The Claddagh Irish Pub

1. The Claddagh is cleaner than most Irish pubs
2. The Claddagh is bigger than most Irish pubs
3. The Claddagh has better food than most Irish pubs (which isn't really saying a lot)
4. The Claddagh is smokier than all Irish pubs (Ireland instituted a smoking ban in all public places in April 2004)
5. The Claddagh is a chain restaurant and most Irish pubs aren't
6. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any actual Irish people working at the Claddagh

I went to the Claddagh on the north side for dinner recently with some folks from work (there's also a Claddagh downtown).

I don't quite have a handle on the layout of the restaurant, which is a free-standing purpose-built building in the parking lot of one of the multiple strip malls that have popped up of late along the 96th Street area between Keystone and Allisonville Roads. The floor plan is chopped up into smaller rooms, which, along with a fireplace, rough-hewn dark wood furniture, and lots of Irish doodads on the walls, lends a nicely cozy atmosphere.

The Claddagh can get packed on weekends, pulling in the young professional crowd from Fishers and Carmel, but it was not terribly crowded on Tuesday night.

When one is in an Irish pub, one orders beer, and the Claddagh has a very good selection, including genuine (Guinness, Bass, Smithwick's) and fake (Killian's) Irish beers, as well as some nice English imports (Boddington's). They employ the classic two-pour method on the Guinness, and the temperature's about right -- not too cold, but not too warm for my American sensibilities.

Our group started out with the ubiquitous spinach and artichoke dip, which was creamy-spinachy, loaded with big chunks of artichokes and served with thin rounds of French-style bread. Although I've never seen this on a menu in Ireland, it was one of the better versions of this dip that I've eaten.

I've had several meals here and it's good, especially if you looking for hearty warm-your-bones fare. Dieters need not apply. The favorite seems to be the fish and chips, which I'll admit I won't order (I'm not a fan of batter-fried food), but all other comers love it the Bass Ale-battered cod. Be warned -- the portions for this are enormous. Best to get the half-order, which is still enormous.

Entrees are served with soup or salad, and I opted for the salad, which was disappointing. It was basically a big plate of chopped romaine lettuce uninterrupted by any other salad items. It did come with four slices of brown bread. A word about Irish brown bread: it can be really good, but even really good brown bread needs an assist from large quantities of butter. This brown bread was not particularly good (it had no flavor) and even more egregious, it didn't come with butter. I had to flag down the server and request some.

On past visits I've tried the Beef and Guinness stew. It tastes like homemade and is most assuredly rib-sticking, with a rich sauce, lots of chewy beef and vegetables. I've also gotten the corned beef and cabbage, which is cooked-forever tender and delicious. I cleaned my very large plate on that one.

This time, I was looking for something a little lighter so I went with a thick salmon filet with sides of garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables. Unfortunately, the salmon was the near-tasteless farm-raised variety. I should have known they were out of season and passed. The mashed potatoes were standard-issue chain restaurant garlic mashed -- salty and filling, but generic tasting and lacking in that just-made freshness in either ingredients or texture. The veggie blend of whole green beans, carrot slabs and zucchini was fresh, buttery and crunchy.

An unexpected addition to my meal were the chunks of aluminum foil that were stuck to the bottom of the fish. It was apparently a stowaway from the edge of the grill. I pointed it out to the server and the restaurant handled it with class -- the manager came over to apologize and my meal was on the house.

In addition to the hearty entrees, the Claddagh has soups, salads, and sandwiches. They also have a number of delicious-sounding desserts like bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Alas, the Guinness and the generous portion sizes always leave me too full for sweets.

The Claddagh has a full bar and boasts a wide selection of traditional Irish whiskeys (if you're being authentic, drink them neat). Parking's not a problem once you fight your way through the death trap that is the intersection of 96th and Keystone. Service was a little draggy at times (hey, where's that butter?) but the server was pleasant and personable. We were in the bar section, which wasn't too smoky that night, but it could be obnoxiously smoky on a busy night. There are a few small (blessedly mute) TVs in the bar area.

I wish there were a charming, unique, family-owned Irish restaurant in town (if I'm missing it, let me know) but until then, the Claddagh is a decent approximation.

Location

The Claddagh Irish Pub
3835 E. 96th Street
317-569-3663
Web site (menu listed is incomplete): http://www.claddaghirishpubs.com/menu.php
Dinner, January 4, 2005

Ratings

Food:
Service:
Atmosphere:
Price: $$$