O'Toole's Pub. Columbus, Ohio

4796 West Broad Street

Guinness Tag: $5.00 | Overall Rating: 3.10

Today's Dedicated Pint: To everyone BUT Holon Publishing

O'Toole's Irish Pub in Columbus, Ohio shows off its immaculate curb appeal alongside Donatos Pizza.

An Irish Pub in an American strip mall is one that will typically suck, but has the small percent chance of blowing your mind. When I say, "suck," I'm talking about what people traditionally consider an Irish Pub to be "authentic," where many expect a touch of properness, craftsmanship, and worthy food. Any Craic Addict within the Drunken Mallard community knows that those aren't the only things that can make an American Irish Pub a fantastic one (although important). The Craic is perhaps the most important asset to a Pub (if it can supply it), and when you look at westernized Pubs such as The Erin Rose, The Boondock Saint, and Pat O'Shea's (Louisville) who supply a lot of Craic, a Pub in a strip mall has the opportunity to supply a butt ton of it. Unfortunately, a lot of them turn out to be grungy, trashy, and cheap for a reason. With all of that being said, I was excited as hell to enjoy some strip mall magic at O'Toole's Pub of Lincoln Village.

I was in the middle of a darts tournament here in Columbus, and after suffering an embarrassing loss in the first round in the singles 501 match (incredibly embarrassing may I add), I had time to run out and grab a pint. O'Toole's was the place nearby, and for every loss at darts comes a new Irish Pub for me to enjoy. It makes losing in darts a lot easier. Hopefully moving forward, I won't be able to experience as many Irish Pubs during my darts tournaments due to winning! Everything happens for a reason (so they say). You could say the Guinness helped, because when I got back to the tournament, I placed 16th out of 153 in singles cricket (still not ideal, but it's fine).

It was cold outside, maybe around 9 degrees, so it was an ideal day to walk into a warm spot with a friendly face. O'Toole's provides patrons with the type of curb appeal that will make your golf buddies say, "Yeah, I'm down." and have your grandma saying, "Yeah, no, we're not going in there." I'm always down, especially if you have pool tables.

As you soon as you walk in, you're addressed by the extremely long horseshoe styled bar counter that's capable of holding about 50 or so ass cheeks. The bartender(s) were way too nice to me, and seemed genuinely curious about my travels and dart throwing results. I was poured a hefty Guinness in what I believe was a 22-ounce glass. It may not have been poured the traditional way, but whatever! I learned that Columbus, Ohio is home to the headquarters of the first fast food chain in America; White Castle. White Castle started in Wichita, Kansas (1921) though, so don't think Columbus deserves FULL credit for those little murder burgers.

The pool tables were being used at all times, the people at the bar were engaging, and the ATM is a functioning asset that I enjoyed using. O'Toole's is an American sports bar with an Irish name. They provide a healthy number of TVs for all of the games, a jukebox, and a stage for live music (not sure how many folk songs are played on said stage, but who knows, maybe they do play a few).

You'll find familiar faces within the community coming in for incredibly cheap drinks, cheap food, and cheap conversation. There's nothing wrong with it, and to be honest, it's essentially exactly what you'd expect out of an Irish Pub that sits in the middle of a strip mall alongside a tanning bed, a Chinese take-out joint, and a Sherwin-Williams. If you're looking for authentic Irish craftsmanship behind the bar, multiple Irish options on tap, or really anything of substance regarding the Irish culture, then you'll be a bit underwhelmed here.

There's nothing wrong with O'Toole's, but when it comes to what I'm looking for along my journey of stepping foot inside every Irish Pub in America, it doesn't give me much ammunition to go out and recommend the place on my behalf. As much as I enjoyed my time there as a guest, if I had to compare it to all of the other Pubs that I've been to, I'd have to place it in the bottom half. Nothing stands out here and everything it offers is average at best. It blows "The Dubliner" out of the water in regard to strip mall Pubs, but that doesn't say much. Will I go back for another beer next year as I throw in this dart tournament again? Probably not. I'd probably stop in to watch a Bengals game once or twice a season if I lived around the corner, though.

Thanks, O'Toole's for the good time! I wish you the best of luck and I hope you continue pouring Guinness for decades to come. Slainte.