Sweeney's on Boylston. Boston, Massachusetts.

710 Boylston Street

Guinness Tag: $13.00 | Overall Rating: 4.95

Today's Dedicated Pint: Jeanie Gross

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I spent 13 USD on one pour of Guinness. Do you realize how absurd that is? If you aren't someone who ventures out to bars or someone who spends money .... then let me be the one to tell you that a $13 Guinness pour is short of highway robbery. Grant it, the pour here at Sweeney's was probably (it was) the best pour I received here in Boston (unfortunately). I say unfortunately because this place is peewee compared to the sincere Irish Pubs in the Boston area. I'll depict everything here in a second, but if any of you have been to either Emmet's or Mr. Dooley's here in downtown Boston, then you'll agree that Sweeney's is just an overpriced piece of ass cheeks.

Isn't it against the law for a grocery store to charge $50 for a potato? It may not be against the law to do so, maybe it is, and I wouldn't blame anyone for charging that much for a potato if someone was willing to pay it, but when does the outrageous pricing become too much? Fenway Park has beer for $12. Wouldn't you imagine Fenway having a heftier price tag than an Irish Pub down the street? Eh, maybe I'm just getting crankier the older I get. I'm sure I'll be spending about $15 on each Guinness everywhere I go at some point, as it's only a matter of time.

First things first: if you're going to charge me 13 bucks for a Guinness (or a Mich Ultra), then I wish you wouldn't be dressed in a stained T-shirt, which is what's happening here inside the ground floor of the Lenox Hotel. Not only that, but the Pub itself doesn't even have its own toiletries: you gotta use the hotel lobby's bathrooms. Grant it; the bathrooms are flippin' gorgeous, but let's not forget about the fact that you need to walk into a different establishment and hope they're ok with you using their pisser. This is a separate entity from the hotel, so why the hell do you not have your own toilet? Is it just me, or is that not annoying as heck? I went to a Pub in Syracuse, NY where the same thing happened, and the annoying thing about the Syracuse case was that I was locked out of the bathroom without knowing the security code for the bathroom door, which led me wandering the lobby looking for a hotel worker to ask for the bathroom code. What is this? A shitty gas station where you need a key to the toilet that's attached to a big wooden stick? If you're going to charge me $13 for a pint of Guinness in a pajama shirt, then I don't think it's ridiculous of me to expect you to provide me with a bathroom within your facility. I know it's a first world problem, but we do in fact live in the first world, so if you're going to charge me top dollar here in the first world, then I expect a flippin' bathroom. I'm not a cheap person by any means, in fact, I love spending money. I don't like being a sucker with my money, though. I felt like a sucker here at Sweeney's, and I'm going to call you one as well if you decide to grab a few pints of Guinness unless perhaps, you're spending the night at the hotel upstairs and this is the only convenient spot for a quick nightcap.

I need a Guinness and an Advil after that little rant.

The appeal is real from the curb, as the storefront gives off swanky vibes with a proper setting. When you step foot inside, you'll notice there aren't any TVs behind the bar which I like, but there are a couple of TVs inside the dining room for whenever something important is on. The bar itself is a solid marble slab, and the craftsmanship throughout the room is nicely done. My favorite thing about the Pub is either the exquisite light fixtures or the wall of windows overlooking Boylston Street. I love sipping inside Pubs with natural light, and this place gives off a refreshing vibe. I can say with certainty that these light fixtures provide a really cozy atmosphere when the sun goes down though. There are many things to appreciate inside Sweeney's, so don't get the wrong idea; I still enjoyed myself inside these walls, but then again, I enjoy every waking moment on this earth. Life is too silly to spend the majority of your day in a bad mood, no matter the circumstances (despite a few valid reasons such as the passing of a loved one or illness). Irish Pubs are where the Craic is, and life is just a few breaths away from heaven when you're enjoying the Craic.

The bar itself is a small horseshoe that sits right in the middle of the room, so you are surrounded by dining room tables. It's pretty neat. I love how small the bar is. I would die to bartend inside a bar of this size, as it essentially eliminates the opportunity to share the bar with another bartender. I love bartending in hotel bars, too, as you get the chance to obtain regulars from not only different states, but business people from other countries! Bartending in or directly near a popular hotel has extreme perks.

The drink choices on both sides of the isle are slim. You won't find many beers on tap (Magners is here) and you're not going to find an abundance of whiskey/bourbons. When it comes down to it, I think Sweeney's is just another place. It's a number. I can't justify $19 for a Caesar salad and $14 for a Sam Adams when Pubs in the same 2 block radius are charging almost half those prices with even more in return. More in return? Take the Bebop or O'Keefe's down the street, where you'll get either live music, live sports, vaster food portions, and more variety on beverages. You're probably receiving better conversations along the bar at those as well (depends). Here, you just have a fine-looking establishment underneath a beautiful hotel, but when you break it down: it's just an overpriced place to hangout. That's my worthless two cents. I know a few others out there will disagree, and I encourage them to do so.

Thanks anyway, Sweeney's. I like your logo, your Irish Hello sign out front, and your classy atmosphere, but I'm not interested in coming back. Best of luck!