New pub reinforces Irish feel downtown Cristor’s opens in West Market Square

BANGOR – If you lived in Ireland and wanted a pint of Guinness, or a shot of Jameson, or a cup of lamb stew, you’d head down to “the local” – an affectionate name for the neighborhood pub.

At the local, you could catch up on the day’s events, chat with the wait staff, conduct business and meet your friends. You could stay there for a few minutes, or you could stay there for six hours – there’s a reason why Guinness and Murphy’s have a low alcohol content.

That’s the atmosphere Paul Noonan is trying to create at Cristor’s, downtown Bangor’s newest pub and restaurant. It draws its name from the Gaelic word for “Christopher,” the name of Noonan’s infant son. And it draws its authentic feel from Bangor doctors Daniel O’Brien and Niamh Holohan.

The couple hails from Ireland, and they’re regulars at Noonan’s other restaurant, New Moon. For years, they told him he needed to open an Irish pub, and when the former Boyd & Noyes storefront became available, they signed on as Noonan’s business partners in the venture.

“We’ve had a couple of people come over and say, ‘This feels like a real Irish pub,'” Noonan said on a recent afternoon. “It’s classic, because in Ireland, the pubs don’t have a lot of space.”

Cristor’s occupies two floors in the narrow building. The high-backed booths in the lower-level dining area, the long bar upstairs and the exposed brick throughout lend to the cozy, social atmosphere.

“The way people interact here is a little different,” Noonan said. “At the New Moon, people are social, but they’re social in their group. Here, everyone socializes together. This is a little more free-flowing.”

The relaxed feel extends to the menu, as well. There are burgers, but they’re made from locally raised Scottish beef cattle. There are fries, but they’re hand-cut and served with curried mayonnaise. And there are all of the Irish classics, too: corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew with lamb, and soda bread.

“We wanted to do food that was casual, but we wanted everything to be made fresh,” Noonan said.

Sunday brunch is on the horizon, and in the pub, there are plans for live Irish session music, broadcasts of soccer and hurling matches, and, eventually, a darts tournament. Noonan said that since Cristor’s opened in early November, he’s noticed more informal “pub crawls” going on downtown.

“I think it does two things: It gets people out, and then they go to other places,” Noonan said. “Every bar has its own initial crowd, but what they do is move around. It adds to the critical mass in the area.”

Noonan wants Cristor’s not only to be “the local,” but to boost the local scene, as well.

Cristor’s is located in West Market Square and serves food from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The bar is open later. For information, call 942-9007.