Over Christmas i got the opportunity to visit this gem of a pub on Tower Street on the outskirts of Cork City. The city center was thronged with Christmas revellers so a trip here was most welcome. Brendan introduced me to Ma Deleas and i must say that i am glad that he did. He is a regular there but i got just as warm a welcome in the pub. The pints of Murphys were top class and the service at the bar was efficient and friendly. Brendan reckons that that the bar man was one of the best in Cork and i couldn’t disagree. The pub itself was bigger than i imagined from the outside. It is long and to be fair there are plenty of seating areas. There is a pool table available in its own area just inside the front door. I got the impression that this was a real locals bar as everyone had a hello or a nod for everyone else.
The gents toilet that i used was small but in relatively good condition. I noticed people playing rings and there was a good buzz about this place. This is a pub that you have to walk a bit out of the city centre to get to but it was ceratinly worth it. I even shared a taxi home with the owner and two others.
Toilet rating: 6.5/10
Pint rating: 8.5/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: I found this pub to have a friendly welcome for me even though i had never been there before. That’s very important.
Congratulations and best of luck for the rest of the series to our friend Amanda Casey from us at Munster Pubs. She is presently on Operation Transformation on RTE 1 on Wednesdays at 8pm. Her fiancee, our friend Brian also appears on this show and he likes black lace (apparently)!! Check it out if you haven’t seen it.
Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to all Munsterpubs visitors from myself and Ryan.
Mr Tayto Contacted us recently telling of his new autobiography. We fully endorse his new book and its proving very popular. Pick up a copy for yourself.
The newly published Mr. Tayto is available at http://www.taytocrisps.ie/ or for a more personal, real-time, social media, web 2.0 experience, you can also find & follow him on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/taytoontour
After a few pints in The Tap Tavern bar we headed to this bar where we had dinner reservations. The White Lady is very much a Kinsale institution. It was quite busy when we went in but we had a table reserved. The pub itself is modern and the service at the bar is efficient. I had a pizza for dinner and i have to say it was possibly the nicest pizza i have ever had in a restaurant or pub. The pints of Murphy’s that i had there were not great but i managed to finish them!
The toilets that i used were small but well maintained. After our meal we got free passes to see Jon Kenny doing a stand up show in the nightclub in the white lady. It brought back memories of my days going clubbing here most weekends. Great times! Definately a place to head for a really nice bite to eat.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 6/10
Overall rating 7/10
Final comment: I would certainly head back here again but not for just a pint but maybe another nice meal.
Last Saturday our Tuesday night Football team went paintballing in Kinsale. It was great fun and sore. After we had showers and a couple of pints in The Captains Bar at the Carlton hotel, we headed to this pub. It was on recommendation of my brother and it was a great find for us. You’l find it just across the road from ‘Fishy, Fishy’ in the town. It is a small quaint bar loaded with character. It would almost take you a whole night to examine all the memorabilia on the walls. About 10 of us headed in together and most people sat to the left across from the bar. I was introduced to the owner who appeared to be very pleasant. The turf fire was especially appealing and kept everyone cosy. I had a pint of Murphy’s and being honest could have no complaints about it.
The beer garden is fantastic. There is a very old well situated here. Both smokers and non smokers are in for a treat. The gents toilets were suprisingly big and very well maintained. On the wall i noticed some pictures of The Dutchess Of York who previously visited the pub. Unusually they don’t have Budweiser on tap here. Overall this was a very enjoyable visit and one of the best finds in a while.
Toilet rating: 7.5/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Final comment: This pub scores so well because it is a real public house, a real local. Thats not something you find too often these days.
I checked our visitor counter today and this year so far we have had 116459 visitors.
Thanks for checking us out.
While clearing up and doing a bit of housework on the site, I couldn’t quite believe that I hadn’t yet written a small spot about Nash’s on Thomas Street in Dublin 8. It’s the kind of place that looks quite daunting from the outside and for that very reason I’m sure many tourists have passed it by without a second thought. I say tourists because it’s pretty much on the main route between the Guinness Storehouse and Christchurch/city center.
They do a mean lunch. By mean I’m not suggesting it’s bad, quite the opposite. It’s well priced for the quantity and quality of the food on offer. They also do a fantastic lunchtime pint of Guinness, but I’m sure as a 9-5 office worker I wouldn’t know anything about that kind of thing…
The lounge is big enough for what is essentially a local bar. I doubt you’re going to get people coming well out of their way on a Friday or Saturday night to come in here. As I’m pretty much a local, I’ve sampled the bar by day and by night and really couldn’t fault it. They do a great lunch for a very reasonable cost and low and behold, they have (or had the last time I was in there anyway) Beamish on tap in the bar! Staff are friendly and the natives seem not to mind the odd blow-in wandering around in search of refreshment. Would I go in there again? Well yes, I’m in there pretty much every two weeks for lunch.
The relative calm and quietness of Kilmainham Lane in Dublin 8 is home to a rare gem. This is one of those kind of places that there are seemingly all too few of these days. No shiny chrome fixtures (except maybe for the bar taps), no glaring lights, marble bar tops or anything else you’d associate with the multitude of soulless city center ‘bars’, this is a place of character. No larger than many of the living rooms in the adjacent apartments, it’s packed to the gills every weekend with the locals you just have to assume have been coming here since they could see over the bar.
If you’re lucky and you’re early, you might be awarded with a spot in the utterly fantastic dimly lit snug at the bottom of the stairs. The snug has the benefit of being both close to the bar and being close to the toilet. I’m not too sure I want to find out how many pints of the superbly delivered Guinness I need to drink before traveling arse over tit down the stairs after spending a night drinking in the main bar.
Speaking of the tipple, the Guinness (which admittedly is the only thing I’ve ever ordered) is among if not the best pint of Guinness I’ve ever had. It makes it not only drinkable, but highly enjoyable. High praise indeed, given my history of praising Murphy’s and barely giving any others a look in. The bar staff are friendly without being overly so but always have a few words of conversation for you if you make the effort.
Eoin, who may have complained if I didn’t include this, was in awe of the miniature shower system in the toilet which provides steamy hot water for scrubbing your mucky paws. I believe the comment was along the lines of “you just don’t see that anymore”. No, you don’t. But you could say that about most, if not all of this place. It’s a very welcome step back in time. A place where you can go not to be deafened by a blaring stereo or the musical strains of whatever performer was cheap and available. A place to go to practice the forgotten art of conversation over a few pints. A place that’s around the corner from a Chinese takeaway!
This pub is on Parnell place just across from the bus station in Cork City. I headed in on a midweek night and was greeted with ‘Hello, How’s it going’ by all inside. The greeting certainly lives up to the name of the pub. The bar man took my order and i sat across from the bar and had a look at all the sporting memorabilia on the walls. There are pictures of stadiums and flags on the ceiling. The Welcome Inn is one of Cork’s early morning pubs. The pint of Murphy’s from the friendly bar man was one of the best i have had for a long while. There was a match on the television and people were watching and chatting.
The toilets are extremely small and cramped and there are leaves growing in! This was a nice pub to visit and i’d say a gig in there would be great. I can definately see myself returning and i would definately recommend people to head in to get a real Irish welcome from staff and customers.
Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 8.5/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: This pub has a locals feel to it and you certainly do not feel like your anywhere near the city while inside.
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