I’ll be the first one to tell you I love a good salad bar. From the endless options to the unexpected finds, nothing beats a fresh, well-stocked salad bar. When I got a coupon in the mail for Pat Murnane’s Irish Pub which boasts the “Best Salad Bar in the Carolinas” I had to give it a try.
The experience was a little odd. We promptly were shown to a table, but then sat there for what seemed like 15 minutes before anyone came to us. When someone did, they were extremely friendly and welcoming which took away the annoyance of having to wait so long. The restaurant was not busy either at this time.
I briefly saw the salad bar when we were seat and it looked pretty good. So we both knew we would be having that but still wanted to peruse the menu. The menu to me was a little odd. There was no mention of the salad bar at all except for a printed-out piece of paper. No price either. There was no wine list except on a table tent which listed some rather expensive wines by the glass and bottle. Being the wine snob that I am, I decided to go with one of those. But when the server took our order, I was asked if I wanted the house wine. Now I was confused. Was the house wine the one on the table tent? So I said yes thinking that was what I was getting. The wine actual was very good and only $3.50. I didn’t know it was half-off on Saturdays. I would have gotten another glass had I known. Tip: maybe do better advertising on your menu.
Time to visit the star of the evening: The Best Salad Bar in the Carolinas. Well, was it? I can only say no, not today. But it does show some hope. At around 7:00 pm, there were several things on the salad bar that were empty and were never restocked during our dinner. The lettuce too was a little past its prime and needed to be replenished. I did enjoy the pepperoni and the various cheeses they had. There was also something that looked like croutons (they also had croutons) but I think was cheese-based as was very tasty. I did also enjoy the chicken salad. Surprisingly, their tortilla chips and dip was very tasty. But alas, I think I was only able to get a little teaspoon of it since it was empty. On the other hand, the potato salad was lacking flavor and the pasta salad was a little underseasoned as well. There were some other vegetable side dishes that you would be better to avoid like the Asian slaw and zucchini. All in all, it was a good effort. Maybe we came at the wrong time. I still would go to Ruby Tuesdays and Milton’s Pizza for a better salad bar experience.
What we were expecting, not what we got:
Address: 2108 S Main St, Wake Forest, NC 27587
Phone: (919) 562-5570
Email: info@patmurnanesirishpub.com
Pat Murnane’s Irish Pub | Wake Forest, NC (patmurnanesirishpub.com)