Kevin O Bryan's
 Akron, Ohio      Date of Visit:  01/22/12       http://www.kevinobryans.com/ 

Originally we were headed somewhere else, but it turns out they may have been closed so a quick consultation of the list in the phone sent us the direction of South Akron for what we imagined would be Irish fare given the name of the place. Driving down South Main we nearly missed Kevin O’Bryan’s Irish Pub. The building looks more like a low security jail or business supply warehouse and the only effort to indicate there is a restaurant inside is sign tied to a fence flapping in the breeze. The flapping is what obscured the purpose of the place.
 

Not Built Exactly...But It Was Poured...You Could Do Worse
 

Inside you know instantly that you are in a bar that serves some food rather than a restaurant. Pool table, dart machine, loads of Irish/Guinness kitsch, there was one other customer saving a few bucks chain draining the daily special Bloody Mary’s at the bar. The website declares the best built Guinness in town. I know for a fact that a single pour into a pilsner glass is not building a Guinness in any way shape or form. A minimum of two separate pours will get you close but it turns out nearly nothing at Kevin O Bryans is as advertised.

We ordered wings and sliders for appetizers and followed with a grilled chicken boxty and the roast beef stacker for the meal. The menu describes the boxty as grilled chicken, roasted garden vegetables,
horseradish mustard sauce & Irish cheddar between two Irish potato pancakes served with pecan-poppy slaw. Ooooh, can’t wait. The stacker is thinly sliced grilled steak piled high over Irish potato pancakes
and mashed potatoes with melted mozzarella cheese, sautéed mushrooms, onions & Guinness gravy served with cole slaw. AWESOME!
 

A few minutes after ordering we were informed neither was available, but they have good burgers. At this point I became irritated and refused to order a burger since we had come specifically for the “best built Guinness” and some Irish fare. Grand failure. The server appeared a little surprised when we said we would just stick with the apps. Maybe she has delivered the news to many and they have been fine with the burger.

We stayed for the apps since I had a beer to drain and they arrived not soon afterward. I wish they were horrible, I would have left much happier. The wings were boneless (on sale with the Bloody Mary’s) and we went with the Irish Dew sauce with is spiked with an Emerald Whiskey. They were crispy, steaming hot and the sauce turned out to be really nice with a number of different flavors.
 

The O’Stevegan sliders have grilled steak, sautéed mushrooms and onions, hot peppers and melted swiss served with an au jus. The rolls were toasted enough to give a noticeable texture to the whole sandwich that stood up to a dip in the jus. The innards were hot and tasty and every bite made me more peeved we wouldn’t be trying the rest. At least our check was much smaller than anticipated.

As we were leaving our server/bartender stopped and said, I’m really sorry we didn’t have anything for dinner. It’s embarrassing. I agree. As a side note the burgers are purported to be good. If you are hunting for one, try here, and let me know. I lost any interest some time ago.