Coffee. Whiskey. Cream. Sugar. The ingredients are simple enough for the drink known the world over as Irish coffee.

Yet, like snowflakes, it seems that no two places serve the hot and sweet concoction exactly the same. That’s why we here at IrishCentral have compiled a list of the ten best places to grab an Irish coffee in the United States.

First a little Irish coffee history for you.

The first Irish coffee was served in Ireland in the 1940s at what is known today as Shannon Airport by the head chef Joseph Sheridan. Apparently Sheridan added whiskey to coffee to warm up passengers as they got off their Pan Am Flying Boat. When asked the name of this peculiar drink he replied “Irish coffee”.

The travel writer at the time for the San Fransisco chronicle, Stanton Delaplane, brought the recipe back to the states and namely to the Buena Vista Café in San Fransisco where the first Irish coffee was served on November 10th 1952.

To perfect the drink, Buena Vista bar owners worked with the town mayor to perfect the art of floating the cream on top of the coffee. They discovered that cream aged for more than 48 hours would work best.

The Irish coffee as we know it today was born.

Here are the best spots in the United States to grab an Irish coffee:


1.    Buena Vista
2765 Hyde St (@ Beach)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-474-5044
Email: [email protected]
thebuenavista.com

2.    Rochambo Coffee and Tea House

1317 East Brady Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202-1612
(414) 291-0095
rochambo.com

3.    The Dubliner Irish Pub
Number 4 "F" Street,
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 737-3773
http://www.dublinerdc.com

4.    Nearys Pub

358 E. 57th Street, New York, NY
(212) 751-1434
Email: [email protected]
www.nearys.com

5.    Celtic Crossings

751 North Clark St.
Chicago, IL, 60451
 312 337 1005
celticcrossingschicago.com

6.    T.S. McHugh's Irish Pub
21 Mercer St.
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 282-1910
tsmchughs.com

7.    Black Rose
160 State St
(between India St & Chatham Row)
Boston, MA 02109
(617) 742-2286

8.    McGurk's Irish Pub
1200 Russell Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 6310
314-776-8309
mcgurks.com

9.    McGuire's Irish Pub

 600 E. Gregory St.
Pensacola, FL 32501-9971
(850) 433-6789
mcguiresirishpub.com

10.    Rula Bula Irish Pub

401 S. Mill Ave.
Tempe, AZ
480-929-9500
rulabula.com

Originally published in 2011.