New cigar bar lights up Coakley’s atmosphere
In 2008, after 33 years of ownership, Richard and Sue Coakley handed the keys to their long-running Coakley’s Restaurant & Irish Pub to new owners Tim Hogg and Greg Bowers. Without losing sight of favorable existing qualities, the year has brought menu upgrades and staff changes and a new addition, a cigar bar, which is set to open this week.
“I’m a great believer in moving up within,” Hogg says.
In response to the state smoking ban, the area’s oldest Irish pub will have the newest cigar bar, J. Thomas O’Malley Tobacconist. This closed-off addition to the pub and restaurant celebrates cigars and cigarettes along with high-end drinks and spirits. Complying with the smoking ban requirement, no food will be served here. State-of-the-air cleaning units will have the ability to change the air quality in three minutes.
When not pursing lips around streamlined stogies, peruse velvety ports and whiff aged Irish whiskeys and scotches off the long drink menu. Sit in armchairs or stand around the long strip of bar and when you’re hungry, step in to Coakley’s for a bite.
I call Coakley’s a hodgepodge of mini dining and drinking areas. Hogg says it is one restaurant with eight atmospheres.
Hearty pub appetizers (the pub has its own menu) have been favorites for a long time. These include the cheesy crab pretzel ($11.75) and meaty, jumbo wings ($7.75 for 12).
Coakley’s Nibbler ($11.95) was a disappointing deep-fried assortment of tasteless mozzarella sticks, mealy potato skins, overly deep-fried chicken fingers and delicious beer batter onion rings.
Happy hour is from 5 to 7 p.m. daily and features specials on drinks and drafts. Wings are discounted and at least one sandwich is showcased at this time.
We walked through the restaurant entrance and found a row of booths tucked along one side of a tight but cozy hallway. We started with the potato soup ($3.25). It didn’t quite taste like the spud soup and was gloppy. Occasional chunks were woven through the murky base.
Shepherd’s pie ($9.99) was a tasty relief from the potage. Seasoned ground beef, mixed vegetables and gravy sat under a browned red-skinned mashed potato lid. This dish was nothing fancy, but wholesome and homey.
Cajun french fries were way too salty and demanded to be washed down with a draft from one of more than a dozen on tap.
Coakley’s mixed grill ($14.99) was an unusual conglomeration of grilled chicken strips, banger sausage (which looked and tasted like a fat hot dog), succulent mussels, tender and mouthwatering clams and well-seasoned and cooked shrimp. This assortment of ingredients rested high atop a bed of sumptuous garlic mashed potatoes. The seafood was superb, but I could have done without the meats.
You need to know what to order here. Some dishes are clearly better than others.
Hoggs said his favorite dish off the pub specialties was the Salmon Boxty ($15.99), which I will definitely have to try next time. It is grilled salmon on potato cakes with a Jameson cream sauce.
Our waitress recommended the steak or prime-rib selections, so we tried the Open Face Delmonico Steak Sandwich ($10.25). I’ll recommend it, too. The delmonico was grill-marked to medium-rare perfection and set over Texas toast. Homemade and peppery potato chips were a lip-smacking accompaniment to the steak sandwich. The sandwich needed the swipe of horseradish, but not the watery “au jus.”
Reubens ($8.99) were another delicious sandwich choice. Ribbons of corned beef, thousand island dressing, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut were piled on marbled rye bread slices.
For a sweet ending, I tried the Chocolate Lava Cake ($8.99), which was warm and tasted good and chocolaty but the chocolate did not meltingly flow out from the center. Rather, it was firm throughout.
After dessert, head to J. Thomas O’Malley Tobacconist for an after-meal drink. You will have the option of smoking, too, a rarity in this town now.
October 15, 2009
