At first glance, the House of Reardon does not look like anything special. From the outside, it appears tiny and is definitely not the nicest looking building in the world. Determined not to judge this book by its cover, I decided I would wait to see what my experience was like inside the establishment before I make my final verdict, and I’m glad I did; it exceeded my expectations.
When my photographer, Kevin, and I walked in, there was no one around to seat us and no sign telling us to wait to be seated, so we decided to seat ourselves at a little table off to the side where we could observe our surroundings. The only other people around at the time, besides our friendly waitress, Alyssia, were a few men seated at the bar.
Opened in 1922 and originally an old railroad bar called Reardon’s Restaurant, House of Reardon is the oldest Irish bar in Broome County, and survived the Prohibition thanks to a cellar that runs the whole length of the building. Looking around, it was clear this was an Irish pub. Amid the logos of different beer distributors, shamrocks dot the walls alongside photos of bagpipers and framed family crests, as well as displays of the owner’s love of Notre Dame.
House of Reardon offers a three-course lunch for $10 and a four-course dinner for $20 during Restaurant Week. We went for lunch, and for the first course, you can choose either the soup of the day or a garden salad with your choice of dressing. The next course is a choice between meatball sliders, quesadillas, prime-rib subs, fish sandwiches or turkey club wraps, while the third course is a red velvet cupcake.
When we went the soup of the day was turkey and rice, but Kevin and I both ordered the salads to start. They were nothing special to be honest: a few tiny tomatoes and slices of cucumber buried under a ton of lettuce. For our main courses, Kevin ordered the prime-rib sub, which came au jus — a light gravy made from the juices given off by the meat as it is cooked — and a side of fries, while I ordered the turkey club wrap with a side of fries.
My wrap was quite tasty and they did not skimp at all with the fillings. The best part about it was the bacon, which lent a much-needed bit of salt to the otherwise mild flavors of the wrap. Kevin seemed to enjoy his meal, though he did say the meat was quite basic and needed the au jus to add some flavor. The fries were also nothing special, just your basic fried potatoes with a bit of a crunch and no salt.
The cupcakes, on the other hand, were absolutely delicious. They are made by a local woman named Sue and baked fresh daily before she goes to work. The cakes were moist, vibrant in color and had a delightful frosting — no strong cream cheese flavor and sweeter than the typical red velvet cake frosting. In my opinion, they were by far the best part of the meal.
The restaurant may have been pretty quiet when we first arrived, but it got considerably busier when the clock struck 5 p.m. The staff was very friendly, but were so few in number that they never stopped rushing around the place at top speed.
If you choose to go for dinner, the appetizer choices are pretzel logs, breaded ravioli or chicken cordon bleu balls. The second course options are a soup or a salad, and entrees include steak sandwiches, pizza, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken bruschetta and corn-beef reuben sandwiches. The dessert remains the same for both lunch and dinner — those amazing cupcakes.
All in all, my experience here was definitely a positive one and I would recommend the House of Reardon to anyone looking for a good pub to hang out in and catch up with friends and family, though it is a little out of the way for Binghamton University students who might not have a car.