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The Gahan House
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Best Nights:
- Wed, Thu, Sat
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
11 reviews for The Gahan House
11 reviews in English
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Review from Alex G.
Vancouver, BC
8/15/2011
This five-star review should actually be taken as an eleven, minus two or three, which is still well over the allotted five-star limit. Base 10, my ass.
I was in Charlottetown for an evening recently after my friends' wedding in Cape Breton, and after getting very excited at realizing that this was a town in which five or ten of the top-rated restaurants were all pubs, settled on The Gahan House as the place I had to go on my one night in town.
On the way there, I passed by a horse-drawn carriage advertising Gahan House beers -- they're apparently the only one of the several local pubs that actually brews their own beer on the premises -- and I got a little worried, because the Vancouver ur-brewpub equivalent, Granville Island, is actually pretty far down on the BC microbrew ladder.
On the next block, I encountered someone carrying a growler away from the Gahan House (note for Americans: growlers are hard to find in Canada! the culture really hasn't taken off here). All of my fears evaporated. Into beer vapor. I actually belched in anticipation. I felt a little bad about that.
The building itself is absolutely gorgeous, and was pretty clearly packed full of locals and tourists alike. A review I'd read on TripAdvisor had warned me that they have some mediocre dishes "for tourists" (with the fish & chips given as an example), but some other really great deals "for locals" (e.g. the nachos). Another review claimed that the fish and chips were phenomenal, so I assumed the first guy didn't know what he was talking about.
In fact, the menu may actually be a little inconsistent: I ended up having some admittedly sub-par crab cakes to prime for the best (open faced!) pulled pork sandwich I've had in literal years, and some phenomenal fries along with it. My partner had the butter chicken curry, and though I don't remember much actual chicken, I was all too happy to help her finish the fries it was served on.
Once again, for emphasis: I'm honestly not much of a carnivore, but I can not recommend the pulled pork highly enough. The beer is excellent, too (the best I've had in the maritimes by a good margin), though I'm slightly ashamed to say that the 20oz. pints caught me off guard; I wasn't half as buzzed at the wedding two nights prior. -
Review from Violet P.
8/21/2011
I was excited to have seafood in Charlottetown as being in a landlocked city, the seafood is good but not fresh. When you walk in, it's bigger than you would guess. We were seated promptly and had some time to check out the menu. I decided to try 2 items on the appetizer list; crab cakes and the breaded shrimp. The food arrived about 15-20 minutes later.
I was disappointed with the 3 crab cakes as I preferred them less crispy and fried and they were a bit dry. It came with a corn salsa but it didn't add much taste to the crab cakes. The 6 breaded shrimp were plum and crispy and the spicy sauce were a good combo.
I was hoping for a better seafood experience and glad that I still had another day to find such an experience. The atmosphere was ok and most of the staff were young and friendly. -
Review from Aimee P.
Charlottetown, PE
1/30/2012
I have eaten at The Gahan House numerous times but it had been awhile so I went to have beer and a burger.
Started off with the filling and delicious Island Red before getting their signature burger. The burger was delicious... really filling, good quality ingredients. Came with a side of fries with lots of seasoning. Very tasty albeit a bit salty. I ordered a side of curry mayo for dipping with no regrets.
Biggest downfall of the meal was the service. I was in no rush but felt a little forgotten about on the bar side. We dined late-afternoon and once it got busy we didn't see a waitress for 30+ minutes. Needing a bill, we went to the hostess station where confusion happened yet again.. very frustrating end to an otherwise tasty meal. -
Review from Meghan M.
Cold Lake, AB
12/7/2010
I think that the major plus for the Gahan House is the ambience. It's a cozy, warm, nicely lit pub with nice colours, a good brick effect, and cool iron details. It is trendy enough to make it a hot spot with a city vibe.
The service was not very good. We were seated promptly then our waitress appeared. The first waitress was ok, just very average. Then she disappeared and we got another one with the personality of a paper weight and perhaps the IQ of one (when asked where to get fresh lobster, she told us to go down to the pier and didn't understand when we asked for more information until one of us said "do we just dive in?" She didn't get that either...) Service for the entire meal was pretty slow and she never came back after dropping the bill off. We finally just went to the front where there was this big confusion paying for our meal & it took about 10 minutes to get out of there.
I wasn't really impressed with the 2 different beer I tried; I found them very flat and warm. My friends had previously bought a keg for our vacation rental and it was awful. The food was really good - better than average pub food I must say. The Island Potato Chips are awesome, the salad was good -better than typical pub salad. The Quesadilla was decent and my husband's Clubhouse Sandwich was really good.
A solid 3 star pub in my opinion - nothing special, nothing horrible. -
Review from Rick J.
Bolton, ON
7/31/2010
Located in the heart of downtown Charlottetown, right in front of a very intriguing old Catholic church, the Gahan House bills itself as the only brewery on the Island.
I started, as I so often do, with a flight of all the beers they'd give me. They range from pretty poor (Sir John A's Honey Wheat, Coles Cream Ale, Harvest Gold Pale Ale) to average (Island Red Amber Ale, 1772 IPA) to quite good (Sydney Street Stout, Ironhorse Dark Ale). I even stumbled in to try their new Oyster White, a strange little wheat beer that I'm fairly sure doesn't actually contain oysters, but I could be wrong.
My wife got the recommended brown bag fish and chips, and she was quite pleased with it. They're likely the single thing Gahan House is known for, outside the beers, and I didn't hear a bad word as most people in our area seemed to be getting it. I decided to go with the Foursquare tip of Curry Butter Chicken served on their fries, a strange suggestion but I'm a slave to social media. Interesting thing - it was excellent. Putting the lunacy of what I was eating aside the butter chicken was rich and tasted excellent, the fries simply worked.
Solid place, my new favourite on the Island. Can't wait to get back! -
Review from Deanna D.
7/23/2009
Drink Review only!
We stopped for a beer while roaming the town on Thurs. night. The bar was pretty busy but we were able to get a seat right away.
Cute bar. Nice vibe. Very laid back. There were a few locals scattered through--That's always a good sign.
Very friendly bartender and server.
We got the beer flights which was tasty. I think the Island Red was a clear stand out. And I liked one of the ales.
Overall a good experience. It's worth the stop over. -
Review from Luke M.
Vancouver, BC
5/23/2011
Great food. There's enough variety in the beer (eight varieties) that you're bound to find something you like -- for me, it was the IPA. Definitely worth a stop if you're not looking for a lobster dinner.
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Review from Alex R.
Vancouver, BC
9/19/2009
When it's slow, it's slow. When it's busy, good luck getting any service.
The beers are great but a bit pricey. The atmosphere is great; I love old brick walls. And the back patio is next to the Great George Church so it's a decent view back there. -
Review from Sher M.
2/9/2011
My family travels to P.E.I. a few times a year to visted my extended family and the Gahan House has become a ritual for us. We all meet up there for beer samplers and nachos. The nachos are always fully loaded and the staff are super friendly. It's an all around great business and the interior is fun. We always bring back growlers to the states for some at-home Gahan house enjoyment. I think the Sir John A's beer is my favorite!
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Review from Beth K.
7/22/2009
My friend and I had a great lunch here. Neither of us had beer, but I had an excellent spinach salad with strawberry vinaigrette and feta cheese, and chicken tenders. The chicken was very tasty and just the right size. My friend had the potato skins, which looked and smelled delicious. Even though we came right at lunchtime, we didn't have to wait for a table and chose to sit out on the back patio (although beware: this is the smoking section), and our waiter, Dan, was very good--friendly and quick. Moderately priced for lunch. If I ever come back this way I wouldn't hesitate to stop in and try something else on the menu.
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Review from Anne M.
9/7/2009 9 photos
Had lunch here and thought the food was fabulous. I started with the crab cakes (so good!) while my husband ordered the chowder. It's easy to see why their chowder had won an award. It was easily the best chowder we had tasted on the Island. For my main entree, I ordered the catch of the day, which was pan seared scallops topped with lobster in some sort of sauce. It tasted very good - the scallops weren't overdone - but the sauce was a little too salty. My lunch came with a Greek salad, which was also great. Mine had olives in it, unlike Mary B's experience with her Greek salad. My son had the nachos from the kiddie menu. They were a bit skimpy on the cheese, but their salsa was excellent. My husband and I ended up eating all of the salsa (the kid has something against anything healthy like tomatoes). When you come here, do order an appetizer because the entrees aren't very big. The waiter was very friendly and I liked the atmosphere of the place. The brewery is located downstairs by the bathrooms. You can order a jug of their brew to take with you. Try the Island Red. Only 4 stars instead of 5 because they were out of 3 of their beers and because of my salty sauce. Overall, a nice experience and I would recommend giving this place a visit.
Listed in: Canada - Eh!
