Revamped Irish Pub is better than ever

My westside roots run deep. I attended Verlinden Elementary and Sexton High School. My mother and her family were displaced from St. Joe Street during the Interstate 496 project when she was in grade school and settled just blocks from Sexton. My better half grew up in the Old Oakland neighborhood, and much of both of our families still reside in the area. Both of us have many memories of the old Irish Pub, all the way back to when Brian Riley was the owner back in the mid-‘90s. Later, when we got married, our first home was but two blocks from the pub, and we’d venture over for lunch, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and to attend fundraiser dinners.

Sadly, the Irish Pub went dark in 2013, and many westside neighbors waited for more than a decade to see the corner of Saginaw Street and Verlinden Avenue come back to life. The new owners have completely renovated the interior with a new floor plan and an updated aesthetic that extends well beyond just a new coat of paint. The centralized bar offers an open sightline throughout the pub, with a separate entrance and counter for takeout orders. The most popular addition is the expansive outdoor space, which welcomed customers during the summer.

My first visit was on a Sunday evening when the Lions weren’t playing, and the bar staff said that was impacting how busy it was. The second visit was on a random Tuesday night. The parking lot was packed, and most tables were occupied, as was the majority of the seating around the bar. The pub has some of the friendliest, most attentive barkeepers I’ve encountered of late, and the rest of the waitstaff hustles around with smiles and cheerful greetings for all.

What’s good

The Jalive burger ($14) turns up the heat on a local favorite. A nicely cooked beef patty is topped with a house-made olive-and-jalapeno sauce, white cheddar, lettuce and tomato. It definitely has a kick — I can’t remember the last time my mouth was that hot. The olive sauce itself is flavorful, but my burger came with a large chunk of raw jalapeno that I certainly wasn’t prepared for. The accompanying onion rings are large and crispy but not among my favorites in the area.

The meat lovers’ pizza ($18.50) is topped with gooey cheese, pepperoni, bacon and traditional Irish banger sausage, which is a welcome Irish twist. The star of this show, though, is the crust, which is puffy on the inside, crispy on the outside and coated in a delectable garlic butter.

The Brussels sprouts ($4.50) are perfectly charred, flavored with garlic and rich olive oil. They’re on point but lack some of the bells and whistles offered at other establishments, such as bacon bits or a nice balsamic glaze.

What’s really good

The fish on the haddock sandwich ($14) is crusted in house-made black-and-tan batter and hugged by super-soft brioche bread. The massive filet is flaky and cooked properly, and my only complaint is the limited amount of the tasty house-made tartar sauce. I wish I’d ordered two so I could have had another for lunch the next day.

Pot pie is a traditional Irish dish, and I’ve enjoyed chicken, fish and beef pies while traveling abroad, including on a trip to Dublin in 2005. The Irish Pub’s beef pot pie ($12) measures up to those found on the Emerald Isle and is a perfectly balanced trifecta of fluffy mashed potatoes, buttery pastry and hearty chunks of beef in a brown gravy. It’s reminiscent of shepherd’s pie but deconstructed in an unpretentious way. For the takeout version, each ingredient is served independently, so you can combine them to your liking.

Best bite

The crab soup ($6-$8) is special. Its creamy decadence is contrasted by chopped carrots, celery and red bell peppers, all swimming in a hearty broth that’s thicker than a bisque but thinner than a chowder. Substantial chunks of lump crab meat crowd the bowl with yumminess. This soup is hot, tasty and comforting — a perfect answer for these cold winter days.