Jump to content

Samuel Beckett's Irish Gastropub, - An Irish Pub Putting Out High-Level Food in Shirlington Village


Recommended Posts

Samuel Beckett's Irish Gastro Pub, located near the Signature Theater in Shirlington Village, announced today on their Facebook page that they will open at 3 p.m. this Saturday, January 8th. They caution in the post that they will only have a restricted food menu, and ask patrons to please be patient with us as they smooth out the 'bumps' for the first week.

Samuel Beckett's will boast three bars, 280 seats, and two fireplaces in its 5,500-square-foot space. The facade and interior were manufactured by an Irish company, and have been shipped overseas to Shirlington.

I've been watching this particular enterprise take shape over the last six months during my trips to Shirlington Village. The interior looks fantastic, and I am curious to see how they approach the food.

TSchaad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This place looks exactly like a new branch of Fado. I would assume the food will be similar.

I would expect that a lot of tarragon would be used in the kitchen.

I wonder if they will also serve a cross-cultural "Pozzo-le"?

I have heard that they will require all patrons to remove their boots and to stare repeatedly into their de rigueur fedoras.

No doubt there will be a rousing, too-loud techno soundtrack to "hold the terrible silence at bay,"

I can only implore one and all: Go Go!!! And consider yourself Lucky!

I myself am somewhat inspired to open a Knut Hamsun-themed restaurant in response to this nascent trend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I myself am somewhat inspired to open a Knut Hamsun-themed restaurant in response to this nascent trend.

hmm...if you based it on Hunger you'd only occasionally, and randomly, have to serve any food at all, and not much of it when you did. This is fucking genius. Talk about your low food-cost concepts!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm...if you based it on Hunger you'd only occasionally, and randomly, have to serve any food at all, and not much of it when you did. This is fucking genius. Talk about your low food-cost concepts!

Or someone could open "Babette's Feast" and be out of business in a week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope the interior is more impressive than the facade because from the outside it looks like an Elephant and Castle.

:) That's what I thought when I walked by the other night on the way to the theater. It's "themed" inside, but might turn out to be on o.k. place to grab dinner before a show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went on Saturday (opening night). Here are my impressions:

Ambiance: A. It's a big space, and was packed when I arrived a little before 6:00. At the same time, it was not impossible to move around, and there was no inordinate jostling and/or dirty looks when brushing past people (can't say the same for every crowded bar I've been to around here). The crowd was a mixture of young and not-so-young; roaming around the place, I determined that it would be less crushing at the smaller upstairs bar. Once I got a seat, I found it to be very comfortable. Patrons at the bar were friendly, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood.

Service: A++ . The attractive, friendly, knowledgeable young staff exuded a feeling of “I really want to be here right now and serve you”, and were obviously very well-trained. Both bartenders (a guy and a gal) were Irish. As I approached the crowded bar, the female bartender immediately made eye contact and asked me what I would have. Later on (while I was still hanging around the crowded bar waiting to get a seat), a server who had responsibility for tables also greeted me and asked if I needed anything. By my observation, things went unbelievably smooth for opening night; if anyone got flustered, they sure didn't show it.

Food: A+. The Lamb Burger (ordered cooked medium) was superb – the lamb flavor was quite intense, and the burger was topped with bleu cheese crumbles, shredded lettuce, and a slice of tomato on a nicely toasted bun. The accompanying fries (chips) were nothing to write home about; not bad, but not quite what I expected. They were not crisp; more like slivers of baked potato or home fries (maybe that's how they do them Ireland; don't know, never been...)

Beer: B-. The draft selection is just not quite my style, although they do pour a proper pint of Guinness. I tried the Beckett's Ale, Guinness, and Smithwick's, none of which really did it for me; would be nice to see them add some local stuff, like maybe Dogfish Head 60 Minute. I noticed Sierra Nevada and Newcastle Brown in bottles in the cooler behind the bar. It was amusing to hear a customer being chided (in a good-natured way) by the male Irish bartender for ordering a Bass: “This is an Irish bar!”

In summation, Beckett's certainly appears to be a viable addition to the relatively slim quality food and drink options in Shirlington. I expect the crowds will remain for some time to come; it will be interesting to see if they can maintain the same level of service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We went last night and had a very good experience.

The service was, as was mentioned above, amazingly good. I had the rocket salad and was pleased by the freshness of the ingredients as well as the light dressing. Mr. lperry went for all out comfort food with the bacon and cabbage. It was two large pieces of pig over mashed potatoes and cooked, shredded cabbage. He reported that everything was delicious, and was a little sad that he didn't have room for the second piece of bacon, which was perfectly cooked. We were also impressed to see the manager (owner?) on the floor checking on tables.

A couple of things could use improvement. First, the hostesses are very young and were more interested in twirling their hair and chatting than watching the door. That said, when they did notice us, the one who seated us was very helpful, choosing a table for us in the back where it wasn't quite so loud. The second item, that maybe isn't really a problem, is that the food came out really fast - a matter of just a few minutes. When paired with the loud atmosphere, I felt rushed, although this is just a matter of personal preference, and isn't really the fault of the pub.

I have to admit that we were surprised by how good the experience was. We eat out several times a week, but I rarely report in because most of our experiences are just OK. I'm happy to be running three for three right now, and will be returning to Beckett's in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mr. MV and I dined at Beckett's before a show at the Signature Theater. I like the space and the loft, where we were seated (actually, we were shown to a 2 top at the top of the stairs, right next to the wall, and asked for another table and were seated by the railing overlooking the front room). We started with salads - mine a fried goat cheese which is satisfactory but eclipsed by Arties, same for Mr. MV's blue cheese wedge salad, which falls short of Ray's.

My main was the fish and chips and I really liked the fish--perfectly fried and crispy, yet not greasy, and came with tartar sauce, a huge wedge of lemon and malt vinegar on the table. The fries were golden, crispy and creamy wedges and remarkably survived (for the most part) being served under the fish, sliced red onions (why??) and sliced, marinated tomato (again, wtfrick?). Why they would serve ostensibly good fries under a pile of food that dares to make them soggy, I don't know!

Overall, a nice plate of food for $11. I'd recommend giving it a try.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being brand new residents of Virgina (lived in DC for over 11 years) we coaxed our Capitol Hill friends to join us for brunch yesterday in Shirlington at Beckett's. We've walked by it a few times and had been curious to try it.

Ambiance - Beautiful upholstery and interior. My husband, who's worked & lived in Dublin said it looked very authentic. Looks like a nice, fun place to grab a pint.

Food - Since it was brunch, we ordered the lamb burger, traditional Irish breakfast, salmon fritatta & Irish mueslix & fruit. The lamb burger was delicious, it didn't taste so lamb-y (and I like lamb). The blue cheese melted on it was a perfect accompaniment. The fries were not crispy, slightly mealy & undercooked (an unfortunate common trend in the DC metro area) B) The traditional Irish breakfast had 3 types of sausage (bangers, rashers & black & white pudding). Black & white pudding is basically a black blood sausage (morcilla in Spanish), but this was was made with oats, so it had a bread texture to it. The salmon fritatta was tasty, but lacking in --- salmon. We only saw one forkful's worth of salmon. This was disappointing as it was quite tasty & they charge extra for the salmon. My guest didn't want to say anything to them, but if you are going to up charge, be sure to produce the item.

Drinks - We had the Irish Breakfast Tea which was DELICIOUS. I'd go back just for the tea (and the lamb burger).

Service - Friendly & knowledgeable

Will give this place another try & go for dinner or lunch sometime. Definitely a nice place to watch soccer or the World Cup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The traditional Irish breakfast had 3 types of sausage (bangers, rashers & black & white pudding). Black & white pudding is basically a black blood sausage (morcilla in Spanish), but this was was made with oats, so it had a bread texture to it. .

You apparently did have three types of sausage, but you've got your terminology a bit mixed up. Bangers are the Irish sausages served as links. Rashers are what looks like Canadian bacon. (What the Irish call bacon is more like what we call ham here in the US.) Black pudding and white pudding are two different things, both a form of sausage that's typically served by slicing the links into little hockey pucks before frying. Black pudding is the blood sausage, and white pudding is the sausage made with oats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess Beckett's does it differently because the black & white pudding served at Beckett's was the blood sausage mixed with oats, so they did look like little hockey pucks but they had a bread texture to them. We didn't get any separate white sausage or blood sausage without oats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess Beckett's does it differently because the black & white pudding served at Beckett's was the blood sausage mixed with oats, so they did look like little hockey pucks but they had a bread texture to them. We didn't get any separate white sausage or blood sausage without oats.

Then you didn't have three types of sausages, because as I said above rashers aren't a sausage. And BTW, white pudding is not actually white, it's light brown. Indeed it's often as dark or even darker brown when cooked than bangers are. Maybe Beckett's has some exotic recipe, but normally what makes a pudding white rather than black is the absence of blood, so calling something a "black AND white" pudding seems kind of misleading.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because of parking nightmares, this is probably the last time I will venture into Shirlington for a weekday lunch. I mean, who are all these people and why did they all drive to Shirlington?

In any event, this place was a little better than I expected, as judged by Irish Pub standards. The decor was typical of what you see in other faux Irish Pubs (by "faux" I mean it is in Virginia after all), but struck me as a tad more authentic, especially the front area with the cloth covered stools. The place is a whole lot larger than any pub I remember in Ireland.

The staff was extremely pleasant and efficient. The downstairs was about half filled at 1:30pm, and the staff made quick work of the room without making you feel rushed. The chowder of the day was a Manhattan style seafood chowder. Save for what appeared to be baby shrimp, the seafood (mini mussels and squid mostly) were very tender, although some of the vegetables could have been a little crisper. All in all, a good chowder, despite my quibbles, and served with a slice of brown bread with Irish butter (at least that is what it said on the wrapper). I am a sucker for Irish bacon and opted for an Irish bacon panini, served on a nice chewy roll, pressed with a criss-cross pattern, with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. That was a good sandwich. The side was a so-so pasta salad, with too much mayo and not much else to compliment the bowties.

It is definiitely worth trying again, to see what else they can do. I am still on the fence as to whether it is worth the parking hassle. Maybe it was just a bad day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I stopped into Samuel Beckett's early Saturday evening, at a time when Shirlington Village was packed outside, but the crowds hadn't yet made their way into the restaurants there - I took a seat at the front bar (there's also a much smaller bar in the back room).

One thing I noticed on this visit was that the selection of beers was ordinary, at best - there were plenty to choose from, but I was struggling to find something of interest. Often, in situations such as this, I'll go ahead and try something I haven't tried before, figuring that if I wasn't going to be delighted with my beer, I could at least have a new experience.

The last time I had a Smithwick's was at Duffy's Irish Pub, and I believe that might have been the Pale Ale, so I ordered a pint of Smithwick's Premium Irish Ale (a painful $7). Brewed in Kilkenny, Ireland by Guinness Brewery, this is a mediocre, mass-produced beer that leans malty and slightly sour, and reminded me of why I haven't had one in several years.

Samuel Beckett's is one of only two Irish pubs in the DC area that I have ranked in Italic in the Dining Guide (the other being Daniel O'Connell's in Old Town). In my experiences, these two have stood head-and-shoulders above any of the others I've tried, and I was curious to see how well Samuel Beckett's has stood up over the past few years - I was last here perhaps three years ago. Having confidence in the kitchen, and noticing that both items I got on my previous visit (the Tipperary Tart and the Vol-au-Vent) are still on the menu, I went ahead and ordered something of a high-risk dish - the daily special of Beef Wellington ($22), six ounces of steak, cooked to a perfect medium-rare (although my bartender said they were coming out medium), and served with a generous scoop of Parmesan Mashed Potatoes and Broccolini with a bit of dark reduction sauce under the Beef Wellington.

Well, not only was I pleasantly surprised "for an Irish pub," but I thought this was one of the best Beef Wellington dishes I've had in many, many years. I adore Beef Wellington, and see it so rarely that I nab it whenever I can, but I haven't seen it in a long time now - this was a fantastic version, so good that I almost ordered a second one to have for lunch the next day, but I realized that it wouldn't reheat very well, and that (as my mom always said) "my eyes were bigger than my stomach." The potatoes were delicious, and the broccolini, while well-cooked and coming in a generous pile, was plain, unseasoned, and the only thing on the plate that needed improvement. This was a big winner for Samuel Beckett's that would draw me back on a regular basis if I could have some assurance it would be a regular dish on the menu.

For my second beer, I switched to a bottle of New Belgium Ranger IPA ($5), a stereotypical American IPA brewed in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was full of hops and citrus, and reminded me of why I so rarely get American IPAs. No matter - the Beef Wellington was the calling card of this unexpectedly wonderful dinner, and I hope to see that dish taking its rightful place on Samuel Beckett's menu on a permanent basis. A fantastic job from the kitchen of this large Irish pub, which remains enthusiastically in Italic, and rests alone atop the restaurants in Shirlington Village - if there's a better restaurant than this in the neighborhood, I'd love to hear about it.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don,

A couple of thoughts. With regards to Irish pubs, have you had a chance to check out "The Room" at McGinty's in Silver Spring? I've thought the overall quality of their pub and Irish food (fish and chips, stews and the like) has improved over the last couple of years as they brought in the new chef (and I believe, new owners). This is a completely different concept within the restaurant - an upscale bistro with mains generally in the $15-$25 range. I've not tried it - I was in to the regular bar to watch the Women's World Cup match and it was virtually empty at 8 PM (may have been one table filled). Irrespective of the quality of the cooking, both at the bar areas and in this bistro, I do wonder if the concept of a "restaurant within a pub" might be too complex.

With regards to Shirlington, I was just there the other day visiting a friend who moved in and you're right, it's mostly a food desert. However, I was looking on Yelp (I know, I know) and it appears there is a new Italian restaurant called Osteria da Nino which has really strong reviews - 4.5 stars, for whatever that's worth. It looks like Hopsing just started a thread with a positive review on Sunday, so you may want to check that out as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don,

A couple of thoughts. With regards to Irish pubs, have you had a chance to check out "The Room" at McGinty's in Silver Spring? I've thought the overall quality of their pub and Irish food (fish and chips, stews and the like) has improved over the last couple of years as they brought in the new chef (and I believe, new owners). This is a completely different concept within the restaurant - an upscale bistro with mains generally in the $15-$25 range. I've not tried it - I was in to the regular bar to watch the Women's World Cup match and it was virtually empty at 8 PM (may have been one table filled). Irrespective of the quality of the cooking, both at the bar areas and in this bistro, I do wonder if the concept of a "restaurant within a pub" might be too complex.

With regards to Shirlington, I was just there the other day visiting a friend who moved in and you're right, it's mostly a food desert. However, I was looking on Yelp (I know, I know) and it appears there is a new Italian restaurant called Osteria da Nino which has really strong reviews - 4.5 stars, for whatever that's worth. It looks like Hopsing just started a thread with a positive review on Sunday, so you may want to check that out as well.

jdc,

I don't read Yelp, but you can rest assured I took notice of hopsing's post about Osteria da Nino, and it's on my short list. I wish you could have had that Beef Wellington I ordered - it was shockingly good.

I haven't been to The Room yet, but it's posts like yours that put these places on my radar, and now it is. I wish more people - even restaurateurs - would bring things to my attention here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This place is awesome. Very few Irish bars have great food (in my opinion), but this place is great. Lamb stew is great, shepherds pie is great, lamb burger is great. No need for details - this is place is just better than solid gastro pub food, fair price, and very neighborhood-y. Love it. They even have some curry dishes, cementing it's UK bonefides.

Aaaaand ... If you live in the area, and are a runner, they host the shirlington running club, which meets on Tuesdays. We run about 3-4 miles on Tuesday at 630, then eat and drink after. Very good crew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went there first time on Saturday morning for brunch with a toddler and newborn.   Rugby was on which drew a good crowd in the front, but they reserved a great booth/couch spot in the slower back area which served us well.  The server was really accommodating and the food was surprisingly good.  I had an on point Irish full breakfast, something I have been looking to find for a little while.  The only thing missing was the tomato (would just ask the next time), but the potato cake was a nice addition to the usually suspects. Wife had their Benedict variant with the potato pancakes and the smoked salmon and nothing but good things to say.  It was a little bit of a drive, but we both vowed to make it part of the rotation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...