Finnegan's
Universal Studios
Dinner
Date of Visit: 6/24/2007
Time of Visit: 18:30
Adults in Party: 2
Children in Party: 1
Total Cost: $47.15
Average Price Per Adult: $20.58
Ten Point Scale
Food: 9.3
Value: 8.3
Service: 7.8
Environment: 8.5
Overall Rating: 8.5
Tucked away in the middle of a highly-themed street so that it looks like yet another façade with no real business, Finnegan's thus ironically avoids crowds most hours of the day. This combo bar and restaurant can get quite loud and boisterous, especially when live music is playing.

The menu is British-Irish, so we dutifully checked out the bangers and mash ($11). The bangers (English sausage) were crisp and tasty, resembling a veal bratwurst in flavor, and thus at least somewhat authentic. About the only thing missing was a sauce (the English Bisto would have been ideal); the dish was a touch dry, with boiled cabbage and mashed potatoes adding to the effect. The Guinness stew ($12) was positive bursting with flavor, all of it flavors that complemented each other--although one could complain about the overabundance of onions in this dish. Otherwise, it was pretty much ideal.

The child chicken fingers ($6) were expensive and didn't include a drink at all, so we had the shirley temple ($2), which differed from a Sprite in very few respects, so it too was disappointing. The child meal oddly also came without sauce, but it was unclear if this represented poor service or a poor meal construction. Speaking of sauce, there was also no sauce in the onion and potato appetizer ($6), which hashed up and fried the ingredients. Ranch would have been ideal here, but the dish was served with nothing. 

Even apart from the missing sauces, service was inadequate. Refills were slow in coming, and we saw very little of our server, who seemed overworked. That this was the situation despite half the restaurant tables being empty bespoke of understaffing, and might lead to delays.

The seating is all indoor, and thus air-conditioned nicely. However, the main doors stay open all the time, which attracts flies (we had to chase one away our whole meal). Also, the nearby bar sometimes hosts live music, and the place fills with very loud noise. If boisterous is your thing, though, you should feel right at home.