A Taste of Britain at 2 Pubs, Irish Mist and the Abbey

During Super Bowl week, a few of us got a powerful urge for British Isles pub food. At the Abbey in Seal Beach, and at Irish Mist in nearby Sunset Beach, we nearly satisfied our craving.

The Abbey is a comforting neighborhood pub with hanging lights and a vaguely modern design. The centerpiece is a Mark McGwire jersey in a Lucite frame, mounted on a wall to the right of the long, always crowded bar. The now-legendary slugger is a friend of the owner and has even been known to drop in.

Before tackling the bar snacks, wood-oven pizzas and imaginative entrees, you might want to wet your whistle. You won’t be let down here. In addition to a short list of well-chosen Australian and boutique Napa Valley wines, all sold by the glass, the Abbey features one of the best draft beers around, the Bavarian lager Hacker-Pschorr. It’s served in a tall, sleek glass, topped with a beautiful head of foam.

One thing to have with your beer is the graphically named “road kill nachos.” Picture a basket of blue and yellow tortilla chips layered with chopped chicken, ground beef, well-spiced chili, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo salsa. It’s a guilty pleasure, to say the least.

A lighter but still indulgent appetizer is artichoke hearts, eggplant and portabello mushrooms skillfully blended into hot sour cream and Jack cheese.

There are also good popcorn shrimp--a whole school of lightly battered rock shrimp accompanied by a delicate, creamy Southwestern remoulade, making this, I suppose, an English version of a Southwestern take on a Cajun dish.

The pizzas, however, are a weak spot, and this is hard to fathom, since there’s a snazzy brick oven in full view right behind the bar. Twice I had to send a pizza back because the crust was undercooked, and twice the replacement was burnt on the bottom and doughy in the center.

It’s a pity, because the toppings are interesting. If the Abbey ever gets its crusts on target, I’ll be back for the grilled pesto eggplant pizza. There’s also a smoked duck and chicken sausage pizza strewn with strands of caramelized onion and chunks of an especially good sausage.

In fact, more than a few entrees need work on cooking times. Every burger I’ve ever had here has been overcooked. (For a good sandwich, try smoked turkey and avocado melt--thinly sliced, nicely smoky meat piled up on soft, yeasty ciabatta bread.)

The mixed grill with chipotle polenta is a nice idea, but the meats--beef, chicken and pork smothered in a Thai-style barbecue sauce--are tough. Balsamic salmon with lemon pepper linguine is better. It’s a healthy chunk of fresh king salmon, and the pasta--surprise!--is reasonably al dente.

The best dessert is a rich, fudgy chocolate decadence cake, dripping with dark chocolate sauce and capped with peaks of freshly made whipped cream.

In short, the Abbey has potential, but for the moment, I’d call it a work in progress.

The Abbey is moderately priced. Starters are $2.95 to $8.95. House specialties are $5.50 to $14.95.

BE THERE

The Abbey, 306 Main St., Seal Beach. (562) 799-4246. Open daily, 11 a.m.- midnight. All major cards.

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Irish Mist looks rather forlorn on weeknights, when there’s generally a handful of customers watching ESPN on a TV above the bar. But chef Tony McCarthy is an accomplished master of Irish grub. And the pub--a darkish room with white clapboard walls, road signs in Irish and pencil drawings of the Irish seaside--is quietly charming.

The drink of choice, of course, is Guinness, a dark, yeasty stout with overtones of chocolate in the finish. When I remarked that my Guinness was unusually cold, the waiter bristled. “Guinness is supposed to be kept at 40 degrees,” he informed me. “It’s just that most pubs in Ireland lack proper refrigeration facilities.”

McCarthy will make you a really good, full Irish breakfast any time of day. It’s a fried egg, a rasher of Irish bacon, three grilled tomato wedges, a pair of skinny Irish pork sausages and slices of two other kinds of sausage, white pudding and black pudding. On top of all that, you get a plate of Irish-style fried bread.

Donegal mushrooms is a great bar snack. Whole mushrooms are coated in a spicy batter, deep-fried to a golden brown and served with homemade garlic mayonnaise. There are also delicious French fries sprinkled with a lot of fresh chopped garlic. They can be remarkably satisfying on a chilly evening.

The entrees are even heartier. My favorite is Ulster chicken, a sort of poor man’s beef Wellington. It’s a huge boneless chicken breast topped with home-style sage stuffing, wrapped in flaky pastry and baked. McCarthy serves the dish with a side of tangy barbecue sauce.

Another reliable choice is the grilled lamb chops, though the chef has the tendency to cook them medium well unless otherwise requested. It’s four meaty, expertly browned chops, arranged around a large steamed broccoli floret. Terrific lemon-sauteed onions garnish the dish.

You can get perfectly OK fish and chips, too, Icelandic cod in a beer batter. Real trenchermen can order the shepherd’s pie, a giant casserole of mashed potatoes topped with bubbly melted cheese. At the bottom lies a mammoth portion of spiced ground beef. No one starves in an Irish pub.

Irish Mist doesn’t serve dessert, but a fine selection of premium Irish whiskeys is on hand to help your digestion. The smooth, smoky Knappogue Castle is a steal at $4.50 a shot. There’s also Connemara, a sweeter, more roughhewn drop.

Irish Mist is moderately priced. Starters are $3.50 to $3.95. A full Irish breakfast is $6.95. Main dishes are $7.95 to $11.95.

BE THERE

Irish Mist, 16655 Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Beach. (562) 592-4782. The restaurant is open 5-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 1-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. MasterCard and Visa accepted.