McMullan's Irish Pub

Review

When it comes to bars, nightclubs, watering holes, places to get your drink on, etc. Las Vegas is an embarrassment of riches. There are certain parts of town where you can literally drink 10 different things in 10 different places and not once have to cross a street.

All that's well and good until you get sick of nameless bartenders where you're just a faceless patron and maybe, OK, yeah, you do want to go where everybody knows your name.

Well, it's not quite Cheers, but McMullan's Irish Pub puts on a pretty good effort.

Family-owned and operated, the pub occupies a fairly big space, half-sandwiched between a gas station and The Orleans. This makes it a little tough to call it a neighborhood bar, but most folks are willing to leave their own neighborhoods to hang out there.

Aside from all the little family touches the McMullan's (yes, the bar's namesake) have scattered throughout the bar (drawings from old photos, actual old photos and some fun props adorn the walls), there's something just innately homey about the space.

The staff does a great job of recognizing you after just a few visits and while they may not always remember your drink order (maybe because you change it every time), a friendly nod works just as well when it comes to not feeling like a stranger.

Highlights at McMullan's include the weekly pub quiz games (Tuesday nights), where the bar gets packed with a bunch of brainy folks, vying for -- what else? -- a free bar tab. And Wednesdays bring in the band Darby O' Gill, doing a slew of cover songs their own way, which usually includes a lot of whiskey and some questionable dancing in front of the stage.

With most of the other "Irish pubs" in Vegas located actually inside casinos, McMullan's is a nice switch, and while you might not see Norm or Cliff, you'll still be glad you came.

-- Review by Jamie Helmick