Eating Out: The Kinsale

The Kinsale Irish Restaurant and Pub is named after a small Cork City in Ireland. It is the sister bar of Desmond O'Mally's in Framingham and both restaurants claim to recreate a warm Irish feel, as the interior was actually designed and built in Ireland. Bostonist felt a little apprehensive because while Ireland is known for great beer, talented writers, and beautiful country sides, their authentic food leaves a lot to be desired.

Located in the Center Plaza in Government Center, Bostonist stopped in after work to see what it really looked like inside. The décor was great and St. Patrick would be proud with the substantial drink selection that features atypical beers on tap and bottles. Special selections of various mixed drinks were also available, as well as several choices of pitchers of that Irish classic, the margarita. The appetizers continued to transport us to Dublin with choices between Baja Chicken Roll and Tuscan Clams.

We held off on the appetizers because we came in craving a Guinness Beef Stew, which was mysteriously absent from the menu. Giving up on authenticity, we ordered a Buffalo Chicken salad and the Fish and Chips. A tiny portion of fish came out on faux newspaper (to our delight), and looked lonely on the plate with the handful of fries underneath. The fish batter was crispy, but the whitefish inside was dry and had very little flavor. The Buffalo Chicken Salad was completely opposite from the fish, with very spicy chicken served with eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, and an asiago dressing, which was overpowered by the buffalo sauce. To finish, we decided to try the Kinsale Mud Pie, which was quite delicious. It made me forget the underwhelming meal before it as it offered an ice cream lovers sampling of chocolate, vanilla and coffee ice cream stacked in a cookie crusted shell.

The Kinsale would be a fine restaurant for a company meal or an after work get together with friends, but Bostonist was a bit put off by its claims of being an authentic, Old World establishment as the food was geared for a more spicy upscale menu. If they wanted to go in that direction, they should embrace the idea like Jose McIntyre's does as Boston's only dingy Mexican/Irish dive bar. While Kinsale's wall décor matches the Irish claims, you wouldn't put a Corona in a Guinness can and not expect a few dissatisfied customers.

Bostonist gives the Kinsale 2.5 Out of Five

Contributed by Matthew Nelson