McGuire's Irish Pub

McGuire’s Irish Pub is a Pensacola institution that has been pouring pints and serving hearty fare since 1977. It sits on East Gregory Street at the downtown end of the Pensacola Bay Bridge, which makes it the natural stop on the way to or from Pensacola Beach — and from Perdido Key it is a solid 40-minute drive, so plan it as an evening, not a lunch detour. The rambling building is famous for its on-site brewery, hand-cut steaks and seafood, its 18-cent Senate Bean Soup, and the hundreds of thousands of signed dollar bills that cover the walls and ceilings. It is as much a landmark and gathering place as it is a restaurant.

What to order

The steaks and the house-brewed beer are the reputation; the bean soup is the tradition, and yes, you order it because it costs 18 cents, and yes, you should tip like it did not. The menu is big and Irish-American in the way that means portions, not restraint. Go with a group, order more than you think you need, and be prepared to take some home.

When to go

Weekend evenings in season run long waits, and the place fills with beachgoers heading back over the bridge, so a weeknight or an early dinner is the calmer version. The bar is its own destination if you would rather drink than dine — a pint under a ceiling of dollar bills is the standard photo everyone takes.

Good to know

Bring a dollar and a marker; adding your bill to the collection is the ritual, and the tagline — feasting, imbibing and merriment — is a fair description of what the room sounds like on a Saturday. This is not a quiet date-night spot. Check their site for current hours. For the beach end of the trip, see Pensacola Beach and the beach report.