We went visiting Jen’s relatives last evening and popped into The Fir Tree in Watergrasshill. It was a very miserable night and there was a few people scattered around the bar. After visiting we were driving through Glanmire and decided to stop off at The Vienna Woods Hotel. Our last visit to this hotel was a good number of years back when a friend of mine got married and we attended the afters of his wedding. We headed in at about half ten and i ordered a glass of 7up and a glass of white wine. The conservatory area of the bar was empty and we sat just across from the bar. There were two people sitting at the bar and there was a bit of crowd in a big room off the bar, probably the lounge area. The bar man was very polite and efficient and we enjoyed our drinks in what are very pleasant surroundings. The hotel is in fact an 18th century country house that has obviously extended quite a bit. We enjoyed the drinks and stayed for another as well.
I went in search of the toilets and they are a good walk from the bar down past the restaurant. There may be toilets nearer but i couldn’t see any. The gents toilets were in very good condition and were a good size. Vienna Woods is set in very attractive woodlands and has a nice drive up to the hotel. The entrance for driving in, on the Glanmire road is a very sharp turn so beware. All in all an enjoyable hour spent in The Conservatory Bar. Check out the hotels website @ www.viennawoodshotel.com
Toilet rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: This bar is quaint and would be worth checking out. If you are in the hotel at a function or staying at the hotel have a drink here.
We didn’t have far to walk for our final pub of the night. Just a short walk from Fionbarra you will find The Gables, located at 31/32 Douglas street. G on our list and everyone was feeling the effects of the alcohol now! We headed inside and immediately noticed the snug at the front of the bar. Amazingly it was free so we took up residence. the pints were ordered at the bar and i took a walk around to see the place. it is quite a big pub but is cosy as well. There are lots of nice seating areas all around. It was quite busy on the Friday night that we visited. We really just made it in for last call at the bar. The pint was fine but i didn’t finish all of it as i’d had my fill of Murphy’s at that stage. Adrian noted that his pint of Bulmers draught was the best that he got all night which was good to hear. Apparently this bar has traditional Irish music every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights. I felt very relaxed in The Gables and found it to be a fine pub.
I went in search of the toilets and eventually found them upstairs. After a good few pints my direction isn’t 100%! I went in search of the gents but went into another toilet that i can only presume was for staff use. That was fine and i didn’t manage to check out the gents toilets. Overall i have to say that this pub was a good one to end our pub crawl in. All credit to my fellow reviewers, they were behaved impeccably all night! Everyone seemed to enjoy the first part of Munster pubs alphabetical pub crawl. Although it was not entirely successful as we missed E it was a great laugh and that is the most important thing in my book.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: The Gables is pub that was enjoyed by all while we were there.
Next on our alphabetical pub crawl we treked across the city again to 73 Douglas Street and to Fionbarra. F on our pub crawl we walked in and the drinks were ordered. Kevin mentioned that this bar serves local brews. What really impressed me about this pub is the way you walk through and you don’t realise that you are out side in the beer garden. Of course we all sat out here as it is a fantastic heated beer garden. It is probably one of the nicest if not the nicest beer gardens that i have seen around Cork City. There was a good crowd of people sitting out here. This was a pub that all of us really enjoyed having a drink in. There was a great atrmosphere in the beer garden. Apparently they do very nice food all day long in this pub.
The pint of Murphy’s as with most of the other pubs throughout the night was quite good. I often find myself wondering why pubs don’t put more heaters in beer gardens and smoking areas. Nothing can be said of this pub as there are more than enough heaters available. I used the toilets on the way out of the pub. The gents toilet is small and we found the hot water to be too hot and air coming out of the dryer to be too cold! Their condition wasn’t great. Check out this link for an interesting analysis of the toilet http://www.urinal.net/fionbarra_pub/
Toilet rating: 5.5/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: Fionnbarra is a nice pub definately worth visiting to see their beer garden.
We headed towards the Everyman Palace on McCurtain Street. We had planned to visit the pub in the front lobby of the theatre but unfortunately the place was closed by the time we got there. Originally we had planned to go to The Exchange Bar on Georges Quay but it is closed down and that could be that way for a while. We also considered walking to Elaines bar on Barrack Street but it was too far considering the time we had. We were walking past the Everyman and decided to have a pint in the bar that i gave a fantastic rating to. Dan Lowreys is a great pub. Considering it was another D we decided to have a pint here as there was no E pub anywhere near by. We all walked in and found it to be very busy. I ordered the drinks at the bar and the bar man noticed my Cork City jumper that i had on and was asking me about a match that had been on that night. It is a real old style bar that is quite small but really has so much charm. We ended up having our drinks directly outside where we got seats.
The pint of Murphy’s was a very good one, it has to be said. We enjoyed sitting in the fresh air even though it was chilly. One of the things i find unique about this pub is the books scattered around. The balcony over looking McCurtain street is fantastic. The toilets are ok and were fine on our visit. Even though we didn’t get to sit inside i still enjoyed a return visit to Dan Lowreys.
D on our alphabetical pub crawl of Cork city was Dennehys pub on the Coal Quay. We were thinking of reviewing the Douglas Hyde but that particular bar has closed down. We walked from Charlies to Dennehys in world record time! It was quite busy as we entered but there was a table in the back room with just enough seats to accomodate all of our group. Unfortunately it was literally like a sauna. That is no exaggeration as any of the others with testify to this.
We couldn’t bear the heat so we headed out and all but one managed to find a seat. I am a big fan of this pub and the quality of its pints. That has not changed as the Murphy’s the other night was very good. Ray commented that he thought there was a bad smell on entering the pub. Dennehys was the very first pub that i reviewed. It is a real public house with a lot of character.
As i have mentioned before the toilets can only accomodate on person at a time and they are really something special. I don’t get to head in here as often as i would like and that is the reason it was chosen as D on our route. We all enjoyed our pint and moved on but as always this pub leaves a very positive lasting impression.
Next to C on our Alphabetical pub crawl and a literal few steps to Charlies also on Union Quay, right next door to the famed Lobby bar. We thought that Charlies would be packed out the door but it wasn’t too busy. We went in and sat on some benches but were informed but the bar maid that the band would be setting up there so we moved across to another spot. Charlies is one of the Cork’s early morning bars. I noticed some interesting paintings on the walls in this pub. It is a pub with a lot of character and charm and has a real locals feel. There are lamps hanging from the roof which provide a cosy atmosphere. This bar is probably even smaller than the previous Bealestreet blues bar. We all got our drinks and savoured the atmosphere. I was glad that it wasn’t too packed and that there was still people inside. The pint of Murphy’s was very good and went down well. The consensus among all five of us was that this was a nice bar that we enjoyed.
The toilets are very small but were in fairly good condition to be fair. There is a tiny smoking room. I saw it as i was walking to the toilet. Adrian used it and he said it feels as small inside as it actually looks. An old bar that wouldn’t be everyones cup of tea but it certainly is mine.
Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: Charlies is a pub that everyone knows of in Cork but many haven’t visited. It is worth popping in.
On to B on the Magical mystery pub crawl! We walked across from Douglas street to Union quay where BealeStreet BluesBar is located. It was packed out the doors and we barely managed to get to the bar. We were served by a very pleasant bar man, perhaps one of the owners. This pub was formerly known as An Phoenix. I have very fond memories of that pub, it being the first pub i ever visited in the city. When we got our drinks we decided to go outside and have them there. There wasn’t an inch of space to be had inside. The stage is very small as is the bar. I looked up to see loads of barrels over head. The music hadn’t started when we were there. Again similar to the previous pub this is a very prominent music venue. It is continuing the tradition on An Phoenix. Kev commented that the BealeStreet BluesBar maintained the same essence as An Phoenix and that the only change noted was an area blocked off at the back that used to be a seating area. The pint of Murphy’s in this pub was a very good one and extremely enjoyable. We had a few seats outside the bar.
I checked out the toilets but some of the other lads who used them gave bad reports. They are uspstairs and the gents toilet is very small and was extremely smelly on that night. It was a very bad smell. Couldn’t say a good thing about the toilets. There used to be an area upstairs where gigs used to happen but that seems to be gone. I enjoyed visiting this bar and there was a good mixture of ages enjoying a drink inside. I will head back again, check out their website @ www.bealestreetcork.com
Toilet rating: 3/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: All the lads appeared to enjoy here, the only problem is that it can get packed very easily.
I am not sure if the name of this pub has changed. As far as i was aware it was always called An Cruscin Lan. When we headed in the other night i saw the name over the door and it read Cruscin Lan. This was our A pub on the alphabetical pub crawl of Cork city. I have done a review of this pub in the past but it was a long time ago. We all met up at about 9:20pm in the bar and ordered our drinks. There was five of us and the drinks consisted of two Murphy’s, a Bulmers draft, a Heineken and a bottle of German beer that i can’t remember the name to. Without doubt this pub is one of the top music venues in the city. There were many top musicians from around Cork rehearsing when we were there. Kevin knew a lot of them and their reputations. There was a couple of lads playing on the pool table that is in the bar. There wasn’t a huge crowd inside when we were there but the gig hadn’t started yet and i have no doubt that it got a lot busier. To be honest i was a bit disappointed with the pint of Murphy’s i got, it wasn’t great. It also came in a Beamish glass which didn’t help matters at all, at all!
The toilets were not great when i checked them. There is two cubicles available. They were useable but not the nicest around. The bar itself is quite big with the stage being the focal point. Head to this pub if you want to catch some of Cork’s best musical talents. There is a cover charge for a lot of the gigs here. We finished our drinks and headed out towards The Bealestreet Blues Bar. I enjoyed the return visit to An Cruscin Lan.
Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 6/10
Overall rating: 6/10
Final comment: I would head back to see a gig but maybe not just for a pint. Check it out.
I was thinking of organising this for a while. Myself, Kevin, Ryan, Adrian and Ray were the willing participants of a first for Munster Pubs! Last night we started the ball rolling with a good effort. We reviewed A (An Cruscin Lan), then moved to B (Bealestreet Blues Bar). Then we went next door to C (Charlies bar). We hiked across the city to D (Dennehys) and went to the (Everyman Palace bar) E which was closed so we went to one of my favourites another D (Dan Lowreys. We then made our way from the northside to the soutside and F (Fionnbarra). Following this we made our last stop of the night at G (The Gables Bar). Well it was some laugh! Reviews to come in the next few days. We had planned on going to the exchange bar but that is closed and Elaines bar on barrack street was just too far when we had a tight time schedule. We’l be starting at H when we get out again!
Next we headed to Paddy The Farmers pub on the old Blackrock road. I have been in here for lunch a couple of times in the past as has Jen. I have always enjoyed the food here. We walked in and found the place to be almost empty. I ordered a 7up and a bottle of Coors light. The bar maid was very pleasant. There was confusion over my change which was my fault and i acknowledged it. It is a big pub with plenty seating areas. We sat over near the entrance to the off licence which is attached to the pub. I noticed an old weighing scales and an old weighing scales. I felt that the pub was lacking atmosphere the other night. Of course it was a Thursday night and it wasn’t busy at all. The pub is in close proximity to the South Infirmary and i would say that people coming and going from the hospital provide a good trade.
There is a smoking room available although i didn’t go in. The toilets were in fairly good condition the other night. There is one cubicle available. I am not sure if this pub has live music. It is buzzing at lunchtime with loads of people. I would think that it would be a lot busier on a Friday or Saturday night.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Food rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 6.5/10
Fianl comment: Paddy The Farmers is a very well known pub around Cork. It is just on the outskirts of the city.
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