Yankee Brew News Archive

Aidan's Pub

Originally Published: 08/96

By: Kerry J Byrne

There's a touch of Ireland on the banks of Narragansett Bay, thanks to Aidan Graham, the steel blue-eyed, silver-maned proprietor of Aidan's Pub in Bristol Harbor, R.I.

Graham, born and raised in Mullingar, County Westmeath, by a family of pub owners, moved to the States 24 years ago.

He traveled the country as a New York City-based drummer before getting into the pub business and has made every effort to replicate the Old World feel he grew up with.

His pub, at 5 John Street, opened in 1992 and has flourished where several other restaurants have tried and failed. It is hardly big or glamorous. But size and glamor mean little when it comes to character, charm and a good pint of ale.

"My family owned pubs in Ireland and I lived in London for years," said Graham, 47. "The pubs in London are magical. They're old and have character like many of the pubs in Dublin. They have a coziness that makes you want to stay and have a few pints.

"I wanted to recapture that."

If you have good company, as I did when I made my first visit to Aidan's with Emerald Isle Brew Works owner Ray McConnell and his lovely wife and daughters, than you're certainly tempted to stay for as many pints as logic and your senses dictate possible.

Simply put, Aidan's Pub serves good beer, hearty food and a heavy dose of comfort in a small ocean-side tavern which seats, at most, 65 people including bar stools.

An outdoor patio was to be completed in time for the summer months. It will overlook Narragansett Bay and the small pier which launches ferries to Prudence and Hog islands.

The location of the pub is a treat. As you pass the endless line of strip malls and fast food joints which dot Route 136 (and generally scar the American landscape) you find yourself in the wonderful little downtown area of Bristol Harbor with its shops, bookstores and outdoor cafes on the east side of the bay. It could easily pass for a small slice of Hyannis or Newport.

Like the downtown area and Aidan's Pub itself, the beer selection is small with an emphasis on quality. Besides dispensing hand-pulled pints of Bank Street Ale from Emerald Isle Brew Works of West Warwick, Aidan's was serving, upon my visit, draught Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Otter Creek Copper Ale and Shipyard Export Ale, as well as a number of favorites from the United Kingdom.

All beers are served in 20-ounce imperial pints, as God intended. Half pints are also available.

When I was first pointed in the direction of Aidan's Pub by a number of our readers, the thing they mentioned repeatedly was the quality of pour by Aidan's barkeeps.

Though ability to pour a good pint remains layered amid a sea of subjectives, Guinness agrees with the sentiments of the Aidan's faithful and recently named the pub winner of the 1996-97 Guinness Perfect Pint Contest for the state of Rhode Island.

Since we can get Guinness most anywhere, the goals during my visits were pints of Bank Street Ale, but be warned: Aidan's barkeeps are in no hurry. If you don't think Bank Street Ale is worth waiting for, order a bottle of (Your Favorite Megabrewer) Light and be done with it. Haste does not a worthy pint of ale make.

"What we're trying to create here is good pints," said Graham. "We're always trying to pour pints well, and not just Guinness. There's a wonderful creamy head on Bank Street. To me that's beautiful, that's what beer should be like."

In addition to good pints, Graham is attempting to bring back a pub as a social center where neighbors meet to engage in good old-fashioned conversation.

"There are 38 pubs in my hometown," he said. "There are TVs at these pubs for soccer or horse races, but people shut it off otherwise. They go there for conversation."

It was only begrudgingly that Graham installed a small TV over the bar of his pub, but he says he wants people to come for "a bit of food and some conversation."

As for the food, it has been my experience that you can't go wrong with Aidan's hearty, inexpensive fare.

A recently updated menu features sandwiches such as O'Shea's corned beef and Galway chicken (seared with garlic butter, mushrooms and cheese) which range from $4.95 to $5.95. Entrees such as Gaelic chicken dinner (grilled chicken topped with imported Irish steak sauce) and Dublin pot pie range from $5.75 to $7.95.

The most expensive item on the menu, and the only one which costs more than $7.95, is a 14-ounce Black Angus sirloin sauteed in Irish whiskey for $13.95.

Irish brunch, served Saturdays and Sundays only, costs $6.95.

Entertainment is provided by local musicians who play traditional Irish music Sunday nights beginning around 5 p.m.

Besides beer, Aidan's serves up a small but healthy selection of Scotches and Irish whiskeys.

To get to Aidan's: Take I-95 (from north or south) to its connection with I-195 east in Providence. Follow several miles into Massachusetts and get off at Exit 3 (Route 136). Follow 136 south several miles and you will enter Warren, Rhode Island. Take a right onto Child Street and follow that until you come to Main Street. Take a left.

When you enter Bristol, Main Street becomes Hope Street.

You will soon find yourself in the quaint little downtown area of Bristol Harbor. A tiny road on your right (it's easy to miss) is John Street. Aidan's is the last building on the right.

(Call (401) 254-1940.)

Pull quote:

Like the Bristol downtown area and Aidan's Pub itself, the beer selection is small with an emphasis on quality.

Drawing caption:

Aidan's serene waterfront location is captured in this artistic rendering of the pub.