Obroni @ Ryans Irish Pub
EVERY CAPITAL of the world has its own Irish pub, thus Accra couldn't stay behind in the beginning of the nineties.
The original owner of Ryans's Irish Pub on the Osu Oxford Street went back to Ireland several years ago, and a British/Ghanaian couple took over. We hadn't been there in years.
The Irish pub concept was established long ago but took its first careful steps onto the continent in the late 1980s.
I had my first encounter with the smoky Irish pub concept in 1981, in Paris, where I got drunk with the then famous band The Dubliners after a sold out concert. Lots of beer, lots of cigarettes and Irish stew!
I think Martin Ryan created a perfect Irish atmosphere in Osu. Same type of interior, same smoky atmosphere, busy every day and crowded every weekend. Today was different however, 4 -5 cars at the parking lot, 10 – 15 people inside.
Ryan's Irish Pub had been turned into a restaurant with pub facilities instead of a pub with some food available.
Although I am against changing concepts, we gave it a try. We were welcomed by a young girl who led us to a table in the restaurant. We asked if we could sit upstairs, but that had been changed into a pool bar.
We ordered a Club beer and a Smirnoff Ice as we went through the large menu. A large variety of starters was presented.
I personally missed the “Irishness” of Middle Eastern starters like kibbeh and homos, but at least there were others like octopus, chicken wings and spare ribs. The menu of the day promised pumpkin soup and green bean soup.
Starters, including salads, were presented from GH¢9 to GH¢14. The main courses were more Irish; stews, pork chops and fish priced between GH¢19 and GH¢30. Specials of the day included lobster and shrimps.
My partner chose the marinated grilled octopus as a starter, while I decided on the spare ribs of pork.
To follow up, we chose fillet steak and banger and mash, obviously “Irish” sausages and mashed potatoes with gravy.
My fillet steak (which I ordered rare as usual) could be ordered with pepper or blue cheese sauce with chips or with fried rice. I chose the blue cheese sauce and chips.
Our waitress however returned to inform us that the marinated octopus was sold out but the fried version was available, my partner changed the order reluctantly.
We enjoyed our drinks and took in the environment, which included foreign nationals mainly and about 4 Ghanaians.
The interior hadn't changed, still the dark “smoky” pub atmosphere (good old days), with pictures and adverts on the walls, and the long bar at the back.
But something had changed. We missed the crowd! An Irish pub is supposed to be a noisy, crowded bar. A real pub! That specific atmosphere was gone.
Despite the availability of TV screens to watch football, this wasn't an Irish pub anymore. And more, to us, with all the smokers around us, it wasn't a real restaurant either.
We decided not to judge prematurely since the food was yet to arrive. When it did appear the spare ribs looked fabulous, exactly the right color and right degree of cooking inside.
It tasted good, but not as mouth watering as it looked. The portion served was too small for its asking price. Continued
The original owner of Ryans's Irish Pub on the Osu Oxford Street went back to Ireland several years ago, and a British/Ghanaian couple took over. We hadn't been there in years.
The Irish pub concept was established long ago but took its first careful steps onto the continent in the late 1980s.
I had my first encounter with the smoky Irish pub concept in 1981, in Paris, where I got drunk with the then famous band The Dubliners after a sold out concert. Lots of beer, lots of cigarettes and Irish stew!
I think Martin Ryan created a perfect Irish atmosphere in Osu. Same type of interior, same smoky atmosphere, busy every day and crowded every weekend. Today was different however, 4 -5 cars at the parking lot, 10 – 15 people inside.
Ryan's Irish Pub had been turned into a restaurant with pub facilities instead of a pub with some food available.
Although I am against changing concepts, we gave it a try. We were welcomed by a young girl who led us to a table in the restaurant. We asked if we could sit upstairs, but that had been changed into a pool bar.
We ordered a Club beer and a Smirnoff Ice as we went through the large menu. A large variety of starters was presented.
I personally missed the “Irishness” of Middle Eastern starters like kibbeh and homos, but at least there were others like octopus, chicken wings and spare ribs. The menu of the day promised pumpkin soup and green bean soup.
Starters, including salads, were presented from GH¢9 to GH¢14. The main courses were more Irish; stews, pork chops and fish priced between GH¢19 and GH¢30. Specials of the day included lobster and shrimps.
My partner chose the marinated grilled octopus as a starter, while I decided on the spare ribs of pork.
To follow up, we chose fillet steak and banger and mash, obviously “Irish” sausages and mashed potatoes with gravy.
My fillet steak (which I ordered rare as usual) could be ordered with pepper or blue cheese sauce with chips or with fried rice. I chose the blue cheese sauce and chips.
Our waitress however returned to inform us that the marinated octopus was sold out but the fried version was available, my partner changed the order reluctantly.
We enjoyed our drinks and took in the environment, which included foreign nationals mainly and about 4 Ghanaians.
The interior hadn't changed, still the dark “smoky” pub atmosphere (good old days), with pictures and adverts on the walls, and the long bar at the back.
But something had changed. We missed the crowd! An Irish pub is supposed to be a noisy, crowded bar. A real pub! That specific atmosphere was gone.
Despite the availability of TV screens to watch football, this wasn't an Irish pub anymore. And more, to us, with all the smokers around us, it wasn't a real restaurant either.
We decided not to judge prematurely since the food was yet to arrive. When it did appear the spare ribs looked fabulous, exactly the right color and right degree of cooking inside.
It tasted good, but not as mouth watering as it looked. The portion served was too small for its asking price. Continued
