The Druid is a dark bar in Inman Square. The walls are red. The ceiling is red. The lighting is dim. When musicians sidle into the corner by the window for a seissiún, they glow under a bulb overhead. And when DJs set up turntables in the opposite corner, they’re almost entirely in the shadows.

The Druid is also an Irish bar in Inman Square. But not in the mail-order-pub-kit way that plagues the area. Instead of brimming with Guinness posters, Irish road signs, and "authentic" Emerald Isle bric-a-brac (although there is some of that), the walls display a shuffle of Celtic art, ancient and modern. A mural of ancient Celtic runes runs along one wall; the others feature metal sculptures, a portrait of Che Guevara, and a painting of a mystic, brown-cloaked figure stealing through the fields. Right next door to the Zeitgeist Gallery, down the block from 1369 Coffeehouse, around the corner from Ryles, the Druid is Inman Irish — Inmish, if you will — and the crowds reflect the same. Black-turtleneck types drift in after experimental improv at the Zeitgeist, while Cambridge locals raise their pints at the bar.

The food, though, is almost entirely Irish, including fish and chips ($8.95), Irish beef stew ($6.95), and bangers and mash ($7.95), all of which are hot and hearty. The kitchen strays from the Celtic with taco ($6.95) and Tuscan-grill ($7.95) salads, the latter with marinated vegetables. And it’s been whispered here and there that this small, dark bar in Inman Square pulls the best pint the city has to offer.

The Druid, located at 1357 Cambridge Street, in Cambridge, is open Monday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Lunch and Sunday brunch are available from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner is served until 9 p.m. Call (617) 497-0965, or visit www.celticweb.com/druid.