Louisville Restaurant Guide

Sure and begorrah, this lovely, lively new East End restaurant shows a distinct Irish brogue. It's not just Irish, though, but Celtic, featuring the hearty fare of Scotland, Ireland and Wales and maybe even a touch of Brittany; and it's not just a pub but an Irish bistro, fitting into a slightly different niche a step upscale from such local Gaelic watering holes as The Irish Rover and Molly Malone's.

The Irish-born owners of the Celtic Centre specialty shop moved around the corner and down the block to this little Cape Cod house in St. Matthews early in the summer, a server said; they added this inviting bar and bistro late last month.

They've done a very good job of renovating the place, expanding the old house and a former auto-body shop behind it into a dining space that's much larger from the inside than it appears from the curb. Enter a narrow room where a few tables share space with a long, inviting bar, and you pass into a surprisingly spacious dining room that rises to a high, vaulted ceiling with joists and ductwork painted black, from which dangle a remarkable collection of heavy, wrought-iron-look chandeliers that look like they came from an old Irish church but, the manager confided, are modern and locally made. Either way, they're impressive, and they elevate the atmosphere from pub to bistro or beyond.

Heavy tables, some draped in green oilcloth, some shiny wood and some gray granite-look laminate, are attended with sturdy oak windsor chairs and set with simple flatware and white paper napkins. A row of comfortable green-upholstered booths line one wall, and a pair of tables are set with a sturdy but frighteningly upright wooden church pew that, if it could speak, might well fill the room with the sermons of Irish priests that it's heard.

The menu is extensive, and as noted, spans the Celtic world of the British Isles. It includes a dozen smaller bites (subdivided into "First Tastings," "Potages and Seconds" and "The Earl's Bites Sandwiches," which range in price from $2.25 (for a cup of Cardiff Cawl, a soup of leeks and seasonal root vegetables) to $9.95 (for my wife's lunch entree choice, honey meade poached salmon salad). A "Prairie Oaten" (skillet-seared potatoes, scallions and cheese) is $4.95; salamagundi chicken salad with grapes is $5.95, and for those who'd rather eat American than Celtic, "The American Standby," a cheeseburger, is $7.25.

Nine main courses, listed a "Primers and Pies," range from $7.50 (for Boddington's batter cod with lemon-caper sauce and chips) to $11.50 (for "The Fairies Ring," billed as "a magical sautee" of Wilod mushrooms and baby vegetables with colcannon, the Irish potato-and-cabbage puree). Most are $10.50, including such goodies as traditional Scots lamb stew and roast pork with honey pepper glaze. Side dishes ("Sidecars") are $2.25, including beans and toast and egg; colcannon; "chips of course," which we'd call French fries; and Brussels sprouts with chestnut butter, a treatment that sounds as if it takes this mundane vegetable to heavenly heights.

The wine list is short but interesting, with about 32 choices at a reasonable markup around double retail. At the high end, Ferrari-Carano Siena, one of my favorite Italian-style California wines, is $49.95. The rest of the list ranges from $14.95 to $39.95, with most selections fairly priced in the range of $20 ($4.75 a glass) to $30 ($7.75 a glass), and a good mix of wines from the Old world and New. Of course, beer's the thing with hearty Celtic fare, and the beer list is a decent one, with Guinness, Harp ($3.75) and Bass ($3.50) on tap, and a fair choice of imported Irish, Scottish and English beers. One nit to pick: The list would be even more exciting if Kitty would add a few "real ales" from artisanal producers to her collection. (There's also a choice of Irn Bru, a non-alcoholic Scottish soft drink.)

We started with a shared cup of the day's soup ($2.25), served in a rustic-looking brown ceramic ramekin centered on a large lace-paper doily on a white serving plate. Essence of robust musse