Month: May 2026

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Token

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Exterior of Token: yes, it looks that corporate now This week, we are visiting more of an event venue than a pub, but needs must.

The subject of our profile is Token, relatively recently re-opened in a new location, some two years after closing in Smithfield to general consternation. As the name implies, it’s more of an arcade than a bar, with a mix of video games, pinball and suchlike.

But it wasn’t (quite) always like this; although we only hit the former location once or twice, it did seem that the balance tipped a bit more toward the ‘pub’ side before, whereas now that feeling is very much reversed. Token in its previous incarnation held a wide variety of events, from art-making to LGBTQ+ community gatherings (and everything in between). In short, it felt like a neighbourhood bar that offered something of an alternative to simply ‘sitting at the bar,’ though you could do that as well, if you preferred. This Token, however, feels very much more transactional, and much more, well, bro-y.

Inside TokenAnd it may be that this vibe is a direct result of this new space: surrounded by bland offices and corporate apartments, it now feels like an after work ‘enforced fun’ spot for company meetings. The prices certainly fall into the ‘someone else is paying’ category with an ambitiously-priced pint of Scraggy Bay on offer for €8.20 (and a service charge added to food orders, despite it being relatively difficult to find someone to take your payment when you want to leave, even at the bar).

A model shark at TokenAlthough it’s part of the same ownership group as The Back Page, it feels less like a pub in comparison to that one as well, though both have games on offer. Their other sister venue, The Bernard Shaw, has arguably also lost much of what made it unique when it moved locations some years ago, though it still hosts a number of handy neighbourhood activities and meetups.

Really, the main lesson learned is that we should have let the tween solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute for a free pint (for us) – it would have been a fair exchange for some game tokens. Still, there is a shark…

Where: Custom House Square, Unit 4 Mayor Street Lower, North Wall, Dublin 1, D01 DE47
Access from the city centre: Luas Red line, buses G1, G2, 14, 15, 27, 56A, 77A, 20-ish minute walk
Food: All-day breakfast, burgers, pizza, vegan bowls, snacks
Sport: Lots of sport
TVs: Many screens of varying sizes around the venue
Music: Aggressively ’80s on our visit
Family-friendliness: Kids welcome and busy spending money before 6 pm
Pub-crawl-ability: Low-medium – The Brew Dock, Urban Brewing, or head across the water to Dockers, Daphni or Brewdog, if you prefer…
Local sites of note: EPIC, Connolly Station, Grand Canal Dock, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
Haunted: Presumably by poor choices made at work off-sites
Other notes: Another karaoke warning; main floor toilets
Socials: Instagram, Facebook

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Best Pubs for Books

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The Dublin Pub at Underdog (RIP) - yes, we're cheating with this picture.Dublin has an exceptional number of ‘literary’ pubs, and it’s no surprise that visitors build entire itineraries (a fancy word for ‘pub crawl’ in no small number of cases) around pubs frequented by Brendan Behan or namechecked by James Joyce. Indeed, in some parts of town, it can be tricky to find a pub that doesn’t claim to fit into one (or both) of these categories, and in many instances, it’s absolutely true.

But our intent here isn’t to map out the best bibliophile journey-by-pint – rather, it’s to highlight the best local pubs to enjoy a quiet pint with a book. There will be a bit of crossover with the aforementioned ‘literary’ pubs as it’s nearly impossible not to stumble across at least a few, but on the whole, these are spots where you can relax and catch up on your TBR pile without worrying that you’ll be fighting with a tour group for a seat at the bar or a nice table in a corner or snug.

A pint at The Cat & CageOf course, there will be times when even the most chill bar will be absolutely heaving, so it (mostly) goes without saying that you’ll have better luck of a sport-free afternoon versus, say, a Friday or Saturday night, so plan accordingly – a peek at most pubs’ socials will tell you if there’s a big event on when you’re keen for a solo reading session.

With that introduction, it’s on to some of our favourites, and we’ll begin with one that does also have a Brendan Behan connection: The Cat & Cage. And yes, it can get very full if there’s a game on at Croke Park or just a bit of Premier League action on the TV, but there are cosy spots all over the pub that are ideal on a quieter afternoon (near the fireplace is a wonderful place in chilly weather), and the beer selection is much more varied than many, too. Heading over to Phibsborough, both The Bald Eagle and Doyle’s Corner are also handy – but again, make sure it’s not a game day. Doyle’s Corner even has a respectable mix of books lying around in case you forgot your own – though the Phibsborough Library is also right there.

 

As we move closer toward the city centre – depending on your route – The King’s Inn and The Flowing Tide are both fine options with various corners to hide in. Mulligan’s of Poolbeg Street is a no-music pub if you want to avoid distraction, and while Kehoe’s can certainly get crowded, it’s a common spot to see people with books or notebooks in the afternoon. Neary’s, too is often quiet in the lounge (if not so much in the main bar), so don’t be afraid to seek out a spot, especially in some of the larger pubs. And while The Long Hall gets its fair share of tourist foot traffic, it is also typically calm enough early on to get a few chapters in. It may come as a shock to anyone who’s been into Caribou on a Friday night, but in the daytime, it can be a fine spot for reading. The Oak is also pleasant…it must be the panelling.

Suit of armour and books at Delaney'sOddly enough, even some dive bars can be good for the bookish – Anseo has its own small library ready to go, and while not quite so divey (dive bar-adjacent?), Delaney’s also maintains a grown-up vibe – with its own book collection. And while much more ‘pubby’ than ‘divey,’ Anseo’s near neighbour, The Bleeding Horse, is not only a great spot to tuck yourself away with a tome, it’s also the spooky inspiration for Brian J. Shower’s book of the same name which is out in a new edition – pick it up now!

In Stoneybatter, Walsh’s and Hynes’ Bar are both excellent for mixing your reading time with a little people-watching – and there’s the bonus beer garden at Hynes’. And like its sister pub Caribou, Bonobo is surprisingly handy for a little bit of afternoon reading (also with a great beer garden), but the atmosphere will notably change once it starts to fill up – not, we hasten to add, for the negative, just very different!

Books at TaphouseVenturing out toward Kilmainham, The Old Royal Oak flies a bit under the radar but is ideal for an afternoon out (these two facts may not be unrelated), and if you’re looking for a pub on the Luas later, Taphouse has not only the space, but plenty of books to choose from if, once again, you forgot your own.

And this is simply to get you started; there are plenty of other pubs all over Dublin that welcome the reader – why not write yourself into a pub’s literary history? If you’re in need of a book or two (or three?) to get started, we recommend picking up The Dublin Pub by Donal Fallon, Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland by fellow Beer Lady Podcaster Dr. Christina Wade and A Compendium of Irish Pints by Ali Dunworth.

Grab a book (or several), settle in with your pint and enjoy a few chapters.

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Taphouse

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Exterior of TaphouseWhile we are patiently waiting for a new, independent-beer-focused pub to open in the near future (no pressure, lads!) here in Dublin, we did something unusual for us, and headed not just south of the Liffey, but even further down the Luas into the leafy environs of Ranelagh. But it was, as it turns out, a pleasant experience.

Our destination pub, Taphouse, is one last visited pre-Covid, possibly for a work event, and so the memory was a bit hazy. There were faint recollections of a reasonably-interesting beer selection, but not much more than that. We also had not made it back as it we are usually in the company of offspring when heading in this general direction, and had been given to understand that it was not especially welcoming to the youth. On the contrary, though – it was very laid-back indeed, at least of a weekend afternoon. And, happily, the beer selection was more than respectable for Dublin. We are always excited to see Rascals Sidekick on, but there were also options from Hope, Wicklow Wolf, Whiplash, Hopfully and Kinnegar, along with the usual Guinness and Beamish. By local standards at the moment, this is pretty exciting.

A pint of Whiplash with books behindThere was a strong cocktail game as well, and while we didn’t have time to sample the food, it did look rather more interesting than many other pub options…perhaps something we’ll revisit to consider adding to the Best Pubs for Food list in future. The décor is ‘fancy pub’ – dark wood, decorative ceilings and lots of un-sorted books that one presumes have come from house clear-outs, though that said, there are a few shelves worth digging into more deeply (and we are very much in favour of ‘more books’ as a pub feature, even if the initial impulse was purely window-dressing).

The upstairs sun deck (beer garden?) at TaphouseUpstairs there is a glorious sun deck, so rather than Pavement Pints, it’s a literally more elevated experience.

And yet, while some may shout ‘notions!’ at Taphouse for being a bit design-led, the food and drink options hold their own, and it still feels very much like a neighbourhood pub. There was a good mix of punters of all ages on our visit, from solo pint-with-a-book enthusiasts to groups getting a bit of sun with their Sunday roasts.

We won’t wait so long before our next visit.

Where: 60 Ranelagh, Dublin 6, D06 C9C6
Access from the city centre: Luas Green Line, buses 11,14, 15, 15B, 80, E1, E2; 30ish minute walk
Food: Small plates, Sunday roast, a cheese board (something not enough restaurants, much less pubs, do here)
Sport: The usual suspects
TVs: All over the place, though some areas are quieter than others
Music: Indie tunes, sport commentary
Family-friendliness: A fair few well-behaved kids at Sunday lunchtime, but likely more of a grown-up vibe
Pub-crawl-ability: Low-medium: Smyth’s Pub, The Hill or a walk to Kodiak in Rathmines
Local sites of note: Richard Crosbie monument, Stella Cinema
Haunted: Perhaps some haunted books? The Taphouse Middoth?
Other notes: Very dog-friendly; karaoke can happen
Socials: Instagram, Facebook

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Keavan’s Port

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Outside Keavan's PortIt’s finally happened.

We didn’t have time to get to a new pub over the bank holiday weekend – too busy smashing the Dublin City Half Marathon – and so, we’ve had to dig deep into our occasionally-regrettable photo archives to find what we had lying about. This can only mean one thing – it’s Spoons time.

Although as a rule we tend to avoid Wetherspoons – easily done as there aren’t so very many of them in Ireland – occasionally, needs must. The Spoons in question is Keavan’s Port on Camden Street, and, if we put the sight of the bouncers (and some punters) to one side and focus only on the complex itself, it’s a huge achievement, and well worth visiting simply to explore the building(s). Now both pub and hotel, for many years, the Georgian townhouses that make up the site were derelict, with little of the previous history visible or accessible. And the history is fascinating: these buildings have housed a convent, a boxing gym, a stained-glass workshop (some of them concurrently) as well as their original residential intent.

Stained glass art inside the SpoonsAnd the restoration work is truly wonderful – care has been taken throughout to honour the different eras and uses that have gone before, and there are explanatory panels and photos throughout the pub (if you keep an eye out). The attention to historical detail has been balanced out with accessibility measures – ramps, lifts and a variety of reasonably easy-to-navigate spaces, despite the multi-level, multi-space layout of the pub; it’s comparatively rare to find this much care given to these features in Dublin, even in many pub rebuilds.

And yet.

Despite the layers of local history, there is still a feeling that you could be in any Wetherspoons in, say, Loughborough. The ‘pub experience’ doesn’t feel local – it feels pre-packaged and generically, well, British. This is not inherently a bad thing – we love going to the UK to go pub-bothering there, especially if there’s good cask ale on. But the ones we tend to go to there (even if, as is so often the case there, part of a larger pubco) still feel like they have their own personalities and quirks. This may, of course, be very much self-selected, but a pub like Ye Old Mitre still feels like it has its own vibe, even if it’s part of the Fuller’s/Asahi empire, while the Spoons experience is much more akin to a global chain (especially when it comes to the always-underwhelming, presumably-microwaved food).

Pints at the Spoons - not the ones ordered, but the ones availableThe cask offering is also a point of contention here – as cask nerds, we’ve noted before the very small number of pubs in Dublin that have any cask ale at all – on any given day, the ones you are most likely to find in action at a non-Wetherspoons are single cask lines at The Porterhouse and Harty’s Bar, respectively (though we have it on very good authority that another beer engine will soon be regularly with us at A New Pub…watch this space), while The Black Sheep has neglected this of late. And, indeed, there are up to 5 beer engines at Keavan’s Port, but on the several occasions we’ve tried, a good 3 of them have been out of service (with the working ones being rather unremarkable Greene King beers), whilst on other visits, the beers had actively gone off and were nearly straight-up vinegar. To be fair, we know others have not had this experience here, and we seem to be particularly unlucky, but it’s always proved disappointing for us.

Finally, though, there is the other main Wetherspoons selling point: the cost. You will not find cheaper pints in the city – €2.60 for a Worthington’s Creamflow, or €4.50 for a Beamish are hard to beat, which is a not-unreasonable point. It would just be nice if the experience felt more like a real ‘Dublin’ one, but if price is the main issue, that may not be relevant to many punters.

A sign from the former chapel, still in situWhich, of course, leads us to the other reason we tend to not go there very much – it would be horrifying to the Young Adult member of the household to run into us at a place that is very much a usual haunt of His People; best to leave it to the Youth most of the time, but it is handy for a cheap pint before a gig nearby, and you can always make paper airplanes from the Wetherspoons magazine if you are so inclined. Just consider eating somewhere else beforehand…

Where: 1-5 Camden Street Upper, Dublin, IE D02 K854
Access from the city centre: Buses 9, 14, 15, 16, 27, 56A, 65B, 77A, 83, 140, 151, 15-ish minute walk
Food: Breakfast/lunch/dinner – the usual Wetherspoons options
Sport: All the sports
TVs: All over the place, though some areas are more subdued
Music: Quite a generic soundtrack of MOR tracks through the decades
Family-friendliness: There is the standard Spoons kids’ menu, but Camden Street can get rowdy at night
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Devitt’s, Anseo, Barebone, The Camden, Ryan’s of Camden Street, The Bleeding Horse, The Portobello Bar
Local sites of note: Whelan’s, Iveagh Gardens, St Stephen’s Green, National Concert Hall, Marsh’s Library, St Patrick’s Cathedral
Haunted: Definite ‘haunted object’ vibes in some sports
Other notes: One of only a few spots with truly accessible toilets throughout the building
Socials: N/A