FOOD

Arigna Irish Pub 2.0

The food is good, the bar is massive and the vibe is chill at the new Arigna in N. Providence

Gail Ciampa
gciampa@providencejournal.com
The sliders at the new Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fire Kitchen come three to an order and are smothered in cheese and caramelized onions. [The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo]

NORTH PROVIDENCE

Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fire Kitchen seems like the perfect restaurant to bring diners back to 1058 Charles St.

It's been three years since the newest incarnation of Adesso closed, and many years since Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Restaurant was a regular stop on many Rhode Islanders' weekend dining rotation.

Now, Arigna's solid pub fare and coal-fired pizza are just what the doctor ordered for a nice dinner out in comfy booths or around the huge 34-seat bar. There are many televisions and, for a diner who loves sports, as I do, that's the perfect addition to dinner. Not that I'd ignore my dining companions.

It's relaxed here, and though I went within a few days of its recent opening, the place was running well.

Be warned though: While there is Irish beer and an Irish owner, there's not much Irish about the menu, save for a few dishes. A Roscommon pizza, with corned beef, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing, is on the menu. So, too, are bangers and mash and shepherd's pie.

The background

Gordon Hyde came from Ireland in 1994 and worked in the restaurant business in Miami for 15 years before moving to New England with his Massachusetts-born wife. In 2012, he opened up Murphy's Law, in Pawtucket, and followed up in 2015 with his first Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fire Kitchen, also in Pawtucket.

With this, his third restaurant, Hyde took extra time to make it precisely what diners want. In a conversation after my visit, he told me it took a year to the day to renovate the space. There's never enough bar seating in the Pawtucket Arigna, and he fixed it here. He also added 14 seats at the pizza bar in front of the oven. In all, the new restaurant has 200 seats.

Hyde bought the building and the parking lots from Burchfield, and purchased a third parking lot, so he has 100 spots for cars. He's also considering valet service, even though there is also street parking. 

The name Arigna comes from an Irish coal-mining town of the same name. The mines there operated  for hundreds of years and only shut down in the 1990s, when they became a museum.

Hyde wanted to pay homage to the miners and to tie it in to the coal-fired oven that is a second visual point in the restaurant, after the center bar. It uses coal and a gas assist to keep the oven at the proper temperature throughout the day.

The food and drink

The chicken wings at Arigna are a must-have. They are not fried but cooked daily in the coal-fired oven, so they have a lovely smoky taste. After they are cooked, they are refrigerated, and then warmed up when ordered. They are moist and tender inside, crunchy on the outside, and a nice way to start dinner.

The sliders are fun to eat and come three to an order. They are called Bucket Burgers, no doubt after the nickname of Pawtucket, home to the original Arigna. They have cheese and caramelized onions on them. Yum.

The traditional pizza had plenty of mozzarella cheese and a nice San Marzano tomato sauce. The oven charred the crust just right. I think it was as good as a pizzeria pizza.

The star of the night was an order of turkey teriyaki tips. They were large, tender and full of flavor. Really, just what you want in any kind of tips. We didn't feel bad about not having beef, and that is just the kind of recommendation you want to be able to make.

There are salads and sandwiches on the menu as well as other entrees, including meat, seafood and pasta dishes. But the whole menu was not offered the night of our visit during opening week.

For drinks, they have a large selection of draft beers, craft and Irish. I had a coffee dessert cocktail and it was lovely.

What's next?

The kitchen currently closes at 10 though the bar stays open until 1 a.m. Soon there will be a late-night menu and pizza served until midnight.

The bottom line

This is a pub anyone would welcome in their neighborhood. The food is good, the drinks are cold and the vibe is relaxed.

Details: Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fire Kitchen, 1058 Charles St., North Providence, (401) 642-5853, arignairishpub.com. Parking lots. Reservations. Wheelchair accessible. Open daily for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.