I don’t know why the final "e" has an acute accent, but then I was always unclear on why the previous incarnation of this nightclub/restaurant was an Irish bar called "The Grand Canal." Apparently there actually was a grand canal across Ireland, but surely I was not the only diner to walk through the doors expecting food from Venice. Marqueé isn’t especially evocative of Ireland either, but this is a serious Irish bar, now in a chain with Mr. Dooley’s and such, and serving lots of Irish-type food, some of it quite good, especially when the basic ingredients are top shelf.

For appetizers, the thing to have may well be Irish cocktail sausages and fries ($9). The fries aren’t exciting, but the 10 mini-sausages, with just the semi-starchy hit of real Irish "bangers," are excellent, and well sparked-up by the loose mustard dip.

You could just order everything "Irish," but the Irish loaded potato skins ($8) were not quite loaded. They were stuffed with cheese, bacon, and scallions — certainly an Irish combination — but they were six smallish shells, not crisp, and just good eating. The platter itself looked less impressive, with its grounding of limp chopped chicory. Green and yellow (cheese) is the Irish flag, but one expects a platter that looks, well, loaded.

I was quite pleased with the clam chowder ($4/cup; $5/bowl), which has real clam flavor behind a lot of cream and a few potatoes and clams. It’s a considerable improvement over the Grand Canal chowder of a few months earlier. (For a statement that Irish immigrants may have added the milk and potatoes to New England chowders in the 1840s, see The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Volume I, page 441.) French onion soup ($6) has a stock with more flavor of salt than beef or onion, and soft soaked bread, with limited but good cheese on top.

Main dishes win when the main ingredient wins. The sautéed scallops over spinach salad ($12) work well because the sea scallops have a lot of flavor, despite somewhat-salty dressing on the wilted greens. (Feta-cheese crumbles add salt but also flavor, as do the walnuts.) Marqueé steak tips ($14) in the Guinness barbecue marinade (optional mesquite seasoning) work well because the steak tips are good (and done to order) and the barbecue sauce is good, if not especially tasting of Guinness. These come with excellent mashed potatoes, the pick of the starches, and a mixture of sautéed vegetables that seems healthful if not exceptional. If you want the steak tips and the Irish sausages, there is the "Traditional Irish Mixed Grill" ($15), which also comes with Irish bacon, baked beans, and "Irish fries." (Memo to Republican readers: Ireland was not in the "Coalition of the Willing," although Ulstermen in the Royal Irish regiment are fighting there under the British flag, and members of New York’s historically Irish-Catholic 69th Infantry Regiment wear green insignia on patrol in Iraq. Maybe we should be calling them Polish fries?)

There are some 13 variants of burgers (all $10), including veggie and crab. The "Marqueé Burger" — what else would I try for review purposes? — is somewhat overwhelmed by its bun, but it includes good beef complemented by a slice of Canadian bacon, cheese, and Russian dressing. It’s easy enough to tuck the slices of onion and tomato into the giant bun and add ketchup. You’ll need ketchup to get through the French fries, which are pretty ordinary and taste as if made from frozen potatoes. The alternative rice is a salty baked pilaf that tastes as yellow as it looks.

Crab cakes ($14.95) are a couple of flavorful patties, but their side dishes do not support the price point. Desserts ($2.99) are a best buy, although there is only one each day. On my two visits, these amounted to a very passable chocolate cake with lots of whipped cream, and an above-average apple crumble with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. I suspect a lot of restaurants could sell desserts for $2.99 if they had to deal with only one a day, and more ought to try.

As is fitting for an Irish bar, Marqueé has more draft beer taps than wines by the glass. It does an excellent job with Guinness ($4.75) — not too cold — and pulls a whistle-clean Boddington’s ale ($4.50). I didn’t like the aftertaste in my Blue Moon ($4.50), but the lighter styles are always riskier, and Marqueé simply may not sell enough of the Colorado quasi-Belgian. Decaf coffee was quite decent, and we weren’t charged for it.

All our servers at Marqueé had Irish accents. They did fine work, even one who confessed it was her first night. The décor is sort of Victorian, with a horizontal five-wheel fan of unusual design. There are some fun lamps and a lot of mirrors. Certainly Marqueé is one of the better and more-versatile dining options near North Station, whether you’re working in the area or are on your way to a sports event. Order fundamentally, and enjoy.

Robert Nadeau can be reached at RobtNadeau@aol.com.