Houlihan’s

This place always has amazing food, great drinks, and a very good atmosphere. HOWEVER they lost me in being a more frequent customer when they cut their NFL Sunday Ticket.

I think this place is okay, but their prices are more expensive then other comparable chains and I don’t think they are really better. I signed up for their email coupons and got a free dinner for my birthday, value up to $ 15 and I don’t think there are but a couple of entrees $ 15 or below. It is nice to get the $ 15 discount though, but the entrees are higher priced. Plus compared to other chains that periodically give out coupons, this one really just does a birthday one, so once a year.
I got steak fajitas and my boyfriend got a steak. I appreciated that the waiter boxes up my leftovers and separated the tortillas and put the sour cream in a little container. Was it better than the same entrees on a Chili’s 2 for $ 20? I wouldn’t say so, and that’s half the cost. I think maybe you pay more for a little classier ambiance, but to me that wasn’t worth it.

This is a great H’s with excellent food and service. The bar is lively and the tables turn quickly :)

We went there for dinner 5:30 Thursday night. Place was empty. We should have taken that as a hint to leave. We waited 15 minutes for someone to come out of the back to seat us. Once we were seated we waited 15 minutes and then went to the hostess to let her know that a server didn’t approach our table! She apologized and said she was going to get a server and disappeared in the back once again! Waited another 15 minutes which is a total of a half hour! Finally got up and left!
AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Wanted to give this place a try because we have seen it a few times on the way to Jose Tejas. We got there and got seated by the bar. The waiter came by and then the gm or owner type came by after that. Seemed like a big red flag to me. We ordered drinks and dinner. Drinks were good, dinner was awful. I got the fish tacos. They could have been good, but they put two whole HUGE pieces of Tilapia on them and that ruined the whole deal for me. All you have to do is cut half of one of those pieces of tilapia up and put it in the taco! Putting two giant pieces of over cooked tilapia on a taco is just stupid. The second we started eating the waiter/​bartender forgot we existed and we had to wait 15 minutes between every transaction with him. THIS PLACE SUUUUUUCKS. Just go to Jose Tejas. If you have to, just park in the parking lot of this dump. Nothing more.

It’s what you would expect from a chain that is slowly falling by the wayside along with chains dying or are already gone such as Bennigans, Ruby Tuesdays, etc. The décor is out of date and the menu has what you would expect and not very exciting.
The food is not at all bad just not great. The place is never full so if you don’t feel like waiting around to get a seat at Jose Tejas which is always packed then this can be an option. The scallops with risotto is decent and is a reasonably large portion. The wings are good especially with the Thai chili sauce. Other items are as expected just OK. The ribs are a bit dry and overdone but the flavor isn’t bad.
It’s a chain so if you want something reasonably priced and nothing overly exciting then it’s definitely an option.

When I ordered pick up on two separate times they messed my order up. When we have dined in there hasn’t really been an issue and I like the food.

Hands down love this place !!!
Have gone multiple times and can’t complain about a single thing.

Drunk women acting like 12 year olds obviously intoxicated with a child disrupting all diners. Several times asked to tune it down by diners. Management does nothing!
Food was not at its best this evening! Come here often and was very disappointed today. Disco fries had a drop of gravy. Baked potato loaded came with a few pieces of shredded cheese and a few bacon crumbs. $ 1.29 for that. Also side of sautéed mushrooms came out at least 10 mins after the steak. The service person was fine and the manager is crediting the charge for potato extras. But the loud obnoxious drunk woman doing cheers as loudly as if on a field should have been asked to go to a nearby playground and finish their play date!

Service was fast enough, wait staff was very polite. The décor is outdated and there was a weird smell in the lobby (kind of like mold). The silverware was not clean and the menus and table were sticky. We ordered the blackened chicken and caramelized onion quesadilla, BBQ Chicken Flatbread, and potato skins. The potato skin portion was very small for the price and were mediocre and hard. The BBQ Chicken flatbread was fine, kind of blah and mediocre. The quesadilla was slimy and not very appetizing. The salsa tasted more like marinara sauce and the guac was brown. We ordered tortilla chips for the side which were greasy and tasteless. Overall very disappointed.

This fixture in Fairfield has been a staple of dining for some time. Spacious, nicely appointed and with a varied menu, Houlihan’s is certainly a good representative of its parent chain. We found the service excellent and not intrusive; and delivery of food was prompt.
HOWEVER, I found my scotch on the rocks to be watery (I write a cocktail blog), but the bartender may have scooped up some water, along with the ice. All of us found the food to be a bit oversalted, for our taste. My SW Chicken Wrap was good, but the wrap failed to hold it. The fried calamari was done in a crunchy coating but was tender and moist. The sauce served with it was not identifiable, as marinara or other dressing.
The caesar salad was more than adequate, but the dressing was concentrated in a single place and not tossed well.
Kudos to their small plate selections. Keep up the good work.

After driving all day in the rain and getting lost about 7 times, my partner and I found ourselves hungry and tired at around 12 am. We asked ourselves, where would we find a place to eat. As always, I «yelped» for a place nearby that would be opened, and this place was and it indicated that only bar seating would be available after 11:30pm. We decided to go in, even though all we wanted really was a booth to sit and relax and eat. To my surprise, our server Nathan, accommodated us and treated us with over the top service! Thank you so much!

Overpriced chain restaurant. So many better local options. The food is mediocre at best.

We always come here after our shows and they are always willing to accommodate our loud and big group of theatre kids. Staff is great and the food is food. I recommend the margarita personal pie!

As soon as I walked into this place I knew I was going to give them a bad review! One of the waiters was just sitting at the bar on his phone and drinking a beer. He didn’t even bother saying hello or asking me where I wanted to sit… That’s all I have to say!

Love the staff but the food is something to be desired.
It’s a chain restaurant that is trying hard to improve on their food but it seems to be moving backwards. Ideal place to sit at the bar, have a couple of drinks and maybe dabble in some apps.
Burgers used to be amazing… not so much anymore. Their chicken wrap was an epic fail.
But the staff is awesome. Very friendly and always willing to have a conversation.

Nice place to have a real dinner. The food is good and tasty. It also gives you a good portion of food. Price is fare. Their services is excellent. I really enjoyed this place!
This restaurant it’s definitely much better then Fridays Restaurant on rt 3 west Clifton.

I come here on occasion for a nice casual dinner out. I think all the food at houlihan’s is excellent! I am surprised at some of the not so good reviews. They have a wide variety of appetizers and main dishes. The spinach dip with cheesy lavosh is one of my favorites — the lavosh that comes with it is a crispy flatbread with a little bit of cheese and tomatoes and onions on top. The stuffed mushroom appetizer is awesome! — has a great herbed cheese middle. Stuffed chicken (with the same herbed cheese as the mushrooms) is a family favorite and someone gets this almost every time we come here.

I have a love hate relationship with this place. I love the apps and the salads but beyond that I never venture to the regular menu. Nothing ever appeals to me even with their extensive menu choices. Cheese fries and the heartland chicken salad are my go to here. I think it’s something abut the reach dressing that calls my name every time. There is a good amount of tv’s in the bar area and they will change the channel if you ask if there is a different sport you would like to watch. I noticed the last couple times the carpet in here needed a good vacuuming. Bathroom could be kept up a little more too. Wifi is spotty. Never had any issues with the bartenders or servers. Sign up for there bday club and recieve a coupon for a free meal. They also have a check-​in through Unilocal right now to give you a free small plate. Who doesn’t love free when you are on a budget?

This is my first time at this Houlihan’s location. The staff, manager & our waiter was nice. Justin our waiter listened to our concerns and was on point with bringing out our drinks, apps & entrée in a timely fashion. He didn’t have to write anything down. I’m assuming he’s a seasoned waiter.
Houlihan’s has a family friendly, chill & relax type of atmosphere. Very spacious, not too loud & patrons looked like they were enjoying their time.
We started off with two orders of the Original Baked Potato Soup. It had Cheddar Cheese, freshly chopped Scallions, smoked Bacon Bits & nice chunks of Potatoes. It was DELISH! For apps I had the Thai Chile Style Wings & Crispy Calamari. The wings had the perfect amount of spices. It wasn’t spicy at all. It came with Sriracha Chili Sauce on the side. The Crispy Calamari was just what it was… crispy beyond belief. It was so hard to chew & swallow it. I asked Justin to take it off the bill. My mom had the seared 4oz. Sea Scallops. She loved her food. My Pop Pop had the traditional Chicken Tender Platter. He was looking forward to it & enjoyed it.
The manager was gracious enough to come over and comp 1 Baked Potato Soup, The Crispy Calamari & allowed me to used my check in offer for my mom’s Scallops. The check in was for any small plate up to $ 7. Although her meal was $ 12.99 we were able to get the meal for free.