Irish, on the eclectic side, at P.J. Dolan's |

The term "Irish pub" conjures images of low ceilings, wood paneling and plenty of beer on tap.

Score P.J. Dolan's one out of three.

The large bar to the left as you enter the place has plenty of beer to sample. There are 10 varieties on tap, including Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp and Kilkenny. That'll keep those Irish eyes a-smilin'.

But the atmosphere is very un-Irish pub at P.J.'s, in the old Cody's Roadhouse Grill in the plaza on Bearss Avenue just west of the intersection with Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. For one thing, it's enormous, with three indoor dining areas, another outside, the bar area and a large entryway. It also still has much of the roadhouse décor.

Still, you'll find a little something for everyone — darts and pool, even karaoke on Wednesday evenings. The crowd is just as eclectic. We saw beer drinkers at the bar, college students watching sports on television and a few families in booths.

The menu has the same feel — sports bar meets Irish pub. Chicken wings and nachos are on the same list of appetizers as Scotch egg and Irish egg rolls. Sandwiches include burgers and corned beef melts.

The entrée list is where the Irish comes out, with featured dishes such as Shepherd's Pie, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Fish-N-Chips, Guinness Beef Stew, Bangers and Mash and Chicken Curry.

P.J. Dolan's took over the space last year. Those looking for a deal should know they have been running specials to boost business, including $5 burgers on Mondays, $5 Chicken Curry on Tuesdays and 50-cent wings on Fridays.

We went both "sports bar" and "Irish" picking from the appetizer menu. The wings come with a variety of sauces — buffalo sauces with varying degrees of spiciness, dry rub or honey barbecue.

We got an order of 10 with the honey barbecue, served with celery and blue cheese dressing. The wings were large and meaty; you certainly get your money's worth.

We also ordered the Irish Bells for an appetizer. Our first choice was the Irish Egg Rolls, but the family sitting behind us had just snagged the last two corn beef hash egg rolls served with ranch dressing and home-cut fries.

The Irish Bells looked like hush puppies but were deep-fried corned beef and potato hash balls. The consistency was good, but they tasted a bit bland. The fries were fresh, fried golden with a soft inside. Of course, malt vinegar is on every table. You know what to do with that.

For entreés, we enjoyed the Fish-N-Chips, a large fillet battered and fried to perfection with a crisp outside and warm, flaky inside. Even better was the Guinness Beef Stew, a combination of carrots, peas and beef slow cooked in a rich brown gravy until tender and served over colcannon, a combination of mashed potatoes and cooked cabbage.

Other choices include Shepherd's Pie, Anne Cowan's 180-year-old family recipe served with green peas, and Bangers N' Mash, or sausage and mashed potatoes.

For the less adventurous, the Jameson Burger is eight ounces of Black Angus burger topped with Jameson sauce and cheddar jack cheese. We found it to be a credible burger for an Irish pub.

A children's menu features a smaller version of the burger, macaroni and cheese or chicken tenders. We tried the tenders, which were house made, deep fried and served with fries.

We were looking forward to the homemade Bailey's Irish Cream Cheese Cake listed on the menu, but they were out of that, as well as the homemade chocolate cake.

Irish pub food has a well-deserved reputation for being on the bland side, and it's definitely an acquired taste. But by combining a sports bar feel and food with the more traditional Irish dishes, P.J.'s offers even rookie Irish pub diners a chance to enjoy themselves, even if they don't care for potatoes, carrots and peas.