Review Slainte Irish Pub Monkey Junction - Wilmington

MY MY MY! After a week, the at Celtic Monkey Irish Pub is still on my mind. Ok, call it a craving for excellence. I ordered the Chicken Bacon Wrap, which was delicious. I usually don't like anything with Ruben, but the Ruben Egg Roll appetizer with their homemade ranch dressing made my taste buds start to dance. The Irish Cannonball appetizer with their homemade gravy, was off the chain. I could have ordered a glass of the gravy! Oops, let me back out of the rabbit hole. RONNIE, our waiter, is at top three of my list of amazing waiters! He was very kind, attentive and just fun to be around! Yes, I will have to visit them again real soon!

Always great food and service. Normally, we are lunch visitors, but we really enjoyed dinner and the outdoor entertainment.

They offer indoor, outdoor and bar seating in addition to tables and booths. Great tasting popular Irish dishes as well as some unique spins on the classic ones. Service was great and attentive. TV screens playing various sports on each wall.

Our second trip and we will be back for more! Absolutely fabulous food, service and a great patio. Where could you go wrong? * YOU CAN'T!* I would recommend this Pub to anyone. A great Pint and Pup friendly are two of our favorite combinations. Fried Pimento vheese balls, Fish and Chips, Cottage Pie and my Husband tried one of their burgers. *SO GOOD!!* Can't wait to go back. 😁 Plus, our lovely waitress brought our Nikolai the Fanciest Pup cup he has ever seen! He gives it , Four Paws!

The interior of the Celtic Monkey is clean and decorated well. It gives the proper atmosphere for that they are looking to achieve. The Ruben spring rolls are extremely crisp with almost no extra oil. The fryer must be set perfectly. The garnish while sparse was partially wilted so the garnish could’ve been a little fresher, but I will not take off for that. The rolls were full of flavor and filled with meat and cheese. The corned beef was not fatty which was excellent and the amount of cheese seemed appropriate. The thousand island dressing pairs perfectly with it to provide a crispy full Ruben flavor. The French onion soup has a lot of cheese and was loaded with onions. The cheese is actually very heavy. The broth is rich and flavorful. The fried fish tacos were very flavorful. However, I needed additional Baja sauce and Pineapple Salsa added to boost the flavor. My wife had the grilled tacos, which were perfectly grilled and tasted exceptional as well. Our server, Tanis was attentive and friendly. One recommendation would be that the salsa be diced a little more finally, it was rather coarse. A finer chop would accentuate and work on the tacos more effectively. however, the taste was exceptional. I recommend this place and will be returning for future visits.

Great place to eat and have a drink or 2 or 3 😁 Staff is awesome and service was on point. Drink never got empty. Plenty of televisions to see your favorite sporting events also. I would highly recommend this place. I have now made it my go to here in town!!

Ashley was a fantastic server with a great attitude. The food was really good, very tender corned beef in the Reuben and the hamburger steak was done perfectly, with a delicious gravy and mashed potatoes. The expeditor of the food seemed to be proud of what they create in the kitchen and I can't blame them because it was tasty.

You have to try the Mango Vinaigrette dressing on your salad! It was recommended by our server, and he was right. Delicious! I also had the turkey melt and enjoyed it very much. We will definitely be back, sooner than later.

My wife, son and I chose to make the small drive down to the Monkey Junction area to have dinner and drinks at Slainte (pronounced slawn-cha) Irish Bar & Grill after seeing multiple pics posted on social media by Exec. Chef, Chris. The sole purpose of making this trip, was to indulge in some Irish brew and the Reuben Egg Rolls...but enjoyed much more than just those pockets of stuffed goodness. FOOD: Carribean swordfish, lemon-cream chicken pasta, spinach artichoke dip with lemon zest, reuben egg rolls and Keto-Friendly / Sugar-Free / Gluten-Free local dessert cakes. Beginning with the Reuben Egg Rolls, my wife and I, each, took a bite and immediately savored the tender and flavorful corned beef. Combined with kraut, then fried up to a delicately-perfect, crispy shell...these egg rolls exceeded expectations. Each of these Irish-German pillows delivered on the taste of a juicy Reuben sandwich with the ease of eating as a finger food. Loved these. The spinach-artichoke dip included some lemon zest, dusted over the dip, which you can taste immediately on the first bite. At first, it seemed as if the zest was too much...but within 2 seconds of chewing, it melted into the creaminess of the dip. I believe that, due to the strong power of lemon zest, I would have enjoyed the dip more, had it only been dusted with half of the zest. I do not claim to be an expert in swordfish tastings but the texture and flavor of the steak resembled that of a nice Mahi Mahi. The white meat was flaky and tender, cooked evenly throughout with Caribbean-inspired flare and a light cream sauce, served with fresh veggies and whipped potatoes. After I asked our server, Rebecca, to have the Chef surprise me with a dish...along came the white wine pasta with char-grilled chicken, zucchini, squash, onion & mushrooms. The chicken was very plump, juicy, tender and had just the right amount of char on the exterior. The pasta was cooked perfectly and blended well with the velvety, white wine sauce. At the end of the meal, Chef Chris recommended a local dessert-maker's keto-friendly cakes, which had zero sugar and was gluten-free. Now...I am an old-school guy with a palate that enjoys high-fat, real sugar and real dairy in my desserts so my opinion may not carry any significant merit with these 2 cakes. They were both moist and sweet, as a dessert should be, but I could discern the difference in ingredients used compared to your grandma's old recipes. Overall, the food was very good and my cravings were suppressed with those Reuben Egg Rolls! SCORE: 3.9 STARS!! SERVICE: Rebecca was our server for the evening and had assistance from her supporting team. She carried a warm smile, was quick to refill drinks and was certain to follow up at our table multiple times...an asset to Slainte. SCORE: 5 STARS!! OVERALL SCORE: If you want a casual, friendly Irish-American pub to put back a few drinks, enjoy some delicious fare and socialize...Slainte delivers well. 4.4 STARS!!

The food is fresh and delicious! The fries are fresh cut, the balsamic glazed, pan-fried Brussel sprouts are to die for, the sandwiches are incredible (my fave is the Rachel, smoked turkey play on the Reuben) and the sirloin is delicious as well. Nice outdoor dining area and a good place to watch the game!

Not only a great selection of food and draft but excellent service. Especially enjoyed the half price appetizers after 10 p.m.. Update: been here a number of times since the original review and every time continues to be great so I up the Stars to 5. Recommend the Irish nachos to start or should I say share.

Great pub!! The Beef on Weck is one of my favorites in the region. The Reuben Egg Rolls are mouth watering. Food is always on point, as well as the service and the atmosphere. Cheers!

great food drink and atmosphere!!! not a chain restaurant it is privately owned and it shows in the attention to detail and quality at a bargain price. friendly staff. highly recommend you stop here anytime you are in Wilmington NC and Carolina Beach would make a great tradition. lots of authentic Irish pub food and drink with some enhanced dishes as well for the non purist there is something for everyone. i stopped here on a business trip from out of state and i’m glad i did!

The food was great. First real time having Shepard's pie and it was great. Only downside is that it was a bit smaller than I expected. Maybe because I had lunch there. But, otherwise my family loved everything. A little pricey though for lunch, but expected at a vacation hot spot area.

Great atmosphere and wonderful servers. Got to meet with the kitchen manager Chris and the general manager Moe. This is fast becoming a local favorites. Got to enjoy the Ruben Egg Tools with the homemade 1000 islands sauce....a must for all visits. Potatoes cannon balls...yes please.. Enjoyed a small sampling of the food and all hand made from scratch..sauces as well means good eating all round. What impressed me was how busy they are even in the slow time but service was still outstanding.

The Celtic Monkey is a true gem in the Wilmington area. The food and beer are first rate, and Darren adds a genuine Irish flavor to the experience. The variety and quality of food are excellent as is the service. Highly recommend.

I ordered takeout and the food was delicious! It was my first time ordering from here, and the person taking my order had great suggestions, and was patient as I asked questions despite having a full bar. I will definitely be going back for more! My order included two burgers and the potato app that comes with gravy. Next time I order I'll get the name of it. UPDATE: The app I ordered was the Irish Cannonballs. Very tasty!

Love! LOVE! Love the Reuben sandwich!!! Darren makes you feel like an old friend! The patrons are friendly and always fun to have a chat with!!! Drinks are great and the staff is attentive and fun! Always an enjoyable time….and DOG FRIENDLY!!!! ❤️

Had the French onion and Irish Mac and cheese with chicken added, was very good as I was in need of some comfort food. Server was attentive and helpful even though things were kinda busy. Was really happy with the wide selection of beers on tap. Will have to come back soon to try the true Irish favorites soon.

My husband and I are full Irish, and decided to visit this restaurant that wasn’t easy to find. The waitress/staff were some of the best folks around. I ordered the steak medium...it came back waaaaay over cooked, and could not eat it. Hubby got a traditional Irish sandwich which was out of this world. The manager took my meal off the bill, and gave us a coupon for a free appetizer next time. They do have outside dining, but didn’t understand why they allowed smoking there. I think we will be back, especially for the beer.

Shepherds Pie was good as was the Rueben. The burger was humongous and fries were tasty. The Mac and Cheese was a very generous portion; however there was barely any cheese on it. I would not recommend that at all. Service and wait staff was good.

Amazing place! Food is delicious, staff goes above and beyond for every customer. Probably going to become our new hangout spot (even though it’s a 30 minute drive from our house). Can’t wait to go back and enjoy it all over again!

This was our second visit and once again the food was outstanding. Although my cabbage was a bit bitter for my taste the corned beef was amazing. The manager was kind enough to take my entree off of our bill. The fish and chips were to die for and the kids loved the pretzels, chicken tenders and fries and my husband wants to drive to the beach every weekend just for the Mac and cheese. He had never tried Irish food and was quite reluctant at first but thankfully he is a fan. Best Irish food I've had by far. We will definitely make this a tradition for every beach vacay!!

The food is excellent but the service each time I’ve been there was way below par. Our table was given away to those that came in behind us and the manager was supposed to come outside and address us but never felt the need apparently. I’ve been here multiple times but the service never improves. It’s a shame because it’s a fantastic place just disappointing that the staff as a whole is not concerned with quality of service. Hope they can get it together.

Erica rocks. She is the best so knowledgeable, Polite experienced and the reason we love the pub . One green jacket two more in the works

Slainte has the best Reuben sandwich on the planet, and excellent bangers and mash. Service was awesome. I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

By far the best place in town! Went there randomly with my dad for no more than 15 min probably, and the head Manager still RAN outside before we left to personally thank us for coming. The next time the staff (won't say names lol) actually remembered my name after only going once before. They've have always made me feel more than welcome.. Now I'm proud to be called a regular

Great service and food! We liked the sampler platter and the fried green eggs :)

We have been wanting to try Salante and finally did yesterday....really like the look and comfort of the place. The food was very good and the staff was very friendly.. Will we certainly be back!! ���

So,so good. The grilled chicken sandwich has such good flavor. The portions are huge. Great wait staff.

The bartender was great! Very friendly. So was the waitress that greated us. Very comfortable place, will def go back. Oh and the steak dinner was awsome!

Been coming here spending money many times but last night was the worst. Girl behind bar ignored myself and a friend several times when we tried ordering. At one point an employee who was restocking the shelves actually poured my beer and took my buddy's order. Won't be coming back here anytime soon. Sad service.

I was very happy with my experience at Slainte .. Food, service, and experience was great . Very friendly atmosphere and welcoming staff.

Amazing Rubin Egg Rolls and burger! Plus anywhere that sales Guinness and Jameson is a 5 star!! Awesome folks working there also!

Always delicious, A friendly and welcoming atmosphere and a fabulous menu, Great place to eat and relax!

I can't say anything bad about this place. Friendly staff, cold beer and awesome food.

I’ve been here many times now for lunch and the lunch specials are awesome, the service is always great. Finally had to leave a review. Thank you Marina for yet another great experience. I’ll be back soon!

It was a very busy nite and the staff was hustling to get everyone served. They did this with a smile. More than one server tended to us to help them keep up. Food was excellent and the beer cold. Music was an extra plus!

This place has awesome food and drinks. They are super nice, friendly and best in the area. Fun times!!

The dinner I had was fine, the service was not. They were not busy and had to get up to get a refill. Once the food came never saw the waitress again.

I really like this place,, its great for every occasion... Great food,,fun atmosphere,, friendly staff.. ���

Great food, great service! Love this place. I particularly love the Reuben eggrolls!!

The service was impressive! The waitress took a few minutes getting to our table after we were seated, so they gave us 2 free appetizers. We we're definitely not expecting that. And the food was absolutely delicious! This was our second visit and we will surely be returning!

Excellent food good service and military friendly. We would definitely go there again.

Have eaten there a few times. The food is good but the service is incredibly slow. Yesterday there were only 2 other tables when we got there and it took 40min or more to get food and the fries were like warm.

My go to place to meet friends for happy hour....love all the girls and always treated well....

Great staff, awesome food. The owner DJ is very nice. It is important to him that your experience is more than satisfactory. He greets all with a smile, and is all about his customer satisfaction.

Had the Reuben Egg Rolls and they were Excellent. We also had the Fish and Chips, Corned Beef and Cabbage and the Shepherds Pie and enjoyed it all. We will be back. We did take out and wish they had an online menu but the person on the phone took the time to go through the items with me.

Thank you for a wonderful Paddy’s Day and supporting the local Irish musicians! Kilbeggan Irish Band had a blast as always. The food, drink, and experience is great!

My husband and I love coming back to this restaurant, not only for their food and great selection of drinks, but for the warm and inviting atmosphere from the people who work there. We love supporting local and family owned businesses in Wilmington. We highly recommend Slainte Irish Pub at Monkey Junction!!!