By Jacqueline Cain
A city at the center of Irish-American culture, Boston has no shortage of ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. March 17 is a Friday this year, with the annual South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade happening on Sunday, March 19. Head to your favorite local Irish pub, catch a night or three of The Dropkick Murphys at MGM Music Hall, and check out these special food and drink events throughout the weekend.
Anna’s Taqueria
Irish heritage is not required to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Just ask Anna’s Taqueria, a local Mexican restaurant group with one of Boston’s most notable St. Paddy’s specials: the corned beef and cabbage burrito. Loaded with corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, spicy or regular mustard, and cheese, burrito ingredients like rice and beans, and guacamole can also be added. The Irish-Mexican fusion favorite is only available on Friday, March 17 at all Anna’s locations.
Blackmoor Bar + Kitchen
From St. Patrick’s Eve (Thursday, March 16) through the weekend, Blackmoor Bar + Kitchen in Charlestown has numerous events. Check out the calendar for live music, Irish stepdancers, and traditional foods including an Irish bacon dinner, New England boiled dinner, shepherd’s pie, and Guinness beef stew paired with Irish beer and whiskey flights.
The Burren
Get brunch or dinner and a show at The Burren in Somerville. Reserve tickets for a seating between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to catch the St. Patrick’s Day Special Variety Dinner Show, which includes a traditional Irish meal of soda bread with corned beef and cabbage, Guinness beef stew, or a vegetarian entree, and Burren shamrock cake for dessert. The Burren co-owners Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello are traditional Irish musicians whose deep connections and experience are showcased on their stages. Expect many special guests to appear in The Burren Backroom as they lead the St. Patrick’s Day variety show featuring traditional Irish jigs, reels, ballads, stories, and dancing.
Castle Island Brewing Company
Thanks to the parade and its history as an Irish neighborhood, South Boston is a bastion of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. So you can imagine the neighborhood’s Castle Island Brewing Company is going all out for the weekend: Special beers on tap will include Dearg Doom Irish red ale and a new seasonal, dry Irish stout. In-house bar-pizza kitchen Bardo’s is crafting food specials. Celtic music group Boston’s Erin Og will play on St. Patrick’s Day beginning at 8 p.m. On Sunday, March 19, Connacht takes the stage at 3 p.m.
If you’re avoiding Southie at all costs over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, you can still party with Castle Island: Its Norwood taproom and brewery is celebrating on Saturday, March 18, with festive beer and food specials, Irish stepdancing, and live music from 1-6 p.m.
Dorchester Brewing Company
Get the party started on Saturday, March 11, at Dorchester Brewing Company’s St. Patrick’s Day Kickoff Party. From 11:30 a.m. until 11 p.m., the two-story Mass. Ave. taproom is celebrating with special beer, food, and more. Enjoy some green beer or a slushie along with a Special Dry Irish Stout collab pouring on nitro—and the food is unexpected: Polish grocer DJ’s Market is in the house for a packzi pop-up (doughnuts!). Live music on the rooftop features The Savin Hillbillies from 1-4 p.m. and Jimmy Foley playing from 7-10 p.m. No tickets required.
The Dubliner
Chef Aidan Mc Gee told Boston.com, “I want to change the perception of what Irish cooking is here,” when his Government Center restaurant opened last year. The Dubliner debuted in June, so Boston hasn’t yet tasted what the Irish-born, London-trained fine-dining chef has in store for St. Patrick’s Day. We know it starts at 8 a.m., however: Breakfast will be served on St. Paddy’s Day until 11 a.m. Expect other special menu items to be sure, to accompany a day of live music. Evin O’ Riordan plays at 11 a.m., Typhoon Generals (direct from Ireland) begin at 3 p.m., and Finbar Doyle, Jinty McGrath, David Healy, and friends take us into the night from 8 p.m. on.
Emmets Pub & Restaurant
The Dubliner owner Oran Mc Gonagle is also behind Beacon Hill’s Emmets Irish Pub & Restaurant. Get ready for live music and special menus at both locations all week long.
Get Lucky Pub Crawl
Make the absolute most of St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Boston with a ticket to the Get Lucky Pub Crawl on Saturday, March 18. Back for its ninth season, Boston’s official St. Paddy’s pub crawl brings 20,000-plus revelers to the city’s most popular and historic pubs and clubs. From the West End and Faneuil Hall to Fenway and the Seaport, 40 venues are participating with food and drink specials, live music, DJs, and more. Avoid cover charges and long lines with the purchase of a wristband, and get into some of Boston’s hottest spots: venues like Big Night Live, The Grand, The Harp, Ned Devines, Lansdowne Pub, and Lucky’s Lounge are open exclusively to Get Lucky pub crawlers. Most venues will be open 11 a.m.-6 p.m., with some remaining open until 8 p.m. or longer for exclusive after-parties. Official pub crawl trolleys will be transporting attendees all day long among several locations.
GrandTen Distilling
South Boston Irish Whiskey is originally produced on the Emerald Isle, then is bottled by GrandTen Distilling, an industrial bar located right off the parade route. Among other small-batch spirits made on-site and used in creative cocktails by the bartenders at GrandTen, South Boston Irish Whiskey is an 80-proof homage to Irish-American heritage, with a malt sweetness and notes of honey, citrus peel, and cinnamon.
Grill 23 & Bar
Keep it classy at Grill 23. The Back Bay steakhouse is serving up a special cocktail in honor of St. Paddy’s Day called the Belfast Mule, made with Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, Amaro Nonino, Fever Tree Ginger Beer, angostura bitters, and lime.
Kings Dining & Entertainment
Strike out any notion of a basic St. Patrick’s Day at Kings Dining & Entertainment. All Massachusetts locations of the bowling and arcade chain have several specials on the menus, including the Dublin Hurricane (pineapple rum, Blue Curacao, pineapple juice, orange juice, cherry, orange) and Shamrock Shaken (Van Gogh espresso vodka, Bailey’s, creme de menthe, and green ice cream).
LongCross Bar + Kitchen
From St. Patrick’s Eve (Thursday, March 16) through the weekend, LongCross Bar + Kitchen in Medford has a lot going on. Check out the calendar for live music, and look for traditional foods on special including an Irish bacon dinner, New England boiled dinner, shepherd’s pie, and Guinness beef stew paired with Irish beer and whiskey flights.
Olde Magoun’s Saloon
Beginning Thursday night and running through the weekend, Somerville pub Olde Magoun’s Saloon is celebrating with live music and traditional food, including an Irish bacon dinner, New England boiled dinner, shepherd’s pie, and Guinness beef stew paired with Irish beer and whiskey flights.
Rebel’s Guild
The Revere Hotel restaurant Rebel’s Guild is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with food and drink specials—rebelling just enough from the usual formats. Festive menu additions include a butter board with fennel-scented marmalade and Irish soda bread; Guinness poutine with curried fries and a Guinness-cheese sauce; and braised corned beef and cabbage with red potatoes and heritage carrots. From the bar, order libations like Roe Necessities (Roe & Co Irish Whiskey, Italian Digestif, Fig Jam, Simple Syrup, Lime Juice) and Irish coffee. Reservations are accepted.
On Saturday, March 18, join Roe & Co. Irish Whiskey in the Revere Lobby Lounge from 5-6 p.m. for a cocktail demonstration. Tickets are $25 and include a welcome drink and an Irish soda bread snack from chef Sunny Chopra.
Sullivan’s Tap
Proudly Irish and “bleeding green” since 1933, the TD Garden-adjacent Sullivan’s Tap features the Bleed Green shot throughout the month of March. The $8 elixir of melon liquor, vodka, and Sprite. Sully’s is also a stop on the Get Lucky Pub Crawl on Saturday, March 18.
Summer Shack
Fish and chips is an appropriate dish to have to celebrate Irish heritage, and Summer Shack serves a great one. But if you must have corned beef and cabbage on March 17, Summer Shack can help you there, too. Both locations of chef Jasper White’s seafood spot in Back Bay and Cambridge are serving up a traditional boiled dinner special on St. Patrick’s Day. The $25 dish includes 10-day brined corned beef, boiled beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, cabbage, onions, potatoes, and horseradish.
Telegraph Hill
The St. Patrick’s Day spirit is alive at Telegraph Hill for a full long weekend. Beginning Thursday, March 16, the South Boston bar will have for menu specials a traditional boiled corned beef dinner and an Irish Reuben. Be efficient with a selection of shot-and-beer combos like the Irish Goodbye (Guinness with Bushmills) or Just South of Southie (High Noon Hard Seltzer with Pink Whitney lemonade vodka). Starting early for the parade? Telegraph Hill is opening at 8 a.m. on Sunday, March 19.
Thirsty Scholar
Get equipped for St. Patrick’s Day at Thirsty Scholar Pub, which kicks things off Tuesday, March 14, with Guinness in the house engraving glasses during drinking history-themed trivia. On Thursday, March 16, get your jig on with an Irish band performing at 7 p.m. On St. Patrick’s Day, DJ Black Mamba will be spinning with specials from the kitchen including shepherd’s pie and corned beef and cabbage.
Untold Brewing
Scituate is home to a population that claims more than 50% Irish heritage. Suffice it to say St. Paddy’s Day is a big deal in the South Shore town, which hosts its own annual parade on the third Saturday in March. Scituate’s hometown brewery, Untold Brewing Company, also goes big, but on the weekend before the holiday to avoid conflict with other festivities.
Untold recently opened a second taproom and restaurant at the Derby Street Shops in Hingham, and both locations have lots of lucky stuff in the works for the weekend prior to St. Patrick’s Day: on Saturday, March 11, in Scituate, and on Sunday, March 12, in Hingham. Expect the annual release of the brewery’s traditional limited-edition merch, plus beers like Irish Whisper Red Ale and Celtic Roots Irish Stout. Both locations will host Irish stepdancing performances by Clan Lir, and Scituate also plans a full day of live music. Look for food specials from Bone & Bread at Scituate, and from Hingham restaurant partner Clandestine Kitchen. No cover charge at either location, and always family-friendly.
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