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 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!
On my recent trip to Dublin myself and Ryan checked out this pub located on Queen street. It was packed on the night we went in and there was just standing room available by the door. There was a bouncer on duty and he was trying to keep people inside with their drinks. It is not a huge pub but there was a big crowd inside. From what i saw there was a good mixture of people drinking here. The dj was playing very alternative music which i enjoyed. The service at the bar was efficient and with a smile. The pint of Guinness was not great but i managed to finish it all.
The toilets are small and were in quite poor condition when i checked them. I have to say that i enjoyed this pub even though it was so packed and would definately make a return if in the area again.
Toilet rating: 4/10
Pint rating: 6/10
Overall rating 7/10
Final comment: Definately a pub with a good atmosphere and worth checking out.
I think Ryan reviewed this in more detail before but what the hell. The next pub we visited on our short trip around Dublins drinking establishments was the above mentioned Porterhouse. It is on Parliament street in Temple Bar. We were given the once over by the bouncers on the way in and we entered a different world in my opinion. I suddenly felt very underdressed. Everyone was out to impress, except myself and Ryan of course. It was very busy inside this trendy pub. I managed to get to the bar and decided to try one of their own brewed beers. I think it was porterhouse red that i tried but can’t remember exactly. As i was waiting at the bar i noticed the band playing upstairs on the televison. We headed up the stairs to where the band were playing and hung around there. The band were good but were very much for the tourists. I found the red/pink beer hand to drink and was having an almighty sugar buzz. The only pub i can compare this one to that i have been i, is The Bishopstown Bar in Cork. I only think that they are alike in the geography of both places with stairs everywhere.
The toilets were in very poor condition when i saw them. There was a bouncer standing outside the toilet but they could have done with him cleaning inside. I presume that there are other toilet facilities available, i just didn’t discover them. I was glad we headed in but i certainly won’t be going back when i’m next in Dublin. Its just not my sort of place. It’s great that they brew their own beer though.
Toilet rating: 4/10
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating/ 6/10
Final comment: If your looking for a busy pub with plenty of different beers check it out.
I was up in Dublin recently and met up with the co-owner of this website, Ryan. Seeing as he is now living up there we decided to check out a few establishments. The first pub we went into was Sin e on Ormond Quay. We headed in at about 9:30pm and the place was relatively quiet. The bar man served us efficiently and we took a seat overlooking another area below us where others were sitting. It is quite a dark pub and there were plenty candles dotted around the place. The pint of Guinness was very decent and it went down well to be fair. When i went down stairs i noticed another bar with plenty of seating but it wasn’t open while we were there.
The toilets were fine when i checked them. There are two cubicles available for use. We only stayed for the one drink in this pub but it was a very relaxed and chilled out drink. Being from Cork i did notice the increase in prices for the drinks.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: There is a pub with the same name in Cork City although i haven’t reviewed that one yet.
The last pub that we visited on our trip to Oranmore was Glynn’s bar. Immediately when i walked into this bar i knew that i would like it. It is quite a small pub but with tonnes of character. There was a few people inside and we got a seat just on the left inside the door. I ordered the drinks at the bar and the bar man was friendly and made chit chat. I noticed that there was a group of men playing cards in a small section just off the main bar. There was a group of three people sitting next to us and they were maybe a few years older but the majority of the people sitting at the bar were 50+. The pint of Guinness was perhaps the best of the night and i have to say that the quality of stout i tried in Galway was excellent.
The toilets in this pub were a bit confusing. There was no signs on the door to indicate which was the ladies and which was the gents. The toilets themselves were ok and there is an old hand dryer there. I know that if Ryan or Kevin visited this pub that they would like it. I got a packet of bacon fries and i ate them and then noticed that they were out of date, didn’t do me any harm though! I won’t say its the liveliest pub in Oranmore because its not but it was good for a good pint of the black stuff. I was only in the pub for about a half an hour but knew half of the people’s names in there because everyone could hear everyone elses conversations. I even said ‘Night Johnny’ to one man who looked at me a bit baffled as how he knew me!
Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 8.5/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: Glynn’s bar in Oranmore was a good find. Me and Jen enjoyed the visit.
The next pub that we visited on our trip to Oranmore Co Galway was The Back Door pub also known as O’ Riordans bar. When we walked in we noticed two traditional musicians playing some very good music. We pirched ourselves at the bar and ordered the drinks. The pint of Guinness like in all the other pubs before it was a very good one. The bar staff were quick to take our order and serve us our drinks. I noticed a made up sign behind the bar that said ‘Bus to Vera Duckworths funeral’! There was two plasma screen tv’s behind the bar. We came in through the front entrance of this pub but there is also a back section that we could see through to.
The toilets were in very good condition when checked. This is a fine pub that was quite busy on the Saturday night that we visited. It’s certainly one to check out if you are in Oranmore.
Toilet rating: 7.5/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: O’ Riordans is a bar with nice decor and worth a visit.
While in Oranmore for our weekend away we also headed into The Olde Brewery pub on the main street. There was a couple of bouncers on the door and they were friendly. We went in on a Saturday night and the pub was very busy. There are a few sections in this pub and there was a very good band playing in the bar. We ordered our drinks and the bar staff were extremely efficient and i wasn’t waiting long at all. The pint of Guinness that i had was a very good one and couldn’t say a bad word about it.
We didn’t manage to get a seat but did find a counter to put our drinks up on. The toilets that i used were very small and smelly and were generally in bad condition. There appeared to be a good mixture of people in this bar and it seemed to appeal to young and old alike. We enjoyed our short stop off at The Olde Brewery.
Toilet rating: 3/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: The Olde Brewery in Oranmore is a decent pub.
While up in Galway we headed into Keanes bar in Oranmore. This was the first pub we came across after parking the car. We headed in and managed to get a seat on the left inside the door next to a fireplace. I got chatting to a local who was very friendly. There are a few sections in this bar. I didn’t check out the back of the bar but there is another entrance that brings you straight inside there. It is a very modern pub. The bar staff were very efficient and i was served straight away. The pint of Guinness was excellent and went down very well indeed. Because we were sitting near the main door we noticed the large volume of people coming into this bar. We were there on a Saturday night at about 10pm. There was a very diverse mixture of young and old.
The toilets were a good walk to get to. They are up stairs and are small but were in good condition when checked. There was a tv in the area that we were in showing premiership highlights. We both found this pub to be a very enjoyable experience.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: Keanes bar also serves food according to their website. This is the type of bar that would do well anywhere in Ireland.
Myself and Jen were up in Galway last weekend and stayed in the Quality hotel in Oranmore. It is a very decent hotel and the general service was very good. We went for one drink in the hotel bar. It is a good size and there is a plenty of seating available. It was busy when we were there and there was mainly families enjoying a few drinks with the kids milling around the place. It is a very child friendly hotel and there are signs up to say that well behaved children are allowed in the bar until 12am. I don’t understand why you would have a child in a bar at night at all but thats just me. I ordered a pint of Guinness and a soda water and lime for Jen. The bar man was very friendly but was a bit confused and asked me three times if i was alright after i had ordered! The pint of Guinness was very good.
The toilets are outside the bar and were very well kept. There is bar food served although we didn’t try it. I noticed an area where tea and coffee is served in the bar and it has it’s own service area. There was two tv’s showing a match and the news in the bar. The Q bar and cafe was grand for the one drink.
Toilet rating: 8/10
Pint rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 7/10
Final comment: This is a typical hotel bar catering for everyone.
Recent Comments