Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Mastication Monologues! Today I’m going to be talking about a restaurant that I visited in Incheon after I once again was foiled by Taco Cielo. The name of the restaurant is O’Malley’s Irish Pub located at 1474-3 Guwol-dong, Top Plaza 4F. They don’t have a website but can be found on Facebook.
Since my good friend, Ravi, has come over to visit me from London, I’ve been trying to show him the sights and sounds of Korea whenever I’m not working. However, sometimes it’s nice to take a break from soaking in all of the culture, smog, and kimchi and indulge in some Western food. So, after having a short walkabout around Incheon’s Songdo International City, I decided I wanted to take him to Taco Cielo, a much vaunted Mexican restaurante in Incheon. As I mentioned in a previous post, “Not Phonomenal“, I went to this Mexican eatery on a Saturday at 2pm, and it was closed. It was closed again on a Wednesday night with a simple note on the window saying, “Closed today. Sorry.” Hopefully, the third time’s the charm, and I’ll finally be able to blog about it. Anyway, I instead took my friend to O’Malley’s which is a building over.
When we walked in, it was like any other type of British pub with darts, foosball, and a long bar. They serve mainly pub food like burgers, sandwiches, salads, and appetizers. We settled down to our seats, and we ended up ordering nachos (10,000 W) to share. I got a bacon cheeseburger (10,000 W) with a Red Rock beer on the side (4,000 W). I had this brew before on a night out when I was less than fully sober, and it tasted good. Now that I was of sound mind and body, this wasn’t the case like most Korean beers. The color overall was a warm reddish-brown with a slightly hoppy aftertaste with some minor sweet notes in the background. However, it was an extremely watery lager like all the other Korean beers. My expectations weren’t that high to begin with, so I wasn’t that disappointed. As for the nachos, they were another story. They came out, and it was a large plate of chips coated with meagre amounts of cheese but plenty of jalapenos, onions, and tomatoes along with a small cup of salsa. I wasn’t very satisfecho with this plato. Then, there was my burger.
A wee burger for a wee lad
I wasn’t too happy with the size of it, and I felt they cheated me with the amount of fries nestled next to the burger. Then again, I justified the size of the burger with the fact that we’re in Korea, and everything is smaller. Yet the Wolfhound in Itaewon didn’t disappoint in this department (See: “Everything’s Bigger In Itaewon“). As for the quality of the burger, it was pretty decent. The bun was soft, pliable, and resilient to my savage mauling since I was quite hungry after a long and frustrating day of work. The patty was perfectly grilled and juicy but had a strange pork taste to it like many burgers I’ve had in Korea. As for the bacon, it wasn’t heavily seasoned but adequately crispy. I really appreciated the basket of condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, and vinegarette) they provided us when they came back with Ravi’s meal. Finally, the fries were quite tasty even though there was an inadequate amount of them. They were seasoned with a bit of allspice and salt, and their golden, crunchy exteriors led to fluffy white interiors.
Overall, O’Malley’s was a decent restaurant with really friendly staff, a welcoming atmosphere, and a variety of food. However, if you’re looking for a great burger for a good price, I’d still recommend The Wolfhound in Itaewon over O’Malley’s.
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