Murphy's: The Irish Blessing

So after our horrible experience at Fireflies, we were all starving and pissed but we had not given up hope on a good meal quite yet. We decided to drive to King Street because they have a plethora of restaurants and one was bound to be open on a Tuesday night after 9:30 pm. A has an iPhone so we tried to look up some more deals for restaurant week, but we were all getting cranky and decided to park and pick the first decent looking restaurant. Well G did a great job parking, and we were literally right in front of what turned out to be our "Irish Blessing."

When we walked in there was an option to either go upstairs or through a short hallway so we picked the hallway and entered a room with a "please seat  yourself" sign. The room was bustling, but luckily we managed to get a table in the corner. A and I had to use the restroom and by the time we got back, there were menus and glasses of water at the table. 

Murphy's did have a restaurant week menu, 2 for $35, but we all thought that ordering straight from the menu was a much better deal. 

Our waitress promptly returned and took our orders. She was a vegetarian so she could not offer much advice on the menu but she let us know what the popular choices were. 

I decided to get the Hot and Hearty Irish Stew "a generous bowl of stew consisting of beef, potatoes, carrots, peas and onions." Amazing! The meat was moist and flavorful. Everything was cooked right, the seasoning and the texture of the items in the stew were perfect. It is a great deal, under $10, I would definitely order this again.(This is one of the top 3 most ordered items)

G decided to get the Corned Beef and Cabbage "thinly sliced brisket corned beef served on a hearty portion of boiled green cabbage with sauteed potatoes, celery and boiled carrots." The meat was moist and the cabbage was cooked well but it lacked in the actual corned beef seasoning. While G is not sure he would order this again, he was not unsatisfied with his meal and managed to finish most of it.

A got the Jameson's Strip Steak "charbroiled 12oz NY strip steak seasoned with spices and Jameson's Irish Whiskey served with fresh baked potato and vegetables." The waitress said that this dish was what the owners always get when they come in to eat. This was probably one of the most expensive items on the menu (approx $16) but well worth the price. The portion was hearty(12 oz of steak!) and she ended up giving some of it to R to finish, the meat was well cooked and flavored wonderfully. A let me try a piece and I though it tasted great and I would definitely order this.

R got the Irish Meat and Potato Pie "a homemade blend of beef, sausage, minced onions and mashed potatoes in a pie crust topped with gravy and served with Murphy's cottage fries." R was satisfied with his meal, he finished it all and topped it off with some of the bread from my meal. I tried a little of this and I thought it was good, but I am not a fan of meat in pie-like forms so I probably would not order this. (a top 3 most ordered!)

After being 100% satisfied with our meals we decided to have a go at the dessert menu. Desserts were $3.50 each (great deal!) and if you wanted ice cream an extra $1. I got the Baileys Cake which was rich, moist and chocolatey.I would have preferred more Bailey's flavor-there was only a slight hint, not really enough to dub this a "Baileys cake."

And R and A got the Apple Cobbler w/ a side of vanilla ice cream. They both seemed to enjoy this dish. I thought the flavors were nice but I was not too fond of the texture of the apples, I thought they should have been cooked a little longer. Overall these desserts were pretty good, but I probably would not order them again. I'd probably get a hearty beer with my meal instead.  

The atmosphere of Murphy's was amazing. It was everything an Irish Pub should be. It was crowded and noisy (but we could still converse with each other) and the service was good. The inside smelled wonderful, they had a fire lit which produced a homey, comfy smell. (pics are inside, blurry bc i did not have my flash on)

 

In addition to a great environment the music was awesome, performed by musician Ronan Kavanagh. He made me want to learn what he was singing-he was very interactive with the pub and they actually participated in his songs. He sang what I assumed were Irish songs, and he also threw a few modern hits in like his own version of Rihanna's Umbrella, not sure which one I like better. I tried recording him singing on my camera, but it was horrible quality so I will spare your ears.

I really want to go here with a few friends over a weekend and have a couple of beers just to chill and listen to the music. I would also come here to eat again, they have several items on the menu that I would either get again or I would like to try, and I highly recommend going here.


*the guy who brought our food out had an Irish accent, which made my night a heck of a lot better*

713 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 548-1717