O’toole’s Irish Pub & Grill

Decent food, decent prices, small menu, weird music, interesting vibe, cute waitress.

Before I open the front door, I’m greeted by an a-​frame chalkboard on the sidewalk announcing O’Toole’s daily food special: steak & egg pepper jack melt with cole slaw & fries. $ 6.95. The awesomeness begins washing over me like a hot shower after a long walk on a cold day.
I open the door. Early live Black Sabbath pours out into the parking lot. I pause a moment to transition from the hot, brightly sunlit day and clamoring W. Broad St traffic to the cool, dim, inviting space ahead.
Whatever I had been thinking about before instantly evaporated in an invisible mist of newfound contentment.
Just inside the door, another chalkboard announced the formation of a pool league and an upcoming dart tournament (O’Toole’s has 4 pool tables & 2 dart boards in a separate room).
The bar is kind of shaped like a bow tie, but sized for a 200-​foot-​tall Pee Wee Herman. (Now there’s a scary thought!). So, the bar-​setters generally face each other. It’s hard not to get at least casually engaged with the group.
The beer ($ 2) was cold, the food was hot, the music was enjoyably varietal, the servers were friendly, and the clientele was cheerful.
In that, you have the real 5 stars of a place like O’Toole’s, or almost anywhere worth going.