Celtic Harp in Utica
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Utica, Oneida County, New York, US
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Site: http://www.thecelticharp.com/
- Monday:Closed
- Tuesday:11AM–12AM
- Wednesday:11AM–1AM
- Thursday:11AM–1AM
- Friday:11AM–1AM
- Saturday:11AM–1AM
- Sunday:Closed
The most racist, disrespectful establishment I have ever been to. My boyfriend and I were not allowed inside due to the fact that he was wearing a durag. We were told these are “the owners rules”. Yet, there were people inside wearing hats. A durag is a protective hair covering used to secure moisture - distinctive to people of color. I am beyond disgusted.
Always a good time, great food, nice fish selection, craft beers, and a decent crowd. Too much of a good thing this place is often packed, and sometimes a little rowdy. They also follow Saranac Thursdays, and stay open later with live band outside. Downside two ladies bathroom stalls only. The staff gets overwhelmed and gets orders mixed up frequently.
Dont order take out if the bar is busy, is the lesson we learned tonight. My family and I have ordered from here in the past. I have never been thrilled with the takeout but it usually is okay. Tonight I have a perfectly fine serving of shepherds pie, but Iam the only one who satisfied with our familyorder. My son loves macaroni and cheese and has gotten their version before. The portion size tonight was ridiculously small and if there was cheese on it I couldnt tell. It was my sons idea to visit the Celtic Harp to support a local business since he has been away at school. I normally would not criticize a local business but Im the only person happy and essentially my son was left without a meal. This may be a result that the restaurant needed an extra hour for takeout because they had a party. I think it would have been better had we been told not to wait and to order on another night. Now we wont be ordering again.One star because I liked my meal....
Server is terrible been mutinle visits where you cant get anyone to wait on you outdoors.Granted, she was probably only server there, but its middle of the week, post dinner rush, 3 tables tops??Wanted to cancel when she got.our order Wrong and drinks wrong inside not much better went inside for help and they were more concerned about whos was gonna get tip now than giving us better serviceThe 1 star is for the food, deliciousOut dont stress not getting what u asked for from ServerOrder take
Sandwich was fine, small issue with not getting correct change back, overlooked.BUT... they are serving these disgusting Tater Tots, literally the 2nd worst thing that was ever served to me. They were not only re-warmed/re-cooked but burnt so bad there was 0 potato inside so gross and INEDIBLE. Hopefully owner sees this and corrects this or takes them off menu, never again. (I opened every one looking for potato lol) none12.99 online menu says 10.99
Fantastic fish fry. And the rest of the menu was great. Its a bit loud, but worth it.Not a problem with the six of us. We dont mind the noise at all. A matter of fact we probably create some. I was just giving a honest review. Weve been going to the Celtic for about 4 years. Thanks for it all.
So it was the first time we had been there.We asked the waitress what is the best. She recommended the Reuben. We were disappointed, there was very little sauerkraut or dressing. The bread was hard and dry. We asked for more kraut and dressing which made it taste better but were surprised to see we were charged for it. They have an appetizer, their special, potato ball with cabbage or kraut,forget which. Its deep fried with a mustard sauce. It actually could be good, but we could find only an infinitesimal amount of kraut and the mustard sauce was too thin with no taste.Meanwhile we saw good looking fish fries being served to other tables. May go again and try that.They played music bingo. That was cool.
Attended a catered party with so many food choices. My favorite, believe it or not, was the fresh cooked greens. They were delicious and made just right. Friendly staff. Nice atmosphere, inside and out. Would consider returning one night when they have live music. Nice spot on Varick St.
I ordered the Reuben and it was disappointing; I agree with one if the other reviews. The bread was hard and the sandwich was dry; it had very little sauce and kraut and was flavorless. The fries were very tasty but they were cool. The Corned Beef Cabbage meal I ordered to go looked like only half a portion ( I should have checked it before leaving); the portion size delivered to a nearby table was a lot bigger. The Sheppard Pie my fiancee was Very Good though.
When I first visited Celtic Harp soon after the opened, I was less than happy. We ate dinner there and the music was so loud it gave me a headache, you couldnt talk with your dinner partners and so we never returned. At a friends urging, I decided to give it a second chance-this time in their outside dining area due to Covid-19. It was a pleasant surprise. The area had low background music, the fish fry was fantastic and we played music Bingo which was fun. The big downer was there seemed to be only 2 waitresses on and they must have been doing inside duty too, as it was very hard to get their attention. I was disappointed that they had neither the shepherds pie nor the Irish stew - both great Irish/Celtic favs, but I know every restaurant has to change to meet the challenges.
Visited for an early afternoon lunch after shopping at The Brewery Store. Setting is wide open, barren and loud. Menu is moderately large and varied with good selection of Irish style offerings. Our food (Shepard Pie and Mac&Cheese) was excellent. Service friendly. Upon leaving, I visited the mens restroom. It did not lock. There is no seat on the toilet and there was no paper of any kind in the room. Liquid soap dispenser was heavily watered down. For that reason alone, I would never return.
The Celtic Harp hosted a great Game of Thrones themed Halloween party that I attended. Their band was very good! The food is decent here, but they were out of a couple of items on their menu. The staff is friendly and the establishment is clean. Definitely worth visiting if youre in the area.
Terrible customer service. We placed a delivery order and only recd half of it. Grubhub driver said Celtic called to tell us their oven broken. They did not. We would have just cancelled the order. Great job ripping off your customers so you can sell a few appitizers.
We have dined here many times with good experiences, but tonight was unacceptable; only 1 waitress who was also the bartender, the potato leek soup was cold but tasty, the shepherd pie was cold in the middle and it took forever to get a replacement, and very salty when it finally did arrive. The dinner roll was stale, only 1 butter pat, the waitress was nonexistent when we needed her. I hope someone reads this and takes care of things. We will come back again and give it another try, but if the next visit is similar we probably won’t come back as there are a lot of restaurants to choose from.
Wednesday nights are 2 for 1s and karaoke. Drinks are affordably priced and taste great. Karaoke is always a good time, but theres usually a long wait time if you want to sing, so get on the list early! Parking is pretty easy around here if you get there early enough.
Food was great, it was a large Order of the Amaranth group party, upstairs and only 1 server, then we were asked to leave and some of us just got our food as another party was arriving. Really not a good experience of the day for all of us including the GRM/GRP ok NY who were our Host and hostess.
Walked in about 6:05 Sunday. Have to seat yourself and the only table downstairs was half clean so we sat there .Within minutes a waitress came over and told us it would be a 30 minute wait for food .Ok np, we could tell they were busy so we asked for menus. Few minutes later another waitress came over with menus. They had a poster in the window advertising flavored Bud Lights so I ordered a Bud Light Lime and was told they didnt sell that. Then went to order a chicken sandwich and was told they had run outta chicken. So I wanted the exact sandwich but substitute a burger instead. Was told it might be an upcharge. Not my fault you ran outta chicken. It came with a basil pesto mayo on the sandwich and I asked for extra on the side for my fries. Only received it on the side. None on my sandwich. I ordered it medium well and it was barely medium. My bf asked for his medium well also. And his was well. Strange cuz we ordered at the same time. Had to ask for napkins cuz the waitress brought over menus and silverware and set them right on the dirty table. Which she did not attempt to clean for us. Only reason why its 2 stars instead of 1 was because the bathroom was clean. Surprisigly. Myabe I caught them on a bad day or weekend. No idea. But dont want to risk ever going back. Food was nothing special.
The Harp is easily the most packed bar on Varick St in Utica on the weekends. Having an upstairs loft area helps to split up the mind of people and its always fun. Good service at the bar, responsible and friendly staff and you can plan on hearing a good variety of music when there is a DJ playing.
Painted Black was playing and it was a fun atmosphere in the outdoor area. Helluva time for us out of towners. Funny story though, we had leftover pizza from dinner at another place on Varick St. and the bouncer wouldnt let us take it in the Celtic Harp. There was no trash can on the street so the bouncer said hed throw it away for us. At the end of the night (1:30), my buddy asked the bouncer if he still had the pizza and a guilty look came over his face. The bouncer brought back our two boxes of pizza with a couple slices gone and a half eaten slice still laying in the box. Why wouldnt he just lie and say he actually threw it away instead of trying to play it off like we wouldnt know that hed eaten our trash? Obviously, we threw the remaining pizza away for fear of pubes.
Total reviews rating 4.3
199 Reviews for Celtic Harp 2023:
Review №1
2022-06-28My future in laws reserved The Celtic Harp for three family events. One of those events included our Jack and Jill party, and I am so happy they chose this restaurant/pub. They did everything from cooking our amazing food, to setting up their own personal corn hole boards outside. I requested a signature watermelon drink, and the bartenders did not disappoint. All of our guests complimented how delicious it was. The owner, Tommy answered all of my questions in a timely manner, and his staff working the event were very outgoing and friendly. Kathy, Craig, Justin and I highly recommend this restaurant & pub for anyone who is planning an event.
Review №2
2021-08-30Amazing flavor! Finally a place that is not afraid to use seasoning. We were very pleased with the whole experience: food, drinks, server etc.
Review №3
2022-04-21Attended a business gathering at the Harp. Although there were snack type food, I was looking forward to ordering off the menu. I and a friend asked for a menu and was told by the bartender that she would have to go downstairs to get one. I remained at the bar waiting. About 10 minutes later (she never left) she asked if she could help me. I said I was waiting on the menu to order dinner. She then told me the kitchen was closed. This was around 6:30 pm with a full bar downstairs as well as our group. Very disappointed, as I needed dinner and was supposed to bring home food to my husband. Then on top of that....I was way over charged for a simple rum drink...$11. Unless I go to a very high end restaurant, I have never paid that much for that drink. Ive never paid more than $8. Again, what a disappointment.
Review №4
2022-05-16I’ve been going to the Harp a long time now but mostly at night for Saranac Thursday or on a Friday night but a couple years back went there to eat with a friend in the early evening and I learned they are more then just a bar. The crowd is more mixed agewise then and the atmosphere is not busy like at nights. Very well executed bar food superb Reuben. More than just shots and cold beer
Review №5
2022-05-26Visited on a Wednesday afternoon at 2pm..the music was soo loud we couldnt hear one another. We asked to have it turned down a bit..but no noticeable difference. Food was very good .
Review №6
2022-05-29The food is great and prices are reasonable and I would recommend the fish fry but go on a Friday any other day it tastes a little off
Review №7
2022-06-22Good food, nice Service, great location and great staff! Go to the Celtics Harp you will not regret! 5*
Review №8
2021-12-29Very nice and clean bar. Food was served cold to us. The dishes didnt have much flavor. The vartender we had it must have been her 1st day. She wasnt sure how to make simple drinks. Or what alcohol the bar had on hand. We will try the place again though.
Review №9
2021-11-02Karaoke night. DJ Strudge was friendly personal. Bar was cozy with friendly patrons and staff. Fair prices. Easy to find
Review №10
2018-05-08Great fish fry and great wings. One of the few places that has hit wings that come anywhere near hot. The Armageddon sauce is to die for, plenty of flavor with just enough bite. I do advise caution for most people with the sauce though. I regularly use sauces that are in the extreme category. They pour a mean snakebite as well.