Atmosphere: Irish pub by day, college party central by night

Clientele: Mixed bag during Sunday Happy Hour – some couples, some lone sports guys

Spirits: Full bar with many imports on tap

Staff: Polite and professional

Here at the NB Barfly, we like to keep it real – and that means going drinking on a Sunday afternoon even when we’ve been out touring bars the night before. So it was off to Maguire’s (145 Kentucky St, Petaluma) for their all-day happy hour.

From the very moment you step inside, Maguire’s screams COLLEGE BAR!!!! RUN!!! COLLEGE BAR!!! WATCH OUT FOR JOE FRANCIS!!! but since it was Sunday morning and school hadn’t started yet, we were safe for a little while. What were the giveaways, you ask? Well, the video games, satellite jukebox, eight high def televisions, the bottle of Apple Pucker on the bar and having Jager on tap….basically, they did everything but set up couches on the front porch and hang some Greek letters.  Did you hear what I said? JAGER ON TAP, I mean, MY GOD! Jager on tap pretty much says to me, “if you ever come here on a Thursday-Saturday night, you will want to kill yourself by the time you walk to the bar.” But I digress…that’s a whole other post.

We sat down at the bar and ordered up a $3.50 well drink and my friend, a Boddingtons ($1 off all pints). We love happy hour, especially when it comes in the middle of the day. We grabbed a menu to order some lunch too ($3 off appetizers, woot!) and decided on the Irish (corned beef) Quesadilla ($9.50). I shit you not. It was pretty awesome, actually, but at full price, I wouldn’t call it a bargain. There’s burgers, fish and chips, bangers and mash, plus a lot more on the menu too.

The bartender, a blond guy with a muted New York accent, was friendly and prompt. Of course, the bar was hardly busy so we’ll have to return at a more crowded time (oh god kill me now) to really get a sense of the service. Regular happy hour is 4pm-7pm weekdays, which is the perfect time. I wish more people had their happy hours until 7pm for people who work real jobs and don’t get off at a quarter to five every day. They also have pub quiz and dart nights, in addition to a DJ for Friday and Saturday. You can pull up the calendar on their website. They are open seven days and nights per week.

On those big ass high def televisions, they show not just soccer, football and golf, but rugby and hurling too (and not just the kind that takes place in the bathrooms after too many Jager shots). Speaking of hurling, this is one place that grown-ups will want to avoid on St. Patrick’s Day unless they relish the thought of green vomit on their shoes.

Maguire’s has certainly found a nice niche for themselves – nice Irish pub by day, college bar by night and weekend. I would definitely return knowing that I can get some decent food, have a relaxing drink and have a conversation with a friend or watch a game on the television but as a grown-up, I would avoid this place like the plague on a weekend night. However, were I still in college, I still wouldn’t have hung out at Maguire’s but approximately all of the other people at my college would have, and loved it. So if you are over the age of Jager shots, you probably want to visit during the day and if you aren’t, well, then by all means, party ’til you end up on Girls Gone Wild at night.

Pros:

Spacious

Happy Hour

Split Personality

Good ambiance

Cons:

Split Personality

Street parking is probably a bitch during busy times