Six months after opening, Patsy Hartigan’s Irish Pub is going strong in Downtown Evansville, satisfying the palate of diners who crave traditional pub fare in a sports bar-like atmosphere.
The 2018 closure of Rí Rá after 12 years left a hole in the region’s culinary culture and removed a home base for international soccer fanatics. Patsy Hartigan’s owners Alan “A.C.” Braun, Joshua Pietrowski, and Scott Schymik moved aggressively to fill that void, although it took some time. The trio researched menus in Ireland and well-known U.S. pubs.
Schymik, who owns Sauced in Haynie’s Corner Arts District, and Pietrowski, owner of Doc’s Sports Bar on Stringtown Road, attribute Patsy’s Hartigan’s early success to the food’s Irish authenticity, as well as a commitment to prepare everything fresh.
“Everything we serve is done here, start to finish,” Schymik says.
The Patsy Hartigan’s kitchen dishes out a bounty of fish and chips, Reuben sandwiches, and the Scotch egg. As fall and winter arrived, diners have warmed up with steaming bowls of Guinness stew and seafood chowder.
The Main Street pub often is busy, but it’s quite a hooley during major soccer matches and University of Notre Dame football games.
“We’re exceeding our initial projections,” Pietrowski says. “I like to play it conservatively, but Evansville has responded really well … We’re doing our best to continue to deliver not only good quality, but consistency with what we serve.”
That commitment to quality and consistency is exemplified in the chips, which Patsy Hartigan’s churns more of than anything else.
“We’re getting the perfect potatoes to do a double fry on our chips,” Schymik says. “That really sets us apart from other French fries in Evansville, or chips, as we call ‘em here.”
Diners with a hankering for those chips can share them around the table as an appetizer loaded with curry sauce, honey whiskey barbecue, and malt vinegar aioli. Chips marry up well with just about any entrée, including the fish cutlets and the Reuben sandwiches.
When date night couples come to Patsy Hartigan’s asking what to order, Pietrowski says he advises them to share Reuben and fish plates, and “they’re happy every time.”
A fish and chips plate comes with two fat, flaky, deep-fried cutlets — George Killian’s smooth, malty Irish Red beer is used in the batter. Want a third piece? You can get one for an extra $5.
The owners take pride in their Reuben and how it’s prepared, right down to the black Russian bread, house-made dressing, and what Schymik calls “true corned beef,” which is “boiled and seared for about six hours with different kinds of spices.”
Schymik says the turkey version is tasty, too, and if you’d like to pass on the chips (or if you’re hungry enough for a second side), he recommends the cole-slaw. Like everything else at Patsy Hartigan’s, it’s made fresh.
The Scotch egg works as a filling appetizer, with a soft egg embedded in seasoned sausage and panko breading. A full Irish breakfast of two fried eggs, Rasher bacon, an Irish banger, grilled tomato, sauteed mushrooms, Heinz beans, hash browns, and white and black pudding is served all day. Other entrée choices include Irish favorites such as shepherd’s pie and corned beef and cabbage, plus bangers and mash, a grilled ribeye, and a walleye filet.
Now, about those soups. The Guinness stew is a savory mix of seared beef roast, a trinity of celery, onion, and carrot, with spices and potatoes.
“The nice thing about that soup is the stock we use is basically the stock we cook the corned beef in,” Schymik says. “So, while we are cooking that corned beef, it’s loaded with flavor in that juice. That’s what we’ll use to make the base for the Guinness stew, and it turns out wonderfully.”
Patsy Hartigan’s seafood chowder comes with cod and smoked salmon, and sometimes walleye as well.
“It’s a potato, cream-based soup with carrots, onions, celery, and corn kernels,” Schymik says, “with a little thyme and a little bit of bourbon as well. Just add a bit of hot sauce on it right when you get it on the plate, and it’s so warming.”
In 2025, Patsy Hartigan’s plans to add a few new wrinkles to its well-oiled menu. The ownership trio is eying the addition of a monthly special, celebrating a dish in a different European country. A Hungarian goulash is on tap for January — “It’ll be perfect for winter,” Pietrowski says.
The bar at Patsy Hartigan’s pours plenty of Guinness, of course, as well as Irish coffee, which is a cocktail of coffee, Irish whiskey, maple syrup, and whipped cream. Schymik, Pietrowski, and Braun are so committed to serving the best beer that they purchased Myriad Brewing Company’s former space in Downtown’s McCurdy Building after Myriad consolidated operations at its Newburgh, Indiana, location. With the new brewing equipment, the Patsy Hartigan’s trio plans to introduce European-style ales and lagers to their menu.
Owners say they continue to be pleased with Patsy Hartigan’s launch and how Evansville area residents have responded, with Pietrowski citing the example of Randy Hobson — owner of Pangea Kitchen and the recently opened South American-influenced Sazón y Fuego in Newburgh, Indiana — who has sought to introduce local diners to worldly cultures through food and drink.
“Following his lead, we wanted to make people feel like they were in Ireland when they walked in here, which I guess is what every Irish pub owner is going to tell you,” Pietrowski says. “We really wanted you to feel like you parked out front and walked into Limerick for two hours … When we’re sitting here for pints and someone looks at me and says, ‘I feel like I’m in Ireland right now,’ that just blesses my heart. That was the main goal. And I feel like I cautiously can say we’re achieving that.”
