As part of our Snack Shop series, Annie Arriaga investigates New York City’s latest and greatest viral snack shops to find out whether the hype is real, whether the snacks are good, whether the spots are underrated, and whether they’re overrated or not. Check to see if it has been fully evaluated.
Guinness and Paul Mezcal both trended at the same time, and suddenly Irish was everywhere. Also, I noticed recently that there is a shop in the East Village called Mary O’s that sells Irish soda bread scones, and they seem to sell out every weekend. But let’s be clear: The woman who started this business, Mary O’Halloran, has been selling fresh Irish scones long before the average New Yorker knew how to properly pronounce “mezcal.” That’s what it means.
Before the virus spread, Mary owned an Irish pub with the same name, but it closed due to the pandemic. During lockdown, Mary began baking and selling Irish soda bread to feed her family, and Eater reports that her business has sold more than $1 million in buttery biscuits. Fast forward to today. Mary’s old bar has reopened and she has her own special storefront dedicated solely to Irish soda bread, which always sells out. I’m a fan of all things Irish, including soda bread, so I visited to see for myself.
Mary O’s has a very simple menu. Photo credit: Anna Arriaga
snack
One of the things I immediately liked about Mary O’s was the fact that there was only one thing you could eat on the menu. It’s soda bread. What I hated from the beginning was the long winding lines down the block on 20 degree mornings. They opened at 7am and we arrived at 10am. As expected, there was quite a crowd outside the small storefront, but I was ready to weather the storm. After about 30 minutes, I stepped inside and was greeted by the nostalgic porcelain tea cup decorations and the delicious smell of baking bread, velvety. Eventually we got to the front and ordered, only to find another line of hungry customers waiting for their name to be called.
Popular scones. Photo credit: Anna Arriaga
soda bread. What: One scone, cut down the middle, slathered with Irish Kerrygold butter and topped with chunky blackberry jam, $6. Crispy and crackling on the outside, moist, rich and warm on the inside. After waiting an hour and watching the bakery sell out in real time (I got my second to last scone), my nose red from the cold and the steaming loaf in my hand, I made a big I had high expectations. First sip: Perfect salty and sweet. After taking my first bite, I sat in silence for a few minutes. It was pure happiness.
Final evaluation
Maybe it was because they sold out as soon as I ordered it, maybe it was my hunger, maybe it was the aroma wafting from Mary-O’s oven (or a combination of all of the above), but I… will wait in line for another hour for these kids. Mary O’s Irish Soda Bread has been given a perfect review and is definitely worth the visit.
If you’re reading this and have suggestions for snack shops in the city that I should visit and (honestly) rate, please leave a comment here or on the Snack Shop TikTok video. I love suggestions!
