Erin’s Isle

Great neighborhood restaurant, great food, and super friendly & professional wait staff! The not so great reviews on here are really surprising to me because I always have great meals here! cozy Irish pub type atmosphere, fireplace, Italian /​American menu, nice specials and some nights there’s a piano player… Can’t go wrong!

My GF and I went here last night for the first time we had escargot and fried calamari for appetizer excellent then we shared a sirloin steak for main course the size and quality was so good felt like I was eating at a NYC steak house. Service was excellent definitely will be coming here more often.

This one is worth a try. I’ve only been there one time and the service was great. Food was priced reasonable and just a nice evening. I look forward to returning.

I drove by this place 1000 times, and finally got to stop in for dinner with my family. Based on the name, and my own impressions, I thought it was going to be Irish pub fare, however the menu was mainly Italian food, pasta, etc.
It was Saturday, so you’d expect the restaurant to be prepared, they really weren’t. They tried hard to accommodate, but it took a terribly long time. I ordered a simple chicken parm (not very Irish) and it was fine, but they forgot my salad. The waiters were friendly, but it felt like there was some level of disorganization.
It’s my opinion that they need to take a look at their identity, and provide more assistance to the back end.
It’s likely that I won’t return.

I must say. Amongst the restaurant’s in the area, Erin’s Isle is the best around. Especially Kristen, and Robert. I received great attention. Really professional. The food was outstanding. I would refer this food to anyone in my family, which says alot. I suggest anyone to check this place out.

The service used to be spot on. Now it’s terrible! No professionalism what’s so ever! Long time people like Barbara is a gem but if you don’t get her to wait on you watch out! And watch your bill! They think because you’ve had some drinks you won’t look but I’m not paying for drinks I didn’t have! Also don’t serve me my food when my appetizer plates haven’t been picked up! This place really went down the toilet! Very sad because at one time it was good. Oh also, some dude in jean & a hoodie starred servicing tables, what’s that about? Very low class! Sad

We live one block away from this lovely, homey restaurant and come frequently. The food is consistently good, the portions very large (we take leftovers home and get another meal out of it) and the ambience in pretty, cozy, and blessedly quiet. One can have an actual conversation and hear everyone at the table. Not many places can provide that.

When I lived in Queens I went here all the time. I went back recently and it is definitely not what it used to be. The food was tasteless and the service was terrible, both at the table and the bar. Don’t waste your time or money here.

Well I have known about Erin’s Isle forever and finally took the plunge to eat here last night. I was recommended by some friends to try the burger, pasta dishes or something from the grill. We were a party of four and ¾ of us were dying for wings and burgers and thought this would be convenient since the wings were recommended as well. Two of us walked in and the place was pretty quiet, one or two tables and maybe one or two at the bar. Live piano playing which ended pretty much as soon as walked in, it was 9:45 so no biggie. We were promptly seated and served water. We were waiting for our other half of the party so we ordered two beers and just took the place in. Typical Italian/​Irish/​American local Whitestone joint. Cuisine is definitely along the Italian side. Our friends arrived and bread was brought over. Ok bread, but crappy bread sticks, but it didn’t matter because we were the one table that wasn’t set with bread/​butter plates anyway. Waiter apologized and brought it right over. Took our appetizer order and when we inquired about the burgers we were told it was really more of a bar item. We asked if it would be possible to order anyway in which he went to consult the chef. Chef decided that NO we were not allowed to order burgers because we were not sitting at the bar! Not that it was jam packed and they couldn’t swing it, not because bar was packed and they sold out, but because a four top for dinner chose to dine at a table instead of carrying awkward dinner conversation while sitting and eating at a bar. Now I get it that you would rather sell a 19.95−32.95 entrée instead of a burger but isn’t it just as important to secure repeat customers??? I would have rather they lied and said they sold out of burgers then tell us that because we were sitting at a table instead of the bar we could not order them. That is just terrible customer service, this is the hospitality industry after all is it not?
Anyway we begrudgingly ordered off the menu, had our meal and left. Now I do not want to complain about the service; waitstaff was friendly, hospitable, courteous and attentive. The menu of an Irish named establishment is primarily Italian but overly expensive. Now do not get me wrong, the food tasted good but when you are charging prices that rival Babbo or A Voce and you’re an «Irish» restaurant on the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone there is something wrong. We are all local and was hoping we would have had a better experience and secured another local joint, however I do not believe we have. Would I go back, maybe, I guess I’ll just have to sit at the bar.

The food here is okay. I do like the Chicken Parmigiana. The sides and the salad are just ok. The service varies but usually ok-​good. The décor looks like it has not been changed since the place opened. The paintings there though are cute.

Just a good ol’ hometown restaurant, one of the few remaining in the neighborhood. Service is great, menu is bountiful and half portion pasta plates are available. Prices are reasonable and they have daily specials, all dishes are quality and plentiful. Don’t feel like a full on dining experience? Go have a drink at the bar and watch the game. As long as Erin’s Isle is around, I will continue to patronize — it’s the equivalent of your mom n pop shop, and you gotta look out for your folks!
One quip — Unilocal has it listed as an Italian restaurant, which I’d have to disagree with, the vibe is more Irish, and really, truth be told, I’d say It’s and American restaurant. Seriously, what about «Erin’s Isle» says «Italy»!?

With Erin’s Isle being there forever, a while ago me and the BF went to dinner there. I never have really seen it busy – which makes me wonder but the food was tasty. More recently, we had a family lunch there. They were expecting us and we were a group of about 20 people. When we got there it was just awkward – they weren’t ready for us so everyone kind of found a spot at the smaller tables. Once we took it upon our selves to start joining tables one of the servers began helping us but it seemed to take that push. We had a fixed lunch menu with good choices. I got the penne ala vodka, salad and chicken francaise. The food was good as usual, but the serving was terribly inconsistent – only part of the table getting their food while others waited til ten minutes later. What really kind of bothered me was when it was time for coffee and cake. They cut and served the cake to about half of the room and left the rest of us to go and cut and serve ourselves the cake.
Honestly the food is good food – the lower rating is mainly because of that particular day. Just seems like one of those places that they’re so used to being not so busy that when it is busy they appear inconsistent and unprepared. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to raise my rating based on something yummy!

I really had good expectations of this place as a hidden gem I’ve passed a million times — but sadly it struck us more as a Gordon Ramsey «Kitchen Nightmares» contender, from the dated décor to the cuisine. The hot antipasto was covered in a metallic marinara sauce; the sauteed spinach was swimming in butter — and though we were among just a couple of occupied tables the waiter never thought to refill our water glasses. Disappointing!

I recently visitedI recently visited Erin’s Isle for my first time and found my dinner to be very enjoyable. I went with a group of four people. I started with the lobster bisque soup which was delicious. We also had baked clams which were very tasty. My dinner was excelled the spaghetti with white clam sauce. The other people all thought their food was good not great. Took a little long to get our menus and our appetizers, however the waiter was very nice and friendly. Overall it is definitely a place I would visit again.

Met some friends in Queens for dinner. We usually hit up the Bell Blvd spots but decided to try something different tonight. After navigating through some quiet side streets, all of a sudden Erin’s Isle popped up and we gave it a try.
This place is a weird mix between old school Italian and an Irish pub. When we first walked in I noticed the main dining area was somewhat empty. Not dead, but not the kind of business you would expect for a Saturday night. Instead of being seated there, we were brought to a private dining area where we were all alone. Well, almost alone. There were 2 men sitting alone discussing what looked to be serious business. Faces were 12″ apart, talking low, stone cold. Looked like someone was being given «an offer they couldn’t refuse» if you know what I mean. Great first impressions so far! We took our seats and began our evening.
Took a little while for our waiter to come. (Maybe b\c we were seated in the spot of the restaurant where no one ever gets seated??) Eventually Mike Sorrentino’s (google it) stunt double showed up and took our drink orders. That’s great, except he didn’t bring menus. No joke, took about 10 mins before we even got menus. I’ll cut him some slack though, turned out to be a nice guy.
When we eventually ordered, 2 of my friends ordered the chicken rollatini. No big deal, right? Well the waiter comes back and says «sorry we only have one left» .what?!? An Italian restaurant, early on a Saturday night, only has 1 left? First off, kind of a bush league thing to happen. Secondly, umm no thanks but i don’t want your LAST chicken rollatini which has probably been festering around for 4 days.
Fast forwarding a bit. The food took a pretty long time to come and really wasn’t anything special. We all agreed our dishes were OK, not amazing. The prices were a little high but not crazy. You do you get large portions so that helped.
For those of you who gave this place a 4 or 5 star rating, please. You must be accustomed to eating at Red Lobster for fine cuisine. The décor resembles an old age home and their thermostat is a bit wonky. Also, be on the look out for the bus boy with the long hair. Also a nice guy, just needs a trim.

I have come to Erin’s Isle quite a few times. It’s a nice small neighborhood restaurant. The food here is pretty good with good prices. However, on my recent visit to Erin’s Isle, I was a bit disappointed. The food was a bit salty and the rice lacked a bit of taste. I am not sure if it was because they just opened and were not ready for such a large group so the cook had to prepare the food rather quickly.
On my other visits though the food has been decent with a good portion size. My family and I are a huge fan of their fried calamari appetizer. While the food is only okay, the staff here are great.

Love this place, such a cute, cozy place in Queens

I’m still not sure what this place is. It kind’ve has a pub feel, the name sounds Irish, but the menu is Italian. It certainly isn’t an authentic Italian restaurant.
We shared the calamari which was a generous portion and not too bad, but the tentacles were noticeably missing which made me wonder if this batch was straight from the frozen food aisle in Waldbaums. For an entrée I had the shrimp parmigiana. Large in size, but pales in comparison to one you would find at say Carmines. Theirs was more of the Swanson tv dinner variety. Sauce was mediocre and cheese was globby. Side blue cheese salad was weak as well.
Other minuses, my uncle wanted a side Caesar salad and offered to pay extra and was denied. My aunt ordered her pasta primavera with rigatoni instead of spaghetti and they served it with spaghetti. She had to wait over 5 minutes for a new order. The waitress did make up for her mistake by giving us a delicious slice of cheesecake to share for the table with our coffee.
I feel bad giving them 2 stars because we did enjoy a nice bottle of Rodney Strong merlot and the company was great. Had a lot of laughs, but the food was below average and have a hard time considering Erin Isle a legitimate Italian restaurant.

the Penne ala Vodka, Marinated steak, Calamari, spinach salad, and seafood are easily the gems in Erin’s menu. I’ve been going since I was very young and it is a favorite of my parents. The bread basket features brick over baked bread and nice flat bread crakers and seasame sticks. The cream sauces can be heavy so dieters beware but the fish dishes are nice for lighter fare also, The shrimp are monstrous and the french onion soup cannot be beat. Check out the desert tray they’re usually beautiful tarts and treats from Saint Honere bakery in port washington.
The ambiance is nice for a date or family dinner. Most weekends feature a live piano player and roaring fire in the back.

Ok, sooooo. 3.5 stars, rounding up.
I had to come back and re-​write this. I unfairly judged this place solely based on one employee. I’ve returned several times and it’s amazing how removing ONE person from the mix can improve the business and quality of your experience.
I still prefer the entrees to appetizers… Entrees=flavorful and cooked correctly… Appetizers=Usually a bit over or under seasoned.
All of the other staff is head and shoulders about the other girl I dealt with. Nice little local place.