if the kids not due to eat soon, and then I finish it. You really dont have to drink to have a good time here, either. Its a fun (if loud!) place to sit and catch up with a friend or two, too. Basically, I wanted to express my appreciation for this wonderful neighborhood pub that has the feel of a multigenerational, warm, friendly Public House, and not so much that of your average sports bar. Oh, and the holiday decorations were pretty thick and lovely. So thanks for being awesome, Burren!

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RO

Rohit Ahuja

Friday, October 2, 2015. The bar was packed to the brim and I was waiting to get a drink for a while. Someone stepped in front of me and asked for two drinks. He realized that I was waiting before him and he said "hey hes next." The bartender scolded him and came to me to take my order. I gave her my order and she yanked my credit card away and threw the bill at me. I told her that I didnt not appreciate how she was acting. She swore at me a few times and I responded saying, "listen, you are in the service industry, I dont appreciate the service in getting and I dont feel like you deserve a tip. She then took back the drinks I ordered and called the bouncer to throw me out. I was able to demand a refund and the bouncer escorted me out. I asked the bouncers outside if I could speak with a manger and they told me she is the manager. I truly dont believe that, and I dont appreciate the lie. i dont think someone who takes a job in the service industry should treat their patrons with such little regard. It was a bad experience.

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