I recently met up with some girlfriends at Molly Maguire’s Irish Restaurant and Pub in Phoenixville, PA for happy hour/dinner. It is on Bridge Street, right in the heart of downtown Phoenixville, which is quite the up and coming area!
I have some personal family history tied to Phoenixville. My great-grandmom, who we called “Babci” (Polish for Grandmother) actually lived in Phoenixville as a little girl. She was born in 1906 and lived until she was 95 years old! She always had great stories to share with me about growing up back in the “olden days” in Phoenixville, which was a town that grew around the manufacturing of iron and steel.
Every time I go back to Phoenixville, I think how cool it is that she walked those same streets and maybe walked into the same buildings and storefronts at some point early in her life. Obviously, Molly Maguire’s did not exist back then, but it’s fun to pretend that it did!
The restaurant had a very familiar Irish Bar feel. I was a little surprised to see that on a Thursday night at prime Happy Hour time it was not busy at all. The bar was completely empty except for a couple of people and only a handful of tables were occupied. But I guess I couldn’t complain because we got very fast service!
The menu was filled with hearty Irish fare like Corned Beef and Cabbage, Irish Stew, Shepherd’s Pie, and a variety of Boxty’s (potato pancake sandwiches) along with other pub food. We started out with Spinach and Artichoke Dip which was very interesting served with Pita Bread instead of chips. One of my friends got the “Low and Slow” which was a slow cooked pot roast served with mashed potatoes and vegetables (the portion was HUGE!) I actually got the “Molly’s Mac & Cheese” which came with rashers mixed in, which I learned was actually a type of bacon!
Molly Maguire’s actually has three floors available for dining, and I found out from a friend that you can actually book an entire floor to host a party! I would recommend Molly Maguire’s to anyone who is in the area and wants to stop in for a little piece of Phoenixville history, a hot meal, and a cold drink!
Stanley and my mom visited the house where Babci was born before it got remodeled/bulldozed. But the owner let them in to look around! I always like to imagine her walking the same streets when I’m there too.