Finn McCool's Irish Pub

Finn McCool's Irish PubFinn McCool's Irish Pub
Finn McCool's Irish PubFinn McCool's Irish Pub
Bar, Eatery

2702 Main St
Santa Monica, California, 90405-4008
United States

(310) 452-1734 | map
finnmccoolsirishpub.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.44
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
7
pDev:
10.17%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by PintOHops:
Photo of PintOHops
Reviewed by PintOHops from California

3.38/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4
Beer prices - 4-6 bucks a pint.

When my bro and I where vacationing in Santa Monica we heard of this place and had to check it out. It looked pretty nice inside with lots of dark wood, lots of seating and plenty of huge flat screen tvs that where very quite and some where muted. It was around 2-3pm on a Fri and almost completely empty.Our server was the only one taking care of the bar and serving what little customers they had.

Finn McCool's has a great selection of authentic Irish food, we got the Irish sampler, which was basically a plate of fried evil goodness! Came with calamari, 2-hollowed out loaded baked potato skins with Irish bacon, 2-big onion rings, and 5-chicken wings with two dipping sauces for 12-13 bucks I think. The serving was enough for two people, and it tasted pretty fresh and was very good.

Taps are Sam Adams Boston Lager, Guinness Stout, Lagunitas IPA, Bass Pale Ale, and I think Killians Irish Red, more on tap but didn't get a good look. At one point the Irish guy running the joint got caught up in conversation with the only women at the bar, and because we sat far away from the bar he forgot about us! We had to come find him to order another brew, and he brought it to us promptly, apologized and gave us a couple shots of Jameson Whiskey!

When we got our check we where charged the happy hour price on one of our brews, and it wasn't happy hour, so that was very nice. Overall it's a very nice place to check out, not a great selection of beer but worth dropping in for an authentic Irish experience.
Oct 06, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of tappangordo
Reviewed by tappangordo from New York

3.78/5  rDev +9.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75
Nice place in Santa Monica. Was surprised to find a ligit Irish pub in California for some reason. Decent beer selection and so every good food. I'm sure there are places with better beer selection but as someone from NY I did get to watch a Rangers game while having dinner. So no complaints.
Mar 25, 2016
 
Rated: 3.12 by LADaveBN from California

Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by countrybat from California

May 20, 2014
Photo of Retsinis
Reviewed by Retsinis from Arizona

3.3/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4
Went to Finn McCool's for a birthday Pub Crawl and had a good time.

Being an Irish Bar, they have the expected offerings, though Ye Old Kings head, as well as Britannica a few blocks away, have more of an authentic Pub feel imho, as this place is much larger, and a bit more on the trendy side.

The food is good Pub Food, but their deserts really shine.

Overall a nice bar to check out if your in the area. Though for a better craft beer selection, check out Library Alehouse up the street ( but that place can get CROWDED!)
Oct 07, 2010
Photo of ILikeGoodCider
Reviewed by ILikeGoodCider from New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +19.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Visited this place on a warm Saturday night in January. I had five friends along & we found a nice, traditional sectioned-off area along the rail.

Selection was suitable. Staff was Irish (or really good at faking the accent, but it seemed authentic). Seems like the crowd was comfortable & settled in after a few years in the neighborhood.

We did not eat, but had a few brews before heading down Main St. to our favorite Sushi joint (Creative Sushi).

Please consider my Selection rating of 4.5 to be skewed because they have Magner's Cider on tap. Magner's is my favorite cider & is worth at least 0.5-1.0 extra on the selection meter... My apologies.
Jan 18, 2009
Photo of Rumrunner
Reviewed by Rumrunner from California

3.4/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3
Finn McCool's has been in Santa Monica for about a year. The place used to be a trendy California cuisine piano bar restaurant. A little remodeling, a new facade and now it is an Irish pub. In fact it even says it is, 'a traditional Irish pub' under the name on the sign.

Because this place is relatively new it lacks the Irish, British, Scottish and Welsh clientele. Mostly American's on the nights I have been there. Nothing wrong with that. Ye Olde Kings Head and Britannia pubs are frequented by the Brithish transplants much more than Finn's. There is no darts and no billiards. A giant big screen tv for sports and especially MNF is in the back.

The atmosphere is clean and somewhat dull. No real character to this place yet. There are knick nacks and old fashioned decorations on the walls. The bar is a large rectangle made of wood. A nice big bar. Plenty of room. On one side of the bar small wooden walls jut out that serve as a place to set your drink and give a group of people some privacy. The restaurant area is large with plenty of tables and chairs.

The food is good. This in not typical greasy bar fare. It is well prepared and it shows in the cost. Many items typical to Ireland and England on the menu. Plus many items from other parts of the world. A very full menu with a lot of variety. It has a full bar for the non beer drinker.

The beer selection is pretty good but it could be much better. The usual suspects on tap: Guinness, Boddington's, Harp, Bass and a few others. No Tetley's though. There is a small selection of German beers in the bottle and on tap. Stella Artois is on tap. Also a couple of reds and ambers. American beers other than macros are: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Pyramid and Sam Adams. The beers are a bit pricey.

The waitress we had was very attentive and friendly. Excellent marks for the service.

They also have live Irish music. Check website for who and when.

This is a very well run establishment. It falls in the middle of the road for me. There is nothing wrong with the place but it lacks something that would bring me back on a regular basis. Take a chance and give it a try.
Aug 16, 2003
Finn McCool's Irish Pub in Santa Monica, CA
Place rating: 3.44 out of 5 with 7 ratings