Archive for the 'Outside Munster' Category

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Keanes

Published on January 24, 2008 in Galway and Outside Munster. 0 Comments

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.

Q bar and Cafe

Published on January 24, 2008 in Galway and Outside Munster. 0 Comments

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.

McDonnells Pub, Newbridge

Published on March 22, 2007 in Kildare and Outside Munster. 0 Comments

If you want a pub with atmosphere, good pints ( €3.30 for a Guinness ), gambling and a bit of craic in Newbridge then this is the place for you. The place doesn’t look like much from the outside but inside has a nice feel to it. It is clean and spacious with a darts board. It is run by a few brothers who ‘are not afraid to bet a few quid’, and the habit has rubbed off on the punters. Racing, GAA, football you name it they were betting on it. I didn’t have a bet myself as I was to busy throwing my money over the counter. The locals are very friendly (even to Dubs and Cork people) and there are plenty betting ‘tips’ to be had. Toilets are clean and spacious. There were not to many women there in the afternoon/early evening, so if you are looking to ‘pull’ I’m not sure if this is the place for you. One of the finest pubs I’ve been into in years.

Buck Mulligan’s Bar

Published on November 20, 2006 in Dublin and Outside Munster. 0 Comments

I was up in Dublin for the weekend and had my first visit and stay at the Burlington hotel. The room was comfortable and it was an enjoyable stay. We had dinner in the restaurant on the first night there and the service was quite slow. We went for a few drinks and managed to get seats in the Lobby Lounge. We got our pints in Buck Mulligan’s bar and i opted for a pint of North Star Guinness. I enjoyed the pint and it went down very well. Another member of the group had this pint as well. The bar itself was not overly busy but there was a good crowd inside. I was impressed with the decor and we headed out to the lounge with the pints. This area is very comfortable with a big seating area and relaxing couches. When we arrived at the hotel we noticed the Australian rugby team relaxing in the Lobby lounge. They were nice enough to sign autographs for anyone who wanted them.

The toilets were located just off the lobby and were in pristine condition it has to be said. there was even a television in the gents which is a first for me. They are big toilets and are very well maintained. There was a good crowd in the bar for the rugby match on Sunday and i only caught the last few minutes myself. I was at a meal in the conference room and have to say that was impressive. The Burlington is an exclusive hotel and i had an enjoyable stay.

Toilet rating: 9/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8/10

Final comment: Both Buck Mulligan’s Bar and The Lobby Lounge were impressive.

The Porterhouse; Temple Bar

Published 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 Orchard

Published on May 10, 2006 in Dublin and Outside Munster. 0 Comments

Its been a while since a pub in Dublin has been reviewed. I was in Dublin last weekend and stayed in Swords. It was my second time staying in this area and i have to say that i like it. We headed for dinner in the Tree Top restaurant over the pub. Applewood main street is where you will find this venue. It was my second time having dinner here and it was excellent once again. It is a fantastic setting and the food is very nice. Following dinner we headed down stairs to the pub for a drink. There is a bar and lounge available. I have been in both and overall it is a big pub. There was live music and a one man band entertained his audience very well. We were sitting in the smaller area of the pub which i think is the bar. It is very modern and a grand spot to sit and enjoy a drink. I ordered a pint of Guinness which was delivered efficiently and with a smile! It was a very good pint and my fellow stout drinker agreed.

The pub was busy where the music was on but quieter where we were sitting. The toilets were in very good condition when i saw them. It is a pub that i will hopefully visit again if i am in the swords area.

Toilet rating: 8/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating:8/10

Final comment: Last year when i was in this pub at about 23:30 on a Saturday night a guy came in selling the Sunday World. We all got our copies long before they officially hit the shops, a bit of a novelty!

The Twelfth Lock

Published on April 15, 2006 in Dublin, hotel and Outside Munster. 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 on April 11, 2006 in hotel and Outside Munster. 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

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.

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.

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.

Butlers

Published on December 6, 2005 in Kilkenny and Outside Munster. 0 Comments

We went up for the Cork City game in Lansdowne Road at the weekend. The stadium was buzzing but the city team put in a poor performance. We stopped on the way up and down in Urlingford, Co Kilkenny. Butlers was the pub we headed into. We stopped there for our breakfast on the way up and our dinner on the way down. It is a bar and restaurant from what i could make out. The breakfast and dinner were fine, nothing to write home about but fine. The food we got was reasonably priced to be fair. I took a walk through the pub and i noticed their smokers area down the back near the toilets. Laura went to the bar to get two minerals and she said that the staff took a long time to serve her. The pub itself is old fashioned. There was a few people enjoying a sunday night drink when we came in for dinner.

The gents toilets were not in great condition when i saw them. The handwashing facilities are in through the first door and the urinals and cubicle are in through the next one. They are quite small. I can honestly say that i won’t be heading back to this pub again if i am in Urlingford. I am sure that it has its appeal to the regulars that frequent it. Most of Bus Eireann’s Cork to Dublin buses stop in Urlingford so call into Butlers if you are interested.

Toilet rating: 5/10
Food rating: 7/10
Overall rating: 6/10

Final comment: Butlers serve food all day.

The Comet

Published on November 2, 2005 in Dublin and Outside Munster. 0 Comments

Up there in Santry on Dublins northside, along a rather unassuming road is The Comet; a quite sizeable and comfortable pub. Once you wade through the now obligatory huddle of smokers outside the front door and get into the bar you’re greeted with a long room, bar on the left, the majority of seating on the right and toward the back. I was there recently for a wild night out with several wannabe pioneers. It isn’t an entirely uncomfortable place, it could be any one of hundreds of similar bars all over the country.

Anyone from anywhere in the land could happily walk in, have a few pints and think they’re back in their own home town. Every reasonable sized town in Ireland has a bar like this one. I couldn’t recommend it for any special reason, nor could I advise you stay out of there for any reason. If I were to rate any pub on a 1 to 10 scale, it’d be a 5. It’s the centre of the universe as far as your average drinker is concerned. Now the Guinness still takes like muck* to me, but perhaps my tastebuds are too used to finer things in life

If ever again I was to find myself in Santry and in need of a pint, I’d probably go back here; if only because I know where it is. I spoke to one barman, who thankfully quickly learned of my liking for the ‘new’ Guinness. A quick wink and a nod was all it took to get a fresh pint. I’d have to say that’s the only thing that stood out about this pub. Well, that and the interesting wall art in the bathroom. I don’t want to get into rating bathrooms however; that’d just be sad!

*with the exception of Brew 39; that stuff is magic!