The Castle: College Park’s Irish Pub Takes the Crown
The Castle Irish Pub and Restaurant takes No. 1 in our Irish Pubs rankings with a Net Score of 93.7 — why it won, and what to get when you go.
3 minute read
The Castle Irish Pub and Restaurant, at 2625 Edgewater Drive in College Park, takes No. 1 in Orlando Citizen’s Irish Pubs rankings with a Net Score of 93.7 — the top mark in a field of 19 metro Irish pubs that cleared our 25-review evidence bar.
The case rests on agreement. The Castle blends to 4.80 stars across 758 public reviews, and the two sources we could retrieve independently land in the same place: 4.8 on Google (613 reviews, via Wanderlog’s star distribution) and 4.8 on OpenTable (145 verified-diner reviews). Runner-up Paddywagon Irish Pub in Dr. Phillips (Net Score 92.8) actually posts a higher raw Google average — a perfect 5.0 — but on just 119 reviews; our shrinkage adjustment rewards the Castle’s deeper, equally rated record. Raglan Road, the category’s volume giant with more than 28,000 reviews, finishes third at 90.8.
What reviewers praise is the kitchen. The shepherd’s pie is the signature: deconstructed rather than crusted over, with finely chopped meat, smooth creamy potato and a crispy cheddar top — one visitor, in town for an O-Town hurling tournament, called it the best shepherd’s pie they have had at an Irish pub. The Reuben draws its own following for thick-cut corned beef and pickled cabbage, the fish and chips are repeatedly described as fresh and fried perfectly without greasiness, and a newer chicken sandwich — sweet honey against crunchy chicken on a brioche roll — gets singled out as a happy surprise on an Irish menu.
The room backs the food up. The Castle opened in 2023 in the former RusTeak space on Edgewater Drive, all dark wood and cozy nooks, with live music, trivia nights and a patio pouring Kilkenny Nitro. It supports Orlando’s hurling and Gaelic sports community — every meal there, as one reviewer put it, supports the local clubs — and its OpenTable listing records that it was named Critic’s Choice for Best Irish in the 2026 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards.
It is not flawless. The late-night kitchen draws the sharpest complaints: one reviewer waited about 35 minutes for chicken tenders that arrived at $16.99 with a $1 charge for extra sauce. The room gets loud when soccer is on, parking can be limited at peak times, and one OpenTable diner had to hunt for the meat in a shepherd’s pie — the exception that proves how consistent the dish usually is.
None of that dents the overall picture: two independent review sources, hundreds of reviews deep, both at 4.8. If you go, go for the shepherd’s pie and the Reuben, time it around a match or a music night, and expect a College Park crowd that treats the place as its own. The full ranking, with scores for all ten pubs, is in The 10 Best Irish Pubs in Orlando.
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