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!
This pub is on Parnell place just across from the bus station in Cork City. I headed in on a midweek night and was greeted with ‘Hello, How’s it going’ by all inside. The greeting certainly lives up to the name of the pub. The bar man took my order and i sat across from the bar and had a look at all the sporting memorabilia on the walls. There are pictures of stadiums and flags on the ceiling. The Welcome Inn is one of Cork’s early morning pubs. The pint of Murphy’s from the friendly bar man was one of the best i have had for a long while. There was a match on the television and people were watching and chatting.
The toilets are extremely small and cramped and there are leaves growing in! This was a nice pub to visit and i’d say a gig in there would be great. I can definately see myself returning and i would definately recommend people to head in to get a real Irish welcome from staff and customers.
Toilet rating: 6/10
Pint rating: 8.5/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: This pub has a locals feel to it and you certainly do not feel like your anywhere near the city while inside.
Recently i wandered into this pub on a midweek night for a pint. Its on Cook street. To be fair it wasn’t busy but there was a crowd inside. They were showing a football match inside and i made a mental note to myself that this would definately be a place to come again to watch a match. I was served quickly at the bar and found a seat down towards the back of the pub. The pint of Beamish that i got was very enjoyable indeed. I had a look around and noticed a big sign from Parnell Bridge. The pub is atmospheric with low lighting and plenty candles.
The toilets there are small but were fine when checked. There is one cubicle available. This pub appeared to have a relaxed feeling about it and they most certainly welcome your trade. A nice city bar.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Final comment: The Rob Roy is a pub i have heard many people talking about down through the years. I am glad i got to check it out.
Myself and Jen were out recently in the city by ourselves, something that doesn’t happen too often these days. We had a drink in Clancy’s bar and next headed into this pub on Marlborough street. As far as i can remember this pub used to be Lebowskis. The Twins O’ Brien is a narrow pub but there is plenty seating available. It appears to be an old style bar with a modern twist. I was served by a very pleasant girl and she was chatting to a few guys sitting at the bar. It was quiet when we headed in but it got much busier by the time we were leaving. A pint of Beamish tickled my fancy and Jen had a bottle of Coors light. The pint was excellent and i stayed for another as well. We sat just across from the bar and there is plenty memorabilia on the walls especially of the sporting type. We got peckish while inside and decided to order one of their pizzas which was only about 6 euro for a fine sized margarita.
The toilets are a bit of a walk away and are located upstairs. They were in good condition when checked. I think i spotted a smoking area upstairs but didn’t take too much notice. We left at just the right time as the guy doing the music wanted to set up where we were sitting. A very good experience over all.
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 8/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: The Twins O’ Brien bar is a relatively new bar and we wish everyone involved the best of luck with the venture.
Cork’s newest music venue. Situated on Careys lane, just off Patrick Street. It appears that this pub is like the new lobby. I haven’t seen a gig there as of yet but i have been in the bar downstairs on two occasions. The bar itself is quite spacious with some comfortable seating areas. There is a nice area out the front for smokers and people watchers. My most recent visit was a with a big group and i had a fair few pints there. They were very good quality pints of Murphy’s. Myself and Agger even got a few free pints as there was a promotion on! The music being played on the sound system was enjoyable and not too loud. The glass front is a nice feature of the bar. This pub was formerly called Coopers and was completely renovated.
The toilets are up stairs and to be fair even though they are small they were well maintained when i saw them. This pub is definately worth checking out whether it for a gig, a drink or maybe even a bite to eat. I saw that they have a website available http://www.pavilioncork.com/
Toilet rating: 7/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 8/10
Final comment: Check out this venue out and catch the best of local talent.
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.
Congratulations to all at The Boothouse Bar in Ballineriskig, Cork which won best local bar in Ireland in a recent poll done on Newstalk. We will definately give a call in for our own review at some stage.
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.
After leaving ‘The Islanders Rest Bar’ the stag group all headed to this bar. It was very convenient because i felt i could nearly jump into my tent from the front door of the pub! There was people sitting on the benches outside when we arrived there. The place was packed inside. There was not a seat to be seen. I managed to get to the bar and ordered my drinks but the bar man forgot to serve me so i was waiting a while. To be fair even though the place was very busy the pints of Murphy’s were still reasonably good. The bar staff ran out of draught beer at one point during the night and were only serving bottles. There was a mighty sing song going on in the back section of the pub and thats where i found myself for most of the night. I even eventually got a seat for a while. There is a smoking area available out the back of the pub and there are also more benches here.
I know that they do food here but we didn’t try any. The toilets are located out the front door and in another door. The gents were in very poor condition it has to be said. There was no lights working in there for most of the night. To be fair we were all removed at a pretty reasonale time and managed to get some sleep before getting the ferry back the next morning and heading our seperate ways.
Toilet rating: 3/10
Pint rating: 7.5/10
Overall rating: 7.5/10
This is a very popular pub and i enjoyed my visit. It is small but has a lot of character and there was a brilliant atmosphere there on our visit.
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