Local Spotlight: Mahoney’s Texish Bar & Restaurant With GM Jade Marie Garcia and Chef Bryan McSwain

By Nick Rama, Link Local Food Ambassador

Mahoney’s Texish Bar & Restaurant- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

Mahoney’s Texish Bar and Restaurant is now open at The Woodlands Waterway, touted as “Texish! a one of a kind Texas Irish fusion bar & Restaurant”. Once you walk into Mahoney’s beautiful and large space, you’ll notice the right side of the restaurant has a beer bar and Irish decor and the left side is the Texas section of the bar/restaurant and boasts another giant bar. In between the two sections is a music stage, which has live music every single night, 7 days a week.

Mahoney’s Texish Restaurant and Bar is the concept of three best friends, Kelly Mahoney, Shaun McConnell, and Patrick Perugini. Wanting to showcase their love of Irish Bars and the food they have experienced together, they decided to put it all under one roof with a Texish twist. Football and sports are big with the three, so Mahoney’s is also a perfect place to catch the big games, 12 Tv’s throughout and a nice patio to boot.

Mahoney’s Texish Bar & RestaurantMahoney’s Texish Bar & Restaurant- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

Mahoney’s Happy Hour-

Mahoney’s brings you one of the best Happy Hours around every Mon – Friday from 2pm – 6pm with $4 drafts & wells and some of their best appetizers for $5 each, including Queso, Jalapeno Crisps, Shepherd’s Pie Dumplings, Fried Cheese, Wings (boneless, drums or flats) and one of their original dishes, Proscuitto Peach and Basil – (Thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma wrapped around fresh Texas peaches, basil, and Extra Virgin Olive oil. Served cold). Plus $6 House Wines and $6 Specialty cocktails.

Everyone knows about Taco Tuesday, but what about “Texish Tuesdays” where Mahoney’s brings you Steak Tenderloin Tacos for $3 each and All Texas and Irish Spirits for $5. Hump day blues? Try the “Wrap and Whine Wednesdays” with 1/2 price wine! Chicken Bacon Wrap or Chicken Caesar Wrap for $8. If you’re feeling nostalgic Throwback Thursdays has you covered with cocktails and shots from back in the day… Kamikazes, B-52 & Sex on the Beach for $4 and then stay for the T-Bone Loaded Mashed Potatoes & Broccolini special for $15.

General Manager- Jade Marie Garcia- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

Mahoney’s didn’t forget about your weekend with their Fish & Fire Friday! $10 Fish N Chips $5 Fireball, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fire N Ice shots Saturday & Sunday $3 Mimosas (Classic, Grapefruit, Pineapple, Cranberry) and $5 Bloody Mary’s!

The food here is worth coming for, so don’t fooled because the word “bar” is in their name. The menu has something for everyone, and they are cooking from scratch in the kitchen. We decided to highlight some of the amazing dishes that Chef Bryan McSwain and team has introduced so far:

Appetizer Standouts:

Mahoney’s Corn Beef and Bacon Sliders –

Three slow-cooked corned beef sliders topped with crispy bacon, green cabbage, and a Texas Quail egg. Served on warm slider buns. Great for sharing!

Mahoney’s Corn Beef and Bacon Sliders & Bar- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

Shepherd’s Pie Dumplings –

Homemade dumplings stuffed with pork marinated in traditional Irish seasonings served on top of creamy mashed potatoes and a green pea puree.

Shepard’s Pie Dumplings and Spicy Jalapeno Crisp- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

Spicy Jalapeno Crisps –

Wontons stuffed with fresh lump crab meat, cream cheese, bacon jam, and fresh jalapeños.

Flapjacks and Chicken –

Spicy fried chicken tenders served with buttermilk pancakes and a side of either blueberry compote, habanero strawberry jam or pure maple syrup. This is how we eat in the South!

The entrees are just as original:

Bangers and Mash –

Spicy jalapeño sausage with sautéed onions in a savory duck reduction. Served with Texas-style buttermilk mashed potatoes.

Bangers and Mash- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

Atlantic Salmon –

Char-grilled Salmon in a white wine butter sauce and Achiote seasoning. Served with cilantro rice and asparagus. 8 ounces.

Texas Quail –

Grilled Quail with a sweet glaze, served with oven-baked squash casserole and Texas ranch-style beans.

Chef Bryan McSwain has even put a spin on traditional bar food and burgers that you can make custom, even the grilled cheese is customizable.

Executive Chef Bryan McSwain and Team- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

The McSwain Burger-

A special blend of beef from Schweid & Sons topped with crispy bacon, Havarti cheese, a Texas fried egg, fresh jalapeños, lettuce and honey mustard.

The McSwain Burger- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

The Brazen Head Burger –

The original burger. Cooked to perfection. Cheese, lettuce, tomato, and red onion on a toasted bun. Add bacon $2, Texas egg $1, Avocado $1, Fresh jalapeño $1

The Perfect Grilled Cheese –

Provolone, Havarti and Swiss are melted to perfection on Texas toast with the perfect crust. Served with tomato dipping sauce. Add bacon for $2, Texas egg for $1, Fresh jalapeños, or Fresh tomato for $1 each.

Soup and Salad highlights:

Chef’s Great, Great Grandma’s Chicken and Dumplings –

This soup will bring you back to your childhood! Homemade dumplings swim in a hot, rich broth with shredded chicken and seasoned with fresh cracked black pepper.

Texas Chili-

A 3-bean mix of black, red kidney and cannellini paired with our special blend of beef from Schweid & Sons with rustic Texas seasonings. Topped with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onions, and fresh diced jalapeños.

Photo Credit: Nick Rama

The Brit –

Smoked duck atop organic Arugula tossed in a sweet vinaigrette dressing, with feta cheese and pomegranate seeds.

The Irish Flag –

A Mesculin mix of greens with cheddar cheese, red onion, shredded carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Served with your choice of dressing. Add Chicken for $4, Salmon for $7

Desserts:

Blueberry Streusel –

Delicious coffee cake topped with hand-picked blueberries and drizzled with a sweet cream glaze.

Blueberry Streusel and Texas Sunset- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

Ireland’s Soda Bread Pudding –

Our homemade, original soda bread turned into an Irish traditional baked pudding dessert. You gotta try this!

Link Local had a sit down with General Manager Jade Marie Garcia and Chef Bryan McSwain:

(Chef Bryan) What was the inspiration to infuse Irish and Texas cuisine?

We have Goose’s Acre and Baker’s Street within an arms throw of us and we needed to separate ourselves on the culinary level from the two of them. With our Motto, being “We are Texish”, my only thought was why wouldn’t the food be “Texish” and put that on a plate. My only real guideline was to make sure we never went down the BBQ road.

(Jade) What distinguishes your Happy Hour from the rest around, town?

We didn’t leave anything out and we included all of our best-selling stuff! Most places offer select items and usually choose the items that are slow-moving or mediocre. We put all of our top-selling, BEST items on our happy hour menu to offer our guests the top of the line items vs the alternative.

(Jade) What made you decide to have two different themed sections in one space?

We really wanted to dial in on the “Texish” theme and offer both Texas and Irish fun décor where our guests can enjoy an Irish ambiance but are still reminded that we are in Texas.

Photo Credit: Nick Rama

(Chef Bryan) How much of your food do you source locally?

A good bit of our produce is sourced from Texas farms as well as our Beef. We tried to make the idea of staying local as prevalent as possible while keeping our price point to the guest at a reasonable level.

(Jade) What can you tell us about the selections of whiskeys that you serve?

We have all the basics of course, but also carry 5 Texas and 9 Irish Whiskeys. We are constantly trying new ones to add to our collection and put the very best in front of our guests.

Mahoney’s Bar- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

(Jade) How many Texas beers do you have on tap and bottles/cans?

We currently are serving 21 Texas beers! We keep a good relationship with all of our local Houston area reps and change out our beers according to the seasons as well as a limited release.

We like to ask the locals what they are eating, what are your top-selling menu items:

 (Chef Bryan) Appetizers: Jalapeno Crisps & Shepherd’s Pie Dumplings

Entrée’s: Fish & Chips, The McSwain & Cottage Pie

Desserts: Peach Crisps & Blueberry Streusel

Fish & Chips- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

(Jade) Beer: Michelob Ultra & Shiner

Wine: Josh Chardonnay & Sterling Cabernet

Cocktails: Bluebonnet Mojito is easily our number one seller with over 1700 sold in just a few short months that we have been open. It is made with 2 oz of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, fresh mint, blueberries & a blueberry compote that is made fresh daily by chef & his staff. So refreshing!

Ma-horney’s Rita- We came up with a comical name for our margarita based upon our location name and the tequila it is made with. 2oz of Sauza Hornitos, sweet and sour made with fresh-squeezed lemon and lime juices topped with grand mariner! The best part is every time it is ordered, our staff yells “MAHORNEYS!”. Our entire cocktail list was created in house by our bartenders! They spent 3 days before we opened, mixing, testing and of course tasting! They are all very proud of these cocktails and they sell so well because of their hard work and dedication to them!

Specialty Drinks- Photo Credit: Nick Rama

What would be your personal perfect meal here at Mahoney’s, from start to finish:

(Chef Bryan): Harp for a drink. A cup of Chicken & Dumplings to start. Followed by Chicken & Pancakes (My favorite). Then move onto a Filet MR. Ending with a Blueberry Streusel.

(Jade): Draft of Eureka Heights Buckle Bunny paired with a shot of Jameson IPA Caskmates. Jalapeno Crisps as an appetizer and The Cullen Ranch Roasted Chicken as my meal all finished off with a blueberry streusel.

(Chef Bryan) Any signature homemade desserts on the menu?

Irish Apple Cake

(Jade) What made you decide to have live music every night and what type of entertainers do you have?

Aside from one of our owners being a partner at Irish Kevin’s in Key West, we wanted to bring something different to the waterway! Although some of our neighbors offer live music, they don’t offer it the way we do, state of the art sound, live feed, DAILY entertainers and even a dance area for those who want to bust a move! Our entertainers are versatile, friendly fun and will attempt almost any song you request.

Photo Credit: Nick Rama

(Chef Bryan) How often does your menu change? 

Quarterly will be our starting point as produce and season changes. We have our second coming out late August and will push the next one for some time in Q4 of this year.

5 words to describe Mahoney’s Texish Bar and Restaurant?

(Chef Bryan) Unique. Passionate. Local.

(Jade) Entertaining. Family.