In theory, this should be the perfect Irish Pub/Sports Bar, but in reality, it isn't. Its not even close.
Lansdowne Road is on the West side of 10th Avenue, between 43rd and 44th Streets, and opened several years ago in a vacated storefront space. The building is a single story and Lansdowne occupies the entire structure. The owners spent a small fortune here, what I am estimating is in the one million dollar range to build this place out from scratch. And what a place it is. As far as interior and layout goes, it is pretty close to the perfect place. A long bar with seating for about 25, a front sidewalk cafe, lots of tables and standing tables, and what appears to be a very nice and very expensive D.J. booth and sound system. Add to that about a dozen large well placed flatscreens and an ice rail, which is a four inch wide strip of ice that runs the entire length of the bar (like an skating rink ice) for you to put your beer or drink on to keep it cold. The icerail clearly cost a crapload to put in, as I have only seen one a few times in the last 25 years.
So, all of this adds up to conceptual Irish Pub perfection, right? Wrong. The party begins and ends with the great buildout from my perspective.
I have two problems with Lansdowne; one objective and another subjective.
I last ate here roughly a year ago, and prior to that approximately 3 other times. The objective problem (my objectiveness of course) is that the food stinks. Yup. On my various visits I ate chicken fingers, a cheese steak, and potato skins. The two words I would use to describe all three are, cardboard and rubber. For a place that looks this nice and that was built with such attention to detail I was pretty shocked. Its not like I ordered Filet of Sole (they don't have that), or some other complex gastro-pub culinary delight - this is basic stuff that is really hard to screw up. Its hard to remember chicken wings, a cheesesteak, or potato skins, unless they were the best in the world, but I clearly remember these because they were that bad.
Now I am not a guy who generally will complain or send food back if I don't like it, as if you ever worked in a bar or restaurant you know that is NOT a good idea, so I suffer in silence. That is, until now.
The second problem I have, the subjective one, is the vibe. While I mention this repeatedly about places, its really hard to define, but I'll do my best.
The vibe here is Fratboy, lower level Investment Banker, Yuppie (not sure if that is still a relevant word, but I don't care, it is now). I don't want to call the vibe hostile, but on the occasions I have been there after 9pm, it felt kind of tense, and as the evening rolled on, it felt more so. It was probably 75% guys each time I was there, and frankly, its just not my scene, the whole Frat Boy/Banker/Yuppie thing. That is not to say that it isn't perfectly well suited for a whole lot of people, as it appears to be pretty busy most nights when I walk by, however, I know full well that for many of us over 30, this is not the place.
To further quantify my point about the vibe, here is what is on the dessert list; Irish Car Bombs (Guinness, Baileys, Jameson, in a Pint Glass) & Jager Bombs (Jagermeister & Red Bull, in a Pint Glass). Thats it - no cake, no pie, no nothing else. Point made? Yeah, I think so.
One particular memory I have of this place is Halloween a few years ago, at around 8pm. I was walking South down 10th Avenue towards the Lansdowne, and as I approached 44th Street I could see a brawl out in front with about a dozen people. Now I have been in my fair share of bar fights, and I have witnessed more than I can count, however, what stuck in my mind was how violent this one was (one guy was out cold on the sidewalk) and how long it went on for (several minutes, which if you know anything about fights in general, thats a long time). That being said, I have never really seen any security here, though I do recall seeing someone checking ID's once, but he was not what I would call a bouncer, and for a place that easily gets over a hundred drunken people in it, there should be at least 3 security guys, as help is not gonna come quickly to this spot.
My interaction with the staff was pretty limited, but for the most part the bartenders and servers were pretty stoic and distant, similar to a more traditional Irish place, again, not my thing, and not what I want when I got out for drinks. However, in all fairness, most of the times it I have been there it has been pretty busy, but again, its a vibe, and you can just feel it, or at least I can.
As for the rest, they have 14 Tap beers (a good selection) and some decent specials; such as 2 for 1 everything behind the bar weekdays from 5pm - 7pm (clearly copying Mr. Biggs to stay competitive). The menu is sizable and prices good, with only two items over $9.95, though unless there are some changes in the kitchen, I cannot recommend eating here.
All in all I give Lansdowne the following grades; a B+/A- for cleanliness, an A for the interior, a C for the staff, a D for the food, and a C- for the vibe.
Lansdowne Road
599 10th Avenue (Between 43rd and 44th Streets)
NY, NY 10036
212.239.8020
