Inside: Liam Fitzpatrick's

Photos:

For quality drinking peppered with some munchies you usually have two options: a restaurant/bar and a bar/restaurant. Fortunately if you’ve got a hankering for some shepherd’s pie you’re likely going to land in an Irish bar/restaurant, much like Liam Fitzpatrick’s at 951 Market Promenade in Lake Mary. Yeah, the bar is tucked away much like a traditional family-style restaurant, but it’s ornate and pub-like. And with space to spread out throughout the rest of the joint the only reminder you’ll get of its eating alter-ego is the aroma of Irish bar-time snacks.

Décor: For starters you’ve got to know that you’re walking into a restaurant. If you’re there during the dinner hours you might feel that twinge of guilt about having a liquid meal, but after 9 p.m. or so you’ll be among friends (or, at least, you’ll all have something in common). The bar area is decorated to feel as little like a restaurant bar as possible, with ornate wood paneling, fancy mirrors reflecting the chandelier, and a bunch of solid wood tables filling out the rest of the floor space. The bar holds maybe a dozen people, so you should grab a spot if you see it to get a view of the flat screen TVs (which teeter Liam Fitzpatrick’s into faux-Irish, since they show American football and not soccer). But if it the place is packed there are two outdoor patios for overflow crowds and smoking.

The Bar: I know Guinness is the high bar for mainstream quality beer, but that doesn’t mean the pricing should be upped on account of that. That being said, the $5.50 you shell out for a 20-ounce pint will probably strike you as high, especially when you realize all the other drafts are also $5.50 (including little ol’ Yuengling). If you move on to mixed drinks hoping for a break, the luck of the Irish doesn’t smile on you since those are also $5.50 for a regular-strength pour. It’d suit you better to head in during happy hour, Monday through Friday from 3 - 7 p.m., where you get $2 off drafts and bottles and $3 off all other drinks. That’s more like it.

The specials at Liam Fitzpatrick’s may hit the same drum repeatedly, but it’s got a decent beat. Mondays have $10 domestic buckets and $2 off wings and nachos (wait, is that Irish?); Tuesdays are hospitality night, with $3 Three Olive vodka drinks and $2 off drafts; Wednesdays bring Irishness back into things with $2 off Smithwicks, Guinness, Harp, and Jameson accompanied by live Irish acoustic music; Thursdays are ladies night where all the lasses enjoy happy hour all night; Friday has a live band (that’s it); Saturday is for college football with $10 domestic buckets and $2 off nachos and wings; and Sunday does it again with $10 domestic buckets and $2 off wings and nachos.

Service: Though the bar gets crowded the barstaff still manages to get your drinks in a reasonable amount of time. If you’re outside the waitresses will take care of you, but you might have to stretch your wavin’ arm beforehand to catch their attention.

Sounds: There’s some kind of music wafting about but it’s kind of hard to pick up, which isn’t the worst thing in the world considering that it’s a strange mix of alt-rock/Top 40/lounge mixes. At 9:30 almost every night there’s live music, be it Irish acoustic, local rock bands, and, of course, some karaoke goodness.

Crowd: Even though it’s an Irish (sorta)pub, the higher prices and fancy liquor bar attract a more higher-end version of Lake Mary crowds, though you do get your occasional Irish bar stalwarts coming in for a Guinness. Oh, and fellas looking to stoke some Oedipal flames: yes, this is yet another Lake Mary joint where the cougars come in droves. Go get ‘em!