“After a hard day working the market”, Financial District types mingle at this “relaxed” taproom with a “gentlemen’s club feel” (pretty woodwork” and 116-year-old bar “imported from Ireland”); the staffers’ Celtic accents supply some authenticity, and the pub grub’s “decent” too.
– ZAGAT SURVEY 2009
The Full Shilling feels like just about the closest thing New York City has to a real Irish pub. It’s nearly as snug as a bunker: dim, cheery, with extraordinarily friendly bartenders, and the speakers play tunes your dad knows all the words to. The interior is wood, glass, and bronze, and quite homey. The intimate little bar opens up in back to a seated area that serves the ubiquitous pub fare—burgers, sandwiches, bangers and mash, fish and chips, etc. There’s a decent amount of beer on tap, and two flatscreens glow above the bar. Seeing as it’s smack-dab in the middle of the financial district, expect lots of suits.
– Ben Lebeaux, New York Magazine, Jan 7
My brother Craig (aka Lil NYC Food Guy) appreciates a great cheeseburger just as much as I do. In fact, the majority of the best burgers I’ve eaten in my life were alongside him (Peter Luger, the original Donovan’s of Bayside, Rowdy Hall in East Hampton, Burger Joint, and Minetta Tavern to name a few). So when he told me there was a burger near his office in the Financial District that reminded him of the original Donovan’s of Bayside, incredible fried onions and all, I made sure to head downtown as soon as possible. This is a burger I could probably eat a few times a week. Similar to NYC’s most famous pub burger JG Melon, the Full Shilling burger is compact enough to guiltlessly throw back with a few bites. The perfectly cooked patty is just big enough to satisfy and the lightly toasted, simple white bun allows for maximum squishing, an important characteristic when you load up the burger with American cheese, crispy bacon, and onions that are more sautéed than fried. It didn’t put me back in the ripped booth at the old Donovan’s of Bayside, but it definitely delivered the simple satisfaction I hoped for.
– NYC Food Guy, Feb 26
