A Slice of Ireland

Although the official St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, Rocklanders are not quite ready to let up on the Irish Pride. On March 23rd, the Rockland County St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place for the 61st time and restaurants are gearing up to fill paradegoers bellies. With so much Irish and Irish-adjacent blood coursing through the veins of New York’s smallest county, there are a plethora of options to choose from to keep the festivities going. One Irish restaurant rivals the rest in its authenticity and hospitality.

Hearth and Tap, owned by husband and wife Hibernians Fintan Seeley and Kelly Robinson, might as well be a portal to Ireland itself. Every detail has been meticulously sourced, and from the moment you interact with the restaurant you are interacting with Ireland. The doors are custom crafted in Ireland in cast iron, the shelves are lined with apothecary bottles from the first 24 hour pharmacy in Ireland, and underneath your feet is Irish mahogany and 280 year old stone. These pieces barely scrape the surface of the amount of stories this veritable library of Irish history holds. Seeley acknowledges this history, but emphasizes “I don’t want it to be a museum, I want it to have character… If people want to know about it, they ask me about it.”

Behind the bar, there are over 150 Irish whiskeys, another 60 American whiskeys, 24 beers on draft, premium tequilas, scotch, 20 types of gin – if you’re thirsty for it, they’ve got it. The condiments that accompany the meals are imported from Ireland, as well as bottled water and Cadbury chocolate milk for the kids. Robinson offers the classics on the menu, but enjoys placing an Irish twist on more contemporary dishes. For Robinson, however, the secret ingredient to everything is “…true hospitality. It’s about how you make people feel when they’re here. It’s not just about the meal you put in front of them.” Her focus is on the experience and extending that famous Irish hospitality to every guest who steps foot into her home-away-from-home. “I truly love what I do. I love showing people a good time,” said Robinson, a bright smile lighting up her face.

Seeley shared that when he moved to the states and began bartending, he was struck by how many of the bars and restaurants exemplified this Irish hospitality but failed in reflecting Irish authenticity in the structure of the space. Pubs have stood as a testament to connection and a heart of rural areas for hundreds of years in Ireland, and this is reflected by the cozy aspects of items dating back generations and quality woodwork. Because of the youth of America and our tendency to prioritize speed over long-lasting, our building’s architecture often does not reflect this aged characterization. This is not an issue in Hearth and Tap. Every piece has been sourced for its character, with most everything being brought by Seeley over from Ireland in three 45 foot containers. Stories reach out from every corner, and the thick walls feel as though they have been there for generations and will continue to be there many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations to come.

One of the highlights of the architecture of Hearth and Tap that exemplifies the authenticity to Ireland is the ceiling levels. If you allow your eyes to wander upwards, you will notice that no one room’s ceiling is the same height as the next. Historically, as pubs became more financially profitable they would expand to accommodate more people. These expansions were not so concerned with matching the first room exactly, which gives the rooms their varying heights. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it – and suddenly the cozy atmosphere makes total sense. It’s the almost imperceptible details that add up to the whole in Hearth and Tap. Even the music playing gently through the speakers is authentically Irish music, selected by Seeley himself.

The outdoor seating area, which during the colder months is contained in little “igloos”, promises to be a beautiful outdoor eating experience as the weather warms up. Seeley described how when driving through Ireland there are ruins of cottages from the Great Hunger. Encasing the outdoor area are neatly stacked stone walls that resemble those ruins. The grand fireplace in the corner even boasts half formed cottage rafters.

Seeley and Robinson’s dedication doesn’t start and end with what you can see – several of their staff have been with them for over 20 years. The secret to retaining staff? “They see us working,” says Robinson. The two find themselves at the restaurant nearly non-stop, working as bussers, drivers and dish washers. If there’s a job to be done, they step in and do it, and this same mentality shines through in their staff. Every interaction with staff is undeniably colored by Seeley and Robinson’s training and dedication to encouraging hard work and Irish hospitality.

Of course, the time came where we had to discuss corned beef and cabbage. Seeley and Robinson both cheekily shared that the now quintessential meal of corned beef and cabbage is not a true Irish original. When the Irish first began coming over to America, they couldn’t access the kind of bacon typically used for an Irish dinner of bacon, cabbage and potatoes. Seeley stated that “They started experimenting with the cheapest cut of beef, which is essentially brisket – or corned beef. That’s how it happened. Happened in this country – I never had it until I came here.” “Corned beef in Ireland is like Spam,” laughed Robinson. The two now implement corned beef into a variety of dishes to celebrate the Irish American invention, including corned beef egg rolls and corned beef mac and cheese.

Seeley and Robinson both view pubs as an integral part of their culture and the history of their people. Seeley mentioned how with many kids and small homes, there often wasn’t room to entertain guests. The church was a structured, restricted place often beholden to the British aristocracy, so the pub became a “third space” for many people. “Social life is centered around the pub, and not just social [affairs] but community affairs, meetings, revolutions, everything was centered around…their home away from home,” said Seeley. “It’s always the glue, the neutral area.”

In a secluded section of the restaurant lies a discreet cigar bar. Hearth and Tap remains one of only seven restaurants in New Jersey where you can smoke and drink. If this fact puts a shiver down your smoke-free spine, not to worry – the restaurant is well equipped with air purifiers and architectural ingenuity to keep the smoking section behind (literal) closed doors. Next to the cigar bar, behind a futuristic facial recognition scanner, lies an escape for the true cigar connoisseur. This members only cigar bar provides a private humidor, private bar area, and the tranquility of a reserved space. The deep discount on checks and featured nights like steak night, whiskey night, and wine night certainly doesn’t hurt either.

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Irish heritage past the 23rd, every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Hearth and Tap hosts live Irish music. 22 musicians were present at one of the most recent nights, and if you’re lucky you might even catch one of the Seeley-Robinson kids performing in the traditional Irish session.

Hearth and Tap may be rooted in tradition and ancestry, but they have their sights set on the future. Seeley and Robinson are overflowing with ideas, and with a recent land purchase in the back the coming months are sure to be full of excitement and events. Learn more about what’s to come at hearthandtap.com