Author Archive for Ryan

Nashs

Published
by
Ryan
on November 10, 2009
in Dublin and Outside Munster
. 0 Comments

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 Royal Oak

Published
by
Ryan
on October 14, 2009
in Dublin and Outside Munster
. 1 Comment

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!

To Unexplained Absences

Published
by
Ryan
on November 27, 2008
in Announcements
. 0 Comments

Anyone that actually reads the blog (as opposed to people that google pubs, wind up here and then email us questions as if we own the pub; no we don’t own Munster’s largest chain of pubs by the way) will see that there has been a little bit of absence in the reviews of late. There are many, many good reasons for this…

I assure you, many good reasons. Munster Pubs isn’t on temporary hiatus, it’s not a project that’s been abandoned by any means and there will be a triumphant return… at… some.. stage.

So while we give our livers time to recover and our bank balances a bit longer to get ready for the next intensive round of reviewing, enjoy the truly massive amount of content that’s here already. Don’t forget, you can always write your own review if you’re feeling especially wordy.

Moving Home

Published
by
Ryan
on January 16, 2008
in Announcements
. 0 Comments

We’ve recently moved munsterpubs.com back home to a much faster server. Any sillyness experienced while browsing the site (outside of some dodgy pub reviews) will shortly be sorted out, thanks in no small part to an army of dedicated bug testers. That’s what I call him, you know him as Eoin.

The site should now be more responsive than ever but if you do notice any problems, get in touch! Cheers.

Jupiters

Published
by
Ryan
on August 9, 2007
in Outside Ireland
. 1 Comment

When traveling, be it across the town, country or to a different country, Eoin will always be instinctively drawn to a karaoke bar. The trip to Liverpool for his stag weekend was no different, albeit except for this time having 11 fellas in tow. Jupiters is near the town hall (if I remember correctly), off a busy street down a suspiciously dimly lit alleyway. It seems to be behind and / or next to a couple more bars that were somewhat deserted when the 12 of us made our way to do some singing.

From the outset, Jupiters seemed a little on the ‘in need of TLC’ side of the spectrum. It is, for want of a more eloquent phrase, in need of sprucing up a bit. Nevertheless, we all crowded in amid various stares from the crowd already in there and found a spot next to the pool table big enough to accommodate our group. The bar staff were pleasant, very inquisitive as to exactly what kind of liquid was spilled on the pool table at one stage, but hugely pleasant.

Jupiters is more of a specialty bar than anything else. It caters for two specific types of people in todays modern society. Those that like karaoke, and those that chose the path of homosexuality. It was certainly a new experience; Perhaps the first and only ever gay karaoke bar I’d ever been in. At first the thought lingered somewhat, but it was eventually ‘rammed home’ that it was a gay karaoke bar two gentlemen positioned themselves at the corner of the pool area (that is, the area with the pool table) and proceeded to pay very close attention to a few members of our party that were engaged in a pool mini-tournament.

The owner of the bar, who made great strides to assure us of her heterosexuality for some reason, was a very pleasant woman whose patience it seemed has no boundaries. She gave us free disposable cameras and free condoms, both of which were in abundant supply in the pub. Best not to ask too many questions about that one I’d say…

Eoin, master of the faux pas, then went on to perform a stirring rendition of “Piano Man” with a silver foil wrapped packet of condoms peeking out from the top of his shirt pocket. It seemed to scream “Come get me”. The crowd applauded. Somewhere, in the corner of the room, 11 men were doubled over in pain from laughing. All the while it seemed he was blissfully unaware of the orientation of much of the clientèle. Lucky for him he’s not pretty.

Numerous fantastic photos and a few pints of John Smiths later, we said our goodbyes to the barmaids and were on our way. Jupiters was surely a fun place to visit but I don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon. One reason would be I don’t sing karaoke. Another would be I’m not in Liverpool. It could do with a lick of paint and maybe a contract cleaner for the pool table, but other than that, it’s fine. Not everyone’s cup of tea but a friendly place to croon along badly to some songs.

Finally, and something I’ll possibly never understand, is the group of lads that came in to play pool after we had finished with the table. The three of them began a game and midway through it one turned around to someone in our group and said “Ere mate, I ‘ope you’re not lookin’ at our aaaarses”. Now if you’re a homophobe, why ever would you play pool in a gay bar? The only table in Liverpool? I very much doubt it. So far back in the closet they’re in Narnia I reckon.

O’ Sullivans; the new and improved

Published
by
Ryan
on January 18, 2007
in Cork
. 2 Comments

O’ Sullivans pub in Douglas has undergone a severe facelift recently. The entire bar was removed, more than likely put in a skip and replaced with a carbon copy of the inside of Barry’s, just down the road. That skip must have been pretty full when they hauled it away; not only was it full of wood, tile and metal, it also contained all the character of the previous decor.

Posessing a wandering disdain of this new ‘marble and stainless steel’ cardboard cutout pub template as I do, I can’t help but feel that it was the wrong way to go in this case. We’ve already got ‘trendy’ pubs in Douglas, O’Sullivans was the place you retreated to when you wanted to get away from all the SUV driving, alcopop swigging heaving masses out there.

It’s not all bad though, the extension to the bar gives it more room than it ever had, almost enough to lose an unwanted member of your group in on a busy Saturday night… should you feel the need of course. The bar staff are as friendly as they always were, thankfully they didn’t get the same skip treatment as the rest of the pub’s innards. The bar now runs completely around the room, centrally located for maximum opportunity to call for a few pints. Just don’t call for a pint of Murphys, We only just about managed to choke down ours before moving onto something a little more palatable; turpentine. Hopefully the quality of the Murphys will get better in there, perhaps it’s just a teething problem that has to be sorted out. Either that or nobody has told them yet that Cork’s finest isn’t that fine when it’s poured from their taps.

Would I/Will I go back there? Of course I will, if only to dry my hands in the oddly unique hand dryers in the toilets.

The Porterhouse; Temple Bar

Published
by
Ryan
on August 31, 2006
in Dublin and Outside Munster
. 1 Comment

On a recent trip to Dublin for Peoples Photography, we took a trip to the Porterhouse on Temple Bar’s Parliament street. The blurb says it’s “Irelands largest genuine Irish brewery”. This of course means that once inside, you can forget your Heinekens and Carlsbergs. Throw your Budweisers and alcopops out the window. It’s all their own tipple and what tipple it is.

I started the night in a rather sedate manner with a pint of ale, quickly moved on to a lager and then finally rested at something divinely pink; their very own strawberry flavoured beer! I stayed away from the beer referred to by some as “bananas and ham” but will no doubt get around to that one on my eventual return. As you’d expect from any place marketing itself as “Ireland’s largest genuine Irish brewery”, their selection of beers is varied. Mind boggling even. Perhaps only so mind boggling later on in the evening due to sampling one too many strawberry beers.

The pub itself is a labyrinth of brass and oak with stairs ascending to no fewer than 4 levels. Where there might not be large expanses as you’d normally get in ’super pubs’, there is certainly a seat to be found somewhere if you climb high enough. On the top level, there was a rather impressive looking kitchen and some of the meals that were being served out of it on our arrival looked mouth wateringly good. Maybe I’ll get around to testing those the next time. As with many/all Dublin bars, once the night is in full swing and you’re sufficiently imbibed, the price of the beer goes up. Specifically, an extra 50c on a pint that cost €5. Oh how I love Dublin. Thankfully by that stage I already had a back pocket overflowing with change.

So for something different when in Dublin, definately try the porterhouse. Try that strawberry beer too. Just be wary of the hangover…

The Abbey Tavern

Published
by
Ryan
on May 8, 2006
in Cork
. 1 Comment

The Abbey Tavern

I hope I’ve got that name right… Anyway, it’s basically someones front room (and adjoined kitchen) converted to a pub on College Road, Cork. It’s on the way up to UCC if you’re completely lost. As I said above, it’s like walking into someones front room. Albeit perhaps an alcoholic’s front room. I personally don’t know that many people with a fully stocked bar in their front room. There was a good crowd, nothing too packed but nicely stuffed. The Murphy’s was similar; nicely stuffed. I hadn’t really expected to get a bad pint here though. The main beverages of choice seem to be Beamish and Murphys – I’m sure you could get a bacardi breezer if you were pushed though.

There was a good atmosphere there on the night we visited (Wednesday I think), I can well imagine it’d get very full very fast. Perhaps to the point that you’d get caught standing in the hallway into the sitting room having smoke wafted in your face from the addicts outside. Speculation aside, It’s a perfectly pleasant pub that I’d visit again. Not everyones cup of Murphy’s but it was mine. Let me put it this way, would you feel comfortable sipping a pint while sitting in your grandmothers living room, possibly speaking in slightly louder tones than you should be?

Right, now I’ve completely lost my train of thought. Just go up there and decide for yourself. Between myself and Eoin, it was unanimous approval.

The Twelfth Lock

Published
by
Ryan
on April 15, 2006
in Dublin, Outside Munster and hotel
. 0 Comments

I’ve often passed by this place, wondering first if it was a merely a bar or in fact a small hotel. It’s the latter and apparently quite difficult to get a room in. I’m going to put that down to the reason that there are few rooms however.
Greeting & Check-in
I can understand why the process is dealt with in a ‘quick as possible’ fashion here, it appears that whoever is covering the front desk is also either in the kitchen or serving in the bar. They have no need for a permenant front desk staff member. Maybe. Nothing stood out.

Appearance & Location
Follow the grand canal and you can’t miss this place. It’s in Castleknock (just down from the DART station). I always referred to Castleknock as “that place just outside Blanchardstown”. I realise now that the residents would likely see me hung, drawn and quartered for such a flagrant disregard for their suburb. The Twelfth Lock, as I was getting to, is on the grand canal (in all it’s glorious rubbish filled stinkiness). Grand canal eh? Isn’t that a bit dodgy? Well yes, it seems to be. When I made a voyage out to my car one night while staying here I did notice some (as Mr. Kipling might put it) some exceeding dodgy characters. It seems a small enough building, which makes you wonder how they crammed so much in. The secret is to put all the bedrooms below ground level, thereby denying them any view to the outside world (and presumably effective means of escape in the event of a natural disaster of some sort). My room was not unlike what you’d expect to find at any budget hotel. Small TV, basic tea/coffee service, not hugely comfortable bed, small ill-equipt bathroom. Ohh, except this isn’t a budget hotel. Oh dear!

Staff & Service
I found most of the staff to be friendly and helpful. The member of staff working in the restaurant on the night of my stay wasn’t all too pleased to see me when I strode in around 8pm for my dinner. I should have made a reservation, despite the fact that there was only one table out of easily two dozen in use. That brush off suited fine and I returned to the bar where there was at least some signs of life. Once in the bar, I noted that the service was good and quite efficient.

Food
I ordered something fairly basic from the bar menu which arrived in a timely manner and was quite tasty. Special mention has to be paid to the large selection of beers available. No different than any other run of the mill ‘trendy’ pub these days I’m sure.

Internet Access
The bane of my existance while in this ‘hotel’. They claim to have WiFi coverage of the lobby and all the guest rooms. Not so. While I successfully picked up a signal on my laptop, it dropped after approx. 6 minutes and required me to reset the WiFi on my laptop and manually re-connect. Eventually I just gave up. Completely unusable. Perhaps broadband was an afterthought here? I couldn’t help but think that they could have used existing cat5 infrastructure in the room to deliver a wired network instead of their yo-yo WiFi.

Price
By no means cheap and certainly more expensive than other hotels I’ve stayed in with far more prestigious names. Radisson for one. Also hotels ending in “& Country Club”. Definately not value for money. Also, before I end this thrilling chapter of yet another experience in our nations capital I’d like to say my room in The Twelfth Lock smelled of sewage for the entire night. I can assure you it wasn’t my dodgy plumbing that was causing the funk either. Every time I opened my room door to enter it hit me in the face like a brick wall. A wall whos bricks had first been marinated in stinking sewage that is. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to put a ‘hotel’ next to the grand canal after all?

For any adventurous types out there, The Twelfth Lock can be had here – http://www.twelfthlock.com/

The D Hotel

Published
by
Ryan
on April 11, 2006
in Outside Munster and hotel
. 2 Comments

I don’t often go to Drogheda, in fact it’s safe to say this was my very first trip and indeed the most time I’ve spent in Co. Louth. The hotel itself is an impressive high-rise in a development called “Scotch Hall”. You couldn’t get a much better view of the quays & river Boyne, they’ve even gone as far as to create a stylish walkway lit by pools of light for those who wish to take a stroll along the riverside. You can find more information on The D Hotel at www.dhotel.ie

D Hotel Walkway

Greeting & Check-in
Check-in proceeded as quickly as I could have hoped for and I was greeted by a polite member of staff who took the time to engage me in smalltalk even after the formalities of signing papers and getting room keys was complete.

Appearance & Location
As I noted above, the hotel is a large new development on the banks of the river Boyne. The lobby is large and has the added advantage of being basked in natural light for as long as it’s available. The sun did nearly burn a hole straight through my eyeballs at 7:30am the next morning as I rose for my breakfast, but that’s beside the point. The room I stayed in was large and as one would expect, had a large and very comfortable double bed. The flat screen TV was a luxury touch that seems to be springing up more and more in hotel rooms across the country.

D Hotel Room

Staff & Service
Helpful and friendly, nothing less than what you’d assume in a large chain hotel. I thought my restaurant service was a bit slow, the large party that were eating as I took my seat could have had something to do with that however. Certainly nothing to be concerned about; you won’t starve to death waiting for your starter or anything equally as nasty.

Food
The restaurant menu was varied, leaving every taste with at least one selection. It was pumped with pomp and ceremony, like calling a binman a hygiene technician. Overall a very pleasant dining experience. That and the restaurant itself is an airy, well-lit, comfortable room to be in. It has an impressive glass front which overlooks (like most of the hotel) the river Boyne.

D Hotel Restaurant

Internet Access
Not much to say on this one. It’s spot on. I did have problems connecting to the WiFi network from my room on the third floor but the wired network was 100%. Complimentary too as you’d expect, as was the access for non-residents in the lobby too I believe.

Price
I certainly wouldn’t consider it to be an expensive hotel. I think it came in at around €100 incl. breakfast. I’ve been in alot worse hotels for alot more money. You could definately do worse.