Doherty's Irish Pub Restaurant Review - Cary, NC

1979 High House Road

Cary, NC  27519

(919) 388-9930

Exterior View

Interior View

Fish & Chips - $15.00

The Mullingar - $13.00

This is a review for an Irish Pub called Doherty's located in Cary, North Carolina. They are in the same shopping center as the new Asian market, H Mart. They are open from 11 am until midnight Monday through Friday. Saturday they are open until 2 am and Sunday they open early at 9 am. Their health inspection score is currently 94.5, which is good. We visited on a Saturday at 5 pm. 

We were immediately greeted by a hostess who seated us at a table. I thought for sure we had arrived early enough to get a booth, but all the booths were shockingly filled already except the one for more than four people. Apparently, they didn't want to seat two people there. The ceiling is filled with fans which have recessed lights behind them that cast a flashing light on the tables due to the movement of the fan which made me nauseous. My husband asked the hostess if they could turn the fan off, so it would stop making a flashing light. Instead she escorted us to the back of the restaurant where there were no fans though I could still see the flashing lights at the nearby booths. This is the point that we should have left, I didn't have a good feeling about it. This is the section they play darts and it's behind the register. It feels like you are in the second class section. The timid waitress came by after a significant wait and took our order. When asking questions about the entrees on the menu, she was unsure of many of her answers. Instead of telling us she would ask management for the answers and be right back, she just said she wasn't sure or didn't know. I ordered the Fish & Chips which are described as "light & flakey whitefish batter fried & served with hand cut fries, haricot vert, tarter sauce and malt vinegar". The waitress said she thought it might be pollock. Everything was served lukewarm except the fish which was hot. They must have prepared all of the food except the fish in advance since the food came out so quickly, there is no way it had time to cool off in such a short amount of time. The overcooked fries were greasy enough to upset my stomach immediately, so I had to stop eating them. The green beans tasted pretty good, but it's a shame they weren't served hot or warm. Traditionally, Fish & Chips are served with mushy peas not green beans. The tarter sauce was just ordinary. The fish batter didn't have much flavor, I was expecting beer batter since it's an Irish bar! I've had better tasting fried fish at the fast food restaurants Long John Silvers and Captain D's. Having British parents and having eaten Fish & Chips in the UK, I'm certainly a good judge of this entree. If you are ever in England, you must try Fish & Chips there, they are so intensely scrumptious! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The Doherty's Fish & Chips were a huge disappointment especially at the price tag of $15.00! Hubby ordered the Mullingar which is described as "Guinness braised brisket laced with fresh mushrooms, caramelized onions and topped with creamy horseradish sauce". The menu also states that it comes with a traditional Irish potato pancake, potato croquettes and haricot vert (green beans). When the brisket arrived I was shocked at how disgusting it looked, see photo above. There are certainly no fresh mushrooms and I have never seen brisket that awful color. It looks like they put the meat in a food processor! What in the world did they do to it? Brisket is suppose to have a pink color to it and not processed. My husband who's on a low carb diet asked to skip the potato pancake and croquettes yet the waitress brought them to the table. The presentation was appalling. All of his food was brought to the table lukewarm. The waitress later came by asking if we liked it and she clearly doesn't know how to read body language because we were extremely disappointed. She even went so far as to ask if we wanted a to go box which I found so irritating. She just didn't get it. Someone who didn't introduce himself, who I'm guessing must have been the manager, asked if we liked the food also. Wow, he doesn't know how to read body language either or he just didn't want to deal with complaints. Most of the time we don't voice our complaints, we just don't return to the restaurant. The only time I complain is when I'm sent a survey by email or if there is a comment card brought with the check. I really dislike it when management doesn't introduce themselves, he just looked like a guy off the street since he wasn't in any type of uniform. The wait staff was wearing all black, but he was not. He didn't have a smile for us either. It was very dark in the restaurant and the decor is worn and outdated and the chairs uncomfortable. Start with an overall unwelcoming and uncomfortable experience, add the nauseating light and appearance of the brisket and it adds up to one of the worst restaurant experiences I remember in a long time. Needless to say we will not return and I recommend you skip this restaurant. Sometimes it's unenjoyable being a food blogger and after this experience we took a break from trying new restaurants and stuck with our favorite restaurants.  While I dislike having to write bad reviews and I have put off writing this one, readers have come to expect my honesty, so here it is.

What's your favorite restaurant and who has the best Fish & Chips in the area? Be sure to check out my other restaurant reviews before you go. There is a list of them on my Pinterest Restaurant Reviews Board. Follow this blog via Twitter, Google +, Bloglovin', Facebook or Networked Blogs. Please share this restaurant review blog post with your friends via Twitter & Facebook: Tweet

Have a PEACEful Day!