A very pleasant surprise! A friend and I were on our way to a concert at the St. Augustine Amphitheater after work and since we hadn't eaten, we stopped here. The place itself is pretty nice. I'm not sure how long it's been there but it was nice and clean. Since we were on our way to sit outside for a few hours, I didn't want to eat anything too heavy. The waitress came over right away and let us know that they had a special of mahi tacos, which was what I ordered. The amount of food was way more than either of us were expecting. I was given two huge tortillas, 4 decent sized pieces of fish, lettuce, tomato, cheese, etc and a big bowl of rice and beans. The tortillas were so large I actually tore them in half to make more manageable sized tacos. I only ate maybe half of the food that was brought to me, not because it wasn't great but because there was so much of it. It wasn't especially cheap (with the soda I had and the tip, it was about $20) but considering it could have easily made 2 meals (unfortunately fish tacos aren't something I was willing to leave in the car for a few hours in July!), it was reasonable. The place wasn't particularly busy and the waitress was very attentive. I'm not sure how often I'll find myself near here but I would absolutely stop it again! read more

I visited during a weekday at lunch time. The restaurant was not busy when I arrived but by the time I left was quickly filling up! I sat at the bar and ordered the Fish and Chips. I thought they were delicious and piping hot/fresh. There were several regulars also sitting at the bar and it appears that is their go to spot. I bragged about the place enough to my husband that a few Saturday nights ago we decided after dinner to drive from the beaches to Donovan's for drinks. I was shocked to see the place completely empty. It was 9pm and there is a pool table and darts area so I assumed it would be a fun place to visit. We decided not to stay (as the only other people at the restaurant). I know we've past by here at night before to see a full parking lot so not sure why this past Saturday night was completely dead. We will try again. read more

The Ruben was delicious as well as the steak sandwich. Food came hot and in a timely fashion. The service was friendly and on top of everything. Really enjoyed our meal. read more

Worst food I've ever had and I will eat ramen noodles and spam. The shepherds pie was frozen veggies and so much cheese I couldn't taste anything else (Thank God). The pretzel bites were so hard and the cheese worse than movie theater nacho cheese...corned beef egg rolls so greasy it dripped all over the table but the 1,000 island dressing helped. Our server Kim was hilarious and trivia was fun but you literally couldn't pay me to eat there again. I am literally embarrassed at the food they serve and hope they think their customers deserve something better. read more

The blackened chicken sandwich and ruben sandwich were amazing. Would definitely recommend this restaurant. Staff was friendly and inviting.

I've just moved into the area, and been here three times already for their fish and chips!! Really good!!!! Served with steak fries or chips. They do a half portion which I more than enough for one. ( pic enclosed) they also do a good pint of Guinness, although it's the American sized pint glass so you do lose some of the pint due to the head. I think for every six or so pints you order you lose one full pint. They should sort that out and it'd be five stars! The staff are very attentive and friendly. read more

Donovan's Irish Pub - Half portion!!! - Irish Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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i think the food is very good and the portions generous. The fish n chips is fantastic. I love their homemade potato chips and soups. Not had anything I would not have again. The staff is attentive and polite. I give the 10 stars because they take reservations. Very few St Augustine restaurants do, so when we have a group, Donavan's is the first places we consider. read more

This is my least favorite restaurant ever. I ate at Donovans before Christmas and the food was bland and tasteless. I vowed to never go back. However I was told there was a new owner, so I decided to give it another try. Alas, the food was tasteless and bland. Absolutely no flavor. My friend complained her salad was aweful. read more

Great food and great service. Fish and Chips and Reuben with slaw are both fantastic. We are regulars.

Water traps need to be cleaned as there was a sewage smell as soon as we walked in the door. But I've been in the industry and it's really not that big of a deal to handle. Service wasn't bad as we had two servers helping us most of the visit. I ordered the Cheesesteak wrap and it was cooked very well with a soft but toasted hoagie. The house chips are always great. Great overall experience. read more

Good food. Good atmosphere. Good prices. Good service. I had the wings and I love hot, but these were hot! It's just a good Pub atmosphere. Nothing fancy, but good food and good service. read more

Great Irish pub. One of the best I have seen on the southern east coast. Bridget and Kristen run a very tight ship. The pastrami was fantastic. read more

Another fantastic eating experience!! As always we were met with friendly staff and delicious food. Also, I have to say they have the cleanest bathrooms in St Augustine! read more

Pretty good - and the manager John was cool. The Rachael burger is fantastic and the fries are nice a big steak-lovers style...although the oil they cooked in was in need of a change. Definitely go back... read more

I'm really enjoying my lunch. Plenty of options. I got soup and sandwich. They also have cheese sticks and hot dogs now

I've been in the area for about 3 years, Donovans is a great restaurant and pub. Staff is always extremely friendly and and polite, food is awesome. Fish tenders are my favorite dish with a side of green beans and a brew. Monday night trivia gets very busy it starts at 7, so get there early. read more

Amazing time at this comfy Irish Pub! So many choices from the menu but, with help of our awesome server Alaijah, invented a new menu item! I think it should be called Donovan's nacho reuben fries! So good! My husband and friend enjoyed the Wednesday night's all you can eat fish and chips and another friend had a tasty patty melt. Thanks for a great evening. We will be back and often! read more

Donovan's Irish Pub - Donovan's Nacho Reuben Fries - Irish Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Food was alright. Service and atmosphere were alright. Not really interested in going back, but not against it either. Overall, just not my first pick. read more

Close to home. A bit pricey. Haven't had any food that really stands out. Convenience would be the only reason I'd return.

Things have improved from when we first moved into the area, so we'll continue to support them as long as the trend continues. We hear there is new ownership, so they seem to be moving in the right direction. read more

Apparently, Donovan's is THE hot new place in St Augustine. I was down on a golfing trip with a buddy, and nothing beats a fresh pint of guinness after spending the day on the course. So, we asked around and heard that a new pub had opened in the area. We headed in and ended up staying the whole night. It has a great atmosphere and the food is some of the best pub grub I've had. The place is stuck in the middle of a strip mall, so it's not overly appealing from the outside. But these guys did it right. It has an old fashioned feel and great modern gizmos (nice TVs and a Wii). Everyone is super friendly -- the bartenders, the staff, even the owner (in true Irish fashion, she wears a nametag that simply reads "herself"). But none of that matters if the food isn't good, right? Well, we were not disappointed. The Irish beers were flowing from the taps (Guinness, Smithwick's and Harp), and the food was making it go down easy. We had the homemade pub chips along with our guinness. Then I had the Irish steak sandwich that hit the spot and my buddy had a pot roast that he wouldn't stop talking about for 3 days. Needless to say, the next time we head in that direction for a golf trip, Donovan's will be our 19th hole. Oh, and one "good to know" item we picked up while we were there -- apparently they run lunch specials -- some items from their normal menu in "lunch sizes" (less $$ but same great food) read more

Donovan's Irish Pub - The outside at night. - Irish Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Great food. Fish and chip are great and the Saturday night bands are legit. Good drink at a reasonable prices.

Service is good. A fried food heaven - but I will say the food was absolutely inedible. Their menu serves 80% fried food, and to my taste, obviously the oil has been burnt and reused. Onion rings for appetizer - burnt oil, crispy and dry (not fresh) onions inside, cooked too long? Fried Haddock for entree - greasy, burnt oil. The burnt taste dominated the meal. Side of Fries - burnt oil, tasted like an ashtray Will not go back ever again. read more

We only stopped here as a halfway point on our trip home hoping to grab a bite to eat and a drink. We tried the beer cheese soup and it was really good. It was very thick, cheesy and had scallions on top too. I can't wait till our next little trip so we can come back and have some more. It has a large bar area and a dinning room too. I'm sure it gets busy on the weekends and nights with all the new growth in this area. However it was a quite slow afternoon when we stopped but that's how we like it. read more

Best Happy Hour in St. Augustine North! And the best Onion Rings. ;)

i love a reuben sandwich, however this sandwich leaves a lot to be desired. There was a very little amount of meat. The meat felt like shredded leftovers, the marble rye should give you hope, but this was lightly toasted, not grilled. There was such little sauerkraut, I couldn't even taste it. I wouldn't be so disappointed if I hadn't paid close to $12.Sandwich, sprite and tip $18.96. Do yourself a favor and save your time and money: stay home. read more

Stopped in here tonight because it's close to where we live and are still in the exploratory restaurant search mode being recently relocated to the area. We were here for happy hour... And I had the best $2.50 draft Irish Red. It made my crappy day at work oh so much tolerable. My wife and I shared an order of onion rings for an appetizer.... $8.99. A bit pricey, but they were homemade, and a large order. Yummy. We then shared the pork chop dinner. You can get it fried or grilled. We chose fried. It can with a side of homemade mashed potatoes, with a,crazy good mushroom gravy. There was also a grilled cabbage salad which was different, but also very good. Unfortunately the pork chops we had were dry and tough to chew. We did mention to our waitress Lori, and she actually went and bought the chef out to speak with us!! He apologized and listened to what we had to say. They comped us half the price of the entree.... The right thing to do. The desserts looked good.... But we did not try it this visit. Which was hard with Dunkin Donuts a few doors down. All in all... A nice local place closets the house. Looking forward to going back to try the other dishes on the menu. The pot roast looked yummy for next time!! read more

After reading some pretty decent reviews on this place, my girl and I decided to stop in to Donovan's after a long day of yard work to grab a couple of pints and have some good bar food, as this place didn't disappoint. Great location- right off US1 in the Palencia Plaza, it's located on the side with the Food Lion. There's not too much around Donovan's, so you'll always have plenty of parking available. We arrived at around 5 on a Saturday, and I was kind of surprised to see it wasn't very busy. After sitting at the bar, the bartender immediately came over to take our drink order and give us some menus. They have a full bar, and a pretty decent draft beer selection, including the usual Irish Pub fare (Guinness, Smithwick's, Harp, etc...), although I was disappointed in the lack of Sam Adams. Taking a look at the menu, it was fairly diverse. They have a decent choice of appetizers, a lot of Irish fare, some pretty delicious sounding sandwiches, and even a decent kids menu. The thing I liked most about this place is that they walk a fine line between bar and family dining restaurant. The bar area is pretty much segregated from the rest of the area, so if people are watching sports, drinking beer, and eating wings, it won't distract from the families out on the floor trying to enjoy a meal together. I ordered the chicken wings, she ordered the Irish Nachos. Both were awesome. It's kind of hard to mess up chicken wings, but they cooked them right, and the sauce was just hot enough to give me a kick, but not enough to make me not enjoy it. The Irish Nachos were crispy, covered with ooey gooey cheese, and lots of fresh toppings. Delicious. Will definitely be back many times to sample lots of the other menu items. Overall, I loved the atmosphere here, very quiet and relaxed, but a lot of fun to be had, there were a lot of regulars at the bar who loved to chat and make friends. The food was great, the beer cold, and the service was awesome. Only thing in my mind keeping this from being five stars- the lack of Sam Adams on draft, and the fact that they close at 11pm. I understand if you're a restaurant and you want to close at that time, but if you call yourself an Irish Pub, I would think you'd try to stay open a bit later. There's been a few times I've wanted to go out for some drinks, but couldn't make it to Donovan's because of the early closing times. I guess in the Palencia area, there's not enough of a market for a late night bar. Oh well, stop in a bit early, and have yourself a good time here! read more

I really loved the atmosphere in Donovan's. It made me feel like I was in the middle of a pub in Ireland! For lunch, I enjoyed the Ham & Swiss wrap. It was absolutely delicious! This restaurant was definitely worth my trip from Jacksonville to St. Augustine! read more

Says they are open til 11 pm.....got there at 10:15 and sat down at the bar and they told me they were closed. I ask him about the hours and his answer was they had been there for a long time. Was very disappointed. read more

Where do I start? This place is an absolute joke. First of all, it is the only sports bar/live music venue within a 10 mile radius of residents who live in the area, yet they close at 11pm? This place is missing out on serious business by not staying open later. When I googled the location, it said they were open until 12, but that is clearly not the case. THEY OBVIOUSLY DO NOT WANT YOUR BUSINESS! I was in from out of town visiting friends who live in the area. I came to Donovan's both Friday and Saturday night. Words cannot explain my disappointment. This place has the potential to be a neighborhood watering hole for the locals, but unfortunately the service is downright terrible. As I mentioned earlier, I came here two nights in a row, both times to watch the World Series game. When I arrived the game was not on, which is fine, but since my friend and I were the only patrons at the bar, I assumed it wouldn't be a problem to ask to have the game put on one of the 3 (crappy) flat screens behind the bar. The bartender acted as if I had just asked him to shovel snow from my driveway. A daunting task I know, to push a couple of buttons on a remote control. Finally, when the game was eventually turned on, I was greeted with "kitchens closed". Ok, that's fine, it's only 9:30 on a Saturday night, I know some people might be coming to the only restaurant within 10 miles to get a late night meal, but luckily for you, I just want a beer. The bartender clearly had never poured a beer in his life. The last time I saw that much foam was on an episode of Real World when a bunch of college kids were doing ecstasy and dancing to techno in the midst of a foam party in an USC frat house. The bartender, though clearly American, didn't know more than three words of the English language. He never introduced himself, I have no idea what his name was, so from this point on I'll refer to him as Stu. Stu has a chance to make some money on a slow Saturday night, since my friend and I were there to drink and watch baseball. But his only concern was rushing us out of there as fast as possible. At this point I feel it's important to mention that there was a live band playing when we arrived. They weren't good, but considering the venue, it was probably the only band willing to play at such an establishment. This band (amazingly) still had a decent crowd sticking around listening to their performance, however, my friend and I were the only people sitting at the bar. Here was Stu's chance to make some money. I was drinking the half foam/half beer as fast as he could bring them, but his main concern was chatting with his kitchen buddy and doing his end of shift "clean", which as far as I could tell, consisted of moving some shot mats around the bar. He brought the check without saying a word, because I guess they were "closed" even though the band was just finishing and hadn't started packing up and their wannabe groupies still hadn't closed their tabs. Bottom line: the atmosphere isn't half bad, can't comment on the quality of the food since they obviously close the kitchen before dinner time, but the service is awful. If the manager is reading this, I'd suggest you call Jon Taffer as fast as possible to come fix this mess. If you're unwilling to do that, then at least stay open until midnight, offer a late night menu, fire your PATHETIC bartender, and teach someone how to greet a guest. You're sitting on a goldmine right now, as the only sports bar/ late night restaurant in the area. But there's a reason that we were the only people in your bar at 10:00 on a Saturday night- we were desperate, and your service SUCKS. This place will be closed within a year. read more

The portions here are HUGE! We ordered fish and chips and corned beef with cabbage. One order of food is definetly enough for two people to share, so if you order your own be prepared to take most of it home. Overall, decent food for decent price. read more

The food was ok, beer was flat, and the service was good. Stopped in for lunch with a coworker. Coworker enjoyed his food btw. This a decent spot for the area since there isn't a whole lot of variety to eat around the world of golf. I had the chicken club sandwich with fries and a beer. Everything was good except the beer which was very flat. The food wasn't something I'd go out of my way to eat, but it certainly wasn't bad either. I go to 4 stars on this, but the beer was flat. Maybe it was the beer i got I'm not sure. It was their signature beer that Budweiser makes for them. read more

I love Irish pubs so we decided to give this place a try since it was close to the World of Golf area where we were staying and it was recommended by the hotel listings of local fare. We went in early evening, late afternoon and there were only a few tables filled and a few people at the bar. We were seated right away and service was prompt. Beer was good and cold. One of the staples of any good Irish place has gotta be Shepard's Pie and is one of the dishes I use to compare the food so naturally I ordered it. I must be honest and say that it wasn't bad by any means but it was very ho-hum. My wife had a buffalo chicken salad and it was sparse on anything with the exception of lettuce. I didn't hate this place but doubt I would go back for anything other than drinks in the future. read more

I love this place. Good food! I love the fish chips with huge portions, the fried shrimp, pot roast, ruben, especially the home made chips! read more

Really good homade fish and chips. Fish was hand breaded. Food came out fast and hot and Jen provided great service. We will be back.

A very great establishment on US1 in an area where not much is available. I definately would say try the fish sandwhich (way too big to finish) in one seating and the corned beef sandwhich with chips. Friendly staff, and very good with helping in the community! read more

I've given this place 3 chances and everytime it fails. Shepherds pie is awful. Beer cheese soup looks like a baby threw up. Philly cheese steak was not seasoned in the least. Fries had a light season to them but still tasteless. The water with a lemon was good. read more

Great food great prices! Cheep beer specials!

By accident we ate dinner here. What a stroke of luck! Excellent friendly service. Very large portions. Best haddock fish and chips, fresh, crispy outside, hot moist and flavorful inside. I just managed to get it all down with a draft beer. We will definitely return. Warning the Shepard's pie is big enough for 2 people. We took half home. You will too but it is so good with all fresh ingredients you will try to eat it all. read more