The Grand Canal

This was a quick pit stop, but the bartender we spoke to was so helpful in giving us ideas as to what to do in the city. He also gave me a very yummy shot lol. The place cool spot to go in for a drink and hang out.

Probably one of the worst bars that I've ever been to in Boston. My friend Sean and I headed into town a bit early, before the Bruins's game 2 of the first 08/09 playoff round and wanted to grab a quick beer. We had about 35 minutes and figured that there was no way for us to get into the other Canal street bars since the lines were very long but noticed that there was no line here and so we promptly headed in.

There was a terrace which I think is awesome and which ultimately enabled me to give it a star but they didn't let us order any appetizers since they were busy. So they don't want to make money.

We ordered 2 bud lights and they cost us a whooping... ready?... suspense... $11. Seriously, what the hell?

I guess that their overpriced beers make up for the money they lose by refusing to serve appetizers to people.

The music inside is way too loud and disables anyone to have a conversation. It's actually so bad that you can't even call them. My friend Sean thought that he had lost his keys and couldn't find them during the second period. We went to a quiet area and tried to call the bar to see if they had them but you couldn't hear them on the phone because the music was so loud.

This place is stupid and I hope that it goes out of business so that a better place can open because it is a complete waste of a premium location.

We were starving like Marvin and then some when we pulled up to the Grand Canal at around 2pm.

We were seated immediately because there was no one there. We sat in the outdoor patio which was kind of nice but not the best idea because it was hot as balls outside. (The umbrellas at each table didn't provide much shade.)

The service was ehh, okay. No jumping through hoops of fire for us, but that's okay. (It was a bar after all).

Though I was famished and dehydrated I didn't want to eat with my eyes so we ordered fries to start and an order of the Grand Nachos...which aren't much different from the regular nachos by the way (they just have chili and jalapenos).

I'm not sure if it was because I was starving or what, but the food wasn't bad. I will say this though, the ketchup that came with my fries was frozen or something. It was sticky. You know when you let the ketchup dry up on the outside of the McDonalds bag before throwing it out? It was exactly like that. I couldn't dip, baby dip. I was a little pissed because ketchup is my favorite condiment.

Anyway, my partner in crime ordered the chicken alfredo or something of the sort as his meal. I was planning on picking off his plate but in his first bite he ate a piece of plastic. I'm not sure how or why that was in there, but if I were him I wouldn't have eaten the rest of that pasta. It looked gross. Zero points for presentation. He didn't have much to complain about after he fished the plastic out of his teeth. He said the pasta was pretty decent. (Who orders pasta at a bar though is what I'm wondering.)

Cutting to the chase....the experience wasn't half bad until the bill came and we found ourselves sans lube and with our pants around our ankles.

Boo you whore. Grand Canal, you raped my bf's wallet. After tip our bill came to over $50.00 for one appetizer, one side order of fries, one entree, and two lemonades. We didn't even have any alcohol. Our dinner the next night at Noche on Appleton Street almost came out to the same price and we had an app, two entrees, wine, and dessert!

Grand Canal, you my friend...are tripping. 50+ dollars for lunch excluding alcoholic beverages?? No, thank you. You'll never see this face again.

xoxo

The only reason for two stars is the great outdoor deck, and the hostess, who was super nice. I was here on a pub crawl, and it was awful. My friend had called to let them know we would be stopping here.

We arrived a little after 4 on a Saturday, and the place was empty. We sat outside, ordered drinks, and waited for our group to arrive, as this was the first stop, and we were ordering food. We had the worst service ever. One server was great, remembered the lime in my water, was friendly. But the other one was rude, had a bad attitude, skipped people for drinks. Most of the servers were standing around & talking. It took so long to get drinks, that some people started going inside to the bar and coming back out with the drinks. After this happened a couple of times, they were rudely told they could not do this. Well, something should have been said the first time. Obviously, the bartender wasn't upset about it.

When the food came, the kitchen made my order wrong. She offered to take it back, but by that time, I was so disgusted (as was everyone else), that I did not want to wait. She handed my sister's veggie burger to her and said "I think this is the veggie burger." You think? Um, vegetarians do not eat meat. You need to know which is which. All in all, a horrible experience, will never go back.

On Saturday night my friends and I went to the Grand Canal. I rarely go out that way for the bar scene but was glad I did.

Pros:
Live band
No line
The bar was moderately packed
Good mixed drinks
There are areas where you can sit and are less crowded
The crowd was a good mix of ages 23-29

Cons:
$10 cover, could have been $5 especially since the drinks are expensive
Expensive drinks for this type of bar scene
The band played good music (classic rock and contemporary music) but not enough dance music
The bathroom was disgusting and not well kept

Service was mediocre. Drinks took forever. Plenty of options around the area, so opt for pretty much any other bar instead.

Really nothing special, unfortunately.

This place would get two stars for its indoor area, but the deck is fabulous. Go early--it tends to get crowded on Friday for dinner. I've been a couple times and gotten the pub food, which is standard but nothing to write home about (nothing to complain about either), but recently tried the actual lunch/dinner menu and was pleasantly surprised. Our group tried the swordfish and the BBQ platter (both specials) which were both quite tasty, and had just enough alternative-y flavor to be interesting and yet not trying too hard so they were affordable and something I felt comfortable ordering.
I go here for happy hour fairly often; now it is on my list for meals as well. (In the summer, of course, when I can sit on the patio.)

If you're looking a Irish bar in Boston, then look no further and check out The Grand Canal. I hit this place up every time I head to a Celtics game. Food is solid and the guys behind the bar are always fast and friendly. Pretty standard selection of bar food nachos, wings, fries ect... all of which will hit the spot.

The vibe before and after the game are drastically different. If you are heading here after a garden event on a Friday or Saturday night, this place will be popping off!

The most terrible bar I've been to in my entire life! I've been there once for food, which was mediocre at best (even for pub food) and had the worst night out there of my life this past weekend.

Their line is fake! We waited outside for almost an hour (would have left but was meeting friends already inside) in single digit weather when it was not that busy inside. At midnight they let everyone in at once!

They have a coat check where they charge $3 per article and later we discovered they gave my gf's $300 Northface coat to someone else! Then they denied that the coat check even existed! The bouncers were extremely rude and pushed me while I didn't even provoke them. When I talked with the manager about all of this he told me to shut up! They wouldn't call us a cab and kicked us outside. I gave my gf my coat and wandered around to get a cab in horrible winter weather.

The employees here are on a power trip and LIE and STEAL to promote their business! There is no chance I'll ever return. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I wish I'd read the yelp reviews before I stepped foot in here.... but alas the fabulous weather swayed me to have a burger on the gigantic deck in the back. What a mistake. Our seemingly lovely, friendly waitress took our drink and dinner orders and the drinks were promptly brought out.

Then we waited.

Then we waited some more.

Then we waited a little more. This wasn't soo bad, because the weather was great and Celtics fans were everywhere, so the atmosphere was fun. Then a busboy brought out our meals - my burger was average, fish and chips quite good according to my husband.

But we didn't have any utensils, napkins or salt and pepper. So we waited, figuring the waitress would be right out. After watching our food get cold for a few more minutes, I went and sought out our waitress to ask for another beer and forks and knives. She never came. Luckily the hostess was willing to bring us utensils.

When the waitress finally came back to see if we needed anything we were done with our meals and so we asked for the check. SHE CHARGED US FOR THE BEER she never brought. I mean, she never came back to the table, how did she think the beer arrived? I was pissed. I'm not a demanding customer, I know I'm not and I'm hardly ever annoyed that I went to a restaurant, but this sucked beyond belief. I always feel guilty about not leaving a tip, so I still left 10%... and I really wish I hadn't. Adrianna with the dyed blue hair didn't deserve a smile or polite remark, never mind a tip. It wasn't THAT crowded and there appeared to be plenty of servers.

LESSON LEARNED: Read the yelp reviews before you randomly walk in somewhere. I could have avoided this experience. It's an hour and a half I'll never get back.