The Best Irish Bars in South Jersey: Westy’s

March is of course the time for St. Patrick’s Day Parades, corned beef and cabbage, the wearing of the green, and, of course, fun times with good Irish food and drink at an authentic Irish Pub!

I visited all of the bars you’ll see in our top five and did my best to sample their food and drink…to verify their authenticity of course. Anything for my job.

Each of these bars offers plenty of Irish beverages and a varying amount of real Irish food. It’s not unusual to find other types of food of some of their menu’s as well. It was almost necessary to disqualify one bar for listing an “Italian Hoagie” next to the Shepperd’s Pie and beef stew on it’s menu. Such indiscretions were eventually overlooked because of the overall Irish look and feel of the pub.

All of this week’s top five picks have big plans for March 17th, with some planning month-long celebrations of all things Irish. I came away with the impression that you could have a fine time celebrating St Patty in any of the bars you’ll read about here.

I hope you take the time to try a least a couple of these fine Irish establishments as part of your St Patrick’s Day celebration, and, as the Irish say, “May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”

The first stop on our quest to find the best Irish bar in South Jersey is North Wildwood.

Westy's Irish Pub:  101 E. Walnut Ave. in North Wildwood (609) 522-4991

Westy's, in the heart of North Wildwood's entertainment district, overlooks the Hereford Inlet. When I visited a couple of years back, they were adding substantial footage to their outside deck. My prediction is was that deck would be the place the hang out in the summer!Turns out, I was right.

But there's plenty of Westy's to love already! The large downstairs bar is complimented with the beautiful authentic Irish tap room feeling in the second floor bar. The menu is good, there's live music inside (and outside too in the summertime), killer view...what's not to like?