Saint Brendan's Inn - Green Bay, WI

The Packers first playoff game of the year is coming, and it reminded me that I forgot to post a review I wrote for a downtown classic back in November. Please enjoy this backlogged post and consider Saint Brendan's Inn for your playoff needs-- food and lodging!

My husband and I wandered into Downtown Green Bay on a chilly November evening looking for something to eat. Something was going on at the Meyer, so many of the places we scouted out before we got into the car were already full. Vintage Cantina had long been on the radar, and I swear that every single seat in there was full. We parked just outside of Saint Brendan’s Inn, so we walked back down toward the car, found ourselves guided to the door of the Irish Restaurant/Hotel by the delightful smell in the air, and walked inside.

This wasn’t the first time we visited. Back when we first moved here, one of my husband’s new coworkers invited us out to lunch here. It is still one of my fondest memories of town. We ate and drank very well, and yet my husband and I hadn’t been back since. This Friday night provided the opportunity to return without a wait at the door, and we sat down in the dining area with the Bucks game on at the bar behind us.
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The dining room is gorgeous, exactly what you would expect of an Irish pub. Celtic knots in the stained glass and Gaelic phrases painted onto the walls above them. Soft tones against natural wood. It felt very cozy after a short walk out in the wet cold of the evening. My husband ordered a Spotted Cow for his drink, and I enjoyed a Brandy Old Fashioned in the first building I ever had one in. The crowd was beginning to thin out, so we were able to catch up on the day in relative quiet while we waited for our meal to arrive.

I don’t eat a ton anymore, so I ordered a plate of their smoked spinach and artichoke dip to supplement the plate of fish and chips that my husband ordered for himself. We shared the table without a word of complaint to one another. This new way of eating has started to save us a little bit of money when we go out for me to work on a review, and it allows me to taste a lot more during each trip.

​I’ll admit that I didn’t know what to think of the spin dip when it arrived. It’s a homogenous mixture in color, very pale green without any torched cheese on top. It’s also thinner than a lot of similar dips that I’ve had in the past. However, the flavor of the artichoke itself pops in their dip when tasted on the small crostini that they provide for dipping. The dip is definitely the perfect snack to enjoy with a few drinks.

As many of you know, the Friday Fish Fry tradition lives on outside of the Lent season in northeast Wisconsin, and not many places choose to serve cod. Given that this is an Irish Pub, the only option is cod. No perch here-- and that’s okay. The ale batter on the thin fingers of cod was nice and crunchy, and the addition of a little malt vinegar made the entire plate (including the fries) sing.

This place also makes my favorite tartar sauce in town. I’m not picky by all means. Tartar sauce is perhaps my favorite dipping sauce at any fish fry no matter who is making it, but the Saint Brendan’s tartar sauce has a very distinct, fresh dill flavor to help carry the sauce with the fatty fish fry that made me take our container home with us even though we had no leftover fish or chips at all. We’d make our own fish fry the next day to make sure we got the best use out of the dip as possible.

Dinner at Saint Brendan’s was a good way to start our weekend and our Friday night, and we will certainly be bringing family in to see the location in the future now that we’ve reminded ourselves exactly how tasty it is. So many people on my side of the family especially are in love with these types Irish locations, and I can’t wait to share it with them.

Thanks to Saint Brendan’s for a tasty meal and pleasant evening, but also for being one of the first places to welcome us into town more than two years ago now. Revisiting all of these original locations has brought back some fond memories.