Rula Bula

I've never been to Ireland, nor do I often frequent Irish pubs, but I happened to visit two last week, one of which was Rula Bula. Wood on the floors, wood on the walls, wood on the tables, wood on the benches... pretty much wood everywhere and I loved it. I assume it's how an authentic Irish pub would feel, except without the presence of loud, sloppy, and intoxicated patrons or the smoky dark atmosphere (however there was a hint of smoke wafting in from the patio, unfortunately).

The server was great, she even affectionately called Cerrin "love," and walked the line perfectly between friendly and effective. With an extensive food, drink and dessert menu Rula Bula had enough choices for my vegetarian friends. And my personal favorite thing about a restaurant, the meals were big enough for us to split with no absurd splitting fee.

Although the side salads were too overflowing for their small plates, I made quite a mess, they were deliciously topped off with homemade dressings and they sparked a conversation about how we all tackle the challenge of eating salads. I spread the dressing and then slice, Cerrin spreads some dressing but leaves some for dipping the big veggies and Laura and Teta just spread and stab.

Laura and I split the homemade macaroni and cheese with thrashers (bacon pieces) which was overflowing with large spiral pasta smothered with a mixture of light and dark chesses. Cerrin and Jocie split the award-winning vegetarian Shepard's Pie and Teta had her own. They enjoyed it, saying its robust spice-filled flavor was surprising, I still like Bev's better.

For some reason we were most excited about the free bread brought with our entrees; two options of a hearty yet soft wheat and a raisin-filled white. Jocie proclaims "I like that you have a raisin option." Breadcitement seems to be a thing with us.

The bathroom was pretty typical, although they did try to satisfy the theme with a built-in fake bar, but nothing special there. The drinks, however, were something special. I took the rare opportunity to have some Strongbow Cider and Cerrin had Hot Apple Cider to soothe her ailing sore throat.

It was cool that we were sitting elevated on the stage, where they're supposed to have fantastic live music performances, but our table setup was a little off kilter. Laura and Teta's chairs were too high for the table and Cerrin and Jocie and my bench was too low, unfortunately there was no Goldilocks, so nothing about the seating was just right.

Sitting at the south end of Mill Ave, Rula Bula is a great fun Tempe eating establishment.

Rula Bula
401 S. Mill Ave.
Tempe AZ, 85281
480-929-9500