McFarland & Son’s Authentic Irish Pub

Tap beer selection is top choice, breakfast burger was solid! But, a restaurant that nickel n dimes you for condiments, come on. Really. Don’t get the Carlsberg beer, awful, i should have known. Would have given a 4 star but the ranch extra cost really bugged me.

This place is amazing! We were in town for a wedding staying at the Holiday Inn and tried to go to Lazlo’s for dinner but the wait was too long so we came around the corner and what a good decision it was. Homemade cottage pies and pot pies were delicious! Chicken boxty was great and the portions were so huge! After dinner we went back to the hotel and ended up back here after trying a few other places! Amazing beer selection too! I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good meal or a chill place to grab a good beer!

We had just the dessert so can not describe the dining experience. The bread pudding was pretty good. It is made with spotted dog style Irish soda bread. Hubby had the apple cake. I felt it was a bit bland, but still ok. Service was really good and the drink selection is huge. Had no idea there was such a thing as local pints, true pints, cider pints, etc. Will probably stop by again next time we are in Lincoln. I prefer this to the Irish pub across the street from it, but both are nice overall.

Went here last night!
Really good Fish and Chips. Fries were great. The Black and Tan was perfect.
Tried the Scotch Eggs. They tasted much better than I thought they would! The cheesy potato pancakes were also very good.
Great atmosphere.
I will go here again when I am in town!

Went in with a large group for an early dinner and a couple of us had the fish, thumbs up from both of them. I had the Belfast burger and it was fantastic! Best burger I’ve had in a long time. The bun was toasted to perfection and the mushrooms and red peppers were sautéed perfectly. Service was also good. All in all I highly recommend it.

My wife and I stopped for lunch on a Saturday around noon. No one greeted us at the door but a sign that said seat yourself. So we did. We waited ten minutes and no one came over to wait on is. There were about a dozen people in the place with a couple at the bar. Not too busy.
So we left without anyone noticing we were even there except for the bartender who saw us, dropped off a drink at a nearby booth, but yet said nothing to us.
It won’t be on my list of places to visit again. First and foremost, have someone greet your patrons at the door so they know they are welcome.

Have been in three different times and the first two were absolutely amazing, even being jam packed we had awesome service and Amazing food! The last visit we went in on a week night and it was a little underwhelming. The service was slow and they were out of soda bread, my Irish stew seemed like it had been sitting a while but was still very tasty. My husbands food was on point though and I’m mostly chalking it up to an off night. Overall I’d recommend giving them a try if you’re wanting some good food and whiskey.

Second time I’ve now eaten at this pub to give it a fair go. Was very hopefully Lincoln finally had a proper British pub with quality pub grub but both times it has fallen short. The first time I visited when it was very busy so the service was poor and the food matched the night. The Fish and Chips were horridly greasy and slimy and not crunchy as expected. The food took over an hour to arrive and they admitted they had ‘lost’ our order. We had a baby and a 4 year old with us and the only way I found out they lost are order was by confronting the server who had left our table for over half an hour. I kept seeing the server look over nervously knew something was wrong. The manager came over and comped our drinks which was the least he could do and was appreciated.
For the second visit I came in last night with a friend it was quiet at 7pm on a Saturday night with about 3 other tables full (not a good sign). We ordered the Salmon Cakes for an appetizer to share. It arrived on a bed of salad and looked well put together. But the actual Salmon Cake literally scared me as it was bitter and manky (no other word could describe it). The worst Salmon Cake I’ve ever eaten, my friend and I could only brave one each and surrendered the third.
Next came the mains, I had the Irish Lamb Stew which I was very excited about. My friend had the Cottage Pie. I could tell the Lamb Stew had been simmering all day after being made, it had reduced the sauce to a very bitter flavor that Guinness has. Also the lamb was totally dried out and over cooked from being heated all day or night long. Some pieces were so dry they were sharp in the mouth and hard, quite the feat I have to say. If it has been served fresh it would have been good. The meat was nice and lean, the potato and carrots were fresh.
My friend had the Cottage Pie which was average, the mash potatoes had little seasoning and it was obviously made quite a while ago.
The restaurant could be so much more but you definitely get the feel that it’s run by someone that has got the menu items well picked but poorly executed.
The bartenders are nice and the fact they show Premier League games and our the only bar in town serving Carlsburg in bottle is a bonus. I will go back to try their Irish Breakfast. Being English I know how this food should taste and was sadly let down. I’m from a fishing town in the West Country where Lamb is fresh and the fish is always a pleasure. It’s still no excuse as I’ve had great Irish pub fare at Brazen Head in Omaha overtime I’ve eaten there for 8 years. But it is run by an Irishman. McFarland’s is a Irish pub with a predominately Scottish name so is a bit of a contraction in food and name. Hope they step up their game.

Date lunch with my guy. We are approaching our 13 year Anniversary and one of the places we went on our Honeymoon was Ireland.
This place intrigued us, so we had to try it.
I loved the atmosphere. We went at lunch, so was not busy at all. Hightop booths and table. Everything is dark wood and dark decorating which just says Pub to me. Irish music playing in the background.
Loved it.
We fell in love with Strongbow on our honeymoon; It was great to see it on draft.
Scotch Eggs were great. Never had them before so had nothing to compare it to, but the coating was light and crispy and not greasy. At first I was a little disappointed in the sausage layer as it was thin, however the flavor of it was AMAZING. Eggs were soft boiled perfectly.
I couldn’t decide on what to have. There were three items I was trying to decide between Irish Stew, Cottage Pie and Dublin Coddle. To my surprise that was the $ 8 lunch special. Cup of each and they were amazing. I rank them Cottage Pie (could have used a little more seasoning, but still great), Irish Stew and Dublin Coddle.
My guy got the Irish breakfast. Was not quite like on our honeymoon (no blood pudding or beans, but that’s OK… not a fan). Bangers had great flavor.
All in all a GREAT impromptu lunch date.
See pictures.

My friend and I went here last Saturday night. It all STARTED well and good. Beautiful location, interesting menu, friendly people. We ordered, drinks and food came out fast. Then everything went DOWN HILL. The staff never asked if we wanted another drink. Or more water. She asked if we wanted dessert, when we said no she immediately brought the check. A few minutes later she asked if she could pick up the checks from us. We happily obliged her request and then NO ONE CAME BACK to our table the entire time we were there. We were there for 4 hours. The staff person who was so on fire to get our checks disappeared about an hour into our visit. My friend and I hadn’t seen each other in a long time so we were talking up a storm after an hour went by I asked her, «Isn’t it WEIRD no one has asked if we want another drink?» I would have happily ordered another drink! The summer sangria was super yummy. I also was getting thirsty from talking so much. A pop by the table to refill the water would have been so nice. Did not happen. I watched the staff congregate near the bar. One girl barely moved the entire time we were there. Just standing there. She was less than 10 feet from our table. After a while it became a thing, «How long can we sit here without someone asking if we want anything?» Apparently 3 hours is how long you can sit there with NO SERVICE. We left because it was getting late. Could we have asked for some water? Yes. Would it have been better to have someone offer some? YES. Could I have taken 5 steps and ordered something from the bar? Yes.
I feel they missed an opportunity to get my money. I believe in tipping more when you are taking up a table just sitting and talking. I would have bought more drinks. I would have ordered dessert. I shouldn’t pay more for parking while I am in your restaurant.
I will probably try this again because the food and drinks were really great. Hopefully the service will be better, or hopefully there will be some…

This was my second time here. Keep in mind that it was an early-​ish dinner and the restaurant was not busy.
My wife started with a Boddingtons and I had a harp. My beer was flat and tasted sour. I flagged down our server and requested a different one, an IPA. I was brought the wrong beer, and had to flag down the server again and eventually I got what I wanted. We ordered, and my wife wanted the smoked turkey leg, which they were out of.
We started with the smoked seafood dip which was really good, but our server forgot to get us napkins. We asked her and about 2 minutes later we got them.
Our food came out and I got the breakfast burger, which was fair, but a little overdone. My wife got the Mac and cheese with chicken, which was ok. (I don’t know what she expected its Mac and cheese with chicken) The last time we came here I had the same burger which was really good and she got the lamb shank which was FANTASTIC. Our server was great that night too.
Overall it can be a really good place to eat, but right now the food and service is too inconsistent. If this pub wants to be successful in the crowded Haymarket they are going to have to do better than «hit and miss.»

This restaurant was recommended to me by a local for an authentic Irish experience. The service was really slow and lackluster. They had an Irish band playing called «Paddy Wagon» not only were they not entertaining (read borderline annoying), but as an Irish descendent I found their name insulting. I get it is supposed to be funny, but it shows a complete lack of understanding for what the term paddy wagon means.
I ordered the scotch egg and the lamb shank. The egg was cooked well and the recipe was sound. The problem I had was the quality of the egg. Trying to pass off factory eggs in 2015 is just not cool. It had that horrible sulfuric aftertaste that only the cheapest eggs possess. The Lamb Shank was tender and tasty, but the accompanying vegetables were cold and overcooked. The mash was gummy.

Food was ok, good beer selection, looked like a good whiskey selection too. Cool looking place.
Service was terrible. Waiter may have been new, but if so he needed a mentor/​trainer. Wasn’t able to handle taking drink orders and food orders at the same time, and wasn’t able to successfully balance all of his tables. Took 20+ minutes to take our order, and then another 30+ for food to come out.
To their credit, when we called the next day to express our disappointment, the manager was receptive. Hopefully they’ll make some changes, train their folks better. Until then, probably won’t be back.

The BEST scotch eggs I have ever had and I have been to legit Irish Pubs! It’s the yolk! Awesome food and try the Irish Breakfast shot!

We had high hopes for this place. It was pretty busy with only a couple of open tables. However, that is no excuse for the slow, forgetful «service» we received.
25+ minutes for our app to come out, which was tasty. Along with it, 2 of 3 people received their entrees and I was told mine would be out in «30 seconds». But over 20 minutes later, as the rest of my party was finishing their meals, I still had no food. Then our server asked if we ready for the check… she was oblivious to the fact that I hadn’t received my meal.
When it finally came out, it was lukewarm at best and extremely dry. When I told our server, there was no apology for the wait tumes or poor quality. Understandably, mistakes will be made but making no attempt to make it right is unacceptable.
Sadly, I highly doubt that we will be returning.

Excellent meat loaf. A little salty but great texture and taste. Bread pudding to die for
Awesome selection of beer and whiskey. Irish, of course.
Live irish music on Thursdays. Great atmosphere and nice staff and customers. Love Lincoln.

Love this place, feels like a bar you would find in NYC. It feels Irish but not in the novelty Disney way a lot of other bars do it. The drinks are well prepared (which is a must because they aren’t cheap), the service is good, and the atmosphere is fantastic.

I really enjoyed this place. The food was great, the beer selection was way beyond the other local alternatives, and the atmosphere was good too. However, the best part was my bartender, she was exceptional.

Food was fantastic, came out hot and fresh. No complaints from our large group and we had everything from the Irish Coddle to cheeseburgers to Irish Mac & cheese.
The atmosphere was wonderfully planned and had the feel of a pub.
Only complaint is the service, our waitress was slow, unorganized, not knowledgable about the menu or drinks and was unapologetic.
Because the food and atmosphere is so great we will be coming back, however I hope their wait staff improves with experience.

Excellent selection of scotch Irish whiskey. My only small complaint would be the knowledge of the staff (a cocktail waitress should really know what a scotch neat is). When my wife and I were there it was fairly busy but we still managed to get a booth. We were waited on promptly. Got a few proper pints of Guinness and Laphroaig neat and enjoyed them. Good atmosphere and courteous staff. Overall good experience.