Paddy Coyne's

We are a pair of real pack rats! It's disturbing. I've spent most of the day sorting through bags. I kid you not! All kinds of bags - paper bags, plastic bags, big ones, small ones, all that I or we have collected through the years. I don't know what I was thinking. What use could I have of them, even if they are beautiful! But hubby still thinks we should keep them, since the stores are probably going to start charging for bags in a couple of years, at the rate things are going.

All the bag sorting made me a little crazy/depressed, so I suggested we go out to eat (plus I ran out of clean dishes ;). Somehow I convinced hubby to go to Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub in Bellevue, even though we have 2 little kids.

The place has opened since March. The decor was typical for an Irish pub, with Irish music playing all night and sports games on the TV. It was 7:30 on a Saturday night in downtown Bellevue, but the place was only a little more than half full, and there weren't even THAT many tables. I was a little worried. I got the angry chicken - Asian noodles in peanut sauce with a chicken breast in sweet and spicy sauce. The noodles tasted OK with the peanut sauce, soy sauce, green onions, and peanuts. I didn't realize until half way through that there were sun-dried tomatoes in it. It was an interesting combination, and not in a bad way. I always liked the sweet and sour flavors of sun-dried tomatoes. So yay for me. The chicken was a little dry, but the sauce tasted OK. Hubby had the hot turkey sandwich, which is more like a turkey dinner with 2 slices of turkey breasts drowning in gravy on top of 4 slices of toasts sitting on mashed potatoes. I've never been a fan of turkey. But hubby seemed to enjoy it. My son got the steak and fries. Since this is his first steak, I requested medium well not knowing how he would react to a piece of rare meat. This was probably a mistake. The steak was overcooked, and barely seasoned. However, the kids finished it all. So I guess overall it wasn't bad. We wouldn't recommend the Oak Grove Pinot Grigio though.

The staff was friendly. The location was convenient. And the environment unassuming. I'm pretty sure we will visit again. The total, with 2 entrees, 1 kid's entree, 1 glass of wine, and 2 kid's juices, came out to $39.19 + tax ($4.32, this is a little confusing to me, I thought the tax is 10% at restaurants. Is there a higher tax rate for alcohol or something?) + tip.

Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub
700 Bellevue Way NE (between 6th St & 8th St), Bellevue, WA 98004
(425)453-8080