We can (finally!) nurse a quiet, post-work pint at Browne’s Irish Marketplace: Best of KC 2018
This month, we published The Pitch‘s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can browse the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some our current favorite things about Kansas City in 2018. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout October.
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We’ve always loved Browne’s for its solid lunch counter (get the Reuben) and enviable selection of imported mustards. We’ve stared slack-jawed at its library shelves of Irish whiskey each St. Patrick’s Day, wishing we could sample them more often. But until recently, the Midtown institution (and North America’s oldest Irish business, thank you very much) was only a watering hole on special occasions. Most days, it closed at 3 p.m.
This summer, owners Kerry Browne and John McClain made our dreams come true and opened Browne’s for evening hangouts three nights a week. Finally, we could stop for a happy-hour Guinness or three and chat with McClain. Finally, we could sip a peated whiskey on the moonlit street and listen to beverage manager George Vial gush warmly about his favorite distilleries with lingering Irish vowels.
The vibe here is less Irish bar than a dining room table at a good friend’s home. Your “tab” is a handwritten list in a notebook; if it’s a slow night, McClain might even drop off a little basket of cheeses and grapes at your table while a few Irish Fest organizers talk shop nearby. Still, Browne’s has all the comforts of your favorite pub with none of the drunk Rockhurst students. In addition to a few taps (and a lot of whiskeys), its small bar is stocked with wine and the fixings for G&Ts and Moscow Mules. They’ve started experimenting with bingo nights and pub trivia, too. But no matter what’s going on, it’s always a friendly and chill place to have a nightcap. Get here while they’re still doing extended hours. But be cool: we’re a little worried about y’all blowing up our spot.
Browne’s Irish Marketplace, 3300 Pennsylvania Avenue. brownesirishmarket.com.
