J.J. Foley's

Having recently moved to a different section of the South End, Bryan and I were anxious to try out some of the local eateries that we normally wouldn't have ventured to.  Topping the list was J.J. Foley's for the mere reason that I heard Justin Timberlake had gone to party here (or at its sister location in the financial district) after his concert in Boston last year.  

Yesterday, the cold weather got our appetites rumbling for some pub food so Bryan, Adam and myself headed over to J.J's (do they call it that?) for a bite to eat.  From the outside of the pub, J.J.'s looks a bit rundown.  The sign is very nice though and states that the pub's been in business since 1909.  We walked in and were pleasantly surprised.

In my past experiences, I've come to realize that pubs are not known for their cleanliness.  Patrons are usually greeted with sticky floors or tables and a worn out atmosphere.  So imagine how happy I was to discover the complete opposite at J.J.'s.  The atmosphere at J.J.'s is warm and friendly.  We were greeted by both the bartender and the waitress when we entered and were told we could sit anywhere.  The pub was clean and actually quite pretty.  There was a new tin ceiling that was bright and shiny, what looked like newly shellacked wooden panels covering the walls, and the floors were tiled and very clean.  The bar had a large plasma screen above it playing the football game (not too loud I might add...a good thing for me). 

Our waitress for the day was a feisty woman with an Irish brogue (points for authenticity!).  She was extremely pleasant and took our order, refilled our drinks and cleared our plates without delay.  She even offered us some Irish mustard to try (we did and it was good).  The menu at J.J.'s is simple pub food at decent prices.  The burgers are about 9 bucks and so are most of the sandwiches.  I ordered the taco burger that came with guacamole, salsa, sour cream and a side order of fries.  The burger was good and so were the fries.  I was completely satisfied.  Bryan ordered the blue cheese burger and he liked it as well.  Adam ordered the potato skins (you get 3) and the Reuben which he commented to the waitress that it was probably one of the best Reubens he's ever had...she ventured to say that it was  perhaps even the best corn beef in Boston (one can only dream!).  The only complaint I have about the whole experience is that we were charged for our refills on our soda (2 bucks a glass) without being told they would cost extra.  After two refills though, they stopped charging so maybe that's the rule?  Or maybe the waitress was amazed we could drink that much soda and felt pity on us?  

Overall, we had a great experience at J.J. Foley's in the South End and would recommend this location to anyone in the area craving friendly service, good comfort food and a cozy local hang-out.