If you hike your way up Barrack Street you’ll eventually find your way to Tom Barry’s, near The Tower Inn and directly across the road from Nancy Spains. It’s not a huge pub but it is quite comfortable and has (rather unexpectedly) a nice sized beer garden to the rear.
A few of us visited there on an impromptu pub review session recently. We ordered our drinks and made the usual small-talk at the bar when, after already taking the order, the barmaid turned and said “not tonight lads” or something to similar effect. Apparently we had already had our fill of drink, despite the fact that we had all (with the exception of our designated driver) only had one drink in the previous pub. It’s something you may expect if you’re in a very large group, maybe being a bit rowdy, probably not dressed in an acceptable way or being rude to the staff. We were none of the above. After standing there for several seconds in a mixture of stunned silence and absolute disbelief, three members of our group decided to leave and not bother contesting the fact whilst the last stayed on to try and get some sense out of the barmaid.
Apparently, and personally I find this to be the most idiotic excuse I’ve ever heard, the reason we were refused is because it appeared one of our group was too drunk to stay there. Who you may ask? Who is this alcohol infused gent who ruined our admittedly short night out? None other than our designated driver! Yes, the very person who was sipping on Coca-Cola products all night and driving us all home was obviously too drunk to sit in a bar, sipping on a 7up. Not vodka and 7up, not even 7up and crisps! Plain ol’ fizzy lemon & lime 7up.
Needless to say, the whole experience was highly embarrassing and quite infuriating and even if she had backed down and served our order, none of us would have stayed. The same member of our group who challenged her returned the next day to find out exactly what the issue was, only to be fed a completely different story than the previous night. It was now completely certain that there was no valid reason for her to refuse our service. Perhaps the tills were full for that night and they couldn’t possibly fit our money in no matter how much they tried. Couldn’t even shoehorn it in. It certainly wasn’t because we were drunk, rowdy, noisy or dressed incorrectly. Neither were we abusive or anyway interested in any kind of conflict after we were refused.
All this from one of the friendliest pubs in the city… supposedly anyway. I could use several words to describe the welcome you get in this pub, but they would all lack the required impact when read. Instead they should be shouted from the rooftops; perhaps of Nancy Spains. I sincerely doubt any of us will be in a rush to get back to Tom Barry’s. I’m certain I won’t be back there anyway. The friendliest pub around? I’m not too sure, I think I could find a friendlier pub in Loyalist Belfast. That’s a stretch, coming from a Catholic and all…
Surprised to hear this as Barrys is normally OK. There have been a few strange barmaids there in the past but the ‘gaffer’ himself is normally fair enough, he might even appreciate you letting him know what happened. Give it one last try.
yeah ive heard that story before in that place..if ya arrive with more than 4 they tell ya to f-off..
TB’s is the “Coyote Ugly” of Barrack Street; a carefully orchestrated theme pub. No signing allowed, nor any overly overt craic. Female staff are surely all under instruction to refer to customers as “love”, “honey” etc until closing time, when they suddenly reveal their cold, harpie hearts. Also it seems only the female staff can serve drinks, whilst handsome, dark, pint sized manservants attend to the more menial aspects of running the establishment. Boo, Tom Barry, you don’t deserve that beergarden!
A friend of mine was almost kicked out for trying to take a photograph of the bar. He was later told to stop talking photographs of his friends. This is a place for quite pints only, don’t dare try to bring a crowd in because if you make noise you will be told to stop. This philosophy comes direct from the owner who makes all the rules but hey lads, it’s his pub and a lot of people seem to like it.
Tom Barry’s is off the list – we will never ever set foot in the place again. We had a similar experience there yesterday. Sinead the barmaid was rude, discriminatory and unreasonable – not to mention unprofessional and immature. Along with asking two of us to leave (for no apparent reason), the bar staff ignored customers at the bar, preferring to chat amongst themselves. All our group left and went to Sober Lane – a much friendlier establishment.
hmm- usually the service there is quite good, but last night a similar thing happened to me. it was awful. i was singled out from a group of friends by a new barmaid, and she refused to serve me. she was all ‘you’ve had enough’… and i was wondering what exactly i’d done to annoy her- it frankly made me a bit paranoid. it’s a regular pub for me, but i’m nearly scared to go in there again! i tried to ask her calmly ‘why?’ and ‘why me in particular?’, but she started the whole ‘you’re raising your voice’ carry on, and depsite modulating my tone, i was getting nowhere. i wouldn’t mind, but i was sorely tempted to give her a talking to, but i thought better of it (god forbid, the power-hungry new barmaid, might have barred me!).
I’m kind of shocked at some of those comments!! Tom Barrys has been a local of mine for about 10 years.I’ve seen some staff stay and some go, but I’ve never had any porblems with any of them. In fact it’s probably the only nice and decent place to go in Cork.You’re always guaranteed a smile and fantastic service… and if you’re on your own, you’ll have some company at the bar. Tom Barry, himself is an absolute pet and he knows how to run a fabulous business and more importantly a gorgeous bar. A lot of that has to do with the bar staff who are all very experienced in the bar trade, thus extremely efficient and friendly. I’ve seen Jen (the manager), Mars, Sinead and a couple of others refuse people and they’ve never been anything but polite… In fact they generally have a fairly good reason to refuse service! Being honest that’s one of the main reasons I go there, coz there’s never gonna be any shit up there with loud louts or the likes!! To name Sinead as being “rude, discriminatory and unreasonable…immature” is surely uncalled for – she used to manage the Gateway down the road too and she’s really friendly… if she refused you, there’s was definitely a reason!
Personally I think Tom Barry’s is a wonderful pub and if people who have been refused service there are so petty as to try and blacken the name of probably one of the nicest pubs around, maybe they should just put a sock in it!
Personally, I don’t think it’s ‘petty’ for people to air their experiences, be they good or bad. I don’t think that anyone that’s commented above is going out of their way to ‘blacken’ the name of the pub; The staff seem to be doing a very good job of that on their own.
I think I’d have to agree with Ryan. People should be allowed to voice there opinion. Unless Gillian witnessed these events in person she should not pass judgment on the genuine reaction of other publicans.
Em.. There is a a particular barmaid – Mars who needs a swift, intensive and badly needed crash course in customer service !! Have watched agast as she has refused and abused patrons … she does this with alarming regularity. I love the cutsey interior and wonderful fire and beer garden but the shine in general is wearing off. I know at least a dozen of so of my friends, who don’t like going there anymore for all the reasons mentioned in the thread above. If you want a quiet pint its lovely, but if you want to be have a few and some fun go elsewhere as drinking and having fun are barred in Tom Barry’s. As someone mentioned above and i think sums it all up … Tom Barry’s ye dont deserve that lovely beer garden.
5* pub.. prob my favorite one so far (and i saw some!)..personal opinion tho.. ;-I
I was a “barmaid” there several years ago. I am surprised to read that people have been treated like this at Tom’s. He was always so nice to me and to all of the customers and I tried to do the same. We never had any trouble with anyone in the bar the whole time I worked there. Hmmm – I do remember some of the other names mentioned – that’s too bad that people had such a negative experience. As long as you are respectful and not bothering anyone else – everyone is welcome. That being said, it is a smaller bar and rowdy crowds would have made it unpleasant for everyone else. I agree with one of the other posters – Tom would probably want to know what happened.
On Easter Sunday night, at about 11pm, myself and my friend went to Tom Barrys, to meet up with a group of friends from school, who were already there. We are all 30 or 31, a respectable enough bunch – we don’t look like trouble basically.
My friend went to buy two drinks for us, to be informed by the barman that I wasn’t been served. I looked at my friend who said ‘he’s serious’ and looked around in dismay at my group of friends, who looked on in disbelief. I was completely sober after no drink at all!
I asked for the drinks again and after been refused again, I asked for the reason I was not been served. I was told that I had had enough to drink. At this a female member of staff told me I should leave. I asked her for the reason I was been singled out, she said I was rude to the barman.
More of my friends asked her why I was not been served, to be told that I had had enough to drink. We suggested that the rest of the group could all leave the bar too, to which she replied ‘that’s grand.’
I left and my friend who went there with me left too. We went to a nearby bar, where I was served. I asked the barman if he thought I was drunk, he said no. I informed him of what had just happened, he said that he had heard similar stories about Tom Barrys.
I have since heard that their staff routinely treat people like this.
The way I was treated by the staff was absolutely disgraceful. They are rude to the point of being obnoxious, displaying a very bad attitude and behave in a tactless manner. I used to go to this bar occasionally but given the way I was treated there and what I have found out about the pub since, I am never going there again.
On Easter Sunday night, at about 11pm, myself and my friend went to Tom Barrys, to meet up with a group of friends from school, who were already there. We are all 30 or 31, a respectable enough bunch – we don’t look like trouble basically.
My friend went to buy two drinks for us, to be informed by the barman that I wasn’t been served. I looked at my friend who said ‘he’s serious’ and looked around in dismay at my group of friends, who looked on in disbelief. I was completely sober after no drink at all!
I asked for the drinks again and after been refused again, I asked for the reason I was not been served. I was told that I had had enough to drink. At this a female member of staff told me I should leave. I asked her for the reason I was been singled out, she said I was rude to the barman.
More of my friends asked her why I was not been served, to be told that I had had enough to drink. We suggested that the rest of the group could all leave the bar too, to which she replied ‘that’s grand.’
I left and my friend who went there with me left too. We went to a nearby bar, where I was served. I asked the barman if he thought I was drunk, he said no. I informed him of what had just happened, he said that he had heard similar stories about Tom Barrys.
I have since heard that their staff routinely treat people like this.
The way I was treated by the staff was absolutely disgraceful. They are rude to the point of being obnoxious, display a very bad attitude and behave in a tactless manner. I used to go to this bar occasionally but given the way I was treated there and what I have found out about the pub since, I am never going there again.
Have to agree with a lot of the posts, the bar staff behind the bar (with two exceptions) are appallingly rude, amazed that the bar continues to be so successful, and yes, I noticed the man servants as well, very odd setup, karma which may come back to haunt if it isn’t sorted out. Nice interior to the pub but you never know the reception you will get, maybe people go in there for that thrill. Also heard the Munster team were refused drinks by the surly staff – Cork and its ‘eccentricity’.
The staff here are the worst I have ever encountered. We brought a group there in July and were treated so shabbily that we kdnapped their connect 4 pieces and are keeping them hostage.
I love this pub, but have seen this kind of behaviour from the barstaff. Even suffered once at the end of a barmaid’s barbed-tongue, for being empathetic (!) but the situation’s too specific: wouldn’t want to be barred five years after the fact!
Yeah…I can fully believe the comments. Guess with so many of them it’s hard to refute. I go there quite often and really like the place but am always wary of the barmaids. Was there one night waiting for my pint of plain to be given the finishing touch. After waiting about 10 minutes I gave the barmaid a friendly little nod of the head to let her know it was OK now to give me my pint. Well the look she gave made me feel like I’d asked her to kiss my feet. I was full sure I wasn’t going to get my drink. Not like she was busy either. We were both standing there for 10 minutes watching my pint go flat.
On the plus side the place is usually immaculate, with hot running water in the toilets too. Nice view out the back. And good pints too when they’re pulled right.