Tux P.'s Profile

We really liked this place, which is a pleasant surprise in its location in the city. Overall, it looks like a pretty genuine German-focused bar and restaurant.

The interior (at least the bar area... we didn't venture into the full seating room) was interesting, with swords, some nice paintings (including a nude), and what looked to me to be a stuffed wolverine head. The light was REALLY low, so it was difficult even reading the menu, but since we were at the bar, I can't really complain.

We were looking for drinks and appetizers, and that's what we got here. The "cheese and pickles" plate had a german name that I didn't even try to pronounce, and was very good, if a bit sparce. A bit more cheese and a few more pickles would have been good. The hot mustard was very good, and I liked the crackers although my wife wasn't a huge fan.

We were intrigued by the "absinthe" accoutrements (fancy ice-cold water dispenser on the bar, etc.) but didn't sample the offerings. Shots were $10-$12. Maybe next time!

We weren't in the mood for a full meal, but I really want to go back to try their Sauerbraten.

Meh.

We tried this place out, and really had high hopes for it after some of the TV commercials we'd seen. I fully expected them to be able to mix a decent margarita, but we were disappointed.

The margaritas were the worst I can remember having: much too sweet and watered down.

The menu looked OK, and consisted mostly of mexican fare. We ended up getting the "Seafood Basket" - crab cakes and Buffalo shrimp over fries; the crab cakes were tasty and good, but I think didn't mix well with the soggy buffalo shrimp. The fries were so-so.

The bar staff was efficient and helpful, but not overly friendly.

It appears this place caters to a later crowd than we were a part of. My wife said there was a dance club upstairs, but we didn't check it out.

Decent little spot for a drink! My wife and I did a 40's+ version of bar-hopping, and went to 3 spots (this being the last) for drinks and munchies before calling it a night at 9PM. Suffice it to say, we're looking for something outside of the normal college-crowd fare.

Nothing about this place really jumps out as unique or gimmicky - it's just a very nice, friendly, bar with a moderate selection:  Guinness and Smithwicks were on tap along with other domestic offerings; Newcastle and Red Stripe were in bottles; and the wine was certainly acceptable too. There is also a full liquor selection.

We had started earlier with margaritas, and stuck with them here too. The bartender did a good job with her mixing of them. We sip Patron and don't mix with it, but they had that available along with a couple of other tequilas and Cuervo.

The prices were all very reasonable.

The appetizer list is not long, but it all looked good. There is no full menu. We had the mozzarella wedges, which were nicely spiced.

The pool table was pretty scuzzy - but this is a bar, not a pool hall.

I give them high marks for having Closed Captioning on the TV over the bar. The music selection was good too - not bass thumping or modern. It was loud enough to hear and enjoy, but not so loud as to interfere with conversation.

Parking was plentiful, too. I am not sure how bad it may get later on in the evening, though. In any case, a municipal parking lot is right next to it.

So, in short: good, friendly, inexpensive, convenient, and unassuming. Sometimes, this is exactly what the doctor ordered!

Don't let the outside fool you! This place is great!

My wife and I were taking our 3 kids to see the Pawsox (http://www.pawsox.com/), and had heard good things about this place, so decided to give it a try. We almost didn't go in though... the surrounding neighborhood is a bit run-down and the outside of this place seemed to scream "dive" to us... but I scouted ahead and called everyone in as soon as I checked out the menu and the interior.

By no means is this a 5-star restaurant.. but it does have great food and a very good beer menu too. The "flights" are pretty neat too... 4 or 6 selections served in tiny glasses - I had the "hop" one (IPA's) and was pleased with all of them. The wait staff was very friendly and accommodating too. The clientele appeared pretty folksy and fun, but we were the only ones with kids.

It's sort of on a one-way street, but don't let the location dissuade you from trying this place out.

I wish they had steak & kidney pies and Kilkenny... but I'll keep looking!

Our favorite restaurant in Massachusetts, hands-down.

Incredible steaks, awesome sushi, and a suberb atmosphere. The wait-staff is very good - everyone is attentive and friendly. My wife and I have been there many times, and tend to see the same faces over and over again. The desserts are very good, too.

We also like the fact that they're "kid-friendly". I'm not saying they have a kitschy kids' menu and crayons (they don't), but they'll certainly accommodate younger guests.

Reservations are highly recommended. There's valet parking if needed, but most of the time there are a few spots open close to the door.

Really nice little place! My wife and I were surprised at how small it was when we showed up for dinner; we didn't have reservations, but were seated at the sushi bar immediately.

The edamame and fresh greens salad were good appetizers, although the soy beans were lacking a bit in quantity. I liked the fact that, unlike some other sushi establishments, they didn't try to "hip it up" with the accoutrements - they had regular bamboo chopsticks, normal plates, no funky soy sauce dispensers, etc.

We had an assortment of sushi and maki rolls. The sushi was very good, but the only truly exceptional item we had all night (including the 'Lion King' maki roll) was the Spicy Hamachi maki roll.

The presentation on the rolls was.. interesting. I'd have expected everything to come in a 'boat', a tray of some sort, or on a single plate, but instead we got 3 complete plates. Seeing as how we were seated at the sushi bar, this took up quite a bit of real estate.

The wait staff was excellent. Our waitress made a point of asking if this was our first time there, and when we said it was, explaining that they use a lot of crushed peanuts in their sauces. We're not allergic to peanuts, but don't prefer it on our sushi, so she said she would take care of it for us (and did.)

BTW, there are two parking lots for this place (good thing!) - one in front that can hold maybe 4 cars, and then a larger one where they share space with a bank. We were lucky enough to get a spot out front, but don't despair if it's your first time and there are no spots - just drive around the corner.

I should also mention that my wife and I were appreciative of the fact that the TV over the bar area had closed captioning on. It still amazes me that most places go through the trouble of putting a nice LCD in the bar area with the sound off, and then don't utilize this feature.

Three things keep this place from getting 5 stars in my book:
1. Price. The food is very good, but still pretty pricey in my opinion for what you get.
2. Quantity. As above, the amount of food and drink you get for the price should be a bit more.
3. The sushi menu. Not the items ON the menu, but the menu itself... instead of the traditional slim piece of paper, the sushi menu is a full sheet, with a pretty small font size. This lead me to ordering uni sashimi when I really wanted tako sashimi... I should have sent it back, but I was going to order uni anyway (sushi though). Anyway, I think this could be improved.

Anyway, I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. Willy's still remains my favorite sushi restaurant in the Worcester area, but this is a very good option, too.

We checked out O'Connor's last night, after reviewing their online menu (http://www.oconnorsres...) and deciding that we all had a hankering for something on the menu.

It's very easy to get to, and is right off of 190. There's plentiful parking.

The wait-staff seated us promptly (we had called ahead for reservations) and brought us our drinks. The atmosphere was nice - lots of 'traditional' Irish paraphernalia on the walls.

The drink menu was fine, but lacked Kilkenny Draught, which is a pretty common beer in Ireland, and for which I developed a taste on my last visit. I'm still searching for a restaurant in central Mass that serves it...

The "McIlhenny's "Hot" Irish Style Calamari" was pretty good, and better than I expected it to be. Crispy, not too spicy (but still hot), and not overdone like so many fried calamari dishes are.

For our entrees, my wife got the Salmon, which looked pretty thick, and she said was good. I asked if they could do a Steak and Kidney pie, but the menu was fixed: Beef, Mushroom and Guinness Pie. I still ordered it, and was impressed with the size of the serving, the taste, and the tenderness of the steak pieces.. while I think it would be even better with some kidney, it was excellent. The pastry topping was thin, flaky, and crispy.. perfect.

On the way out, there's a nice little gift shop too, with celtic jewelry and Irish CD's. I liked the way it was just there, but not something you have to waltz through to get out of the restaurant.

So, all-in-all, very good, and I'd give them Five Stars if they started serving Kilkenny and some sort of kidney dish.

My wife and I liked it. The prices were a bit high, but the maki rolls and nigiri we had were excellent. The Uni, in particular, was spectacular.

The only complaint I have was that there were too few sushi chefs on duty. We had to wait a reasonably long time for a pretty simple order.. but it was worth it.

I wasn't a huge fan of the metal chopsticks (I prefer good bamboo ones, myself), but admit that they 'go' with the up-scale Asian theme.

The wait staff was attentive and friendly, and the overall design of the place was very cool.

We'll go back. Definitely an enjoyable place.

They used to have more beer than they do now years ago, but the variety is still incredible. One of my all-time favorites, Cave Creek Chili Beer, is no longer on the beer menu (darn!), but they've got other stuff to make up for it. The food menu has changed a bit over the years too, but Cajun Fried Calamari is back on the menu (hopefully for good!) and everything we've had is great.

They also have a small selection of 'other' drinks, like wine, mixed drinks, etc. I drink beer when I'm at the Sunset, but my wife has tried their sake cocktails and said they're pretty good.

The pool hall upstairs shares somewhat of the same food and drink menu. It's a different business (same owner), though

Anyway, it's hard to go wrong with this spot. Great crowd, great service, great food... and great beer.

We gave this place a shot a few weeks ago. Wow, was it crowded! We had to wait for awhile to be seated, but it appeared to be a fun atmosphere at least.

When we finally did sit, the waitress explained the menu to us. The Valentine's day combo's didn't really save you all that much money, and were a bit misleading.. only one of the combo prices was listed (the least expensive). Anyway, I decided on a T-bone, and my wife went with the prime rib. As I always do when I have good steak, I order it RARE, and given that the menu rated rare as a "cool red center", I figured I'd be safe. No such luck - it was medium-rare. Granted, I could have just chowed down, but I did order rare, and it was our first time there, so I sent it back. A real rare steak was delivered 10 minutes later or so by one of the managers, and was much better than the one I sent back.

Anyway, the food was good (not great), but the prices, imho, were. Definitely a good food value here.. food and drinks for my wife and I and our 3 kids came to ~$80ish... that's not too bad for a steakhouse! The service was very good too.. the waitress was attentive and friendly, even after I sent the steak back.

So.. we'll be back. It's not the One-Eleven, and I definitely miss Cactus Pete's... but it's good. Oh yeah... the roasted peanuts and peanut shells all over the floor were a plus! :D

BTW, if the line is out-the-door as it normally is, give the sushi place next door (Kyoto) a shot - not the best in Worcester, but definitely not the worst either.