Brew pub highlight is Hull’s million-dollar view

This Sea Dog — there are three others in Maine — opened in mid-June on the third floor of the marina building at the bayside end of A Street. This restaurant, however, is not owned by the Portland-based microbrewery that owns the Maine outlets, but by four Boston-area partners who have a licensing agreement with the brewery to sell its beer and borrow its menu.

Three of the owners also own The Greatest Bar in Boston and all four of them have two dogs each. When the partners found the location and wanted to use the word Sea Dog in their new restaurant’s name, they stumbled upon the idea of licensing from the brewery whose beer they sell in Boston.

Despite its out-of-the-way location (about 2 miles from Nantasket Beach), the 75-seat pub has been crowded on several evening visits, loud with music and a lively bar scene. The simple space is spare and good-looking with heavy wood beams, a large U-shaped bar, and lots of windows with good views. If you’re looking for a fun, beachy bar with a very summery, airy vibe — this is a great new place for you.

If you’re not looking for that scene, though, the Sea Dog has something equally wonderful to offer: the very best deck I can think of on the South Shore.

The outer reach of this peninsular town juts so far into Boston Harbor that much of it lies among Boston Harbor’s 30-plus islands, and the third-floor deck of the Sea Dog is a crow’s nest of a spot to sit among them. Because the deck faces west, has limited shade, and no umbrellas (the owners say they haven’t had time to install them yet), it’s best to come before 2 p.m. for a shaded spot of lunch, or after 7, when the sun is no longer blazing. But, if it isn’t sweltering out, the deck is stellar anytime.

This place is less about the food than it is about its locale and bar — you can order a sampler of the six Sea Dog beers it has on tap ($8 for a few ounces of each). Still, I tried several dishes good enough to be able to enjoy a meal on the deck without having to order chicken tenders, burgers, fried fish, or chicken wings.