New eatery has most of area to itself

A bonnie lass, Molly Malone is said to have sold oysters and cockles on the wharfs of Ireland 300 years ago. Now she beckons to hungry diners outside a restaurant named in her honor at 11930 S. Southern Highlands Parkway.

The restaurant, which opened in July, sits on two acres and may be surrounded by nothing more than desert right now but the rumble of bulldozers and cement trucks is not far off.

The owners, Madison Graves, Mike Morrissey and Bob Trigero, saw growth coming to the area and no reason to wait.

"They pretty much always like to be the first on the block," said Tony Kondrich, chief of operations. "We're like the kickoff for other businesses."

The three partners also operate Sean Patrick's Pub, 8255 W. Flamingo Road, and Kavanaugh's Irish Pub and Grill, 3290 W. Ann Road. Those two places are where Molly Malone's menu was tweaked, so this newest venture opened with the menu secured.

In the dining rooms, corned beef is the top seller. There is also a "Limerick City Chicken Sandwich," "Celtic Sea Fish and Chips" and "Tipperary Castle Meatloaf." For dinner, it offers the "Newcastle West Porterhouse Steak," a full 16 ounces, or the slow cooked "Madison's Baby Back Ribs" or "Kytelers Inn Irish Stew" made with braised lamb.

Even ethnic appetizers take on an Irish flavor when renamed "Errigal Mountain O'Nachoes" or "Fall's Road Pot Stickers."

The décor leaves no question it is a pub. A chipped-brick chimney divides the dining area from the bar. There is dark wood with ornate scrollwork, open rafters with faux doors on the upper levels, antique pottery and household implements lining the shelves. Little Irish sayings and witty phrases, worthy of anyone who's kissed the Blarney Stone, are painted on the walls.

There's even a dock marker from the very shipyards where the Titanic was built. And Irish ditties played over the sound system caused more than one patron to start tapping their toes.

Guinness is the beer of choice at Molly Malones with Black and Tans -- half Guinness and half Bass beer coming in second most popular. Hap and Guinness mixed is also a favorite, as is Irish coffee.

The 5,700-square-foot restaurant can seat up to 215 diners. Besides the main dining area, there are two private rooms, the Parlor, a bright and cheery room that seats 22 and the Gothic Room, which seats 30. The latter has a black television monitor high in one corner, barely noticeable in the dark-wooded room.

Danny Byrne and Randy Wilson were there for lunch. Construction workers from a nearby job site, they said they ate at the pub every day for the past two weeks.

"We tried everything, something different each day," said Wilson, who added his favorite to date was the tuna melt. "We expected the typical bar food but it's a cut above."

Christine Andrus, who works in contract design, brought an out-of-town business associate for lunch.

"The onion soup is fantastic, and the service is fine," she said. "I live in Southern Highlands so it's wonderful to have a place to eat nearby."

Not everyone comes for the beer or the food.

"Some people come in just to buy cigarettes," Kondrich said with a chuckle. "It's closer than a store until more things get built."


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