Hennessy's Pub. Boston, MA.

25 Union Street

Guinness Tag: $10.00 | Overall Rating: 5.85

Today's Dedicated Pint: To Everyone but Tim: a cheap, whiny, ungrateful, stupid little man.

How do I broach this? It's simple, actually. This Pub is now closed!

The first time I let Hennessy enter my bloodstream was in Dade City, Florida back in (maybe) 2011. I can't say I've had it since, and after imbibing a pint inside Hennessy's here in Boston for the first time in the summer of 2026, I can't say I'll ever step foot in here again. As I write this article, it appears the owners decided to close up shop and sell their liquor license as of late-July (about a week after we grabbed a few pints here). Even if the place stayed open for another decade, it's highly doubtful you'd see me here again, anyway. For the love of Pete and his wife's sake, don't get me wrong, Hennessy's isn't that poor of a Pub. I certainly enjoyed my time here, and the bartender wasn't too

shabby. She was chatty and poured a terrific pint. There's also a neat bottle of Hennessy that's probably 3L in size behind the bar, which is a rare find. My biggest thing about the Pub is that it was dirty/grimy and you can tell the place gets packed at night with people who like to scream at the top of their lungs for no reason, pay $12 for a beer, and sloppily dance to music until the bouncer tells them to leave.

The Pub is/was located along the Freedom Trail and it's about a stone throw away from the Faneuil Hall. It sits on the same street as the Union Oyster House, America's oldest restaurant. We decided to eat dinner there, and as much as I hate that I already sound like someone who's nitpicky as I start this article, I gotta say: the food at the Oyster House tasted like mushy old people food at a nursing home. It was awful. If there's a prime example of a tourist trap, it's that place. Anyhow, Hennessy's does have many great neighboring bars and restaurants, and if you get the chance to grab a lobster roll at the Bell in Hand Tavern across the street: do so immediately. That place was pretty awesome. Durty Nelly's is a fun little dive who knows how to pour a great pint and keep the conversation alive, which is also a stone throw away.

If I were to tell anyone to come here, I'd tell them to visit during lunch hours, and after hearing some harsh words regarding Hennessy's food, I'd say to pass on the grub and just stick to a beer or two. Better yet, it's safe to say I wouldn't recommend anyone I care about to pay a visit here, because time is precious, and I'd hate to see someone waste it here when they could be somewhere much better such as Biddy Early's or Emmet's not far down the road. I guess it doesn't matter, because apparently this Pub will only

live on through memory moving forward. After asking around, there were a couple pleasant comments about the lunch shifts, but complaints about the staff's harsh attitudes all-around were pretty routine. That's hearsay for me, as we were treated quite nicely.

The last time a Pub closed recently after my visit was a place called Fenian's over in Jackson, Mississippi. That Pub actually sat on top of the Jackson Volcano and had one of those toy trains that choo-choo'd around the ceiling in the dining room. That one was pretty dirty too, ha, and they didn't have any Guinness when we arrived, so it wasn't a big shock when I found out they closed. Although it's always a sad day when an Irish Pub closes, especially when it's one of the only ones around (Mississippi).

If you ask Google (or Jeeves), there are over 4,000 Irish Pubs in America as we speak. I think the number is inflated. If you Google, "bookstores near me," a lot of times Wal-Mart will pop up, and sure: Wal-Mart may indeed sell books, but nobody in their right mind would consider it a "bookstore." Sometimes, Google will pull up an Applebee's when you search "Irish Pub" on maps, and, well, that doesn't warrant an explanation. Don't get me wrong, I can assure you there are MANY Irish Pubs out there, and we're going to find out. I just need to make sure I hit them all before they close!

This article is a weird one, as I have no ambition to speak about Hennessy's any further. They're closed, so who cares? It wasn't worth writing home about, so I'm not going to waste your time on reading about it (I was going to tell you about the air conditioning unit and cluttered shelving in the back, but that's not a fun read). Boston is perhaps my new favorite place on the planet, and I am happily off to another barstool. I'll talk to you next week.

Oh, did you hear about that guy who robbed the liquor store in Oakley last week? He got off scotch-free. Not good.

Kick some ass today. Slainte.