McGreevy's

What am I doing here? I'm trapped in a Red Sox dominated, Dropkick Murphy's run sports bar, not exactly two of my favorite offerings, as Un-Bostonian as that may be. But above all else, I'm here with friends, and its a beautiful summer day, and it's Red Sox-Yankees weekend so why the hell not? Is McGreevy's a bar that serves food or is it a place to grab some pub food and knock back a few pints while watching the game? I'm not sure, and I'm not sure it matters, but for the purpose of this blog, we want places to eat that serve good burgers. This is not the place to do that. The food isn't bad, it's just food, I suppose a purpose is served, of course not for my high standards though. I would never harbor on something like service if it wasn't a factor, but the service here is atrocious. We waited a good ten minutes sitting at a table we picked ourselves, because no server was present. We order drinks and burgers and an order of Guiness wings. Drinks come and eventually wings, but no napkins, no silverware, and no refills on drinks after a good half-hour. At long last the burgers arrive, but the food runner has no idea which burger is which, plates are being traded among us, wondering which is medium rare which is medium well. No one knows, especially the food runner, and it's all a guessing game at this point. Oh and we still have no napkins, drink refills or silverware at this point. Everything gets sorted out and we can eat, at long last. The meat, luckily, isn't bland, but has an unpleasant taste. It instantly reminds me of a chain in Canada called Harvey's, which always made me think of a burger that tasted like a hot dog when I was a kid. The fries are pub fires, we've all had them, thick, decent in taste but dry and flavorless on the inside. The lettuce my burger is brown is spots and the tomato tastes like it was from last winter. The bun tastes stale to me, is untoasted and there is way too much of it. The burgers are supposedly char-broiled, but there is no char, not even a little, and of course it's not cooked to the right temperature, but what else is new. The cheese is unmelted, sort of plastic-y, not worthy of any burger, well, maybe this one. The burger runs $8, drinks are $3 with free refills and the service is horrendous. Still, with friends, watching a baseball game, life is pretty good, I just wish the burgers were too. more

I sent back my flat soda and 10 minutes later, the waitress brought me another flat soda. My ""medium well"" steak tips were burned a bit on the outside and COLD, BLOOD RED on the inside. The nachos we ordered were delivered by an expediter with no plates. I think the ""cheese"" they put on them was Kraft singles. Just. Plain. Awful. Steer clear of this joke joint. The pictures on the walls are nice, but you'd have a more enjoyable meal at the Sausage King street vendor nearby. Worst part of the service? The place was almost empty and they still couldn't do anything right. What a terrible disappointment. I guess if you can play music it doesn't mean you can run a restaurant. Pros: cool baseball stuff Cons: poor restaurant more

Great Atmosphere to Hang out for a couple of drinks with friends. Pros: Great Atmosphere more

So I've been to McGreevy's about a half dozen times, and I have to say it's the best bar in Boston! Number one the Red Sox memorabilia is amazing, and I'm not a huge sports buff. The walls are saturated with some serious Red Sox history, and when I say history I'm not talking a wall full of team photos from day one to 2008. It covers the history of...ahh heck I could go for ever. Trust me if your a sports fan it's a must see just for that alone. Now if you add the food, drink, and service...I hate to sound cliche, but it's a home run. I've had the sheppards pie, chicken sandwich, and potato skins. I'm originally from Chicago and love my food, and McGreevy's is top notch. They've got a great beer selection from Guiness to Pabst which is another score in my book. I personally am a PBR/Schlitz kind of guy that has a fridge full of Guiness at home. (Try to figure that out!) The staff is also great! I have to say the waitresses that waited on our table were on it and made us feel like we've been coming in for years even though it's only been open (in that location) since April. I also have to say I have seen a celebrity or two in there just about everytime I've gone in, and the cool thing about it was that it was like hanging out at my local tavern. It's definitely the coolest bar in Boston without a bunch of scenesters running around. Oh yea, the music selection is pretty good. It's a mixture of all types of rock and roll with a little spice of punk rock. I suggest if you have not been, or plan on traveling to Boston you must go to McGreevy's. Pros: Atmosphere, Service, Food, Personality, Location, Easy MBTA access. more

Mcgreevys did a great job in bringing an old time baseball/sports tavern to the Back Bay. They have the perfect set up if you have a big group of people to watch a ball game. I watched all of the Laker-Celtics games there with all my friends and even when people were in front of you while sitting in one of their many high rise booths, you could still see the game. It is much classier and a better atmosphere than its predecessor the Foggy Goggle. Also a nice substitute from the other dive sports down the street. The place is decorated to look like the Baseball Hall of Fame, Boston style. Also who knows you may get lucky and run into the owner Ken Casey from the Dropkick Murphys. Pros: Great atmosphere and food Cons: a little pricey but worth the experience for a big game night more

I came here with a group of friends for a birthday, the place wasn't too crowded - now I know why. The drinks are very overpriced, it is impossible to get anywhere close to the bar, terrible layout. I went to order a few shots, they ended up being $7 each and were half sized. Seemingly cool atmosphere but not worth the price one bit. Pros: Location, Wall Art Cons: Price! more

This past summer I was in town for a convention. I was the only woman with a bunch of guys. I insisted that we try out McGreevys. I had heard about it from DKM. Being a Red Sox fan and wanting to make my son jealous, I had to check this place out. The guys allowed me to drag them there. Then they had to be dragged out to get to Fenway on time. Anyways, the service was excellent, the atmosphere was outstanding. This was the only place we went to more that once during our stay. My son and I plan to make many trips to Boston and McGreevy's will be the first stop. (on our way to Fenway of course!!!) more

I've been to McGreevys over a dozen times this season. I met Babe Ruths grandaughter there, took my picture with the Sox 2007 WS Trophy, got to chat with a few Bruins, Scruffy from the Dropkicks and Sean Casey and even got to give Jaba Chamberlin a piece of my mind. It's like stepping back in time with all the memoribilia and the flat screens all over make the bar a perfect place to watch the game. I love the Sheppards Pie and the Irish Boxty and in terms of booze bartender Barry and that Miss Mass. are on top of their game. I love the Cask by Fenway, but McGreevy's is unlike any other sports bar I've hung at. Maybe the Sox should have had the Dropkicks play Tessie at Fenway this year. \r PS Only downside was the AC broken a few times this summer. Pros: atmosphere, food, history Cons: wish it was closer to Fenway more

I loved it, we went to watch a few sox games and it had a great atmosphere and great food - lots of fun :-) more

I went there with my girlfriend hoping to grab a quick lunch at the bar on a Sunday afternoon. The two bartenders were clueless and the food was unedible. It took 35 minutes to get a cup of chowder and a crab sandwich. The place was not busy at all. The chowder came out with this thick skin on the top like it had sat under a heat lamp for an hour. The ""crab"" sandwich was not described well on the menu and came out as a greasy fried crab cake slapped in between a hamburger bun. My girlfriend took one bite and pulled a bone from her mouth. At that point we had lost our appetite and left. The bartenders didn't even ask us how things were when we paid the check even though left the food barely touched. Absolutely disgusting. Pros: Cool old-time sports photos Cons: Horrible Food and Service more

We came in for lunch, but ended up leaving in frustration. When we came in, the restaurant was not busy. It took them 10 minutes to take our order and then notify us they were out of the beer we ordered. We order another beer... and 10 minutes later, we still had not gotten our beers... We decided the bloody mary's sounded good instead, but another 10 minutes later they came back and told us they still had not been able to find the bloody mary mix.. but that they would find it. In this time period, we still never order our food (thankfully). We decided to cut our losses. I have to admit, the menu looked good and I was disappointed that I did not get a chance to try it out. Pass on this place if you want service. Cons: service, availability of drinks more

What a great place! Last Sunday, I met 2 girlfriends there for lunch...2 of us ended up having brunch. We expected bar food ,BUT, it was so much better. Our eggs were fluffy and the pancakes were light and moist. One friend had the Boxy...that was yummy..going back for that one. The menu offered some interesting choices and the portions were very generous. The bar is well done , very comfortable. The manager took the time to answer all out questions about the history of McGreevey's..the pictures and the memorabilia were facinating. Looking forward to going some night..great TV screens to watch a game. Oh, the music was fantastic. Loved the place! more