Ballymor in Raleigh

On Friday after work, Jessica and I joined her friends from work for dinner and drinks at Ballymor Irish Pub (http://www.ballymoririshpub.com/) located at the intersection of Falls of the Neuse and Spring Forest Roads.  The restaurant serves authentic Irish food and drinks (plenty of beers, either on tap or draft, plus loads of scotch and whiskey) and atmosphere to match.  The walls are covered with various pictures and decorations from Ireland, and the impressive wood bar in front lets you know that you've entered a proper pub.

Our table

Our group was able to secure the coveted corner spot for our festivities; a perfect square table with high walls surrounding that could turn into a closed-in box if desired.  As everyone enjoyed their various beverages (Guiness on tap the clear favorite), the table ordered three appetizers to start.  The first, curry chips, were house-made potato chips sprinkled with their own curry seasoning blend.  While I was unable to try these (due to my Lent sacrifices this year), I did thoroughly enjoy the wonderful smell that filled the area when they were served.  The other two choices were fried calamari and baked provolone cheese.  The calamari was fried perfectly; not greasy at all yet crisp and flavorful.  The baked provolone was also delicious, and fairly unique as it was the cheese itself barely coated in flour then sauteed and baked, finally served with a tasty marinara sauce and small crisps of bread.  I was impressed with all three appetizers and would recommend them to others at the restaurant; combined, they offered plenty of food for the eight or nine people at the table and all were cooked well and consumed quickly!

The dinner choices for the group ranged from Guiness stew to crabcakes to salads to shepard's pie (apparently officially "farmer's pie" because it was served with beef instead of lamb) to my selection, the fried cod sandwich.  The meals all had one thing in common... the portions were HUGE.  The shepard's pie was built to feed two or three, and the serving of fish on my sandwich could easily have been split by three.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their entrees as well as the various sides that were ordered.

My fish sandwich was served simply on toasted sub roll (I ordered without the mustard and tartar sauces) with mashed potatoes on the side.  The fish was incredibly fresh and had a Killian's beer batter that was crisp and flavorful.  The cod fillet was thicker than any I've ever seen; this was great for the moistness and tenderness of the fish but didn't quite fill the sub roll and also led to a ratio of fish to breading that I would have liked to swap.  Now, most people would clearly prefer more fish and less breading, so I realize I'm in the minority, but a larger, thinner piece of cod would have made this fish sandwich absolutely unreal!  I was able to finish about 3/4 of my sandwich before I was full, and I was extremely hungry, so there are no worries here with getting enough to eat.

Ballymor is a great hangout for friends for happy hour or after the work week; they have a vast array of drinks and authentic Irish pub food to satisfy your hunger and thirst, and a fun atmosphere to match.  I haven't be to a lot of Irish places for dinner, but from what I've seen in Raleigh, Ballymor surely stands with Trali in Brier Creek as the top of the class.