Fionn MacCool's - Lloydminster

Our latest experience with Fionn MacCool's was a mixed bag. My wife and I went with another couple. The service was friendly, but lacking. It wasn't busy when we went (Wednesday, 6pm).To start off, I ordered a soft drink. When it arrived, I thought it tasted weird, like it was lacking fizz. I called the barman over, and he went to check on it. Several minutes later he returned and said there was a problem with the carbonation. He checked a different tap, and although the drink came out looking fizzy, it tasted flat. He disappeared again, then re-emerged another several minutes later to say it was now fixed, but didn't offer to get me a fresh glass. I assumed he was getting me another glass, as my flat drink clearly tasted awful. Our waitress finally returned and took our order for an appetizer of medium-heat wings and some beer bread. Still no fresh glass of soda. The wings were brought to us by a different member of staff. The wings were slightly spicy (hot, but not too hot) and I was starting to really want a drink. Our waitress eventually reappeared and I asked her for a fresh drink, which she obliged. It took a while for her to come and take our mains orders, but we were fine chatting away and letting the appetizers settle. The wings were great, not very big or meaty, but tasted good and were crispy. The beer bread was interesting; we hadn't had it before. It had a slight sweetness to it, and came with a pot of liquid cheese to dip it in. I probably wouldn't order it again.Eventually our main order was taken; two of us ordered fairly plain burgers, one of us ordered fish tacos, and my wife ordered a southern fish fry.The food took quite a while, but, again, at least it gave us time to socialize with one-another. My burger order was perfect, except there was a pickle on the plate when I'd asked for no pickle (I hate the pickle juice touching my food), but my wife quickly rescued me and swiped it from my plate. My friend's burger wasn't as plain as she had expected - there was mayo on the bun - but she suffered through it (lol) and didn't bother the waitress for a new bun. We are both very picky eaters, so are used to things not being perfect. Sometimes it's the kitchen's fault and not the wait staff's fault.Our friend's fish tacos were dripping in watery liquid that was apparently from the coleslaw. When he tilted the taco, the liquid poured out as if from a tap! My wife's southern fried fish had absolutely no taste, just the taste of the spicy sauce that comes with it, that she had on the side. I have had fish & chips at Fionn MacCool's once before, shortly after they opened, and it tasted of absolute nothing then, as well. We are thinking the fish isn't the best option when dining here.Throughout our meal it was like pulling teeth to get refills. My friend placed her empty glass on the edge of the table and it was there for most of our main. It got refilled just before we were ready to look at the dessert menu. Don't dine here if you have a tendency to get thirsty!My wife ordered a coffee while we perused the dessert menu. Our waitress disappeared for the umpteenth time, eventually returning - sans coffee - to ask us if we wanted dessert. We'd all decided against it - the offering wasn't great, so we decided to go elsewhere for a sweet post-meal fix. My wife never did get her coffee.Our waitress brought us our bills, we paid up, and left. No mints with the bills, which was a shame - mints really help relieve that feeling of 'fullness'. I couldn't remember if we got mints last time we came here, or if Fionn MacCool's just don't do mints.All in all, the food was okay. I absolutely loved my burger - their bacon is the thickest I've seen in Lloyd! But my friends weren't overly keen on their meals. The fish tacos were watery (literally), the southern fried fish had no taste, and my friend said she found her burger to be too dry. Nobody was keen to come back here. If I came back I would order a burger again, but I won't go out of my way to return to Fionn MacCool's.The wait staff were friendly, but we found our waitress to be inattentive in keeping up with refills. The food was slow to come out, and we had to wait a while just to place our order. I didn't feel like I should have to chase the staff down to get a fresh drink when they were aware that the first drink they brought me had no fizz. The service was 'okay' but not great. I feel bad giving a negative review, but I want to be honest and let them know where improvements can be made. My wife never did get her coffee (but thankfully we weren't charged for one).

The beer they had on special was an organic lager and was delicious! Ordered the burger and there was so much stuff on it, it was impossible to eat by hand. Tasted average. They also brought out the mains while we were still eating our appetizers. That is so annoying. They should play Irish music instead of radio hits or whatever was playing. Otherwise kind of a cool little place.

We've been there twice now and both times I have been very disappointed. Both times I ordered the steak and mushroom pie, the first time I didn't end up with any steak in it and the dough inside the pie was raw, the second time it was dough was raw again but I did get steak in it. The service is pretty good though.

Our family decided to try the restaurant for Father's Day for the first time. The atmosphere is good, the waitresses friendly, and not busy at all. It did take awhile for our food to come, and half of it was cold. We had French onion soup that must have been hot at some point to melt all the cheese, but was barely warm when served. The chicken pie was dry and barely warm as well. To top it off, the chicken and waffles came 10 minutes after the rest of the meal with hot chicken and cold waffles. The food overall had good flavour, but the kitchen needs to deal with some timing issues and keeping the food warm. We may come back at some point, but at the price point there is much better places with consistently good food in town.

Great service, super friendly! Portions are large and our meals were excellent!! 5 out of 5 for sure!