How to eat at Coleman's

Right when we moved to Syracuse, several people told us not to eat at Coleman's. Have a drink there, but don't eat anything, the food is awful, they said. We didn't listen, and had lunch there. It was a mixed bag - the fish and chips was great, my husband's chicken was dry as the Mohave desert and nearly burnt. The Irish Soda Bread was stale. We should probably have sent them back but my husband hates to make a fuss. I'm not much of a fusser either, even when it's warranted. The drinks were good though, and reasonably priced. I could see why people told us not to eat there though, and we didn't for a long time.

The second time we went back was when we were house hunting. I decided to get my tried and true fish and chips. They were very overcooked! at the edges the fish had the texture of dry chicken, very chewy. The coating managed to be dry and greasy at the same time. My husband got a shephard's pie and it was alright. But the drinks were still good.

Then we moved to Tipp Hill, and live only two blocks away from Coleman's. So it's tempting to go there for a few drinks. Occasionally the drinks turn to dinner. And surprisingly, we have had a few good dinners there. The first time, my husband ordered the Sea Bass special, though I told him it was probably going to be horrible. Actually it was exquisite and I wished I had ordered it. I got a steak and it was good, but not as good as the sea bass. Husband refused to trade.

We went the other night and had a steak from the specials menu, it was very good. My husband got the fried haddock special, and it was also very good. There I go again, very good. I should find some better adjectives or descriptions. The steak was tender and had a sort of garlic/herb butter on top that was very tasty. The colecannon potatoes I got as a side dish have cabbage in them and probably a lot of butter and cream because they were extra delicous and went very well with the steak.

The fried haddock was well prepared, moist and tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside without being too greasy. My husband enjoyed it.

So, I think that it is possible to have good food at Coleman's. But I only eat there during mealtimes, like right at lunch or for an early dinner. And at dinner, we have had a lot of luck ordering off the specials menu. I think these things are what the chef really wants to make and it shows.

Our bad experiences were both eating there in the mid-afternoon, not at a meal hour and I think they must have had someone inexperienced in the kitchen. So if you have to eat there at an off time, try getting so drunk that you can't taste how overcooked everything is, or order the Guiness Stew which I've heard is very good and probably hard to screw up.
Photographs:

The first one is the front of the building. It's a nice old building, very well kept up inside and out. Inside has lots of photos on the walls, a tin ceiling, and lots of interesting stuff and nick nacks. But you'll have to take my word for it as I didn't take any pictures of the inside decor.

The second photo is my husband's appetizer of Chicken Fingers. I didn't write about them in the main part of the review. He liked them. I'm not a big fan of chicken fingers, and these had black pepper in the batter which I don't like. I did eat most of the fries though. They are round fries, and sometimes a little thick. I like thinner fries. These were fine though.

Third photo is our table, with fresh flowers. Bonus points for fresh flowers!

Fourth photo is the tiny door at the entrance for leprechauns, and the fifth photo shows the tiny phone booth for leprechauns. I think they might be distracting the cooks during the off hours and burning the food.

Postcript - Coleman's gets very crowded. If you are eating dinner or seeing a band get there early.