Gillispie's Tavern at The Shire is one of my favorite Irish pub experiences in the area. The service is consistently excellent, the atmosphere is welcoming and the overall environment makes it easy to settle in and stay awhile. I've even attended a private event here and the team did a phenomenal job from start to finish. They also have an excellent selection of spirits behind the bar for anyone looking to try something new-- whenever I look at the drinks menu I be Dublin. The food has always impressed me as well. I've had the spinach artichoke dip, the fish and chips and the shepherd's pie--which earns authenticity points for actually using lamb instead of beef. Everything has been delicious and I'm pretty sure the Fried Mozzarella Logs are next on my list today (7/2/2026). If you're looking for entertainment- (the back room) has a billiards table, shuffleboard and a dart board making it a great place to spend an afternoon or evening with friends. Currently, I am watching the World Cup game Portugal vs. Croatia and the atmosphere for sports is fantastic. I've also visited during their live music nights, which add even more character to an already great venue. Apparently, just in, they do Karaoke night every Thursday. Great food, great drinks, great people and a great atmosphere. Easy 5 stars. read more

Met some friends up here for some drinks and dinner. That had some live music starting at 7 so stayed and drank a good bit more than I planned but was a fun night. Service was good and quick. Never had an empty glass for too long. For food I got the bangers and mash and it was delicious. read more

Gillespie's Irish Tavern & Kitchen - Bangers and Mash - Irish Near Me - Richardson, Texas

Went to the little place a few weeks ago because we were in the mood for some really good Irish food. Sadly, if I wanted really good Irish food, or even just mediocre Irish food, I should have went somewhere else. Let's start with the Reuben egg rolls. There were 3 of them for $11. Sadly this was the start of the crappy experience. These were three of the smallest, greasiest, unfilled "spring" rolls I've ever had. They need to learn the difference between an egg roll and a spring roll. As far as the filling? No Swiss cheese was to be found, there were three strings of sauerkraut in each one, and the smallest, little sliver of corned beef was in HALF of each spring roll. As an added bonus, they were served on a plate in a puddle of grease. While the puddle of grease was the original turn off, the first bite of these little flavorless, unfilled, pieces of crap, was the icing on the cake. The guiness stew was mediocre at best, and the curry was nothing like good, McDonnell's Irish curry. The Currey was obviously "made" from a packet of Indian food one can pick up at Walmart. Overall I highly recommend going someplace else if you want good, traditional Irish food. read more

Great Irish bar off the Bush in Richardson. There is a stage for bands and plenty of bar paneling and seating. Looks like an Irish bar! Started with a Smithwicks draft which you can't find many places. Ordered a great Scotch egg appetizer which was delicious! My Guinness stew pie was presented with a pastry top on top of a very tasty stew. Top notch and friendly service. So glad we found this place and we'll be back. read more

This review was for bar/eating from bar area. A huge thank you to bar & kitchen staff for fully serving within 30 min of closing... after long day of travel! This restaurant w/legit full bar is close to my preferred Cambria hotel in Richardson... so it's great for locals as well as travelers. Prior years I've tried to visit & hadn't hadn't had success with the online reservation system, so I went into this attempt with low expectation. Gosh I'm so glad I tried this third attempt... as not only was all staff fab, the food was hot & fab, but the locals were fab too! I felt genuinely welcomed and valued... it struck me that this must be what a legit pub in Ireland is like... a friendly local hang out. I will definitely return again & again during future visits... for the food & drink... but also for the chill vibes! read more

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Great entertainment while having an even better dinner. Staff was very friendly and it was close to our hotel.

Good food and fun environment. Pool table and darts in the back and i'm sure they have karaoke too! I didn't do the karaoke nor was anyone when we were there. Service was fine. read more

Gillespie's Irish Tavern & Kitchen - Rueben - Irish Near Me - Richardson, Texas

I have been here twice before & will not post a negative review until 3 visits. Today was #3. #1 pet peeve-- servers who do not tell you their name. She never identified herself. #2 we ask about the colcannon. She tells us it is "just" mashed potatoes. No cabbage (look it up), so, hard pass. #3 We ask about the lamb pie. She describes it as a ground lamb dish in a skillet. We both order it and it is NASTY grease pie with lamb paste. One bite and we both send it back, #4 We order a corned beef sandwich to split. 20 minutes she comes out with 2 corned beef dinners. NOPE, we are done. I have not walked out of a restaurant ever until today. Left a $20 to cover the lamb pie, but will not be going back. read more

Gillespie's Irish Tavern & Kitchen - Irish Lamb PIe - Irish Near Me - Richardson, Texas

We celebrated my dad's 80th birthday last night at Gillespie's. I made a day of reservation and asked if we could bring a cake and balloons. "Sure you can!" My group arrived 30 minutes early with balloons and they were ready for us. Some of my group was late and our waiter was very gracious about it. Our waiter was very kind with my elderly parents Our food was all delicious, hot, and served quickly. My parents were already deciding on when they would be going back...my mom is HOOKED on the Scotch Eggs! Gillespie's helped make my dad's birthday special and we will be back often! read more

Gillespie's Irish Tavern & Kitchen - Our Birthday celebration and a very delicious and very kind restaurant. - Irish Near Me - Richardson, Texas

Really enjoyed the Tavern. Can't wait to go back. Came by on our way to a nearby Comedy Club. Liked the appetizer selection.

Absolutely amazing!!! I was skeptical of the listing of Irish food but I gave it a try anyway. Everything was made fresh and not greasy. The prime rib was juicy (not seasoned well but still good). The cheesecake was also good, not enough Bailey's but it was still good. read more

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Happy Hour Mon - Fri w/ $5 draft beers! Mellow crowd on Tuesday evening. Various sports on the big screen TV's Some diners were seated outside in front. I took a seat at the bar counter. Barmaid greeted me promptly with smile, a menu, and drink request. Smithwick's, and I'll have a go at the Scotch Eggs, please. These eggs were delicious! Actually, like a meatball with a soft-boiled egg inside. These had a crispy outer edge, a local pref, and new to me, and still tasty. Washed 'em down with the Smitty, and headed to the barn, as they say. read more

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These guys know how to pour a pint of Guinness!!! If you like Irish pubs check this place out!! read more

Gillespie's Irish Tavern & Kitchen - Guinness pint at Gillespie's - Irish Near Me - Richardson, Texas

We had happy hour here and the food was delicious. The fried mozzarella cheese was soooo good. The jalepano poppers were delicious, too! They need more items for sweet alcoholic beverage for the girlies who cant hang but I tried their prosecco and it was good. Service was good. Would definitely come back. read more

This place is delightful. Fabulous dark wood interior. Great food. Live music. Excellent service. It was lively while we were there on a Friday night. Kid friendly. read more

Food was good, service was excellent, ambiance was as authentically Irish as one can get! I will return.

Service was good. The restaurant was spacious we got a great view of live band. It was just a little too loud but we were right next to the speakers. Food was the star. We tried fish and chips, Irish meat stew, scotch eggs, deviled eggs, potato soup and beer cheese soup. All so good! read more

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The food was good. However, when I asked for a call liquor on the rocks, I found that I was being charged $1.50 for "rocks". They charged me for ICE! I won't be back. read more

I cannot rave enough about this place! The service as the bar is impeccable! The food is always so delicious and never disappoints. The atmosphere is PERFECT for unwinding on a Friday night. There was live music which was really good! We tried the mozzarella sticks for the first time last night and, OMG, are they amazing!! They are not the kind with thick breading on them. More of a light coating with the perfect amount of crunch and a LOT of cheese. Yes, please!!! read more

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The service is slow but the food is good. They were actually out of Guinness when I went for lunch which was curious. The bangers and mash are fine. The pastrami sandwich with Russian dressing was very good. It's a slightly better than average Irish bar. read more

I go here at least twice a week. The food is amazing, the service (and servers) are like family and the vibe is neighborhood pub - everyone is welcome. You HAVE to try the Reuben egg rolls - sounds crazy, but they're amazing. Trivia Wed. eve, Karaoke Thursday eve, and great live music every Friday and Saturday evening. read more

Amazing service and good! Enjoyed the live band! We will definitely return to try the other food! read more

Gillespie's Irish Tavern & Kitchen - Fish and chips - Irish Near Me - Richardson, Texas

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Tried this place for the first time this morning and the brunch was excellent, but even if the food had only been pretty good we'd be coming back just to see our server-- Scott didn't just take great care of us, he was hilarious and made us feel like family. read more

Good it was dawn good best I ever had we ha hog warts and pink fairy dust Burgers cheeseburgers and Ferry bus it was very good I protecting enjoyed the egg Summit and the egg souffle also had the rose pork in the roast beef and we had roast head of deer it was very good read more

Cheese sticks are to die for, friendly staff, variety of hearty even healthy pub food with genuine Irish roots . Place to share with friends or date night with honey... don't forget to check listing for live music nights :) read more

Ok food, average service, great location. In this case, I don't really have anything good or bad to report. I typically like Irish pubs. This one was just OK nothing special except for the location. read more

After my first review, we have kept Gillespie's on rotation and it has mainly been wonderful. We enjoy their live music selection and have even enjoyed Trivia nights. I just have one pretty major point of feedback for the restaurant: If you are only going to have one vegan/vegetarian item on the menu, you must ensure it is stocked. Three times recently I was told they were out of the "best ever veggie burger". That is about a significant failure rate and one on which I am no longer willing to take a risk. I will call in advance from now and I recommend you do the same (if you are plant-based). I end up getting a couple of sides and they are not that great or satisfying. I would love to see them add more plant-based options. Maybe a vegan shepherd's pie or a veggie curry? read more

Love that they take reservations!! We were celebrating our son's birthday, and the ability to reserve a table made it so much easier to plan for a small group. We ordered several items from their menu, and everything was delicious, fresh, and generous portions. They were very short handed on a wait staff but did their absolute best to keep up. Don't forget to redeem your 15% off coupon -- YELP check-in. We stayed to watch Plunk Murray! Their music vibe was super cool, unique! read more

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The service here was not good in the slightest. My wife and I came in a Saturday night while a band was performing, so I completely understand that the place would be packed- but we waited for thirty minutes just to be seated, even though multiple tables were empty and cleaned and several staff members saw us standing in the front of the restaurant, waiting to be seated. Be prepared to wait for some time if you come here. read more

John is a great bartender. Good Irish pub food. Friendly local crowd. Some good healthy options include the Waldorf salad. read more

Gillespie's Irish Tavern & Kitchen - Portion of the bar - Irish Near Me - Richardson, Texas

We've been eyeing the place and finally got the chance to try it out. There were so many things on the menu we'd like to try that we know we'll be back based on a great first experience last night. The ambiance makes you feel like you are in a cozy pub with a full bar running all down the side and tables throughout. Our server was friendly and great about checking in with us throughout the dinner which was great as they place really picked up for a Saturday night. I started off with a Tavern Mule made with whiskey. I'll have to say I'm not a huge whiskey fan, but in a mule form was quite delicious. My husband went with the Buffalo Family Bourbon flight and he had no issues finishing it off. For food, we started with the Ultimate Scotch Eggs and a cup of the Shiner Beer-Cheese Soup (because we just had to try it). The flavors of both items were great. The Scotch Eggs had the right amount of breading and the egg was cooked as desired with the soft boil to make the flavors stand out and the hollandaise sauce was a great touch. For dinner we shared the Traditional Reuben Sandwich and opted for the turkey pastrami as the meat. It was delicious! The pumpernickel-rye bread was fresh, thick and flavorful. The meat had great flavor of its own even being a leaner cut of meat. We also split the Irish Pork Wellington as that isn't something we'd make at home. The pork tenderloin was perfectly done and the flavors of the bacon, mushrooms and puff pastry around the dish complimented the dish well. Portion sizes were plentiful and we even brought food home so we wouldn't overeat! We look forward to coming back and trying other dishes! read more

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Such a wonderful night dining and hearing the Texas Jazz Cats. This generous band whose tip jar proceeds go to the North Texas Food Bank always brings classic jazz, and in such a fun way. Gillespie's food tonight was terrific. Our table of various tastes (carnivores and pescatarians) were all super happy! There were Mozzarella Logs to start and all of us said they were the best we've ever had. Individual orders, which everyone loved, included Scotch eggs, Caesar salad, Fish & Chips, Wedge with blue cheese. Would order ALL of these again. There was lots of wine and beer and we finished with Irish coffees. HUGE thanks to the gracious owners, Romer & Heather, for this wonderful community contribution. read more

Was ignored until finally told to sit down anywhere. It was an hour till closing so the restaurant was fairly empty. After waitress finishes talking to a customer for a while she brings menu and water then she goes to talk to another customer at the bar for a good 15+ minutes and we had not placed any order. We just decided to leave after that feeling like we were a bother. read more

The food was good. Service was definitely lacking a lot. Atmosphere is nice. There is a group of us, 20 at times that try different restaurants in Plano/ Richardson area. Today, the service was subpar! Three days prior to 6-13-25 I let Gillespie's know a party of 17 would be dining there. I do this as a courtesy to the restaurant so that they can arrange seating and wait staff. They gave us 1 wait staff. We were there at 11:30 and there were not many people there, it took forever for food, food was Luke warm. It was quite a wait for our bill and it took forever to get change and cards back. I purposely did the notification to Gillespie's as a courtesy so they knew there would be a large group and could staff accordingly. Very disappointed! We call ourselves The Lunch Bunch and have been doing different establishments for over a year now and Gillespie's needs to do better! read more

Food is fantastic. Great service. Love the ambiance as well. This is the BEST bar in Dallas!

This was a very good Irish pub very authentic had the Shepards pie and the Irish cream cheesecake both are amazing dishes very fresh and great atmosphere the only thing I did not like was the service only 2 people staffing the entire dining room and took forever to get the bill but Will definitely return when I go back to DFW. read more

I can not rave enough about the food. Excellent. Had a harp beer and a shot of midleton whiskey. The food was fantastic. Prices were so reasonable and the service was great. Highly recommend. read more

Fun atmosphere and corned beef was amazing! Service was fantastic as well. They have live music and other nightly entertainment.

We were headed to this restaurant but as we approached the restaurant we could hear loud, live music. We heard a couple of people saying as they walked out of the restaurant to sit on the patio that they needed a break from the loud music. Hard pass for us on a weeknight. read more

John the bartender was excellent. His recommendations on The Rueben and Wellington were great suggestions. The Gillespie's New Fashioned drink was super cool with its smoky flavor. I liked my lemon drop martini. The River Driver band was entertaining and we enjoyed a game of pool. The one disappointment was the carrot cake- terribly dry and there was a metallic taste from the baking powder. I hope to drop by again. We drove 45 min upon the recommendation of a friend. It will not disappoint read more