The Field Bar & Restaurant is a perfect fusion of Irish charm and real world appeal finished perfectly with bespoke traditional tables and chairs giving the feel that you are in an ‘auld Irish farmhouse kitchen’. The menu is simple but tasty, a mixture of locally sourced foods including black angus meats and fresh seafood from a nearby fishing village - with Fish and Chips, Seafood Chowder, and a Lamb Stew to die for.
Food is served from 9am to 9pm both on the ground floor Field Bar and in the upstairs Castle Tavern Medieval Bar and Restaurant which is an entirely separate entity and a throwback to medieval Norman Kilkenny.
The Field Bar started life at 231st and Broadway in The Bronx, New York, 1994, born of the inspiration derived from a viewing of the movie version of John B. Keane’s tragic play “The Field”. This was the first site that John and Sally Anne McDonald plied their trade in the bar and restaurant business. Four bars and 22 years later The Field was bought and christened in the medieval city of Kilkenny and is flourishing. A self descriptive establishment which embraces the best of traditional Irish wood and flagstones and featuring hundreds of pictures from all over the sporting world. A vast array of sports memorabilia including signed Jerseys, Muhammad Ali’s Glove, Pele’s Jersey, a 21ft long hurley signed by legends of the Kilkenny and Irish Sporting fraternity adorns its walls.
The Castle Tavern Medieval Bar and Restaurant is designed to look like the original Castle Tavern Alehouse, which was founded in 1620, making it one of Kilkenny’s oldest bars, with a history to match. The original Castle Tavern Alehouse was home to King James II’s mistress Orlaith Breathneach during his time in Kilkenny. Mysteriously murdered, her ghost roams the floors of this historic building. The Castle Tavern also played host to Ireland’s most famous Highwayman James Freaney, who resided here for 5 years during an incredible career that saw him become Ireland’s ‘Robin Hood’ and the most wanted man in Britain.
While history lives and breathes at The Field, its real heart is its entertainment which, not surprisingly, has a huge emphasis on traditional music starting each day at 3pm and going straight through to close with late bars and live Rock Bands all weekend. Featuring famous names and acts such as Jackie McCracken, Adrian "Tailor" Cashin, Helen Campion, Rob Strong and many more at a venue that’s now synonymous with good music and entertainment, The Field is a constant hub of activity.
If it’s good food and music you want in a great atmosphere, then the Field Bar & Restaurant is the place to visit in Kilkenny.
