The Whelan

Omg… I was skeptical at first walking in but everything about this place was amazing!!! I had a salad to start off with then had the curry chicken! Danny the bartender was super cool and laid back. It’s nothing like a bartender with personality. I will definitely be back!

I was very skeptical of this restaurant after reading the reviews when my date suggested it but I must say I was surprisingly pleased!
The customer service was amazing! Different waiters as well as the owner came by to check on us multiple times throughout the evening to ensure that we were good.
The food was great! There are more items on the menu than there are on the online menu which I was happy about! I ordered the surf and turf burger and fries which was really good and my date had the chicken curry which I liked as well. I want to try the lamb when I I come back.
I will definitely be returning! I would just like for the menu to include more South African inspired dishes!

I had high hopes for this place. It’s close to my brother’s place, parking isn’t hard to find, and the website was pretty swank looking.
So let’s start with the positives. The interior is sleek and inviting. The main bar area is quite impressive looking. There were several pool tables towards the end of the restaurant. And there was even a high tech jukebox/​photo booth. So perhaps as JUST a bar, this place would be fine. However, I went there for the pub food, and was very disappointed with my experience.
Their website claims, «your favorite American pub style foods with a South African Twist.» So I look through the menu and see something that I’d like to try: The Family Recipe Chicken Curry. It is described as a «South African red curry and vegetables over Jasmine Rice. Topped with Fried Plantains.» I passed up burgers and wings and my go-​top bar entrée (fish and chips) in hopes of experiencing something new. What I got was something underwhelming. It had a hearty feel to it, but so does canned soup, and that’s more or less what it reminded me of in terms of quality. I will say that the chicken was tender, but that’s about the only positive. What was the point of having a little ball of rice surrounded by the curry? It’s already starting to get soggy from soaking up the juices. The spice blend of the curry seemed uninspired. However, the biggest blunder on the plate was the lack of plantains. Look at my picture, and tell me if you see the plantains that appear on their website. So really at this point, what you have is a mediocre dish that I could whip up myself with some canned goods (and I am a terrible cook)– not a unique international dish that I was hoping for. And for the price of $ 15? Come on, man. Side note on my girlfriend’s dish; she got lamb chops with sweet potato mash and wild rice. She said the best thing on the plate was the rice, and it was average. I tasted the sweet potato and it had too much brown sugar on top. The lamb was also too salty. So 0 for 2 on the entrees.
Bad food alone isn’t usually enough for me to totally write a place off, but the service was quite lacking as well. It started with something minor– my girlfriend asking for a slice of orange to go with her Blue Moon draft. We get our drinks, no orange but our server realizes it and says she’ll be right back. She comes back later to take my brother’s drink order (he came late), but no orange slices. We later get our food… no orange slices until I politely requested it. Not sure if it was intentional, but I felt like I got a glare from her. Speaking of food delivery, it took a little too long to get it (maybe 20 minutes), and the restaurant wasn’t even half full that night. Through the course of the meal, my Diet Coke was never refilled, nor was my girlfriend asked for another beer. At the end, after a discussion with my brother who also ordered the same curry dish, we asked about the lack of plantains. The server said she’d check and get back to us. 10 minutes later nothing. I originally wanted dessert, but was irritated at this point and just asked for the check.
I hope that my experience is not the norm for others who go there, but I will never go back to this place.

I loved it. The food was delicious. Each dish had a yummy exotic spin on traditional dishes. The service was great. We will be regulars.

Food was delish. We both had the trout. I will come back just to have this dish again!
I think we were forgotten about, but another employee saved the day & the food made up for it.

The restaurant formerly known as Corner Tavern. Now ya’ll know Corner Tavern was my SPOT (I think I have like 3 updated reviews on this place)!
I had a (pregnancy) craving for some fried pickles one night so the hubster and I decided to go to our fave pub. We parked and walked in as usual without noticing the sign on the building; sat down across from the bar, chatted a little bit and took a look at the menu. I noticed that it was different from the CT’s menu but didn’t put too much thought into it. Once I flipped the menu over twice I realized the name change. Ummmm what happened to Corner Tavern!!!
I was a little reluctant to stay but we had already ordered our drinks. I really wanted to drink my tea and be out but decided to give The Whelan a chance. The waitress came over «is everything ok?» I replied, «well I’m a little confused by this menu — its different and I wanted fried pickles». She explained the recent changes that happened 2 months prior to our visit and assured us that we would like the menu. We ordered the Chips & Salsa to start off with. The salsa was clearly housemade. The tomatoes were fresh and firm, not too juicy.
After bringing out our appetizer, the waitress further explained that they were testing out of some the items on the menu and recommended the veggie burger — that’s about the only thing that I could eat off the menu anyway. I frowned when I saw the fried egg. I never had a fried egg on a burger before but heard how good it was on beef, not a veggie burger. She said that she once felt that way but now she loves fried eggs on burgers. Anyway, I trusted her judgment. Booooy I was glad that I did. I cut the burger in half and the aroma was amazing. I took a bite and completely fell in love with the Asian concoction going on in one burger! I had to let her know that she was right about the burger with the fried egg. Im so disappointed now to learn that the burger didn’t made it to the permanent menu. What a bummer. I don’t see anything else on the menu that appeals to me honestly so I’m not sure that I will be back.

Food = ?
Price = 3
Experience = 1
After 10 min at the almost empty bar, I had to flag down a bartender for a beer. I looked at the bar menu and picked a draft… It’s out! Picked a second draft… You guessed it… It’s out!
The nose ringed bartender gave me «tude» too… Pathetic.

The Good: Staff is friendly. Good people, they take care of you well. There’s plenty to do in terms of entertainment. Some TV’s on the wall but this isn’t a place to watch a game at; they’re not very large — instead, you can play Pool or Darts, and it doesn’t cost anything. Just give your ID to the bartender and away you go. The draft and bottle beer selection is great.
They do beer specials from time to time. This time was Red Brick beers for $ 3
On a previous visit, I had the fish and chips, and am happy to report that it was much better than the burger (more on that below), and for the same price of around $ 13-​$ 14.
A friend has the wings and said they were good and the Thai sauce was, too.
The not so good: Price wise, I felt it was a bit high for the quality of food. We ordered the queso with chips and salsa, and for the price $ 4-​$ 5, it was definitely not worth it. The cheese was a small portion and it did not taste great. No thickness or flavor to it, just a watery cheese cup. Is there much to be expected from chips and queso at a Pub? Likely not, and I should of known better, but don’t have it on the menu if it’s not excellent. Would much rather see something in place, like a kebab, popular in other Pubs.
We ordered some burgers, the BBQ burger and the Original, with fries and sweet potato fries, respectively.
The BBQ burger was ok. I was definitely pleased with the portion. A generous portion of bacon (2 large strips) were cooked well. It was a large burger in terms of meat. It was a bit over cooked, I ordered it medium rare and it came out medium well, almost well. There wasn’t a huge abundance of flavor in the meat, and the bun was so-​so. The fries weren’t great, and neither was the BBQ sauce. It didn’t hold a candle to some other options in the city for a burger, and are around the same price for a burger and fries. $ 14.
My wife got The Original, a standard burger. Same issue with the meat, not a whole lot a flavor. The slice of cheese on it looked like a Kraft single and was baked into the burger to the point where you could hardly notice it. It was also over cooked. The most disappointing was the soggy & not fully cooked sweet potato fries. They were the worst part of the meal. She promptly gave up on them after a few bites. $ 11-​$ 13?ish? Definitely not worth it.
Final Thought: Fun place to hang with friends if you’re local, but this isn’t a must go to Atlanta destination. Play some pool/​dartsStay away from the burgers, maybe ask the staff what the best food items are. It’s never overly crowded, and that’s never a bad thing if you’re not a huge crowd person.

Really great experience at The Whelan tonight! It was my first time at the establishment, but my boyfriend is a regular and he talked me into going tonight. Friendly crowd, awesome owner (Jayson) and staff, and great food and drinks! Their menu has a good variety and they have a great selection of draft beers! Highly recommend checking this place out if you live in the Atlanta area.

Formerly a part of the Cornerside Tavern family, but same owner. Good food, good service.
We had the bauernswurst hoagie and cheeseburger. The Boerewors sausage sandwich was delicious, a must try. Although it was awkward trying to eat two sausages on a large bun.
Fries were a bit salty. Nice selection of beer.
They have a few billiard tables, dartboard, and comics. Great place to just hangout and chill. Nice outside dining area around the establishment.

I had the hamburger in the photo, it was perfect!
Love the owner Jayson (always there)
Has a Vodka I love that is not easy to find.
Glad I went in & glad I came back!

This is a cool new bar over in the industrial area behind Bone Garden Cantina. The outside doesn’t look like much, but inside is a gorgeous wood bar, pool tables, dart boards, and games for fun. The bar is really long, so plenty of seating, along with tables and booths spread out over two levels. The bar area overlooks the dart and pool table area, so is a fun ambiance. The décor is really cool — check out the beer tap chandelier over the stairs!
I was really impressed with the food, which surprised me a bit. We tried the black bean hummus, which had a great flavor to it and came with perfectly cooked pita bread, the BBQ Bourbon burger (ok, a little too sweet for me), and the Andouille Sausage burger (yum!). The remoulade they put on the sausage burger was really great. For sides we tried the fries, which are the ones with the potato skins still on and area little on the under cooked side, and the mac and cheese, which had a great flavor, was just a tad watery. I would come back to eat here. The menu consists mainly of burgers and sandwiches, but they offer a few entrees.
Beer wise they have a pretty good selection, and offer up some of the local breweries (Monday Night and Red Brick, I’m guessing due to proximity). I wouldn’t mind a few more local beers represented, but they have a large draft selection, and then even more in bottles.
Parking is in the deck next to it, under the apartments. There is 3 hour «retail» parking for free. I’ve never had a problem getting a space here, but I could see if this area starts to light up that there aren’t too many spots.
I’d definitely go back and like this place a lot more than say, Ormsby’s, but that may be due to the clientele and not the bar itself.

One of my favorite chill out bars! The owner (Jayson) is super sweet and always suggesting new drink ideas and overall just really helpful!
The pool tables are regulated and there are three of them so if you like pool that’s an awesome treat.
Food here is pretty good as well. They are slowly changing the menu so looking forward to seeing what new food choices they make.
I was coming here before it got the new owner and new name. As a non smoker I am happy it changed to a non smoking bar!

This really might be one of my favorite salads. Try the Spinach Salad… apples, almonds, applewood smoked bacon, goat cheese and the house vinaigrette. I added chicken. I seriously can’t rave enough about it. Great location and friendly staff. You’ve got to give this place a go!

We’ve been wanting to check the place out for a while now, and I’m glad we did. Great beer selection (they have New Holland Dragon’s Milk on tap so that’s an easy gold star) and the food we had was great (black bean burger for me, fish and chips for wife). The décor and atmosphere is really cool. Like a wooded pub, only cleaner and spacious. The owner even came by to say hi to us and welcome us. I’m going to take my brother in law who lives a walk away here later this week. Bottom line, this is a new place, but it’s off to a great start. I hope people support it.
**Update 8/​21/​2015**
The andouille sausage burger is amazing. Seriously, I loved that. Also the service is awesome. The new waitress came a checked on us very frequently and so did other servers. Keep it up y’all!!!

I’ve never had the worst service of my life Xander first response to me and my guest was what’s up what can I get you, he’s demeanor was uninviting I will not patronage this establishment again they need more staff that are friendly and that show appreciation of the little amount of business hey have in this place. I felt like I was bothering him on his job…

Totally digging this place! Great beer selection, friendly owner (Jayson), amazing black bean burger topped with a fried egg and pool! Definitely check it out for lunch, dinner, brunch!

I stumbled upon The Whelan about a week and a half ago, and I’m glad I did. They slid right into the space that used to house West Midtown Corner Tavern, and it seems as if they’re going to do very well.
My first visit, I went with the Andouille Sausage Burger. I love Andouille, so I was in after reading that on their menu. Cooked right, but salty… not enough to be inedible, but noticeably saltier than it should have been. Hand cut fries, just crispy enough, seasoned right? I’m in. Added a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, and I was good to go.
It seems as if they’ve got a little something for everyone when it comes to the alcohol. GREAT beer list… good number of taps, good number of bottles… but most everything is quality. Good number of spirits, covering everything from Hendrick’s to Jose… I’m a fan for that reason alone. Add in great service from Andrew the bartender, and a friendly welcome from Phil and another gentleman whose name I don’t recall, and I’m sold.
Late closing (2:30am Mon-​Sat, midnight Sunday), well done menu, great looking space, friendly service… will definitely be back often. There are going to be kinks to work out, of course… they’ve only been open like 6 weeks, from what I’m told… all the makings of a 5* spot once they get rolling, though.

I am still a fan! And I always want local neighborhood restaurants to succeed — so that is why I Unilocal and why I am updating my review.
The service — still great! The beer — still great!
The menu — still simple and short which is fine if you excel at everything on the menu.
I ordered the fish and chips. The portion size was really good. 2 ‘beefy’ pieces of cod. The beer batter was a little light given the size of the filets — but that would have been ok if the batter was not way oversalted. Like ruined the batter oversalted. I ended up just taking a lot of it off and eating the fish (which was cooked to flakey perfection).
My friend got the pork chop. It looked tasty but she said it was a tad overcooked.
:(
I will return — and will advocate for the B Reynolds posters to see the light of day — but I may stick to the burger… unless the salt is put under strict control in the recipe.

Being walking distance from our house gives it major kudos in itself… my boyfriend and I went for dinner on Saturday night. I think they had only been open for a few days. I had the Peri Peri chicken sandwich which was great and he had the family recipe Curry chicken, which was very flavorful.
The Cats Meow house cocktail with honeysuckle vodka was really creative and tasty… but a Makers Manhattan rang up at $ 15 which seemed quite absurd for a pretty mediocre sized drink.
We will definitely be back, enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, good service, and the owner was very friendly, stopping by our table outside to make sure all was well.