Are you feeling claustrophobic?

Located near in the industrial park area of Santa Rosa, the Nutty Irishman (900 block of Piner Rd), is a very … interesting place. I wanted to go there because they participate in the pool league that I play on and I wanted to check out the pool table. The large, nondescript building butts up against a small parking lot, but this is okay because there’s a HUGE lot across the street and lots of on-street parking. The first door leads to the restaurant portion of our tour while the second goes to the bar.

The Nutty Irishman has a huge space that they’ve managed to use an inefficiently as possible. Low ceilings, narrow walkways and a massive bar fill the room which with nearly any other configuration could be made into a spacious and welcoming environment. I literally felt like the room was closing in on me while I was there and that was before getting a drink.

While the rest of the bar is cave-like, it does open up a little bit where the pool table is, although again, it seems pushed into the corner without a lot of room for maneuvering. I don’t know much more about it because two drunk men were playing pool and I didn’t feel like challenging the table. This is most definitely a blue collar, locals-only bar. The food is fine, not great but not bad and the prices are fair. The drinks are affordable with a reasonable selection of beer and booze. The ambiance (and I use that term loosely) leaves something to be desired. There’s a good happy hour that goes until 7pm and karaoke a couple of nights a week.

Although the bar itself is too big for the space, I did like that it was open so that you could sit and stare at the people sitting across from you on the other side. The service wasn’t bad but it wasn’t stellar either. Frankly, the Nutty Irishman didn’t inspire any feelings from me besides claustrophobia. Would I go back? If I were on that side of town and didn’t want to go all the way to Equus, maybe.

Overall Score: Meh.