Cork Harbour Pub. Pittsburgh, PA

141 43rd Street

Guinness Tag: $6.50 | Overall Rating: 8.65

Today's Dedicated Pint: Rielly, he bought a house. Let's go!

Cork Harbour Pub of Pittsburgh's Curb Appeal

I'll cut the cheese and let it rip off the rip: my entire life, I've always made it a point to avoid Pittsburgh like the plague. However, when life gives you a chance to throw darts in a ranked darts tournament with your sister, you take it. That tournament took place in PIT and that's how I ended up existing in the proximity for a brief time. So, I inevitably had to bend the elbows in a couple of Irish Pubs no matter what. I'm committed to this thing, damn it!

We went into this Pub with open arms and without any bias. It's located in an old area called Lawrenceville, which is a really neat spot with little shops and what looked like an old school bowling alley (can't say for sure, though.) There's a shop down the street called Wildcard with amazingly, unnecessary products and you've got to go to it if you're anywhere close. As you walk towards Cork Harbour Pub, you'll find its inviting curb appeal on a quieter street. We walked in at 10:30 in the morning to a filled bar of Celtic Football Club fans screaming their balls off. A guy paid his tab as soon as we walked in, which allowed us to snag 2 seats right in the middle of the whole scenario. It was an incredible way to enter an Irish Pub.

They have 4 Guinness taps behind the bar, and a very cozy setting. The Guinness is served in a traditional pint glass with a proper finish. As the stout settled, the Celtics scored a goal, and everyone started chanting a "We Support the Celtic" song. As we Cheers'd our glasses the chant was over, the Celtics were winning the game, and the bartender asked us "where are your Celtic jerseys?" We told him how we had no idea what we were walking into.

There were hot dogs on the roller for $3 bucks a piece and "Jimmy Juice in a can" on happy hour. There's a handful of TVs, exposed brick, bright ceiling tiles, and authentic wall decor throughout the place. There's a second bar in the back, which is dark, cozy, and a little more beat up. There's a small-scale patio with sliding doors in between the 2 bars and the bathrooms provide functioning utilities. You'll find plastic darts and a Golden Tee machine for the athletes near the patio as well.

We originally stepped in with plans to "just go for the one" and leave. Well, we stayed for another pint because the Cork Harbour knows how to dish out the ever-lovin' Craic. One of us opted for a Magner's this time around and we snagged a really neat clip of the cider fizzing out. The bar has an intimate atmosphere and the sunlight hits perfectly. This place hits on a different level than most, and it's awesome. One thing that many people under-appreciate and overlook (but not I), is when a Pub has dedicated pint glasses to the main beers. As you can see, they serve Magners in a sweet, traditional Magners labeled glass. They made their own Cork Harbour glassware for their Guinness pours and I'm a huge fan. It's the attention to detail such as that, that can really show your patrons that you give a shit.

It's a perfect size for an intimate Pub experience and the owners obviously put in a lot of TLC into everything. They have those glass-block windows by the front door which allows the sunlight to perfectly nestle in and reflect off the lengthy mirrors as well as the ceiling tiles/Crown Moulding. To me, natural lighting can really make the day-time Pub experience a beautiful one. Of course, I normally prefer a very dim lit, cozy atmosphere, however, if you can manage the sun in a way where it's not blinding you in the eyes at any point in time then sign me up!

First impressions mean a lot to someone like me, who doesn't have the time (or money) to visit each Irish Pub 4 to 5 times before giving it a rating. Apparently, there's about 4,000 Irish Pubs in America, so even if I spend just 1 hour at each one of them, I still probably don't have enough time to hit them all, ha-ha. The Cork Harbour Pub got us to keep the tab rolling and has us wanting to revisit. I'll gladly put my name behind recommending this place to anyone looking to have a fun time, this Pub deserves the love.

Thanks for the great time, Cork Harbour! I'll probably be back again. Slainte!