CabareteBars & RestaurantsJose O'Shay's 
Jose O'Shay's, you might guess from the name, is an 'Irish' bar.Although not actually like any Irish bar I've ever been into! For starters, I've never been in to an Irish bar where you can sit and consume your food on the beach! O'Shay's is probably the most 'tourist friendly' bar on Cabarete beach. Apart from the Dominican staff, this could be a bar in any resort. And for some people, that's a good enough reason to avoid it like the plague! Personally, I'm not that bothered about O'Shay's one way or the other. It hasn't got the charachter and 'feel' of the other Dominican bars along the front, it is certainly one of the more expensive (tax & service charge don't appear on the menu prices but do appear on your bill) and the permanant sports channels on TV might irritate at times. But, if you want to keep up with sport while in Cabarete, here's the bar to do it. And the staff will happily flick through the channels to try and find that broadcast of the World Tiddlywinks Championship from Outer Mongolia for you (live on Fox). And you can drink cheaply if you catch the right happy hour at the right hour. The live music, sung by a Dominican Cowboy, (who is actually from East Germany), is actually not bad. In fact, one of my most drunken nights in Cabarete started with the live music. If you are outside of the UK you may recall the old 'Smokie' song 'Living Next Door to Alice'? In the UK you may recall the old 'Smokie' song, sung with Roy 'Chubbie' Brown? It was the same song but with the additional chorus of "Alice? Alice? Who the f*** is Alice?" Clearly enough Brits have visited O'Shay's that the invitation went out for 'any British people in tonight, feel free to add a few extra words'. When we did, I was asked by a Dominican bloke, who had gamefully joined in with the cultural exchange, then asked 'why do you sing that?' By the end of the conversation I'd been invited to join their group as they partied through the town and another memorable night in Cabarete had been clocked up... well, most of it was memorable, some of it I can't remember at all! And I've never had a bad meal there... At least, not until the evening that I went there specifically to write about the food... If you've read the other reviews, this is where I went to eat the evening after I'd been ignored in Onno's. So I was tired and not in the best frame of mind when I sat down at a table on the beach. I received a menu and was ready to order almost immediately but the waiter had seen a large group arriving, so instead of taking my order, he began to help them move tables and chairs, then got their drinks before finally returning to me. If it hadn't been for the previous experience at Onno's, I'm sure this wouldn't have bothered me and as it was, it would only have been a 'mild irritant'. Except, having ordered a very simple meal (a 'Black & Blue' burger), when it arrived it was even more simple than I'd expected... it was 'simply' a burger. This really wasn't turning into my night! I couldn't be bothered complaining, I just ate it and went home, tired and prickly in mood. As I said before, usually the food here is pretty good. The menu is varied and there is usually a 'special' that is often decent value. The staff are usually on the ball and the 'key' staff have been there since I first started to visit Cabarete. They are friendly and the girls are cute. From what I gather, the guys are cute too. 
O'Shay's is most popular during the day (free use of sun loungers) and early evening, through to about 11pm when the party people tend to gravitate towards the Bamboo/Onno's area.Some people like O'Shay's because it feels familiar and generally it does what it sets out to do, well. Other people dislike O'Shay's for the exact same reasons. My advice, if you've not been to Cabarete before, is to go along and give it a try, to make you're own mind up. I'd say that 80% of people will enjoy it... especially if you're desperate to catch some coverage of the World Tiddlywinks Championship from Outer Mongolia... They put a huge screen on the beach for the American Football 'Super Bowl' so it's the place to be for that event. It get's very noisy and full of people who don't like you reminding them that "proper football is played with a round ball and using the foot"... or perhaps it was just me? Also, expect good coverage of everything football related if the 2006 World Cup was anything to go by. Jose O'Shay's by night As you can see, they make an effort for St Paddy's night too (haven't tried the Guinness there yet). I would expect there are plenty of other events that they 'get in to' too. Update Jan 2009. They now have a pizza place too. Walking from the beach, through the bar, there is an alley-way that leads to the street. On the top corner you can grab a pizza. I've not tried it yet but it looked okay. Non-beach places review menu below. Some images required. Click on text for links.
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