Friday 21 November 2008

McSorley's Ale House, The Venetian, Macau

A heavily Irish-themed pub spread over two floors near The Venetian's conference centre, McSorley's brown leather armchairs, red leather sofas and wooden tables are usually occupied by groups of off-duty business people swigging pricey pints of Guinness or insipid Carlsberg lager. Inside, the noisy drinkers are surrounded by presumably-fake Irish memorabilia, brown wood, 'gold' trimmings and signs in a Celtic font, while the 'outside' tables rest on the dizzyingly-patterned carpets of the Venetian. The menu is mostly pretty standard pub fare, such as lasagna, calamari and fish and chips, plus a selection of speciality burgers. In the beef and Guinness pie (HK$95) there are some tender pieces of meat under a large and fluffy pastry quiff. The pie is accompanied by a serving of creamy, but modest, mash potato. Despite the Irish pretensions, McSorley's large screens generally show English Premiership football matches. The only things missing are daylight, folk music and the Irish. 5/10