The Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub

Place was good for beer selection and some British food. Unfortunately it is now closed.

I found the food to be acceptable but a bit overpriced. I’ve eaten here a few times with friends and wasn’t impressed. The staff was very friendly and professional. I’m just not sure I’d eat here again, especially with all the other choices in the area.

Went here a few times to see bands play… Honestly it is not a setup for live music as they have the bands play in the corner…
Apparently it is becoming a Houlihans…

This review is only for drinks as I’ve never eaten there. However my friends and I came twice in the last two weeks for drinks because of the fun, casual environment. They always have a decent band playing and the bar/​lounge area is always crowded. The service is pretty quick and all the waitresses we have had have been great – especially J. She was happy, eager to help, and funny. She had a good knowledge of different drinks and recommended some great ones when we weren’t sure what to get. I would definitely recommend Blackthorn.

Really yummy place. Great comfortable environment. Casual and fun. The staff is sweet, friendly and accommodating. Lots of big screen TVs if interested in watching. If not, there are still lots of quiet spots. Very clean too. Will definitely come back.

Huge restaurant with ample bar and dining space. Service is just as great as the food. Daily specials are always interesting and delicious. The main menu serves up a wide variety of hearty food to interesting dishes unlike most Irish pups that keep it simple. The old Irish feel gives off a jolly calm sense of atmosphere. Great affordable lunches and fulfilling dinners. I had the ahi tun sandwich with french friends and it was delectable. I killed the entire dish.

Three times here… When travel takes us to parsippany, we always end up here.
Casual, and comfy. You can take kids, or just have an informal night. Food satisfies ad prices are competitive. It is why we come back.

Yup. This place falls in the Irish Pub/​Bar/​Restaurant category (like we need more of these).
This is a retardedly easy concept to deliver on. Just play some Dropkick Murphys, pour some Guinness and serve some fish and chips (and maybe a reuben or two-​here and there-​easy, done). Therefore my expectations are set rather high.
Let me start by saying that this is the closest bar/​restaurant to my office. As a result, we are here more than I would like. Impromptu office gatherings or a quick bite with a vendor… «lets go to Blackthorn.» For some reason, I always go?
The service is meh.
The food is meh (but on the upper limits of meh).
The drinks are meh (if you are buying beer). BUT they are an ABSOLUTE RIP OFF if you are purchasing spirits. Please refer the Federal Fines and lawsuit they recently incurred due to their substitution of bottom shelf spirits in place of top shelf spirits. WHO DOES THAT???
Ultimate Pro: Their fries, although frozen, are f@#king delicious!
Ultimate Con: They are Con artists that will sell you well drinks out of top shelf bottles. SMH.

Not so great. After their media attention I went here and the service was awful.
We actually contemplated walking out because we were sitting there for over 35 minutes. We had two people come over and say someone would be right with us.
Finally after our order was taken, I asked for a well done burger and it had a good amount of pink in it. Also my fries seemed like they had been sitting around and were oddly stale.

Nice Irish Pub. No Haggis on the menu at the time of my dine.

Average, just average.
I went with the server’s suggestion as to (what she called) «the house specialty.» If that particular dish represented their very best, I guess I should be glad that I didn’t order something else off of the menu!
We were seated in the area just inside the front door: very noisy, not lighted quite good enough, and little by way of elbow room was made available.
In summary, neither the food nor that nebulous thing known as «ambiance» came close to reaching the point where you would begin to think that maybe, just maybe, the prices being charged were in line with what was being delivered in return.

Went there for drinks after work and felt that for happy hour it’s an OK spot. They do have regular specials in addition to some that happen on certain days of the week.
We ordered some sliders and some fries and even through it wasbar food — it wasn’t really that appetizing. The burgers were underwhelming — like how a McDonald cheeseburger looks like compared to the ad. Not what you expected.
And the fries were not the best I had — and I know good fries.
But the service was great and the beer selection was decent.
Maybe dinner is better?

Terrible service, or is it no service at all?. I stopped in for dinner tonight and was seated in the restaurant. I was there for over 5 minutes with no recognition at all from the server that visited the table behind me twice.
They must not have been too busy — another server was chatting with the hostess as I was leaving. There are plenty of places to get food on route 46, and I would rather go someplace that values my business.

Literally a NIGHTMARE-​and none of this is an exaggeration: PLEASE READ
1^st: My buddies waited for close to 20 min on two drinks, a beer and a «godfather», turned out the bartenders didn’t know what a godfather was-​ok no problem.
2^nd: My gf gets her order, I get mine 5 min after, and my brother gets his burger 30 min after. It took over an hour for the burger to get out, and when it did there was no ketchup for 10 minutes. all the while we would look around with empty glasses. My brother complained and ended up with free drink but by that time we were looking to leave as the band that was blasting green day covers took the stage.
3^rd: Another 20 min go by before a different waitress sees our look of distress and we get to ask for the check.
4^th: (WORST PART) My gf sees the manager on the way to the bathroom and complains, he proceeds to berate her and actually yelling at her aggressively, she attempted to walk away and he still kept at her… He even said «what, are you going to do? review me on Unilocal?” — thus here i am.
I really thought we were on a candid camera show… Yet it was just a poorly managed restaurant with, what seemed like, management that was pretending nothing was wrong. To the point where if you brought it up they would become livid that you could possibly have a bad experience.
Do yourself a favor and pull the U-​ie and head down 46 a few miles and find Thatchers in Denville– better food/​MUCH better (and more importantly friendlier) service.

I must say that I am very impressed with this Jersey joint. More and more I find myself starting to become a fan of dirty Jersey. Blackthorn’s is a step in the right direction!
I am reviewing it solely on the bar as I only consumed alcohol while here.
Upon entering you are enveloped by a massive space which seems quite welcoming in spite of its size. There are well designed booths along the outer perimeter with the bar in the center. With about 40 – 50 seats at the bar, there is a formidable about of space so that it really doesn’t seem crowded, even when it is. There are 8 flat screen TV’s (that I counted) all the better to watch MNF. The bartenders are very nice and quite knowledgeable. There is a domestic beer special during MNF, $ 2.50 for a pint! They also carry a wide array of Whiskey which we sampled. Apparently Jameson has more than one label. In fact they have four! And we tried them all! I highly recommend the gold label and the black.
Talk with Jim the bartender, he will steer you in the right direction.

We went here for a friend’s birthday and it was a pretty decent venue. We got pretty much all the appetizers on the menu and they were all fairly good. I was a bit surprised at the poor selection of beers there, given that its an Irish pub, but a friend told me that they concentrate more on their liquor selection. I’m not sure why those 2 selections have to be mutually exclusive, but that’s just nitpicking.
Anyway, I got the bangers and mash as an entrée, and I wasn’t very impressed with it. The quantity was good but it wasn’t as flavorful as I would have liked. Friends got the Chicken Murphy though and they were very happy with it. It seems like this is the standout dish at the Blackthorn.
It does get very busy and loud here on the weekends, since I was hoarse from shouting to make myself heard at the table after about 2 hours. An honorable mention must go out to the wait staff though. They were polite and attentive from the beginning all the way to the end. I really haven’t seen such great customer service in a while.

Another awesome Irish pub! I really do love coming here with friends to either hang out at the bar for a night out, have a sit down dinner, or simply stop in for a quick happy-​hour beer.
I will say that depending on who is tending bar your Guinness pour might not be perfect, but the bartenders ARE very attentive and will make sure you’re being treated right-​which is one of the reasons I love this place. The food at the bar and in the dining area is always great, though when the place is packed service can get a little slow. I totally recommend the Guinness onion soup as a starter-​gets a big WOW from me. The burgers, bar fare, and entrees have NEVER disappointed and The Chicken Murphy or Fish and Chips are out of this world.
The only reason Blackthorn doesn’t get five stars is that when it is packed, and especially when they have a band, it gets too ‘close’ for my comfort… even if you are parked around a corner of the bar. Friendly service, delicious food, tvs all around the bar area, and a great beer selection (love a place with Smithwick’s on tap)…stop in at Blackthorn and have a Great time!!!

I was told they have a great Guinness pour… I think not! Or at least from the bartender that served me… a couple of times.
I do like a few things about this place:
Their bar area is spacious and has a new feeling. Lighting is darkish so be prepared to look at the menu with a flashlight (kidding but sort of).
They have plenty of TV’s and I happened to be there during a Devils game and the place was swarming with fans. Bruce Driver was sitting next to me the whole time and I had no idea until it was announced.
They have a good selection of beers and place has a beater crowd than the one in Kenilworth.
Didn’t like: their food (only had their nachos with chili on the side). The chili tasted so bad… I mean like it was rancid. Plenty of chips but not a lot of cheese. Weak!
As I mentioned before the Guinness pour was disappointing but was delicious enough to drink.
Atmosphere: Very good. Younger crowd but with sprinkles of older as well. Older guys (much older than me) which made me feel young…
Food: Not good. I am basing this on the other BT as well.
Prices: Not bad. They had beer specials which was cool. Guinness is about $ 6 which I have become accustomed to .
Service: Very good. Attentive and friendly.
I will definitely be returning to try some more food since the atmosphere was great.

Was back here a few weeks ago and they’ve updated their menu. All my begging for sweet potato fries has paid off because they now serve them!
Also they have some new burgers which are ah-​mazing! My mouth is watering just thinking about my next visit!

You won’t find your traditional chain restaurant menu at the Blackthorn. Instead you have options with Irish flair, which makes dining here fun.
The restaurant is big and clean (as are the restrooms), and the service is OK. Seating in the dining area isn’t huge, so waiting times for a table can become quite long for dinner.
The bar becomes a hotspot on Thursday and Friday nights, often supplemented by a live band. With no cover charge, it is a fun and inexpensive place to meet up with friends for a casual drink.