Boston Irish Pubs - Favorite Boston Nightlife Spots

Find the best Irish pubs in Boston

Boston Irish pubs are a popular part of the lively Boston nightlife scene - as well as lunch and brunch dining, due to their wonderful food and of course, the Guinness. 

With names like the Kinsale, An Tua Nua, and the Black Rose, Boston bars sound like they could be in Dublin.  Go inside, and you'll think that you are.

Why does Boston have so many Irish pubs?  After all, Boston is in Massachusetts in the United States - it's not in County Cork!

You'll find so many Boston Irish pubs for 3 great reasons: 

Reason #1:  Boston has long been known as the "Capital of Irish America" because so many people come here from Ireland

Reason #2:  Boston's Irish bars are a lot of fun

Reason #3:  Did I mention the Guinness?

After all, with plenty of Guinness, yummy Boston Irish pub food, and perhaps an Irish band, what's not to like?

Here's a selection of some of the best Irish pubs in Boston.  With so many great possibilities, you may want to organize your own Boston Irish pub crawl.  Enjoy!

Boston Irish Pubs - An Tua Nua

By day, An Tua Nua is an unassuming neighborhood Boston Irish pub near Kenmore Square, Boston University, and Fenway Park. 

Enjoy your brew with Guinness beef stew and other Irish pub food offerings - although with chicken tenders and cheese quesadillas and the like dominating the menu, you won't find many flavors of the Emerald Isle here.  However, you will find enough big screens featuring sports to satisfy your basic sports bar needs.

But at night, this popular Boston bar features theme nights, games, and other fun events, while a large back room turns into a dance club with DJs spinning tunes. 

Stop by for the bar's Goth Night ("Ceremony"), Karaoke Bar Night, Game Night (yes - Connect 4, Mancala, Wii Sports, Rock Band 2 on xbox, and more!) - you'll find it all here.  In between, VJs take over the big screens (sorry, sports fans) for music videos.

Unless there's a game at Fenway - then sports rule.  As a bonus, An Tua Nua is usually less crowded pre-game than some of the other bigger Boston bars near Fenway, so come here to avoid a line. 

An Tua Nua can be tons of fun.  And while it's not as consciously Irish as some of the other Boston Irish pubs, there's something here for everyone to enjoy.  Maybe it's more like an actual pub in Ireland, rather than a Boston Irish pub. 

Direction to An Tua Nua:  835 Beacon Street, Fenway; Green Line/Park; 617-262-2121; website

Boston Irish Pubs - The Black Rose

Since 1976, nightly high-caliber Irish music has been featured at the Black Rose, Boston favorite and winner of many "Best Irish pub in Boston" contests. 

Stop by on the right night in the past, and you'd have heard U2, the Chieftains, renowned flutist James Galway, the Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makim, and other famed Irish musicians.  Stop by on the right night in the future, and who knows what up-and-coming star you'll hear?

Although food in Boston Irish pubs generally tends to be good, the Black Rose is a cut above some of the others, partly because Irish products are used creatively to enhance flavors. 

The lettuce wedge salad, for example, features a super-yummy dressing with Irish Cashel blue cheese.  Onion soup is topped with Irish cheddar.  Irish stout plays a role in the bangers and mash, and who can resist the whiskey butter topping the thick house-cured pork chops?

The Black Rose is in Boston's Financial District, right around the corner from the Faneuil Hall Marketplace area and just a couple of blocks from Long Wharf on the Waterfront.

Direction to the Black Rose:  180 State Street, Financial District, Downtown Boston; Blue Line/Aquarium; 617-742-2286; website

Boston Irish Pubs - Mr. Dooley's Boston Tavern

The warm and welcoming bartenders at Mr. Dooley's Boston Tavern have made it one of the favorites among the Irish-themed Boston bars.  Irish music on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings add to the convivial spirits and mellow environment.

You'll also love the food.  Try the Irish sausages, either from the appetizer section of the menu, or as part of the Irish mixed grill on the dinner menu.  The Irish beef stew and shepherd's pie are also great choices.

Direction to Mr. Dooley's Boston Tavern:  77 Broad Street, Financial District, Boston; Blue and Orange Lines/State; 617-338-5656; website

The Kinsale - Boston Irish Pub in Government Center

The Kinsale, located near Government Center and Faneuil Hall Marketplace, can honestly claim to be a genuine Irish pub.  Designed and built in Ireland, it was then shipped to Boston and reassembled.

The Kinsale features live music, including Irish bands as well as others, on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  It's large interior makes it a popular site for bachelor and bachelorette parties as well as for large groups who want room to spread out and socialize. 

The menu features a good selection of popular Boston bar food items - nachos, mussels, sweet potato fries, and coconut shrimp.  You'll also find some things with "Irish" in the name - Galway wings, Irish potato skins, an Artisinal Irish cheese plate - yummy but perhaps not particularly Irish. 

You may want to skip the appetizers or at least sample lightly, and then head to the main menu, where you'll find some great items like bangers and mash, the fab Irish stout pie in puff pastry, and the tavern mixed grill, plus a number of other non-Irish but still delicious seafood and meat dishes.  You can also choose from a nice selection of burgers and sandwiches. 

Even though the Kinsale may not be the most authentic Boston Irish pub in the city, despite its origin, you can still get a great lunch or dinner there with your favorite ale or stout.  Saturday and Sunday brunch from 11am - 2pm is also worth a stop, especially if you want the full Irish breakfast.

Direction to The Kinsale:  2 Center Plaza on Cambridge Street, Government Center; Green and Blue Lines/Government Center; 617-742-5577; website

Kitty O'Shea's Boston Irish Pub near Faneuil Hall Marketplace

This lone American outpost of a popular Irish pub chain boasts 200 year old pine floors from a church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a bar that once served as the pulpit in another Irish church, and a fireplace that once graced a Georgian home in Dublin.  Hmm . . . does this make Kitty O'Shea's a historic Boston bar? 

Nope, just an ultra-Irish bar in Boston.  Enjoy the stained glass windows depicting historic Irish scenes, bartenders with lovely Irish accents, the occasional Irish music, and of course, the Guinness and other fine Irish brew.

But if you want the Irish ambiance, come for lunch or an early dinner.  During the evenings, especially on the weekends, DJs crank up the Top 40, hip hop, house, and techno tunes. 

Direction to Kitty O'Shea's:  131 State Street, Financial District, around the corner from Faneuil Hall; 617-725-0100

McGreevy's - Rock 'n Red Sox

Even if McGreevy's were "just" a Boston Irish pub, that would be enough to make it a great place to come. 

Co-owned by one of the Dropkick Murphys, a local Celtic punk rock band and huge Red Sox fan, McGreevy's is also a reincarnation of the bar when Red Sox Nation was born.  Just steps (well, twelve hundred of them) away from Fenway Park, McGreevy's has enough genuine sports memorabilia and flat screens to qualify it as a favorite Boston sports bar . . .

More about McGreevy's

Ned Devine's Irish Pub - Divine outdoor seating in Quincy Market

For outdoor seating on a sunny summer day, Ned Devine's Irish Pub is hard to beat.  Its Quincy Market / Faneuil Hall Marketplace puts it right in the center of the action.  Lots of Boston visitors find it as they explore nearby tourist attractions such as the Freedom Trail, the Boston Holocaust Memorial, and the North End.

Inside on the main floor, polished wood paneling imported from Ireland,brass fixtures, and cozy seating evoke the Old Country.  But upstairs, you'll find the Parris Lounge, a popular Boston nightlife destination with music and big screens.

Menu choices give a nod to Ireland with the shepherd's pie, but mostly you'll find Boston pub food favorites - paninis, fish and chips, lobster mac 'n cheese, and of course, clam chowder. 

Bar selections include some interesting cocktails (try the "Beantownah" - Jameson's Irish whiskey and ginger ale mixed with freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice, or "Parris Blue" - Bacardi Raspberry, Captain Jack Coconut Rum, Blue Curacao, and pineapple juice), as well as draft and bottled beers and a wine selection.

Directions to Ned Devine's:  Quincy Market Building in the Faneuil Hall Marketplace; 617-248-9900

Times Irish Pub and Restaurant overlooking Boston Harbor

Overlook the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the lively Boston waterfront as you sip your Guinness. 

Once overshadowed by Boston's biggest highway mistake, the Central Artery (now gone thanks to the "Big Dig"), the Times now enjoys one of the loveliest spots in the city. 

With 20 beers on tap and some great (and affordably-priced) Irish bar food - try the pulled pork sandwich, the fresh-from-the-pier catch of the day, and the award-winning clam chowder - you can't go wrong here. 

Live music on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will add to your enjoyment. 

When the weather is warm, sit out in the outdoor patio area, dubbed "Times Square," gaze at Boston Harbor, and enjoy a pint or two of Ireland's best brew.

Direction to the Times Irish Pub and Restaurant: 112 Broad Street; Financial District, Downtown Boston; Blue Line/Aquarium; 617-357-8463; website

Other Boston Irish Pubs to Consider

You'll find lots of Irish pubs scattered throughout Boston.  Here are a few more that you may want to consider, plus a few in nearby Cambridge and Somerville.

More Boston Irish Pubs

Cuffs

350 Stuart Street in Back Bay Hotel (formerly Jury's); Back Bay, 617-532-3828

The Grand Canal

57 Canal Street near Banknorth Garden; West End; 617-523-1112

Green Dragon

Also one of the most historic Boston taverns - but ownership by the Somers family, who started and own other Boston Irish pubs, has imbued the Green Dragon with a pleasant Irish air in recent years. 

The Harp

85 Causeway Street, West End; 617-742-1010

Hennessy's of Boston

25 Union Street, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Downtown; 617-742-2121

Hurricane O'Reilly's

150 Canal Street near Banknorth Garden, West End; 617-722-0161

Jose McIntyre's

160 Milk Street, Financial District, 617-451-9460

Lir

903 Boylston Street, Back Bay; 617-778-0089

Littlest Bar

Now in a new location, the Littlest Bar is still small, but larger than it was.

47 Province Street; 617-523-9766

M J O'Connor's

27 Columbus Avenue, Park Square area of Downtown, 617-482-2255

McGann's

Occasional Irish music, good food and drink, and plenty of big screens make this Irish pub near Banknorth Garden a great place to hang out before, during, and after Boston Celtics and Bruins games.

197 Portland Street near Banknorth Garden; West End; Green and Orange Lines/North Station; 617-227-4059

Paddy O's

33 Union Street, Downtown Boston, 617-367-2114

Purple Shamrock

1 Union Street near Faneuil Hall, Downtown, 617-227-2060

Irish Pubs in Cambridge

Asgard Irish Pub and Restaurant

350 Massachusetts Avenue; 617-577-9100

Grafton Street

The decor and ambiance will almost make you think that you're in a pub in Dublin's Grafton Street.  You'll also find some of the best food in Harvard Square, as well as plenty of good things to drink.

1274 Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard Square; 617-867-9090

The Plough and Stars

912 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square; 617-492-9653

Toad

1920 Mass Ave, 617-497-4950

Irish Pubs in Somerville

The Burren

247 Elm Street, Davis Square; 617-776-6896

Thirsty Scholar Pub

70 Beacon Street, near Inman Square in Cambridge; 617-497-2294