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    Kirwan's On The Wharf

    3.4 (630 reviews)
    ModerateIrish Pub
    Closed 11:00 am - 2:00 AM (Next day)
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Kirwan's On The Wharf Photos

    Business Info

    KIRWAN'S ON THE WHARF ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Touristy
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Kirwan's On The Wharf

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    Seafood chowder
    Marie S.

    Enjoyed the patio season and some nice views of the Wharf. Service was quick and I got the seafood chowder ($16) with calamari, shrimp, etc. and came with a side of Irish brown bread with butter. The chowder was a good size and was very filling. I also got one of the non-alcoholic strawberry coconut mojitos. 2026 #18

    Zarin B.

    This restaurant has the most horrible system for seating patrons I have ever seen in my life. There was a line for walk-in groups so we waited in that. We noticed many groups of 3-5 were getting seated immediately. When it was our turn they checked for any open tables and said there was none at the moment and suddenly it's a 1.5 hr wait. We put our names on the wait-list thinking there's no way it can be that long. So we wait nearby and watch as they continue seating more parties that are walking in, and not sending me a table-is-ready text. Completely neglecting the wait-list and giving tables to parties that show up when a table happens to be available. Make it make sense???? My party and I were getting increasingly hangry but we didn't say anything just yet. The hostess and the owner could feel how upset we were just standing there watching table after table of newly arrived parties getting seated while we waited for 45+ minutes. FINALLY they decided to seat us, but that wouldn't have been the case if we weren't standing right there making sure we were seen. THEN another hostess came by after we sat down and tried to give our table to another party but the one who sat us had to stick up for us and said something like we were waiting longer. What a holy freaking mess???? Food and drinks were great but service has a LOT to improve on.

    She's still working
    Ted V.

    I'll mention the less important stuff first; The sausage rolls were terrible little chicken turds wrapped in wet dough, and our server checked on us twice in two hours. Then the important things: when they realized they hadn't checked on us in an hour; they brought over a server who had been working the whole time, and blamed the wait on a shift change... the dude who they sent us to had already been working since we got there..

    Melissa G.

    Came here for music bingo on a Monday night for a friend's birthday. Its a 2 level Irish pub located at the Wharf. They have 2 levels and music bingo takes place in a small book on the second floor. The upstairs area has a bar and additional seating but it's smaller than the downstairs section. Music bingo was so much fun! It was about 4 rounds and the music selection was such a great mixed variety of oldies, r&b, pop, rock and alternative. She even did a special Latin round for my friends birthday. Service was a little slow because the bartender was also the server so it was quicker to order from the bar than waiting for him to come to the table but he was really nice. They also have a nice food menu but I didnt order anything on this visit.

    Elba Adriana C.

    Service was good, food came out pretty quickly, and most of what we ordered was great. My seafood chowder was unfortunately what let me down. It was bland and lacked flavor overall. The mussels were great, and the sauce had a beautiful velvety consistency. My cousin loved her mushroom flatbread and my husband had the fish and chips. Our table shared the calamari which was great as well.

    Bar
    Tara R.

    Luis was an excellent bartender. My husband and I stopped in immediately after checking our luggage at our hotel. We had some time to kill before our room was ready. He had a Guinness and Miller High Life on draft. I had a couple Surfside iced teas. I had the chicken pot pie while my husband had the burger. I loved my meal!!! He loved his burger although the fries weren't his favorite. They were steak fries and we felt a skinnier fry would have been better. Overall, we had a great experience. We will be back on Saturday night for a wedding after party!

    Alexis V.

    I like that this bar opens late and it was the only place with some lotion on a Monday night when I celebrated my birthday here in Washington DC. But, the drinks were not that strong. I feel like I just paid for juice here. Staff is nice and did what they can to provide recommendations, but this place was underwhelming with drinks. Love the music in the background, but it is blaring. And so, it is hard to make conversations with your table or order drinks in front of your waiter. You have to get real close to hear someone talk...closer than the tables and chairs are. Super tight with the tabling setup...not as comfortable to stay here. But, at least service was quick!

    Irish Iced coffee
    Latifa H.

    We visited on a warm sunny day and got an outdoor table with a Waterfront view. The drinks were great. We got Irish carbombs, Irish iced coffee, and mimosas (carbombs and mimosas not pictured). The food was amazing as well. We got the shepherds pie, chicken pot pie, and fish n chips. The shepherds pie came with a whole lamb chop in the middle which I was very impressed by and had a generous amount of lamb. The chicken pot pie was my favorite due to the texture and taste of the crust. It sat on mashed potatoes which were heavenly as well. The fish n chips which were also very good were the least favorite of mine which says a lot since I love fish n chips. I'll definitely be back to just get either of the pie dishes we had today. Service was quick and friendly, and the bathrooms were very nice and clean.

    Demonstrating how tiny the shepherds pie is - lol!
    Ali M.

    Irish pub with a great location by the water on wharf in D.C. Nice atmosphere inside, but very crowded with worn furniture. We were seated outside on the heated patio - it was freezing cold. The chairs and table are old, and the table was unbalanced, so it was tipping back-and-forth throughout the entire meal. They allowed the table next to us to pull over many chairs so they were right up against our table. Did not make a comfortable meal. I thought it would not be much of a fun night - and it was a birthday celebration for my son, but our awesome server saved the night. I wish I could remember the name, but they wore a very cool pearl necklace so that may help identify them. The server was funny, engaging, knowledgeable, and made great recommendations. I would return just for the stellar service. Outside of our server, the staff was kind of unwelcoming. We shared with the reception that it was my son's birthday and they didn't even respond. The appetizer was just OK, the fish and chips were good, the shepherds pie was tiny, the spice bag was just OK, and the chickpea curry was very bland (it was like eating, uncooked chickpeas out of a can - so bland, cold and no texture). The espresso martini was a very small glass filled less than a third... the recommended smoky cocktail was good. They would not accept any reservations and were not very nice on the phone... not mean, just uninterested and a bit dismissive - like they don't want more customers. The meal was $240 for three of us - brie, fish and chips, shepherds pie, chickpea curry, spice bag, two cocktails, two coffees and three beers. I think we were all hungry when we left (I couldn't eat the chickpea curry and no one wanted much of the spice bag). I wouldn't say dinner was a good value. I think this would be a good spot for a beer and a sandwich if there's a good table or bar seat available inside. I wouldn't recommend most of the dinner selections we made or seating on the patio. For the management - your staff is freezing on the patio. I felt so bad for them. The floor is freezing cold and the heaters were not doing much. Very unpleasant for us and I can only imagine what it was like for them to work hours in those conditions. They were shivering. Definitely reward the server that waited on us - totally saved the meal and made it a nice experience.

    Thomas B.

    Looking for an Irish pub right by the water in DC? Then Kirwan's is the place for you We sat at the bar. Service was very good! My wife ordered the stew/coddle. I got the full Irish breakfast. The food came out quick. My sausages and puddings were not super hot but ok. Eggs cooked great. Overall good but nothing spectacular. Overall a good place if you are looking for an Irish pub

    Katelyn L.

    Cute location on the wharf! I always love a good pub experience. They had great variety in their food options with fun twists on classic meals. Would definitely visit again!

    Interior
    Thomas P.

    One of the few places around the area that serves food late at night. They have classic pub food, including burgers. It was pretty packed on a late Saturday. The interior was nice and clean. The ambience was quite festive. The food was pretty good for pub food. Would recommend if you're trying to get some late night food and want a festive environment.

    Giao L.

    Ordered a Lamb Burger (medium) with fries and a Guinness. The burger was cooked to order and had good flavor, but the top bun was soft and a little soggy. Not sure why, but maybe it was due to the yogurt sauce soaking into the bun. The fries were just okay, as some pieces were overcooked and burnt. Nothing special about the fries and just regular pub fries.

    Coddle

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    Kirwan's On The Wharf Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Kirwan's On The Wharf

    Is this place good for kids?

    In terms of "can kids go there without being too obnoxious"? Yes they can. The place is large and noise (within reason) is fine. There's outdoor as well as indoor dining which might give you additional options if your little terrorists are on a tear… Read more

    Assuming with a reservation, can this restaurant seat larger parties, specifically 9 people?

    Yes

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    Makers Union - Deviled Eggs

    Makers Union

    4.0(309 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    We were here on a Sunday for brunch. We got seated outside immediately as we had our dog with us…read more Staff is friendly and very welcoming. Really cool vibes of the place. On Sundays, they only offer their bottomless brunch which has a selection of appetizers, entrée and deserts. We really liked their apps special call outs were sugar bacon, deviled eggs and spinach artichoke dip. The loaded nachos were nice too. Entrée portions were huge. Fried chicken a bit too oily and some what bland. Maryland crab cakes missed the mark. Deserts were small portions of ice-cream with brownie and cake. I would recommend them to add some unique options for deserts as well. The place was packed inside and absolutely no seating available. We felt lucky to have a seat outside. The service was very polite and trying their best to be speedy even though there was a huge crowd inside. There were times we had no food and waiting but understandable as they were busy. Overall nice place for brunch. They had very interesting drinks in happy hour so would recommend their happy hour as well.

    Makers Union has a sports bar feel with a slightly more upscale bar food menu, so we were hoping it…read morewould be a solid casual spot for drinks and dinner. We started with the steak nachos, and while the steak itself was really good, the nachos overall were a little below average. They just didn't have the flavor or balance I was hoping for. We also ordered the fish and chips, but they were very heavy and greasy, to the point where we decided not to finish them. For drinks, I had a margarita that was overly sour and not very enjoyable. My husband had an IPA on draft and said that was really good, so the beer selection may be the better route here. Unfortunately, the service was also not great, which made the overall experience feel a bit underwhelming. I could see this being an okay place to watch a game or grab a beer, but based on our visit, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to come back for the food or cocktails.

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    Kale Caesar Salad

    Irish Channel Restaurant & Pub - Chipotle chicken sandwich (servers fave sandwich on the menu)

    Irish Channel Restaurant & Pub

    3.8(292 reviews)
    1.5 miChinatown
    $$

    Stopped in here on the way to a Captials game. This place was PACKED. It was a caps game and the…read moreNFL playoffs. Lots of Buffalo fans in the place that evening Hard to give this a fair review since it was so crowded and all we did was have two rounds of beers. Definitely would go back again. But maybe not when the Caps are in town. Cool looking pub though.

    For a while I thought Irish cuisine consisted of Guinness, Soda Bread, Corned Beef, Irish Coffee…read more Then I learned Sheppards Pie, Black/White Pudding were also Irish and delicious. Having been to Ireland back when I was drinking was a real treat to drink and be drunk under the table by the lads out there, but my favorite dishes initially were the Full Breakfasts, too bad you can't eat them all the time. My drunk food of choice is the Spice Bag's. Who knew Chinese take outs served at this point a national dish (I also love Irn Bru and have had it shipped to California during COVID). I've been searching for a Spice bag this side of the pond for years and this is one of the closest I've found. It's truely not chinese becuase I've asked restaurants owners to recreate it and they can't. It's Irish and Chinese and it comes from a place and time where immigrants assimilate differently becuase of the ingredients they have available to them. Over time it becomes their own. I was in town for business that week and wanting only the Spice bag I almost overlooked their other dishes which looked fantastic. I ended up loving much more of the menu. Narrangansett is fried calamari. Nice bite, not too much chew, great breading. I'd have liked an aoili, but the lemon makes it pop. Perhpas some parsley for garnish. I get it, that's not how it's served back home, but lets be honest the menu has French, English, Irish and American cuisine, so it's hard to be authentic to everything. Wedge salad's add grilled shrimp give that toothsome bite to go with the crunch and textures. I almost always get this when i'm doing a business lunch. Feels classier than ceasers, gardens, house. Blue cheese is for ballers. I would rather have had pickled eggs than deviled eggs considering it's a pub. The Reuben's pastrami was bland, but everything else was perfect, including the coated fries. I normally don't add salt, but this needed it. I loved the parsnips with the corned beef and cabbage. Filling and homestyle. The parsley cream sauce was a nice touch, but I'd rather have horseradish. The sheppards pie was delicious, hearty, had depth. the salamander/torching of the top is a really nice touch and presentation. The stars of the show are the irish breakfast, it's hard to find puddings let alone both white and black. Irish rasher make it ultra authetic. I prefer fry bread, but the fries are a nice touch versus hashbrowns that most places serve. It's got everything and everything works perfect in combination. I had this twice that week. The spice bag the real reason I was here. Usually i'm used to my bags being near see thru from the grease, but the fancier presentation did not take away from the taste. Everything is seasoned, crunchy, the onions are both crunchy and soft, the chicken was a tad on the dry side, but the best part was adding shrimp. I'd never had it that way in Ireland and to me the bite of the shrimp really complimented the fries and the chicken and actually took to the seasonings best. Eating it sit down was a little weird, but I was here for the food, not the ambiance of walking home drunk after the pub eating on my feet part. Service is better than most pubs and they really care about their menu. Prices are reasonable for DC and portions are large, so you're not left ordering 5 items to fill up. Decor is pretty traditional and on the older side. Bathrooms are on the nicer side. The crowd is a great mix of locals, office workers, sports fans, drinkers. Fantasically devoid of college kids. Gone are the days of me splitting the G, but they do a proper pint. I also came her for their Smithwicks. Yes you can order a "Drop shot" formerly known as a Car Bomb, just don't call it that. Most places are very understanding that it's a good drink and if you like it, then order it, but don't use the slang name for it that is divisive. Order a Drop Shot. Their Irish Coffee could use some work considering they do so many other things really well. The coffee is supposed to be hot and the whipped cream supposed to be fresh. Simple syrup is ok, but the sugar cube is preferred.

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    Irish Channel Restaurant & Pub
    Irish Channel Restaurant & Pub - Smithwick's on tap was the highlight for me.

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    Kirwan's On The Wharf - irish_pubs - Updated July 2026

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