Dentry’s Irish Grill in Point Grey: A popular gathering spot for the Irish
 OWNER Jack Gill pulls the perfect pint behind the bar at Dentry’s Irish Grill.
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By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER – Dentry’s Irish Grill located in the West Point Grey area of Vancouver is a popular neighbourhood gathering spot.
There is a small patio outside the front door and just inside the front door on the right is a well-stocked circular bar. A friendly bartender fills drink orders while chatting with regulars and newcomers as they relax on the bar stools. Just past the bar towards the back there are tables, snug areas, and a small area for entertainers.
Dentry’s offers great hospitality while catering to sports enthusiasts with six flat screen televisions, including two 55" plus screens.
Owner Jack Gill was on hand when I dropped by recently, and he said, “since taking over the pub a few years ago, (formerly Culpepper’s), we have added a lot of the big screen televisions, and as a result we are attracting a lot more of the younger crowd. The televisions are generally quiet but if we have a big event then we put it on full surround sound and patrons seem to like that.”
With summer holidays, July and August in the Point Grey area tends to be a bit quiet, so Jack generally puts on special events. For instance, he said, “we have the Captain Morgan girls coming in with samples of their products and our beer and wine reps will probably present other ideas throughout the summer.”
Dentry’s also sponsors the Red Army UBC Hockey team and the UBC Soccer team and he said, “they hold fundraisers here at the pub throughout the year. Both the UBC hockey and soccer teams are at Dentry’s two to three times a week.
“We would like to sponsor a baseball team but as yet have not been approached by one. The thing that we like about sports teams is that they create an exciting reciprocal buzz in the pub. In September when the holidays are over and the kids are back in school, we are really busy here at Dentry’s.”
Gill agrees that not everyone is a big fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). The games are shown live on pay-per-view and Dentry’s show all the games – each time to a full house. Jack feels that many people don’t understand UFC and that others are just starting to get used to it. The next fight is on August 7.
It’s a full and varied menu at Dentry’s, with appetizers from spinach and artichoke dip to chicken wings and dry garlic ribs, along with a variety of salads and baked French onion soup and soup du jour.
The entrees offer everything from mac and cheese, halibut and chips, a variety of burgers, shepherds pie, to steak and chips. On Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 4 PM, there is a brunch menu with pancakes, waffles, French toast to English style breakfast and prices are very reasonable.
Dentry’s signature dish is butter chicken served with rice and nann and is made specially by Jack’s wife Davinder. She makes the butter chicken from her own secret recipe and it absolutely flies out of the kitchen. Jack offered me a sample to taste.
The tantalizing smell and melt-in-your-mouth chicken and sauce was unbelievably delicious. I had tasted butter chicken before but Davinder’s recipe just tops them all – no wonder it’s so popular! The sauce is not too hot nor too bland but rather a medium type of sauce the would appeal to everyone.
Speaking about some of the other food specials, Jack said, “on Fridays we do an eight ounce steak dinner with caesar salad and garlic toast for $11.99 and that’s really popular. On Sunday we have a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.
“Every day we have an appetizer and a pitcher special for $12.99, and this really appeals to the sports teams. We have 13 different tap items on our bar as well as the usual Celtic beverages of Guinness and Kilkenny, which is a favourite of our regular customers since they love the pour here.
“Starting in September we will have the popular live bands back. They play all the Eighties and Nineties music. We also have plans to bring in an Irish band once a month, starting in September.”
• Dentry’s Irish Grill is located at 4450 West 10th Avenue (between Trimble and Sasamat) in the Point Grey area of Vancouver. For more information, call (604) 224-3434, or visit: www.dentrys.com.
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