Durty Nelly's Irish Pub

Our first visit to Durty Nelly's was on a weekday for an early dinner. The restaurant was pleasantly quiet with very few diners so we were able to indulge in a little more space in the form of large booth seats instead of a table for two. The private corner was really cozy, what with plush cushions, heavy wood furnishings and dim lights.

The irish goulash ($15) was a thick and hearty stew made with beef, onions, vegetables, spices and paprika, then fortified with Kilkenny Irish Ale and Jameson Whiskey. Served in a Staub “la cocotte” (heavy cast iron cookware), the stew was deeply flavored with extremely tender chunks of meat. How we wished there’s more bread to mop up the delish gravy!

We also liked the nelly’s irish styled fish ‘n’ chips ($17), which comprised of tender fillets of white cream dory in a light and crispy ale batter and straight cut fries, with mushy peas, tomato sauce and tartare sauce served on the side.

The irish cream pudding ($10.50) was perfect to end the meal with. Rich and creamy coffee-flavored sago pudding, topped with vanilla and Baileys Irish Cream sauce and garnished with fresh berries, it’s a dessert that couldn’t go wrong for lovers of the cream liqueur.

Service was brisk and polite though our empty glasses were never topped up. Not sure if staff would’ve offered eventually since we didn’t stay long.

Total damage: $42.50 nett

We returned three days later and the ambience was completely different on a Saturday night. With a sports program playing on TV and a full house, the restaurant (more of a pub at this time) was boisterous. Halfway through our late dinner, a live band started belting out contemporary hits.

It’s Sunday roast every day at Durty Nelly’s. The traditional roast beef ($22) was two thick slices of prime rib-eye served with creamy mash, vegetables (carrots, cucumber and long beans) and a Yorkshire pudding, all smothered in homemade gravy.

We didn’t quite enjoy the meat (medium rare) since it’s way too sinewy in some parts. Impossible to swallow, I had to spit them out. Accented with mustard, the gravy was competent but too little. Luckily the pie came with a generous portion of an even more delectable gravy, and it helped the beef go down a lot easier.

The beef and guinness pie ($18.80) turned out really well. Chunks of tender braised beef and vegetables (carrots and celery) swimming in copious amount of homemade Guinness gravy, topped with a puff pastry lid and served with creamy mash and baked beans. It’s clearly a winner and we were pleased to note the palpable presence of alcohol.

As for the apple crumble ($10.50), it’s a delightful dessert with granny smith apples cooked with Cointreau, topped with homemade crumble, and served with vanilla pod ice cream. Though the menu indicated roasted pinenuts, we didn’t manage to find a single one. The serving size was good for sharing and it wasn’t overly sweet or sour.

We had to find our own table upon arrival and service was a tad slow due to the crowd this time but thankfully not to the point of getting on our nerves. Again, no one refilled our water.

Total damage: $51.30 nett

An excellent choice for a pub lunch, especially if you can use the citibank 1-for-1 which makes it great value. Good options include the club sandwich, irish stew, and fish and chips. The club sandwich is a nice blend of chicken, ham and salad in between thick sliced white bread, which goes down well with some fries and ketchup. The irish stew is a hearty stew, the lamb cubes are tender and comforting along with some vegetables, gravy and a slice of bread. Fish and chips, I'm sure you know that one well! I haven't tried their pies yet, but they seem popular and the pastry looks appealing puffing out over the dish. Service is attentive and has been very flexible with my food allergies, substituting other side options without additional cost. Meals can be a little delayed when the pub gets full, but the staff does their best and keeps you informed. It's never been a huge problem. For lunch you can opt for an extra $5 to include soup and coffee/tea. The interior is nicely decorated and clean/fresh looking, much nicer than Muddy Murphy's in my opinion. 

Came here for a weekday lunch with colleagues. A pretty nice place for late night chilling and a huge lcd tv was watching sports. Soccer, Rubgy, Tennis you name it. I ordered a bangers and mash, while my friend ordered a fish and chip. Waited for around 20mins before the food finally arrived, well its not like its very crowded. Hm.... Portion was ok, definitely not enough for us. 2 nice bratswust with differnt meat, mash potatoes with sauce and some fried onions by the side. Well this is indeed great quality for the price that i'm paying. There are lots of stuff on the menu that i cant wait to try. Even stuff like Asian Fried Rice is on the menu. Maybe next time i'll be here alone so i can have 2 portions to myself. Well i'm a pretty big eater.

I didn't know this place offered 1-1 with Citibank promotion too and it was during lunch. It's an ala carte menu 1-1 and you just have to pay the price of the higher meal. It was totally awesome and value for money.

My friend took the "Roasted beef" and I had the "Dory St Germaine" and i must say, i should have taken the roasted beef! It looks so lovely and tender and it was done JUST nice, the portion was also very reasonably big for a promotion (you know how sometimes they stinge you because its a promotion) this one, NO.

The Dory was soft and goes well with the chopped mushroom, no fishy smell, comes in chopped pieces already and a good combination of cheese and mushroom sauce. Although it wasn't the chef's signature dish but its just nice for lunch.

It was a typical irish pub feel, wooden seats, not too bring and dark and i believe most people would have gone there for beers but we just had ice-water as that's my favourite drink!

In the end, our Roasted beef costs $22 and the Dory costs $18 so the 1-1 promotion works out to be $22 for the both of us!

Will definitely go there again if the promotion last till next year! 3 cheers for the Merry Xmas savings!

Had a few drinks some time back.

Ambience-wise, it was a nice chill out place unlike crowded balaclava across the street.

Value, similar to other pubs around the vicinity.

Service, the waitresses were prompt in taking & serving our orders.

Would wanna pop by the place again for dinner.

I love Irish pubs. They tend to exude a no-nonsense obsession with inebriation and greasy food that men find irresistable. I believe that there are large bodies of men (who may also possess...err..large bodies) who devote their lives to excessive consumption in order to drop dead in an Irish pub. Maybe they believe that such demise may entitle their offsprings to beer and grease discounts. Who knows?

Anyway, as much as I adore beer and fried foods, I don't actually consume much of them, because I like to live a long and healthy life, discounts notwithstanding. So it was a special occasion that drew me to Durty Nelly; that occasion being a 1-for-1 lunch deal. Cheapskate? Call it fatal attraction.

The lunch crowd at the pub was surprisingly teetotaling. Everyone seem to be having iced water. What a wet blanket crowd! The taps are surely screaming for attention - 'pull me, pull me!'.

The service was polite and curt and I ordered a beef and guinness pie (i called it a steak and guinness pie and was promptly corrected by the waitress - talk about moderating my expectations...), while my wife got an All-Day Irish Breakfast. I also added a pint of Old Speckled Hen ($10+++) to the order with a smug grin. When the pint arrived, I savoured it with an air of pride. Ahhh... alas OSH is British, not Irish; I wasn't in a dark beer mood.

The Guinness Pie ($15+++) was presentable, a large stew pot covered with glossy and hot puff pastry, decorated with fries and baked beans (shame that it was the Heinz variety). The actual amount of stew within was a little less than I expected, giving me an impression that the puff pastry also functioned as camoflage. The stew itself was rich but the meat (all 8 50-cent pieces) was a little stringy, definitely needs to be cooked a little longer.

The Irish Breakfast ($16+++) was also a little underwhelming, but everything on the plate was relatively well executed. Sausages were crispy and moist, eggs with perfect yolks, fried bread was nicely crunchy. Perhaps too little mushroom and variety. Black pudding would have been great to have.

The meal cost just under $30, which is very reasonable. However, I probably wouldn't pay normal price for it. Atmosphere was great though.

Went there to chill out with a friend, and was good timing being a 6pm on a weekdasy since everytime I pass by its always so crowded!

Ambience just oozes 'chill out', with the home-y deco complete with fake fireplace. Felt peckish so ordered their home made wedges with chilli crab dip. Fantastic! Real fresh cut potatoes freshly deep fried to perfection, and the dip tastes exactly like seafood chilli crab sauce (wonder how they do it??).

If you like beer, order their (can't remember the exact name) beer rack which consists of 5 different beers (mini size) hung on a wooden rack, like test tube style, at only $18. Its not exactly cheap given the mini size but you can choose 5 different kinds of beer to try if you like.

Service was nothing to complain about.

Good place to chill out and munch on sinful snacks. I didnt have the stomach to try their other finger food selection but I'm sure the standard will not be too far off :)

My drinking buddies like the Irish "dark drinks"...e.g. Guiness, Kilkenny etc. and we are always looking for pubs that serve that, with some good/decent food and nice ambient.

This is a new joint opened by the same people who brought you Penny Black, Muddy Murphy etc.

I have been there twice - once on a Tuesday night and once on a Friday night. Tuesday was very quiet, but Friday was packed. This is not one of those noisy pubs, where you get people talking very loudly all the time, or have loud music or even a live band. It's a very good place for a quiet drink and even better for chit chats with your buddies.

Service is prompt, although the food took especially long to arrive on the Friday night. I think perhaps the kitchen is understaffed.

The food there is not too bad and not too expensive...portion is rather generous too. I especially must recommend the Spicy Chicken Drumletts (it's the deep fried kind). It's $12 for about a dozen drumletts, and it's not one of those where the flour is more than the meat.

There's wifi connection via Wireless@SG if you need to connect...

It's a nice place to chill...and I'm sure my buddies and I will be going back there lots more times!

This is a new place that has just opened, so I thought that I would give it a try for pub food and drinks during lunch. Their "happy hour" starts from 12 noon with most drinks starting from $8 per glass.

The steak and guinness pie and 1/2 pint of apple cider which I had were excellent. Service was quick, attentive and also friendly for a pub environment. They also had an Irish Food festival on for June/July, where a glass of guinness stout and pub food from the list was just $20.