Frank O’Dowd’s Irish Pub & Grill

Recently visited Galena, Illinois and decided on this restaurant. Brandon was wonderful, and very attentive. We had a special summer drink of a homemade sangria that was refreshing and delicious. My shepherds pie was extremely hot and yummy. The business made you think you are in An Irish Pub in Ireland, and Brandon’s line of balarney completed the vision. A must visit, I wish we were there for the entertainment.

We had a wonderful time here! Beautiful Irish woodwork, great atmosphere. The shepherd’s pie was delicious and we didn’t even have to ask for malt vinegar for the excellent fish fry. Adorable Irish dancers early in the evening on Fridays and Saturdays, and then Irish singers with a selection of traditional and contemporary music. We will definitely go back!

Irish songs. Check. Irish tunes from someone right off the boat. Great place for an Irish coffee and a Guinness.

My third time here, and it keeps getting better! Food, staff, entertainment, A+ Cant wait to go back! KCCO

This is the Irish bar located in the Irish Cottage Hotel; it was built in Ireland, dismantled, shipped to Galena, and reassembled.
American fair with a few Irish dishes can be found on the menu. On weekends they offer live entertainment, usually Irish or similar music.
Although a bit pricey I do keep returning here.

The food was excellent. I had Shepherds Pie, husband had reuben, and kiddos had cheeseburgers. Everything was tasty. Also had a hot buttered rum which was yummy. Service was excellent.
Irish dancers at 7pm on a Sat.
Will come back next time we are in Galena.

Great atmosphere. Our server was Lindsey and she was also great. Our food was delicious. The entertainment was very good. I would recommend this place for dinner, drinks and live entertainment.

We were trying to burn some time between visiting downtown Galena and meeting some family members who live in the area out for dinner. So, we decided to stop into this pub and grill. They do have weird hours, but we showed up right after they opened at about 4 p.m.
Bartender was quick to serve and ask for refills. I would say the one thing not in our favor were drink prices, but we knew that going in considering the location is in Galena. They do have a decent drink list including beer, wine and specialty cocktails.
Overall, an okay place to stop in. I can’t comment on food as we only ordered drinks. They do have an elevated built in stage, so I’m sure this spot is great for entertainment in the evening.

This place is so cute! We stayed in the hotel so breakfast here was included. Very delicious. But our first night in town we had dinner here and the Shepherds Pie was AMAZING. Such tasty, delicious comfort food. I can’t wait to have it again! We also met the owner and he was very sweet, as was all the staff.

Stopped for a small lunch and some beers. The place is very nice and cozy — with lots of wood and a small stage for live performances.
The bartender took our drink and food orders, and seemed to be working the whole room by herself which made service a little slow.
I had a couple beers — one a local craft and an English Ale. Both were good but at $ 6.50 a pint were way overpriced. Our food was average to below average. My patty melt and home-​cut fries were good — but my wife’s soup and salad was not good at all. Come for an expensive beer and maybe the live entertainment but avoid the food.

This place has kind of weird hours. We stopped in for lunch only to find out they don’t open until 4. We came back the next day and thought it was pretty good. They have a nice beer list and the food was good. I had shepherd’s pie and enjoyed it.

We had lunch there on a Sunday afternoon and the food was less than desirable. Arby’s has a better Ruben according to my husband. I ordered spinach dip and it was like soup with hard as rock bread that you couldn’t bite into. I sent it back and got the stuffed mushrooms that was swimming in the same soupy mess that was in the dip. The waitress never asked to refill our drinks or water $ 25 for a lunch not eat.

OK burger and fries, fair service and a typical Irish pub interior that seemed depressingly dark during the day, though no doubt fares better at night. Would go back if nearby but in no rush to do so.

The menu was disappointing — very standard restaurant food. Hardly any traditional fare. Reubens aren’t Irish folks, but the food was good and the drink menu was nice. The waitress was great and it has a really enjoyable atmosphere.

For a town with so many restaurants, it was hard to find one that was serving Thanksgving dinner. I called the Irish Cottage Inn and was happy to hear that they were taking reservations and serving up some turkey.
The Inn is a large, standalone business off of Hwy 20 and is designed to look like a string of shops in a Irish market down. Inside it houses a hotel, a couple of lovely, comfortable lounges, and a restaurant with beautiful views of the valley. We were seated quickly even though we were early for our reservation, and when we asked for a table closer to the windows they happily accommodated us.
The Thanksgiving menus were beautifully prepared ad presented. Adults had a choice of turkey, salmon, or prime rib, and each meal was served with sage dressing, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables, and gravy. For dessert there was pumpkin cheesecake. Children had the exact same options at a lesser price.
We found everything (service, atmosphere, management, food presentation, tasted, quality) to be exceptional.
In fact, we went back the next day for lunch and had another wonderful meal. I would especially like to draw attention to the fact that when we went back the second day, a manager specifically remembered my child and asked if he was feeling better, as the day before he wasn’t feeling great.

From a food perspective, its mediocre bar food at best and not the place of you’re looking for even a hint of health conscious eating. The fried fish sandwich was too heavily crusted; and the ribs just ok. The variety in entertainment, however, is worth a visit as is the beer and drink selection.

Fun place to grab a drink and maybe a meal if you’re staying at the hotel; I’d stick to the awesome restaurants on Main St. in Galena if you’re looking for great food. Décor and bar are unique, but not overly memorable. Definitely love the entertainment and Irish dancing.

While staying at The Irish Cottage, we went to Frank O’Dowd’s for dinner. The food was decent and our waitress was good. The establishment was clean, and during dinner we had no complaints. The food was okay. I don’t recall what I ate, as it was back on Valentine’s Weekend. It wasn’t so memorable that I made note. To me that means the food was just okay; nothing to rave about, but also nothing to avoid.
Where my trouble started was after dinner. My wife and our friends went swimming in the hotel (Irish Cottage) I had forgotten my trunks so I went to the bar to have some drinks and listen to music. I sat at the bar for a long time and I could not get served. The place was filled with people back from the ski resorts, but they were getting served. I was being skipped over. I was given the distinct impression that I was not welcome. I was not the type of customer they wanted… in appearance. After finally waving down a bartender on multiple attempts, I was able to get a beer. I noticed they had a selection of Scotch and I love Scotch. I’m on a weekend vacation, why not! I asked for a list and, after multiple requests I received one. I found a Scotch I wanted to try. When I ordered it the bartender felt the need to point out the cost (Which was clearly marked on the list.) She made a point of making sure I knew how much it cost multiple times. It was insulting. If I couldn’t afford it, I wouldn’t order it. I decided after that and not being able to get another beer, that I was going to just go back to my room. So I paid my bill and left. I didn’t spend an additional dime there for the rest of the weekend.
EDIT: We did go back for the breakfasts in the morning that were complimentary with our hotel stay.

Frank O’Dowd’s is part of a larger complex that is supposed to look like an Irish village. I haven’t visited the rest of the «village; however, I have come to O’Dowd’s a couple of times.
O’Dowd’s is set up to look like a typical Irish pub. You don’t need me to describe it. They have the usual fair you would expect at any pub… fish n chips, shepherd’s pie, etc.
Last time I got the fish n chips, which were lightly breaded and very good. The plate came with two large pieces of fish… more than any one person should eat (but I did). Their french fries are fat and yummy. I was disappointed with the salt vinegar they served with the fish. Part of the taste is the vinegar and they were serving some generic kind that left much to be desired. Hey, guys. Buy some real salt vinegar and you will have some happy mouths.
On Saturdays, a group of local kids put on an Irish dance show. It lasts anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. We brought the kids who went berserk over it. They thought it was just awesome. Afterward, they usually have a live singer or band. Alas, the kiddos had to go to bed.
I would recommend this pub as an extremely casual place to grab some beers, a decent dinner and enjoy the live performances.

The good:
fun Irish Dancing show
decent dinner food
casual pub atmosphere
The not so good:
servers that aren’t flexible enough to handle a large group
mediocre breakfasts (some items good, others not so much)
The dinner details:
Ordered the salmon with veggies and a pretzel roll wondering if a pub could pull it off. Was pleasantly surprised when the salmon had a lovely lemon butter sauce with capers. The veggies were perfect tender crisp. The pretzel roll was warm and buttery soft. Nice!
Others in our party liked their Rubens, flavorful shepard’s pie, and cheese curds.
The chocolate cake was a little dry, too sweet and not chocolatey enough for me. I know a great cake and this felt short.
The breakfast details:
Scones were too sweet and tasted and looked mass produced. Warmed up from a freezer box?
1) They had a biscuit quiche with sausage and sausage gravy one morning. No veggie ones. I had scrambled eggs again disappointed.
The cinnamon french toast that came with was crispy with cinnamon and sugar– like a churro. Liked that.
2) Another morning they had a crêpe filled with blueberry cream cheese that was good. The scrambled eggs that came with were o.k.