Lacing French onion soup with Guinness Stout may seem sacrilegious to food purists, but one taste convinced me it’s a stroke of genius.

The boldly flavored soup was our first exposure to Milton’s newest gathering spot, Olde Blind Dog, and it was a promising start. The full-bodied beer punches up the heartiness of the beef stock that forms the soup’s base. The result is delectable, and could have been better only if it contained a bit more of its namesake onions.

The Celtic clam chowder also hit the spot. Think New England-style creamy, but with white wine and bacon bits mingling with the clams and topped with fresh ground black pepper and chopped scallions.

“If the soups are this good, I’m really looking forward to the rest of the meal,” my dining companion commented.

In my experience, Irish pubs haven’t always been the best place to eat because their focus was spirits rather than food. Not sure when that tide changed, but in the last few years I’ve been noticing an effort on the part of many of these pubs to pump up their culinary side.

It’s obvious that Olde Blind Dog, now open in the Crabapple Mercantile Exchange, is down with that concept. Diners are faced with hard choices from a well-thought-out menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrees and desserts. With the Dog open from 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, there is always opportunity for anything from a light snack to a full meal.

For our weekday lunch, the sandwich list was seductive. It took major fortitude to resist the Galway steak sandwich, described as New York strip with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, authentic Irish cheese and Jameson’s steak sauce. And the pub’s take on a BLT, with Scottish smoked salmon, avocado, bacon and tomato on marbled rye with homemade tartar sauce, was tempting. But on this first visit we were determined to sample some of the Dog’s selection of Irish classics.

My dining companion opted for half portions of fish and chips and corned beef and cabbage, and I ordered a shepherd’s pie. The beer-battered cod on his plate was nicely fried and delicately crisp on the outside and the fish it covered retained a moist flakiness. The chips weren’t truly authentic – that would be cut in slabs rather than in thin strips – but that was easily forgiveable because their texture was pleasing and they had just enough seasoning to stop short of being too salty.

It would be difficult to overpraise the corned beef combo. The braised cabbage was much more flavorful than a boiled version, and meat was so tender it could be cut with a fork. General Manager Geoff Kokoszka said the beef is steamed for three hours or more to reach that perfection. “When you have it on our Reuben [sandwich], it just melts in your mouth,” he added.

Good but not great, the shepherd’s pie was the only disappointment. On the plus side, it’s topped with colcannon, a typical Irish dish of mashed potatoes blended with a little cooked cabbage, rather than mashed potatoes alone. And the filling was made with the traditional lamb rather than beef. But the thick heavily seasoned gravy overwhelmed the flavor of the lamb, which to me was a waste. Why bother using the pricier lamb if it can’t be tasted?

But it’s a minor quibble. The kitchen uses only the freshest ingredients and everything is homemade, and I am looking forward to a return visit. The Dog Bone, a 9-inch short rib braised in Smithwick’s beer, is next on my to-order list.

Of course Ireland and the British Isles are well represented on the beverage list, with such must-haves as Guinness, Harp and Boddingtons on draught and the lesser known brews such as Beamish stout, SkullSplitter ale and the oak-aged Innis & Gunn beer in bottles.

Scotch is my dining companion’s beverage of choice, and the comprehensive list of excellent sipping Scotches at the Dog made his eyes light up. There is also an assortment of choice whiskeys and a small but serviceable wine list.

The Dog is owned by a consortium of local residents who didn’t hesitate to spend significant cash on equipment, design and decor.

Milton resident Ron Wallace, the pub’s creator and principal investor, said many of the interior elements were from the British Isles and were between 100 and 300 years old. The rest was styled to appear as authentic as possible.

The pub’s novelty as well as good word of mouth has kept it busy almost since the day it opened last month. But the crowds are sure to swarm in record number this weekend, when Olde Blind Dog has scheduled a full three days of live Irish music and entertainment in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, which is Tuesday.

Olde Blind Dog

12650 Crabapple Rd.

Milton

(678) 624-1090

www.oldeblinddog.com