Hoist One To Tradition

An Irish pub has dressed up its grub and reclaimed a bit o' history

IF ANYONE TRIES to tell you that Mulleady's Irish Pub and Restaurant has been over-gentrified since it moved a few yards up Magnolia hill from its original location, you might remind them that one of the pub's main attractions is still the enormous porcelain urinal in the men's room.

Originally salvaged by owners Dave Mulleady and Carl Rogers from the old Seattle Orpheum Theatre, the fixture was reclaimed from the pub's first home when that building was closed and the business moved to its present location in a historic building on the corner of Dravus and 21st Avenue West.

Since the move, Mulleady's — once celebrated as one of Seattle's most authentic dives — has taken a few hits for putting on airs. But what was a hangout for a very narrow segment of the local population has become a clean, family-friendly place with an expanded menu, a sharper focus and a bar that's better than ever.

The new pub occupies both floors of a former grocery that had a family apartment on the second floor. The family moved out long ago, and the building had fallen into disrepair. Mulleady and Rogers removed decades' worth of detritus to reveal the building's original, hand-hewn, old-growth-timber structure.

They installed a skylight and cut out a gallery so daylight now shines through to the first floor. A mahogany bar-back, which originally came from Ireland and spent some time in San Francisco's Old Spaghetti Factory, was ordered from e-Bay, and it has become the focal point of the main bar downstairs. Stone fireplaces, in the traditional style of Mulleady's native County Longford, are featured on both floors.

Polish-born glass artist Mariusz Rynkiewicz was drafted from his Seattle studio to create distinctive hand-blown light fixtures. "Part of what drew me to Rynkiewicz's work," says Mulleady, "was the fact that he was an immigrant like me."

Before partnering with Mulleady, Carl Rogers opened Bubba's Tavern in Kent, the Trolley Tavern in Northgate and the Old Peculiar in Ballard. "Each place taught me something, and I think I've gotten a little better with each project," Rogers says.

The team would not have been able to create this Mulleady's without the increasingly professional and loyal support staff they've built along the way. General manager Lou Brauer followed Rogers and Mulleady from the old pub. And former Ray's Boathouse Café sous chef David Saunders came in to recraft the menu for the reopening.

Saunders, who spent 14 years at Ray's, said there was a lot of typical Seattle bar food on the menu when he came to Mulleady's. To keep the regulars happy, he left some of that. "But there were also some traditional Irish gems," he says, "and I'm expanding on those with every new draft of the menu."

The latest version includes not only the Irish stew and shepherd's pie that were already favorites but a Celtic salmon preparation and some delicious English bangers made by Uli's Famous Sausage Co. in Pike Place Market.

"Seeing families in here dining, eating this great food that David is cooking, food that's not just bar food, makes me feel . . ." Rogers gazes misty-eyed at a table of six that looks like a three-generation family gathering. "I mean look at them, they're so happy."

On a recent night, one of Saunders' colleagues from his days at Ray's brought in her middle-school son with his entire boy's basketball team — not a demographic that would have been able to enjoy the old tavern. The pack of 10-year-olds had a great time; they loved the food. But I suspect that their favorite feature might have been that one from the old place down the block.

Greg Atkinson is author of "Entertaining in the Northwest Style." He can be reached at greg@northwestessentials.com. Barry Wong is a Seattle-based freelance photographer. He can be reached at barrywongphoto@earthlink.net.