A little taste of Ireland is coming to Niagara Falls Monday.

Closed since Sept. 30, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, hotel bars in the city will reopen as Doc Magilligan’s Restaurant and Irish Pub.

And what a transformation it has been.

A bar since 1965, The Croft Lounge, where countless couples have either met or have gone on dates, will be hardly noticeable for those familiar with the old space.

“They gutted the whole restaurant,” said Leo O’Toole, general manager of Doc’s, which opens to the public Monday morning next to the Best Western Plus Cairn Croft Hotel on Lundy’s Lane.

“The bookshelves, the panels on the walls and the full bar were all made in Ireland, shipped over in three containers and then installed and put together in here, including all the furniture. All the paraphernalia you see on the walls, every chair you see, every couch you see, the fabric (is) authentic Irish fabric.”

O’Toole, who is from Dublin and has 27 years of experience in the restaurant and pub business, said the 5,500-square-foot space has the genuine authenticity of an Irish restaurant.

“There’s a famous saying in Ireland, when you’re in an Irish pub, you’re at your grandmother’s because you get spoiled,” he said.

“We’re trying to give you an Irish experience, not only from our menu point of view, but also our select beverages and our hospitality.”

Much like the popular TV show Cheers, O’Toole said he wants his staff and customers to know each others’ names.

“We want to be a regular establishment and not an occasional establishment. We want the customers to say, ‘We’re coming here tonight we’d like to sit in Samantha’s section because we know she’s going to take care of us.’”

The venue is still owned by the Cade family, which also owns the attached hotel.

Doc Magilligan, the pub’s namesake, was a great-great -grandfather to Maureen Magilligan Cade, who is married to Fred Cade.

The old story goes that the good doctor was admired for his nurturing care when he made his rounds, and he was just as popular when buying yet another round for the lads. Thoroughly professional, but still the life of the party, the beloved doctor was considered to be the real deal.

The full food and drink menu will have a distinctly Irish feel to it.

Along with popular alcoholic beverages Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks and Kilkenny, as well as Irish cider Magners, traditional Irish and British food will include shepherd’s pie, steak-and-mushroom pie and what will likely be Doc’s signature dish, an Irish pancake traditionally called a boxie.

O’Toole said the restaurant, which will be opened seven days a week, will also feature local brews, Niagara wines and several high-definition TVs showing all sporting events.

There will be live entertainment on Thursdays and a DJ on Fridays and Saturdays.

Source: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca