Went to see Guns N Roses at the RDS recently. It was a good concert and i enjoyed it. We headed into the bar for a drink in the venue. At this particular Bar, Miller was the only pint available. It was about 6 euro for the pint and it was completely watered down. It was my first and only drink. Because there is a monopoly at these events they can charge what they like for food and drinks. Its a pity really because you have no choice and get no value for money.
Archive for June, 2006
We headed in to this bar one night recently on a night out in the city. We were passing Instinct bar on Sullivans quay and decided to head in. We passed a few door men and headed in. I didn’t know this place was a gay bar but it didn’t take long to find this out after we went in. Two pints of Murphy’s were ordered and we sat at a high table near to the dancefloor. There wasn’t a huge crowd of people out for a drink but the place was quite busy. It is a big pub and i never noticed it before. In fairness the pints of stout were nice and have no complaints about them. One thing i noticed was loads of flashing lights around the pub. It can accomodate a good number of people and i’d say it gets quite busy. Its website describes it as ‘Cork’s premier gay bar’ The website is www.instinctbarcork.com
The toilets are big and were well maintained when i used them. Instinct is just a short walk over the bridge from the Grand Parade so it is central. I am not sure if i’l head back again but for anyone that didn’t know about it, there you go. A person named Toby left a comment on the site asking if we would include contact details such as phone numbers for pubs. Where possible i will try to do this from now on. If you want to contact Instinct phone: 0214966726.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: We only had the one drink in this pub. It appears to be a lively venue worth checking out.
On our way back from Kinsale we stopped off at Allens bar in Riverstick. It has a convenient location on the road side. The other pub in the village, The Babbling Brook has previously been reviewed. We parked at the front of the pub where there is a small car park available to customers. We went in through the front and into the bar area. There was a few lads inside with Cork jerseys having a few drinks watching GAA on a big projected screen. The girl behind the bar was very pleasant and pulled a very good pint of Murphy’s. I enjoyed it a lot. The bar area of the pub is small but comfortable. We also headed into the lounge area which is more spacious and has a pool table in another small section. This area is very bright and there was a few people watching a match here.
I ordered another pint of Murphy’s as we decided to play a few games of pool. There is a juke box available here and it is digital one, very impressed! The toilets i used at the back of the pub are small but were very well maintained yesterday. There is also a gents toilet available on the right inside the front entrance. I was pleasantly surprised with Allens Bar. It is a fine pub to sit and enjoy a few drinks and maybe play a game of pool.
Toilet rating: 7.5/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: Allens Bar is easy to find when in Riverstick, check it out for yourself.
We went for Sunday lunch yesterday in The Oyster creek and headed into Kinsale afterwards. The dinner was excellent and we all enjoyed it. We drove up to The Spaniard Inn on the outskirts of Kinsale town. It is located in an area called Scilly. We parked up from the pub and the road in this area is very narrow and the pub is located on a corner. There was a few lads outside enjoying a few drinks and the fine weather. The first thing i thought as i walked inside was ‘traditional’. It is very much a traditional Irish pub with plenty character. As i ordered at the bar i looked around at what is a gem of a place. This is another of those pubs that people have said i must visit. The roof is low and there is sawdust all over the ground. Yesterday there was one very small tv showing a world cup game. The walls display the awards that The Spaniard Inn has won. It has won many for its food and also for its music in the bar. I had a pint of Murphy’s and sadly i have to say that it wasn’t great. I was expecting a very decent pint but it wasn’t to be today.
There are two sections inside the pub and one features a darts board. There is a restaurant attached to the pub and i would say from reports that the food is of a very good standard. To access the toilets you have to walk out the front and there are gents and ladies available to you through a door at the front. I had a look at the gents and they were in good condition yesterday. This is a pub that i will have to come back at night and see the place with music and banter galore! The Spaniard Inn is the kind of pub that you won’t find in too many places anymore.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 5/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: I am glad that i got to visit this unique pub. It is most certainly worth checking out.
Our fight home from Lanzarote was delayed by about an hour so after browsing in the shops we headed to the bar for a drink. The only beer available on tap is Carlsberg so we both decided to have a pint of that. We were served by a very good looking girl at the bar and decided to head outside and enjoy the sun. There is seating available inside and outside the bar. You can get bottled beers and spirits as well. It was one of the nicest pints that i have had for a long while. It was very refreshing sitting in the sun sipping on a cold pint of beer. Most other people were sitting outside too. It passed some time for us and was relaxing.
There is no toilet in the bar. There is the general airport toilets available for use and these were in fairly good condition. Carlsberg must have some sort of deal with this bar because there are signs for it everywhere. Its not a bad place to call into if you are delayed after checking in for a flight home.
Toilet rating: 6.5/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: Lanzarote Airport Bar is available to people leaving the airport and can accomodate a good number of people.
The pub we classed as our local in Lanzarote was Barties Irish Bar. It is another in Matagorda. We headed in here on a good few nights during our holiday. It is owned by two guys called Mick and John being from Wales and England respectively. They are very welcoming and run a very decent pub. If you are an eastenders fan you will notice an uncanny likeness between Phil and Grant and Mick and John!! Hannia is the barmaid we met, she is English and very nice too. It was previously owned by a Cork man named Bartie Kavanagh. It enjoys an idyllic location on the promanade overlooking the beach. The bar itself is upstairs and is very comfortable with plenty of seats available. There is live music on most nights including Karaoke, an Elvis tribute and a Frank Sinatra tribute that is excellent. Leroy, a dj at power fm on the island looks after the karaoke and he does a fantastic job. He certainly has a way with people. I was mainly drinking beer on holidays but decided after much deliberation to try out the Guinness at Barties. It costs 3 euro 80 a pint and is delivered to you at your table so there is no waiting at the bar. Stout is never as nice abroad but the pints i had in this pub were by far the best that i have tried from any foreign land.
The toilets in Barties are very well maintained and useable. There is one urinal available and two cubicles. There is a sign up in the gents toilet telling the lads not to throw ciggerete buts down the toilet as it makes them soggy and difficult to light!! They serve a good selection of foods at reasonable prices but we didn’t eat here. Catch all major sporting events including the world cup at barties, there are loads of televisions and a projected screen as well. I sang a few songs in the karaoke here and enjoyed it a lot. Leroy records you as you sing and plays it back so you can hear yourself afterwards. Myself and Jen got a cd of ourselves! Anyway if you are in Matagorda and are looking for a decent bar with efficient nice staff then consider Barties Irish Bar.
Toilet rating: 8/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Leroy at work in the power fm radio studio.
Final comment: Barties is a place you can go as a family, it is not too mad and it closes up at about 1 to 2am which is a reasonable time.
Hotel Beatriz Playa in Matagorda is a fine complex. We stayed in a very comfortable and large room that had a spectacular view out to the ocean. It is a huge hotel and is complimented with very good facilities. We only went into the bar on one occasion on our trip. My first impression was that it is a big function room. I went to the bar and ordered my drinks and the service was quite good. I ordered two beers and they were ok. There was live music and parents with children dancing to different songs. It all looked great fun but it is not our scene just yet so we just stayed for the one drink. There was a good crowd of people having a drink in the bar. There was a no shortage of places for us to sit and we found a comfortable spot. There is a stage and quite a big dancefloor available. There is also a piano bar in the hotel called La Barqueta which we didn’t have a drink in but looked nice. A very trendy pool bar is also available and is quite big also.
There are many public toilets available around the hotel and the ones that i saw are all very well maintained. We had many games of pool in the games room and we got some drinks from the bar. There is entertainment every night in the Mindanao Salon Bar and it is very much a family place. Kids are most welcome here. It’s a fine hotel and i would certainly stay here again.
Toilet rating:7.5/10
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: I enjoyed our short trip to this bar. In a few years time when we hopefully have kids i would be quite happy to spend the night dancing to the suspect (but fun) music!
We went for dinner in the new town of Puerto Del Carmen one night and as we were walking along we got stopped 6 or 7 times in the space of 50 yards. ‘Going for a drink tonight’? was the question on everyones lips and then the rant about the free drinks and happy hour etc! I told them all that i had only one thought on my mind at that time, getting dinner. I would then think about going for a drink. Following our meal we came upon Tito’s Karaoke palace. Anyone that knows me knows that i love singing and that i enjoy karaoke (quite a lot!) This guy brought us down the steps and we were shown to our table by a very nice girl. She took our order which consisted of a beer and a vodka and coke and she arrived back with two of each. I was adamant that she had misheard me but she informed me it was happy hour, it made us happy anyway! Two for the price of one, great stuff. To be honest this continued for most of the night and you get good value for your money. The round of drinks cost us 8 euro 50 which wasn’t bad for four beverages. The table service was excellent and my compliments to the two people working that night, they were on the ball. The bar itself is quite big and was busy and the karaoke entertainer was an excellent singer. There are loads of seating areas.
The toilets were what let the place down, in my opinion. They are small, were messy on the night and the one cubicle available had no toilet seat or toilet paper. We stayed here for the night and found it very entertaining. I sang a good few songs and there was plenty of other singers as well. It is a nice place to have a bit of fun and have a few drinks. If i was back in the new town i would head back again. As we left the guy who brought us in hailed down a taxi and we were brought home. The taxi from the new town to our hotel cost at most 5 euro at any time.
Toilet rating: 4/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Tito’s Karaoke Palace is a place a big group of people could go in and enjoy a night out.
I have just returned from a very enjoyable week long holiday in Lanzarote. While there we checked out some of the bars that are available. We stayed in Matagorda in Hotel Beatriz Playa and found it to be excellent. Matagorda is about 4-5 kilometers outside of Puerto Del Carmen and is much quieter. The thing that i liked about Matagorda is that there is no-one pestering you to come into places or giving you endless amounts of fliers. First and Last (Irish Music Bar) is situated in the shopping area of Matagorda. We went in here on one night and found a one man band belting out the hits. The actual bar is very small but there is also seats outside and that is where we sat. There was a good crowd in the bar and out where we were. I got a pint of beer and Jen got a glass of beer and it came to 4 euro 50. The people in the bar really seemed to be enjoying the craic. I found it grand but i didn’t fancy staying for the night so we only stayed for two drinks and headed off.
I don’t know where their toilets were and didn’t see them. We passed this bar several times on our trip but didn’t head back in again. The same guy seemed to be there every night playing music. Here is a bar to consider if you are on holidays in Lanzarote.
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: First and last is a decent spot and it appeared to attract a good crowd.
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