After 3.5 years of construction and 3.5 million dollars of invested capital, Stone Mad has opened (sort of). As of late April, the bar is open but the food is still on hold. The Irish pub is the masterpiece of Pete Leneghan and Eileen Sammon who also own The Treehouse in Tremont.
No corners have been cut, and no expense has been spared. The interior is classy and traditional, with modern accents like hand-blown glass fixtures. The walls are covered in dark wood.
The patio is mind-blowing (and it's still not complete!) It's surrounded by a massive stone wall, the base is stone, and the tables and chairs are (you guessed it) stone! Gates are made of custom wrought iron. And, a massive wood-burning fireplace warms a handful of tables.
Service was top-notch. We chatted with the manager for quite some time and learned the finer details of building an indoor bocce court (by the way, they have an indoor bocce court.) Going well beyond the call of duty, he escorted my group back to our cars at the end of the night.
FYI: According to Elaine Cicora at Scene the name Stone Mad "comes from a 1977 memoir by Irish stonecarver Seamus Murphy, recounting his seven-year apprenticeship among the country's masons."