The Cottage Irish Pub

I went to the soft opening of the new restaurant named The Cottage Irish Pub. Located on the corner of Highland and Montreal in downtown Eau Gallie, it used to be a South African establishment.

The hype has been big and the wait has been a while, so when I drove by on Tuesday on the way to my Tuesday drinking club at Lou's Blues, I saw the open sign...

After a few beers at Lous, Mac and I decided to stop and give it a try. As we walked into the room, a good friend Don and his wife were on their way out. ALready people I know which is a good sign. Mac saw one of the waiters he knew from a differnet establishment. Already we were feeling at home and we had not even found a table yet. They have a small deck in front with a few tables, a porch and garden area in the back with a few tables, and an inside dining room with small bar. Melissa, our server for the evening, got us a table that was being cleared from a previous group...

Mac and I got settle at a table that could seat four, and started to peruse the menus. One side was the fare and the other side was great (the drinks!) There was a big table in the middle of the room that seemed like a community table. I think the bar seats maybe six.

Owned by the Hogan family of Ireland, I kind of felt like I may have been in the Eire. The menu...

Of course, the first order of business is what to have to drink. Nothing like a 20 oz Guinness to start! Mac ordered the same! Mac lives just a few blocks away from the cottage and I think he could become a regular. In some ways it looked like we already were...

Melissa was a great server and kept stopping by throughout our stay. I liked that! We ordered the Ploughman's plate, small size, from the Starters menu. It came with three kinds of cheeses, two kinds of meat, a marmalade, some cherry tomatoes and two slices of warm Irish brown bread!

Overhead view of the small Ploughman's plate...

For his entree, Mac ordered the fish and chips, which had a nice piece of haddock with crispy fries pretending to be chips. There was a small cole slaw and a tartar sauce. Mac shared one of the fries with me and it was delcious, crispy on the outside but edible potato in the middle.

For my entree, I ordered the Guinness Beef Stew served with more of the brown bread. It was a fairly large bowl and I was very happy with the contents. None remained when I was done.

I did have to visit the rest rooms, having had a few beers before arriving, and took this photo of the outside garden area in the back of the cottage. This is along Montreal and every table was full.

The bathrooms are singles, and I took a photo of the sign that is between the rooms.

This was a new place and I give it a 4.0 (Excellent), only the third one for the year. I know they are going to have problems with crowds because it is not that big. The ambiance was warm and friendly, the beer and food were all delicious, the service was wonderful and attentive, and I had a great time. I mentioned Mac could become a regular here; he was heading for a seat at the bar as I was leaving...