Ballydoyle Irish Pub

I’ve been here twice and each time was a pleasant experience. Both nights there were bands and it was definitely very loud but I must say the service from our waitresses was great.

It’s a bar with Irish-​flavor food offerings. They have very loud music playing more often than not.
The prices are a bit high, and sometimes when you just want to have some food there, you have to pay a cover charge because a band is playing, whether you came for the band or not.
If you don’t want to have a conversation, and don’t mind paying extra just to walk in the restaurant, then this is an ok place.

Stopped here before a show at Paramount. So glad we did!! Excellent fish and chips dinner! Tender cod with a great batter– crunchy yet not at all greasy.
Yummy Philly steak sandwich with au jus
Try the sweet potato tots appetizer! They’re addictive!
Service was fast and friendly. Highly recommend this great place.

Possibly the WORST MEAL I have had in a long time. This review is 1 star but only because 0 stars is not an option.
Tonight we found ourselves in downtown Aurora seeking out a meal. After considering our options, we decided to give Ballydoyle’s a go. And… this is where it begins to go downhill.
Our dining experience began with me seeking out a beer list at another table. Once found, we selected our beers and was informed by the server my husband’s selection might not be available. Luckily, this was not true and he was able to get his requested drink.
We ordered the artichoke and spinach dip which is not so much a dip as it is a thick spread. A thick spread with, oddly, bread crumbs on top. It was not horrible but was «unique».
We moved on to our selected entrees. I ordered the salad with tuna but asked for the wontons on the side, as I had remembered a previous experience with too many wontons. I requested the tuna raw. When it came out, my wonton strips were on the side but the tuna was fully cooked. I did end up flagging down the server who did offer to replace the salad. I ended up canceling the replacement because my husband ate his meal, had time to chat, and my food still had not come.
My husband ordered the steak boxty. The side of mashed potatoes was cold. I told our waiter who did bring replacement potatoes that were lukewarm.
The boxty itself was over cooked — the potatoes forming the boxty were hard /​crispy. The filling for the boxty was good although sparse. Overall– not a good meal.
We gave our server the feedback on my husband’s meal and he said he would tell the manager. We hung around to see if anyone would come by to speak with us but no one did. Which is sad because a lot can be saved just by talking to someone — whatever the manager was doing in the back must have been really important .
Our beers were good but I think that was because they were brewed by someone else and all that needed to be done was to pour them in a glass.
I remember going to Ballydoyle’s when they first opened– it was so good. Now it seems like there’s a lack of quality control or perhaps excitement. Whatever it is, I hope they figure it out but I won’t be back to discover if they did.

Wondering why we stayed as long as we did 1^st time we were here and band was not good yuck.

My husband and I came here for dinner before a show at the Paramount Theater. We made reservations because a lot of theater goers frequent the area restaurants. I recommend doing that especially on the weekend. Reading the negative reviews about service at this restaurant, I wasn’t expecting the best experience. Happily, those reviewers were wrong. Our server, Santos, provided attentive and friendly service. The food was fabulous. The special seafood bisque served on Fridays was fantastic and rivaled those I’ve had at Nick’s Fish Market or The Clubhouse. They also make a great traditional Moscow Mule. The owner, Phil, stopped by our table to see how we enjoyed our meal, which was a nice touch. I saw him do that to other customers, which meant he cares about his clientele and establishment. So looking forward to Ballydoyle opening a place in my town in January. Check in on Unilocal and get a free basket of yummy Irish chips.

The service is not that great. Had to ask our waitress three times for water and ended up bringing the pitcher to the bar and getting it filled ourselves.
They have live music here a lot, great place for live music! There is a parking garage right behind the place so parking is never a problem.
The food is great! The fish n chips is the only thing that I have had that wasn’t great. My favorite is the spinach dip it comes with warm pita slices. I usually get that as my meal and fills me up. They also have a good selection of beer too, tried pineapple beer and have been hooked ever since but they dont have it at many bars.
It’s a pretty small place. The tables tend to be smashed together. Feels like you’re eating with the people next to you.

Hit or miss service, overpriced food that is also hit or miss. It’s got awesome atmosphere and has a great river view deck for a summer evening cocktail.

Good selection of beer and food is above average. No cover to see local bands. Gets pretty crowded at times but thats ok lotsa room. Prices are a tad bit high but not crazy high. Bathrooms have always been clean and stocked. Wait staff is friendly and courteous. Theres a good mix of patrons from working middle class to white collar. I would say the best bar if your from out of town. Its right across from the casino so if that your thing stop here on your way home.

Irish food and good beer, what’s not to like??? Love when they have bands or dancers, staff has always been great, love the menu. Also love sitting outside to enjoy a drink by the river, great location

This place is truly the dirtiest most disgusting place i have ever
took twenty minutes to get a drink which was not cold, the waitress was rude and dressed like a slut, by the time our food came out, one hour, it tasted like it was straight out of the dumpster which we walked past and saw garbage everywhere.
Most unpleasant experience of our lives. never to return and telling everyone i know
Avoid this place like the plague

I literally crave their bangers and mash! The fish and chips are incredible as well. They give huge servings, and the food taste so great that I still can’t help but eat it all. The atmosphere sets this place apart as well. I love taking friends here who are new to town.

Ballydoyle’s has a really fun environment and an awesome outdoor seating space. Beer selection is always great, and their Irish chips with Bleu Cheese dressing is out of this world.
For lunch and dinner not before a show at The Paramount, the service is usually fantastic. Despite how much I like this place I’m giving them 3 stars.
Whenever I’ve tried to visit them with a large group before a show, we almost always end up being late to the performance. We show up at 5:30 to give ourselves plenty of time, we think, to make an 8 o’clock show. But that’s never been the case.
I think it’s a great place to eat, but probably not with a big group ever again.

The restaurant was empty last night, which wasn’t really surprising for a Sunday night at 4. The sign out front said «seat yourself» and we didn’t have to wait too long for one of the waitresses to bring us a couple of menus and get us drinks.
We started with some «award winning» potato soup and it was okay, if nothing to write home about. With some added salt and pepper it was a bit better seasoned. The grilled leeks were a nice addition though some of them were a bit woody.
The fish and chips I had were pretty okay. Nothing wrong with them but nothing particularly special. I’m thinking the fish comes in frozen, which is fine. The tartar sauce was a bit overly sweet but again it was okay.
The biggest disappointment, really, was the «sauerkraut» on the corned beef boxy. Sauerkraut has a very specific flavor, a salty brine to it and the acidic tang of being fermented. This was steamed cabbage. Maybe baked. Whatever it was, it wasn’t sauerkraut and if they were sold it as sauerkraut they should get it from a new supplier.
I’d be willing to give them another try some night. The atmosphere of the place is beautiful and the staff was friendly enough. Maybe they make fantastic burgers? I hope their other food is better than what we had because this is close enough to home and so beautiful a place that I would really like to become a regular.

I have been here a handful of times and their food is ok but their service is not good. I have come here for lunch, dinner, and even their Halloween party. I like the views of the river from the back of the restaurant and the fact that they can open up the back windows on a nice day. There is nothing on the menu that is memorable to me and we had a really horrible experience a while ago that just sealed the deal on me never going here again.
My husband and I went in for dinner with the intent on using a $ 25 Ballydoyle gift card we had. We ordered, of course it took them forever to get our food out when no one was there, and then gave them our gift card to pay. The server came back and said that their machine was broken and couldn’t read gift cards. It could do anything else but process gift cards? Um ok.
I get that sometimes things break and that’s just how it is and it’s not the servers fault, but she didn’t do anything to accommodate us when we were clearly angry. She was just staring at us waiting for a credit card. There was no solution like they will have them fixed in a couple of hours or tomorrow or even let me go get the manager so they can explain it to you. She just stared at us. So we payed with our credit card and left.
My husband then came home and emailed the manager saying how rude the server was. The manager apologized and promised to mail us another $ 25 gift card. We gave them our address but never received it. My husband emailed the manager back to say we never received it and never got a response. Whatever, I shredded the gift card because I don’t want to come back anyway.

Not that I’ve been starving for good service all week or the serious lack of a good Bangers & Mash for literally years, this place was a most welcomed find.
Our bartender Lirim was attentive, knowledgeable and just plain fun to talk with.
The fact that they even offered a true Bangers & Mash wasn’t enough, it was out of this world awesome! (deep fried Italian sausages)
There is a patio that over looks a downtown canal where you can eat, drink and (after 9pm) can smoke on.
If all that isn’t good enough for you picky cheapo’s, your bill won’t kill the bank.

This place is cool! What a pleasant surprise. It is located right on the river so you can eat outside and enjoy the scenery or stay inside and enjoy the awesome atmosphere. In terms of capturing an «Irish bar feel» they nailed it! The décor is awesome, music is on point and it had a ton of character.
In addition the food is actually pretty awesome! My wife and I both liked everything we got!
There are a couple tvs inside in case you wanted to keep an eye on your team. However, the tvs are not obnoxiously big and there are not so many of them that one would be distracted by them. In fact I hardly noticed them.
There is tons of space and it’s good for groups.
I will certainly be coming back here very soon!

I gave them 4 stars for the loaded corned beef boxty. It was very good.
We were here on a Monday night. There was maybe 25 people. (that’s counting the 7 of us) There was a very long wait for the waiter to take our orders. Then it took even longer for the food. The longest of all waits was for the check and for him to come back and take out form of payment. So if you’re not a patient person you might want to rethink going.
The place is very quaint and adorable. Loved the décor. I would recommend going but don’t be to upset with the wait. Just go enjoy the food and talk with friends.

Not real sure about this one. The food was just ok. We had a decent waitress I think the staff is very helpful and knows the menu. We went on a crazy busy night. Red Woody (band) was there. We actually came to see Mike and the boys play. The food had more of a chain feel. no real personal touch. It tasted good but didn’t blow me away. They have a decent beer selection. The prices were low to moderate. This building is huge so you could bring a party to the party.
Definitly good for a second try.

I’m glad I read the Unilocal reviews before checking out Ballydoyle, as we went out of our way to sit at the bar since it’s sort of difficult to be actually sitting at a bar and getting bad service. (I mean, it’s possible, but, yeesh.) Anyway, looking around, it was pretty obvious if you weren’t sitting at the bar you were forever stuck playing the «Where is our server?» game– Lots of people with empty drinks craning their necks around and the like.
But, anyway, the beer list here is very above average for Aurora. They’ve got a lot of great stuff on tap, and even more in bottles. Food was good too, we started with fried pickles which came as spears instead of slices which I vastly prefer. I got a pot roast boxty, which is really something you’ve got to try, as it sort of broke my brain.
Essentially, it’s like a giant pot roast taco wrapped in a pancake. The mix of sweet and savory worked oddly well, to the point that I was pretty shocked by how much I was enjoying it. It makes me wonder what else I can wrap in a pancake.
Atmosphere was pretty great, but we went there on a night where there wasn’t any music being played or any relevant sporting events on. I could imagine this place being a real mad house when either of those things happen.
Menu prices seem just a ~tad~ high for the downtown Aurora area, but I suppose everything seems expensive when you’re around the corner from taco places that serve you so much food you feel like you could barf for less than $ 10.