New pub aims to bring a little slice of Ireland to downtown London neighbourhood

A new watering hole has opened its doors near London's Woodfield neighbourhood, offering locals a taste of homey Irish hospitality while serving up pints of the black stuff.

The Off Licence Pub is the brainchild of Michael Holden, who co-owns the neighbourhood mainstay, The Bag Lady, with his sister Kiera at the corner of Maitland and Pall Mall streets.

The siblings purchased the building and restaurant in July from longtime owner Jane Beattie, who launched The Bag Lady back in 2009.

"The building kind of reminds me of Ireland," said Holden. "There are a lot of buildings in residential neighborhoods where you'll have a pub, and that struck me as something that, visually and personally, I just wanted to achieve."

The single-room pub is tucked behind the Bag Lady's space, and is accessible through the restaurant's front door. Initially, the plan was to turn the whole building into a pub, but that idea was quickly kiboshed after seeing how beloved the eatery was to the neighbourhood.

Holden says opening an Irish pub has been a long-time passion project for him, and serves as a way to honour his Irish background, and his parents, who came from Belfast in the 1970s.

Many of the decorations are from across the pond, and the pub plays Irish folk music, and soccer on the TV. Holden says the aim is to make it feel like you're in a small, cozy pub in Ireland.

"My Dad passed away when I was young, and I just wanted to carry the torch for him and my Mom, who raised us by herself. It was just something that's always been dear to my heart."

Most of the required infrastructure was already in place to set up the pub, Holden said. The space itself was previously being used for storage, and was full of fridges, freezers, an old stove, and other odds and sods that were moved into the basement.

Adding in the cosmetics, including decorations, a small fireplace, two televisions, and the bar itself, took about four weeks, with the aim to get it finished before Christmas, he said. Because the restaurant has a liquor license, "we were already good to go."

A soft opening for friends and family was held around the holidays, and while the pub has been open since, it wasn't until Thursday that it was promoted on social media.

"That Thursday night, the place was packed, and everybody that was here walked here. They're all from the neighbourhood," Holden said.

As word trickled out, more pub goers to popped in on Friday and Saturday, including Devon and Bre Cornelius, who walked from their home in Old North.

"Just looking for a place to watch a game and grab a beer. It's great to see this in the neighbourhood ... Even as we sat down, we were already thinking about people that we wanted to bring here," Devon said.

"It's nice to have something that's open later in the evening, like pub style. Somewhere else to go," Breanna added. "I said to Devon that I think in the future it'll probably be quite busy."

Since the social media unveiling, Holden says the pub's Instagram follower count has shot up. One post on Thursday highlighted a visit by three-time Olympic medallist Maggie MacNeil.

The longer-term plans, he said, are to add another walkway, so people can access the pub through the door off Maitland Street, and to open up a patio in the summer. The pub currently offers Irish grilled cheese sandwiches, or "toasties," but that could expand in the future.

The positive response signals to Holden that what they're offering has been missing from the neighbourhood, he said. By Saturday, he estimated five Guinness kegs had been used up since the soft opening.

"A couple of weeks ago, I was shovelling snow, and a guy walking his dog stopped by and said, 'Hey, I heard a pub's opening?' I was like, 'yeah, we've actually already opened.' He was like a little kid in a candy store," Holden said.

"He came the next day when we were open, and he's like, 'Man, I walked here in two minutes.' I love seeing that. It's been really fulfilling, seeing people happy. A pub is a happy place."