Eat at the 9 Fine Irishmen for St. Patrick's Day in Las Vegas

If you're in Las Vegas for St. Patrick's Day, check out 9 Fine Irishmen, at New York New York Hotel and Casino. Or check it out anytime. We had read about 9 Fine Irishmen and decided to try it for ourselves this past Saturday night. The food and atmosphere both lived up to any fine Irish bar and restaurant anywhere.

Even though it was Saturday night, we were seated immediately for a table for two in a quiet alcove. It would get increasingly busy the closer it got to 9:30, when live music would begin. We passed the bar as we were escorted to our table and noticed it was quite lively already, with people mingling and standing around.

The wait staff was friendly and joked that the door we were seated next to only opened on Halloween.

We ordered a glass of Harp beer, a pale Irish beer, and a Vodka Martini on the rocks and our drinks arrived while we perused the menu. The beer was flavorful and the martini was generously topped with 3 Queen-sized green olives.

Although the appetizers and soups looked tempting, we suspected we were only hungry enough for an entrée. We ordered the following:

Entrée 1: Banger & Mash

Irish sausage, mustard mash, seasonal vegetables & mushroom jus

Entrée 2: Shepherd's Pie

Port wine infused prime beef and vegetables with creamed potatoes

The Shepherd's Pie was delivered in a cast-iron kettle and the port wine infused beef and potatoes were well-seasoned without being heavy.

The Irish sausages had a lovely texture and taste and the mustard mash offered a unique flavor that was hard to identify as mustard.

Too full for dessert, we joked that if they had Sticky Toffee Pudding like Rose & Crown at Walt Disney World, we'd have to order one. My companion reminded me that Rose & Crown was English and this was Irish but we took a peek at the dessert menu and almost caved when we saw "Sticky Toffee Cheesecake" on the menu.

The atmosphere was delightful with small rooms decorated in a homey atmosphere with grandma's book shelves and a mix of wooden and chaise lounge chairs at tables for two and four.

As a special touch, you could hear the whirling of the Manhattan Express (a roller coaster at New York, New York) overhead, making us feel as if we were dining at Disney World, rather than Las Vegas, although the rowdy crowd at the bar reminded you that you were at an adult playground. It was too early for the live music, but the piped in Irish music gave off a feeling of Irish authenticity.

The web site for 9 Fine Irishmen states: "Anyone who would build a pub in Ireland, ship it to America, and install it in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, must be a fool or a bleedin' genius." We suspect the latter.

From their web site, you can also discover what Irish lingo is all about, take a history lesson, read the menu, learn about Irish whisky, make a dinner reservation, and get the lowdown on the entertainment, especially for St. Patrick's Day. But whenever you're there, you'll be sure to have a grand time.