Have a very merry Christmas from Munster pubs!
Archive for December, 2007
Carrigaline has a new pub!! Hogans bar opened a couple of months ago where the old post office used to reside. Carrigaline has been steadily losing pubs in the village over the past few years so it is good to see that a new pub has been established. It is a long bar and is narrow at the front section where there is a bar. There is another bar at the back of the pub and there is comfortable seating areas here. The bar staff i have met have been very efficient, even providing table service which is great. There is a restaurant upstairs and i have heard good reports about that and there is also a bar food menu available. The pints of Murphy’s are very good and will compete with anywhere in Carrigaline for quality. It is a very modern and comfortable pub.
The toilets are a very strange set up indeed. The gents is way too small with one cubibicle and urinal available. The condition of the toilets was good when checked. Apparently new toilets are being planned for this pub. There is good size smoking area available out the back of the pub. I think that this pub will do very well and with a population the size of Carrigaline it is sure to thrive. One thing i can’t figure out is why they called it Hogans when we have a Cogans. It’s causing all sorts of problems when we are ringing to find out where people are! They should have called it ‘The Post Office’!
Toilet rating: 5/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: Hogans is a very decent bar that is modern and appears to be run very well. Best of luck to the owners.
On the same night that we visited the Bierhaus and The Laurel Bar we also paid a visit to a relatively new pub Slainte. This pub was formerly The Vineyard and is located down Market lane just off Patrick Street in Cork City centre. There was a good crowd inside when we headed in but we managed to get a seat. The pints of Murphy’s were very good and went down well. It has a somewhat intimate atmosphere as the lights were low and there was background music playing.
The toilets are up some steps and are small but the condition was ok when i checked them. I have read that there is live tradional music every Wednesday with the Ceili all stars and there is a BBQ on a Sunday. These would be most certainly worth checking out.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: Slainte is a decent pub that i have heard a lot of people talking about. Its definately worth a visit.
Myself and Ryan headed into this bar on the same night. The Laurel Bar is on Mary Street in the city. This is a pub i have passed a couple of times over the past few months and said i would check it out. It is just off Georges Quay in the city. It is a small bar with a pool table bang in the centre. We both found it to be very much a locals haunt but no notice was taken of us as we sauntered in. There is a seating area on the right as you walk in across from the bar and that is where we pirched ourselves. We enjoyed two pints of Murphy’s although Ryan did comment that his was very cold! We sat under a television in the corner and i noticed another tv too. There was a good crowd in the bar but it was not packed.
The toilets were very well kept i am pleased to say. Both of us agreed that this is a very welcoming little pub in the city centre. It was an enjoyable visit and if i was living in this area of the city i would consider heading into this bar on a regular basis.
Toilet rating: 7.5/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: The Laurel Bar is not somewhere that most people that head for a night out in the city would know about. I am glad that we found it.
Recently myself, Ryan and Sandy headed into town in search of some nice pubs. We headed in the direction of Popes Quay in Cork City. We went ino the Bierhaus bar. This was formerly ‘The head of the river’. There was a good number of people sitting outside the front of the bar as we entered. We took a seat to the left and i went to the bar to order the drinks. I decided on a pint of Hoegaarden. It was certainly the right choice as it was a beautiful pint. It came in a proper Hoegaarden glass and i got a slice of lime. The bar itself is small and there was a crowd of people sitting just up from us. We noticed that two of the people sitting outside had ordered a pizza from the restaurant next door, a very good idea!
There is a great selection of foreign beers available in this pub and it is nice to have so much of a choice of draught beer. I know that they host a table quiz every Monday evening so that might be worth checking out. The toilets in this bar are small but were well maintained on the night. This is a very nice pub that is well worth a visit.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: The Bierhuas is somewhere i will definately head back to.
On our way home from an amazing round the world trip we had about 5 hours to spare in Heathrow airport before flying home to Cork. We came upon this bar on our way to the gate. We decided to have a few drinks here basically to pass a bit of time. I had a few pints of Stella Artois and Jen had a few glasses of white wine. The pints were fine. One thing that struck me was that the wine was on tap, something i haven’t come across too much before. The bar itself is a typical airport spot with seating around the bar and the duty free shop across the way. We both got toasted sandwiches and enjoyed our last few hours of holidays.
The toilets that i found are not for the exclusive use of customers of the bar but are general airport toilets. They appeared to be well maintained as you would expect. Anyone who has flown home from Heathrow to Cork will have come across this bar as it is on the concourse on the way to the gate. It’s somewhere to stop off at.
Toilet rating: 6.5/10
Pint rating: 6/10
Overall rating: 6/10
Final comment: Weatherspoon express is a place i will probably visit again.
Just across from the fantastic Westin Hotel on Union Square in San Francisco is Lefty O’ Doul’s Irish bar. We headed in a couple of times while we were in the city. It is a very big bar with a lot of emphasis put on the pub grub it serves. It was amazing to see a carvery that serves until midnight! It is a very big pub with some amazing memorabilia on the walls. I didn’t find the bar staff to be that friendly when i went to get drinks. I tried a pint of Guinness and it was alright but it is never as nice as it is back at home. This pub got very busy on the nights that we headed in. There was a guy who used to be a garda in Ireland 25 years ago playing a keyboard and singing and really entertaining all the crowd. Myself and Jen had a good chat with him.
The toilets are down quite steep steps. They were a good size and their condition was not too bad when i checked them. I enjoyed visitng this pub and found it to be goods fun. It stays open quite late. I had a late carvery one night at about 11:30pm and it was delicious. Definately worth checking if in San Francisco.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 6.5/10
Food rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: Lefty O’ Doul’s is a lively bar thats a bit of fun.
Visiting this pub was some experience and something completely different to what we are used to. This bar is located on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake hotel in the heart of Union Square in San Francisco. We took the lift up and paid our entrancer fee which was 10 dollars from what i recall. We were then shown to our seats which had the most amazing view out over this great city. Our waitress then brought the drinks to our table and us being the upper class people that we are, set up a tab! We felt like we had been transported back to the 1970’s with the red velvet seats and the jazz band playing classics from that era. I decided that Jack Daniels and coke was the only way to go and i really enjoyed the few that i had. Both myself and Jen agreed that this place provided one of the most magical moments on our honeymoon. It was very romantic and ultimately different. The crowd inside was definately somewhat older than us they could really dance. We sat in awe at one couple who were in their seventies id say and they were unbelievable dancers.
I ventured to the toilets just the once and they were immaculate. I couldn’t find a fault with them. We both really enjoyed our visit to the this bar and would most certainly highly recommend it to any body visiting San Francisco.
Toilet rating: 9/10
Drinks/Service rating: 9/10
Overall rating: 9/10
Final comment: The Starlight Lounge is a unique experience.
Another pub we visited in Sydney was just across from our hotel. The Forbes Hotel Heritage Bar is on York Street in Sydney city centre. We popped in on an afternoon on our way back from sightseeing around this beautiful city. It is an old style bar and there was a small crowd gathered inside watching a Aussie Rules final. I ordered a Carlton draught off the very pleasant bar maid and Jen had a white wine. As with a lot of other bars we were in, there was a good few games machines available. It was a great pub to sit in for a quiet drink. As far as i know there is another bar upstairs but we didn’t head up.
The toilets were downstairs and as far as i can remember the gents was small but it’s condition was ok. I got my pint in a proper pint glass with a handle, was delighted with that. We stayed for two drinks and being honest that was plenty. This bar was nice to head into and we enjoyed it. There are seating areas outside for those who wish to sit out or have a smoke.
Toilet rating: 6.5/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: The Forbes Hotel Heritage Bar is not somewhere i would go out of my way to find but as we were passing it was a good choice.
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