McGonagle’s Is the Next-Generation Irish Pub Boston Needs

A spread of food at McGonagle’s, including a chicken and leek pie, chicken curry, pizza, and more. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Take some bangers and mash, sprinkle in trinkets from Ireland, and top it off with live music and an obsession with the perfect pint of Guinness: You’ve got McGonagle’s. The massive, two-level venue—a neighborhood-oriented version of its award-winning big sibling downtown, the Dubliner—opened last month on Dorchester’s Neponset Avenue. Here in the southeast corner of Dorchester, just two blocks away from where namesake owner Oran McGonagle lived for 10 years, McGonagle’s aims to bring a slice of truly modern Irish pub culture to Boston.

The lower-level bar at McGonagle’s, photographed in December 2024. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

A pint of Guinness and two cocktails at McGonagle’s. The cocktail on the left is the Politan, with citrus vodka, raspberry liqueur, apple, lemon, and egg white; the cocktail on the right is Ah Go On Then, with gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon, and prosecco. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

But doesn’t Boston already—and pretty famously— have a robust Irish pub culture? Yes, but the scene leans traditional, with fairly predictable menus and ambiances throughout. “Giving people a newer version of [a traditional Irish pub] is our style,” says McGonagle, who was just named to a “40 under 40” list from The Irish Echo. What that “newer version” means, exactly: the kind of globally inspired cuisine you’d see in Ireland today, a bigger focus on craft cocktails, and live music that’s not just “people in the corner singing little songs,” as McGonagle puts it, but larger bands and Irish versions of modern songs.

Whiskey lockers at McGonagle’s. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

But there are plenty of more traditional throwbacks, too. Custom stained glass in the front windows looks just like a “vintage Irish pub,” points out McGonagle. Near the front, decorative plates and a tiny sewing machine are displayed in cabinets, a nod to McGonagle’s father, who was a shopkeeper in Ireland. On the bar’s cavernous lower level, a colorful mural is a postcard-style view of McGonagle’s County Donegal hometown and the iconic John Gilroy toucan from an old Guinness ad. (In fact, lots of old Guinness ads decorate the space, along with other representations of Ireland and Irish culture.)

McGonagle’s spice bag, and Irish-Chinese dish with chicken, peppers, onions, and fries, tossed in a spice mix and served with curry. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

McGonagle’s, photographed in December 2024. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Old or new, there’s careful attention to making everything as authentically Irish as possible. For example, the pigs-in-a-blanket sausage is sourced from an Irish butcher in nearby Adams Village. The kitchen team makes fresh chips using a chip cutter from the United Kingdom. Keith Gill, an Irishman and local carpenter, built the place. Perhaps most importantly, the Guinness draft line is installed to Irish specifications (half-inch beer lines), not American (quarter-inch lines), and cooled two degrees higher than other beers. “We can see the difference in how it’s pouring and sticking to the glass—key points for Guinness,” says McGonagle. (The pub owner was recently quoted in a New York Times trend piece on how Guinness is currently having a moment with younger drinkers. Guinness sales have been “completely bananas” at the Dubliner, he told the paper, so it makes sense that he’s doubling down here.)

McGonagle’s pigs in a blanket, with Adams Village Butcher’s sausage mix in puff pastry. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Foodwise, McGonagle’s borrows some favorites from its downtown sibling. (Chef Aidan McGee, who worked in Michelin-starred restaurants across the pond, oversees both kitchens.) Fish and chips and the Irish seafood chowder also show up here, for example. But McGonagle’s also pulls in some fusion-y modern Irish touches, particularly the Chinese-Irish spice bag (a literal bag of chicken, peppers, onions, and fries with a side of curry) and wood-fired pizzas.

The lower level at McGonagle’s features an expansive bar, lots of seating, and a back room with a stage for live music. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

One of McGonagle’s nine wood-fired pizzas. This one has pepperonis and hot honey. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

The menus are different because the two establishments have different clientele, says McGonagle. At the Dubliner downtown, many customers are tourists who visit once—if you offer them a selection of an Irish pub’s greatest hits, they’ll choose one and be on their way. But tucked away in Dorchester, McGonagle’s is a neighborhood spot through and through, so the menu considers regulars who might stop in multiple times a week, looking for something new. For instance, there’s a mix-and-match protein, side, and sauce combo that’ll allow diners to have “a totally different version” of the dish every time: Choose marinated steak tips, roast chicken, or wood-fired spicy cauliflower; two sides (roasted carrots, triple-cooked fries, mash, etc.); and a sauce (garlic herb butter, peppercorn sauce, and more).

Guinness is the star at McGonagle’s. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

To drink, there’s Guinness, of course. (Nonalcoholic Guinness 0, too, which McGonagle says is “a fantastic product.”) But McGonagle’s also highlights cocktails, something McGonagle says is expected at modern bars in Ireland, but less so at Irish pubs in Boston. Options include the gin-and-elderflower Ah Go On Then, served in a tea cup. “Irish and tea are kind of synonymous,” says McGonagle. The name is a throwback to 1990s Irish sitcom Father Ted, in which a character with the catchphrase “go on, go on, go on” is constantly offering tea.

McGonagle’s Irish chicken curry, served with rice, fries, and prawn crackers. (There’s a vegan option available, too.) / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Two parts of McGonagle’s lower level. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Another wink to Irish culture? The mottos on the back of the staff’s shirts, like Who Said Mass? “Where I come from, when I was young, if you ever skipped Mass, you’d go home and your mom and dad would ask who said Mass [to make sure you were there],” says McGonagle. “Anyone from where I’m from would pick up on that, but Americans ask what it means. That’s good, because that’s conversation—that’s one of the main things about an Irish bar, having a chat.”

McGonagle’s bangers and mash with caramelized onions and gravy. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

And that’s what McGonagle’s is all about: warmth and community, whether it’s conversing with the bartender over your pint of Guinness, getting T-shirts for a local sports team sponsored by the pub, or hosting an event at the space. McGonagle is hoping that the neighborhood will come to rely on the venue for all manner of community needs and milestones. “Say a kid has their christening here, and their communion, their 21^st birthday party,” he says. “We would love that to be what it is. I think we need that.”

The mural behind McGonagle’s stage, depicting a mix of vintage Guinness advertising and owner Oran McGonagle’s hometown, was painted by Jenna Wells of J Lenore Designs. (Photographed in December 2024.) / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

McGonagle’s chicken and leek pie with mash and roasted carrots. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

367 Neponset Ave., Dorchester, Boston, 617-514-4689, mcgonagles.com.