A bar for the sports fanatics
O'Connell's Cocktails is a local hangout spot great for combining friends, sports and booze.
By Becky Kinder
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: Diversions
Saying a bar is a popular neighborhood hangout may be off-putting to some, causing you to think that you'll walk through the doors and feel like an outsider, but you shouldn't let that happen with O'Connell's Cocktails in Long Beach. Although nobody jumps out to shake your hand or give you a hug as soon as you walk in, the atmosphere is a welcoming one.
The use of the words "Irish Pub" on O'Connell's website seems a bit misleading because the mere fact that it's not decorated like a traditional Irish pub, or even as a traditional American version of an Irish pub. Nothing else leads to a feeling as though you're in a pub.
The ceiling is lined with different advertising tins for beers and the rest of the décor is sparse and uneventful - just tables and stools without anything but some paper coasters.
The atmosphere created by the employees and patrons make up for the lack of aesthetic charm. The employees at O'Connell's were more than pleasant and quick to serve.
While enjoying the O'Connell's friendly ambience, you can eat delicious meals from the adjacent restaurant Shillelagh. My date and I were able to order food from the Shillelagh menu, all of which looked delicious, and we were also instructed that we could order anything we wanted, even if it wasn't on the menu.
Beside friendly service, games are definite attraction of O'Connell's. There are two pool tables and a shuffleboard table, as well as a few video-game screens at some of the tables. In addition, there are 17 televisions playing several different types of sports. One screen, which featured a Strongman Competition, got a bunch of people in the bar to groan in unison. The groans led me to believe that O'Connell's would be a great place to watch any type of sports game, where the patrons would all get into it together.
The digital jukebox played mostly classic rock and 80s rock, along with some of the more upbeat sing-along-while-you're-drinking country songs. There was only a moment of the music being too loud and that was obviously a mistake, as it was quickly turned back down. It was at the right level to rock out to while still being able to hold a conversation without having to yell.
There was a pretty steady flow of people, mostly consisting of 30-something and a middle-aged crowd, though there were plenty of people in their 20s making their appearances as well. The younger crowd started to come in after 10 p.m.
However, guys, beware. O'Connell's should not be first on your list of where to pick up on the ladies, as men were definitely there in abundance compared to a few women, who mostly seemed to be coupled up, anyway.
Don't miss out on O'Connell's. It may not be a romantic or peppy sort of place, but the atmosphere is happy and relaxed, and I can imagine the pep picks up during big games. In spite of living in Huntington Beach, I'll surely find my way there again.
Media Credit: Dano Kuhlken
Next door to O'Connell's Cocktails is the restaurant Shillelagh. If you don't feel like eating bar food you are allowed to order off the Shillelagh menu and eat at O'Connell's.
Media Credit: Dano Kuhlken
Although the window says as "An Irish Pub," the décor inside O'Connell's lacks Irish flare.
Media Credit: Dano Kuhlken
By Becky Kinder
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: Diversions
Saying a bar is a popular neighborhood hangout may be off-putting to some, causing you to think that you'll walk through the doors and feel like an outsider, but you shouldn't let that happen with O'Connell's Cocktails in Long Beach. Although nobody jumps out to shake your hand or give you a hug as soon as you walk in, the atmosphere is a welcoming one.
The use of the words "Irish Pub" on O'Connell's website seems a bit misleading because the mere fact that it's not decorated like a traditional Irish pub, or even as a traditional American version of an Irish pub. Nothing else leads to a feeling as though you're in a pub.
The ceiling is lined with different advertising tins for beers and the rest of the décor is sparse and uneventful - just tables and stools without anything but some paper coasters.
The atmosphere created by the employees and patrons make up for the lack of aesthetic charm. The employees at O'Connell's were more than pleasant and quick to serve.
While enjoying the O'Connell's friendly ambience, you can eat delicious meals from the adjacent restaurant Shillelagh. My date and I were able to order food from the Shillelagh menu, all of which looked delicious, and we were also instructed that we could order anything we wanted, even if it wasn't on the menu.
Beside friendly service, games are definite attraction of O'Connell's. There are two pool tables and a shuffleboard table, as well as a few video-game screens at some of the tables. In addition, there are 17 televisions playing several different types of sports. One screen, which featured a Strongman Competition, got a bunch of people in the bar to groan in unison. The groans led me to believe that O'Connell's would be a great place to watch any type of sports game, where the patrons would all get into it together.
The digital jukebox played mostly classic rock and 80s rock, along with some of the more upbeat sing-along-while-you're-drinking country songs. There was only a moment of the music being too loud and that was obviously a mistake, as it was quickly turned back down. It was at the right level to rock out to while still being able to hold a conversation without having to yell.
There was a pretty steady flow of people, mostly consisting of 30-something and a middle-aged crowd, though there were plenty of people in their 20s making their appearances as well. The younger crowd started to come in after 10 p.m.
However, guys, beware. O'Connell's should not be first on your list of where to pick up on the ladies, as men were definitely there in abundance compared to a few women, who mostly seemed to be coupled up, anyway.
Don't miss out on O'Connell's. It may not be a romantic or peppy sort of place, but the atmosphere is happy and relaxed, and I can imagine the pep picks up during big games. In spite of living in Huntington Beach, I'll surely find my way there again.
Media Credit: Dano Kuhlken
Next door to O'Connell's Cocktails is the restaurant Shillelagh. If you don't feel like eating bar food you are allowed to order off the Shillelagh menu and eat at O'Connell's.
Media Credit: Dano Kuhlken
Although the window says as "An Irish Pub," the décor inside O'Connell's lacks Irish flare.
Media Credit: Dano Kuhlken
posted by Kinder Coaching | 8:31 AM
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