Ellie's Irish Pub - Winchester, VA, USA
Summary
Ellie’s Irish Pub is a cozy pub in downtown Winchester, VA. They sport pub food with Irish flare, a full bar, and regular free live music. The food has generous portions and is hearty with good flavor. They offer a very good value for your money. I would recommend stopping by for music and a drink or coming for dinner with your family.
Food Overall
Service
Atmosphere
Location
Value for Money
Overall
What I Ordered
Cracklin Stingers
$4
The crackling stingers appetizer is a bowl of fresh house pork rinds with a mini pitcher of vinegar-based sauce. When you pour the sauce over the pork rinds they make an audible crackling noise, which was a fun element to the dish. The pork rinds were fresh and airy and a good portion size for the price. I was not personally a big fan of the vinegary sauce, but it wasn’t bad. It did have a nice spicy kick to it but they may have benefited from a more savory sauce.
Irish Onion Soup
$5
The Irish onion soup is essentially a French onion soup. It is an onion soup topped with Swiss cheese and a crouton. The soup itself was quite good; savory and flavorful. The cheese was good, but that is hard to mess up. The crouton gets soggy very quickly so eat it fast. It is good at first but quickly becomes slimy mush.
Cheese Melt + Corned Beef
$15
The cheese melt sandwich has an option to add meat. We tried it with corned beef. It is served with a side of fries and a deli pickle. This meal was quite enjoyable. The sandwich is essentially a grilled cheese and tasted good with the corned beef. However, it was missing a sauce or sauerkraut to embellish the flavor and add some acidity to cut through the fat of the sandwich. The fries were great; very crispy, fresh, and generously portioned.
Guinness Pot Pie
$18
The Guinness pot pie appeared to be a modern take on shepherd’s pie. It consists of a very large bowl of stew topped with a puff pastry square. The stew was very savory and flavorful with TONS of beef chunks and some potatoes, peas, and carrots. The pastry square is an interesting modern touch for presentation, but I wish it was a bit bigger and thinner to cover the dish since it is a “pot pie.” There were only about four to six bites worth of pastry. All in all, the pot pie is a delicious and hearty supper.
Tinge of the Ginge Toddy
$11
The tige of ginge toddy is a hot toddy cocktail using a ginger whisky. This cocktail had a light citrusy tea flavor and is served warm. It did not really taste alcoholic. It was very fresh, light, and enjoyable.
Overall Food
Overall, the food as Ellie’s Irish Pub is tasty with a good portion sizes. The food is very savory with a focus on meat, cheese, and root vegetables. The selection primarily includes soups/stews, sandwiches, and fried foods. My impression is that it is classic pub fare with Irish influence. Ellie’s has a full bar and would be a good place to have a hearty meal or snack and drink.
Service
Attentiveness
The waitress came by to check on drinks, take orders, and serve food regularly. However, it took quite a while to get our check when we were finished eating.
Character
The waitress was friendly and polite. It was very busy and she was rushing to take orders.
Accuracy
Everything we ordered came out correctly.
Overall Service
The wait staff at Ellie’s are friendly and polite. They brought out all the food correctly. However, there were some delays and rushing. They did a decent job but nothing to write home about.
Atmosphere
Size
Ellie’s has two rooms. First is a main dining area with full bar seating and approximately 20 tables. It is a bit crowded. The second room, where we sat is called the Pearl Lounge and has about 10 tables and a stage for live music. The second room is very spacious.
Who Goes Here?
Friends grabbing dinner and drinks. Families having dinner. People looking for live music.
Ambience
The main dining room has a lot of dark wood throughout including a very nice bar area with TVs. The lighting is a good level for a bar and it feels like a cozy Irish pub. The pearl lounge has brighter lighting and a very different look. It has lighter walls and a lot of quirky décor on the walls. It is less cozy but more open. The pearl lounge hosts free live music and we really enjoyed the group that was performing. I personally enjoyed the design of the main dining room more, but really like the live music in the lounge.
Cleanliness
Ellie’s does not come across as dirty but it does have a bit of the bar look. It doesn’t look super clean. There is a little delay before the wait staff clean tables.
Overall Atmosphere
Overall, Ellie’s Irish Pub has a cozy pub atmosphere. The side room, lounge, often has live music on the weekend but has a lighter more open feel. It is a comfy place to grab a drink and a meal.
Location
Ellie’s Irish Pub is in Downtown Winchester, VA. It is a part of the historic walking mall. There is inexpensive parking available in a garage next to the walking mall. It is a very good central location near many businesses and local events for the city.
Interested in other restaurants in Winchester, VA?
Value for money
All the serving sizes were large and the quality of the food was good. The entrees with meat all had a lot of meat, they do not skimp. Additionally, the pork rind appetizer was inexpensive at only $4 so it would be a wonderful choice for someone looking for a inexpensive snack while having a drink at the bar. Ellie’s provided good value for their pricing.
Overall
Ellie’s Irish Pub is a cozy Irish pub in the walking mall of downtown Winchester, VA. They have a classic pub atmosphere and sometimes host free live music. The service is mediocre. The food is pub fare with Irish flare. The serving sizes are large and the food is flavorful. Overall, I would recommend coming to Ellie’s to grab a drink and snack with friends and listen to music or to bring the family for a hearty dinner.
