Blarney Stone: Irish pub in Gastown with new menu items

Back in my 20’s, I had a soft spot for the local British and Irish pubs. Sometimes the dinginess, the casualness, the coziness of the space made for some fun memories with friends. It was more fun to go bar hopping and have actually affordable drinks and food vs. some poshy lounge back in the day.

I recently was invited to Blarney Stone, an OG Irish pub in Gastown 🇮🇪. If you are from Vancouver, don’t act like you’ve never gotten wasted at Blarney Stone on a St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 before. They are launching some new menu items inspired by Vancouver chefs – here is everything we got to try!

Blarney Stone
216 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2J1

The vibe

It has been a good few years since the last time I visited the Blarney Stone. I will admit my memories of the space are hazy, so I was surprised to see how big the actual space is.

The front has a full bar and more bar seating, while the back is super spacious with large tables and booth seats on both floors. We were seated in what I will call an “influencer” area as this was a media night so other foodies were there as well. We sat at bar table-tops and it was more well-lit in the back. There are several large TVs and a live band/music area in the center.

Food and drinks review

Disclaimer: We were invited here as part of an Instagram collab, so everything featured in this post was free. I have included prices for transparency. Prices are listed in CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.

Blarney platter ($26) + Clover club ($14)

Our first course was a Blarney appetizer platter and a pairing of the clover club cocktail.

The clover cocktail was my favourite drink of the night – fruity and easy to drink with that egg foam texture.

The Blarney platter comes with 2 wagyu sliders, 3 BBQ whiskey ribs, onion rings, mozzarella sticks and housemade chips. For $26, this platter is a great deal because it comes with quite a bit of food.

The wagyu sliders were my favourite in this platter – so juicy 🍔! The BBQ whiskey ribs were decently tender, the mozza sticks had that long cheesy pull, and the onion rings and chips were so crunchy and crispy.

Halibut & chips ($24) + Chicken burger ($18) + Aperol spritz ($14)

For our mains, we ordered the halibut & chips and the chicken burger. The cocktail pairing for this course was the aperol spritz – citrus and refreshing, ideal for summer.

Both of the mains came out looking amazing with big portions.

The halibut & chips had that glistening golden fried texture, but upon eating it, I did find the batter a little too thick for my preference. It also lacked that first crunch. The fish inside was flaky and moist, and the fries were delicious.

The chicken burger, again, looked so crazy! The edges of the chicken patty were sticking out of the bun! Similar to the halibut and chips, the chicken is also beer battered fried. Again, I found the batter to be too thick and lacking that crunch, but I really liked the siracha honey and lemon pepper mayo sauce they pair with the chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and toasted brioche.

Bailey’s cheesecake ($12) + NY Irish coffee ($9)

For dessert, we shared a decadent cheesecake. It had white chocolate Irish cream mousse with white chocolate shavings, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. I didn’t like the chocolate sauce that much, but everything else was fine for me – just on the sweeter side because of white chocolate.

For a night cap cocktail, we tried their New York Irish coffee, featuring Jameson, Demerara syrup, JJ Bean coffee and hand-whipped cream.

If you know me, you’ll know coffee hits me hard. My bowel movements just go crazy with caffeine in my system and this cocktail was no exception 💩. Out of the 3 cocktails, I would say I liked this one the least, but obviously I am not a coffee type of person. If you like espresso martinis, you will like this cocktail. It has that bitterness from the coffee and sweetness.

Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

We had a very filling 3-course menu tasting at Blarney Stone. Overall, I am happy with the new additions to the menu that give it a bit more west coast flair.

Out of all the food we tried, I liked the appetizer platter the most. It had great variety and each component of the platter was good quality and delicious. Again, the wagyu sliders were so good!

As for the mains, there’s a lot of potential because the presentation of both the halibut & chips and the burger was great. The batter needs to be less thick and have more of a crunch.

Cocktails were fun and tasty with a nice variety and a reasonable price for downtown Vancouver.

Service was awesome and timely. The servers are fun and helpful!

Sincerely, Loewe