“Can we please go back to McNamara’s?” begs my father-in-law every time he comes to town.
It’s not like it’s a hard sell. Where else in Nashville can you bring your in-laws and your baby, drink Guinness on tap, enjoy live music, and have everyone leave cheery and well-fed? No brainer.
I am hardly the only fan of McNamara’s Irish Pub and Restaurant. According to co-founder Sean McNamara, many of his patrons not only become regulars, but show their out-of-town guests around the pub like they own the place. For Sean and his wife, Paula, this is success: they’ve done what they set out to do, namely convey authentic Irish hospitality to all their guests.
First off, understand that McNamara’s is a pub, not a bar. “I cringe when people call it a bar, says Sean. ‘Pub’ is short for public house, a place for conversation and camaraderie.” In Ireland, pubs tend to be family businesses with friendly environments for families. Sean and Paula, themselves the parents of four children, opened McNamara’s in 2010 with the intention of making it a place where everyone can find something they like. The building itself emphasizes the point; arranged like a cozy home, it is replete with rooms, shelves full of Irish books, photos and knick-knacks on the walls, and a welcoming fireplace.
While trying to please everyone might seem like a lofty goal, McNamara’s manages it with Gaelic flourish. Sean says, “It’s not a hard business for me. I love what I do.” Sean’s team, which includes Paula, Kirk Orndorff, and Francis “Majic” Gyebi, have all been there from the pub’s beginnings. Together they make sure the environment is always comfortable, the food always delicious, the music always stellar, and everything always Irish.
As to the environment, the pub is, as Sean says, three restaurants in one. There is the music room, where guests can be front-and-center, the bright and cozy booths, where you can still hear the music but focus on your conversation, and the upstairs bar with the dart boards. Guests have their pick of atmospheres.