Tucked away on Chaplain Lane off Fort Street Mall, Proof Public House has the appearance of a quaint village pub, though it’s rough around the edges.

It opened early last year in the space formerly occupied by Mercury Bar and is owned by the same folks behind Downbeat Diner & Lounge on North Hotel Street.

Proof sits at the doorstep of Hawaii Pacific University, so it’s easy to see why the focus is on beer and pizza — two campus staples. The pub is also ideally situated to attract young workers from the surrounding business district.

The experience

The pub has a shabby, old-timey feel with scuffed white, honeycomb-tile floors, pillars plastered with aged newspapers, an ornate chandelier and framed black-and-white photos of Hawaiian royalty and other Honolulu scenes of yore.

Most of the action when we visited seemed to be taking place at the bar, but table and bench seating was also available. A couple of cafe tables and benches out front under the hanging ferns were occupied by smokers.

Inside, the high ceiling and most of the walls were painted black, but the space seemed airy and uncluttered, with ample room to move around. The large front windows provided plenty of subdued natural lighting, a good thing considering the lack of air conditioning.

The old Mercury stage has been replaced by a single pool table — essential for any legit pub. (Games are a buck apiece.) TVs are provided for sports watching, with a jumbo projection screen ready for main events. The loud Southern rock blasting across the pub made it difficult to carry on a conversation and hastened our exit before a headache could set in.

But I get that Public Proof House isn’t for my demographic. The bar seems to attract mostly guys, but it’s a place any woman would feel comfortable entering; it’s not a pick-up bar, in other words. The men stopping by while we were there were in their 20s and 30s, a mixture of local boys, professionals and Chinatown habitues, all just looking to relax with their buddies.

I imagine the place gets pretty lively when HPU is in session.

The food

There are no happy hour discounts on food at Proof Public House, but the changing daily menu of pizza slices is a good deal nonetheless at $3.50 to $4.50 per generous slice. Along with the standard cheese and pepperoni, there were conventional options, such as Italian sausage, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and garlic, along with more offbeat combinations including bleu cheese macaroni with sun-dried tomatoes and sweet onion, and blueberries, spicy pecans and honey, obviously meant as a dessert.

We ordered one of each along with a slice of spinach, garlic, mushroom and feta.

I like my pizza crust thin and chewy, but not doughy, and Proof nailed it. So the rest should have been easy. It wasn’t.

I had trouble wrapping my head around the cheese macaroni version, picturing a thick, gooey casserole layered on top of a pizza crust. What arrived was a thin slice sprinkled with elbow macaroni and the other ingredients that was too salty for my taste. (The regular pizza menu offered fried rice and loco moco pies, which did not appeal. If I wanted to eat those beloved comfort foods, I would go someplace where I could get the real deal. And in the case of fried rice, it would just be a matter of walking a couple blocks west to the source.)

The kitchen had far better success with the Italian sausage and spinach slices, which had all the fresh, traditional flavors you want in pizza. There’s no shame in sticking with the classics if you can do them well.

My companion took the blueberry-pecan-honey slice home and reheated it the next morning, reporting it was much more satisfying as a breakfast bite.

Thirteen-inch pies start at $14, with cheese, veggie and meat add-ons at $1 to $2 extra.Vegan options are available, as are salads and sandwiches.

The drinks

Happy hour at Proof Public House offers $1 off all drinks. The craft cocktail menu was enticing, with drinks already well-priced at $8. These included reboots of the Manhattan, Old-Fashioned, Bloody Mary and Whiskey Sour, and the Maui Mule: Pau Maui vodka, Proof’s fresh Hawaiian ginger brew, lime and soda.

The Mule, served in the requisite copper mug, was refreshing indeed, but with ice filling too much of the cup, it lacked a kick.

There’s enough of a selection of bottled and canned suds to please beer snobs and chuggers alike, and with regular prices $3 to $6, you won’t break the bank.

My partner ordered a Flower Child IPA from New England’s Cambridge Brewing Co., enjoying the bite of this offbeat brew.

The verdict

For as little as $5.50 you can get a happy hour beer and a tasty slice, and there aren’t not too many places in town where that’s possible. Add a friendly pub atmosphere, and Proof Public House is a worthwhile pau-hana stop or meeting place for a certain crowd.