Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Lucky’s

We are back in action this week, now that the Paddy’s Day crowds have moved on, and, as so often, we find ourselves in The Liberties. We’re visiting Lucky’s, a pub we’ve frequently stopped in during the Libertine Market Crawl (although they are no longer on the current route), but we have not really had time to relax there.

With one recent glorious afternoon of sun, however, making the most of it was a moral imperative – and so, we repaired to Lucky’s. The main pull was their large and well-appointed beer garden to the rear of the pub; it’s one of a very few in Dublin that makes an effort to separate out the non-smoking bit of the outdoor area to a certain extent, which is very much appreciated.

As a sister bar to The Circular, Lucky’s also serves Coke Lane Pizza from the late afternoons onward, and many of our fellow sun-seekers in the beer garden were waiting impatiently for it to open – it is, it must be said, quite tasty pizza. While on this occasion most people stayed outside, owing to the fine weather, it should be noted that the interior of Lucky’s is also very comfortable: no, it’s not got Old Man Pub fittings, but it’s nice to have a brighter spot on occasion (yes, grey counts as ‘brighter’ compared to many places), and there’s a lot of great art by local artists all around the pub. Also, COAT HOOKS.

Beer-wise, there’s a nice, rotating mix of local independent options from Whiplash, Rascals and Hopfully (among others recently on tap), along with the usual Guinness; bottles of flavoured cider seemed to be the thing the Young People were going for. Rather unusually, there’s also Hoegaarden, plus a range of cocktails and non-alcoholic options.

One of the reasons we so often end up in The Liberties is the sheer range of pubs on offer; although Lucky’s may cater to a younger crowd (broadly speaking), we found it a great spot to soak up a bit of sun on a weekend afternoon, and it made for an easy hop over to Dudley’s, one of our more usual haunts.

Yes, we need to make a return trip for the pizza, but that’s no bad thing, once we get more consistent sunny weather…fingers crossed. Lucky’s is a worthy addition to our list of Dublin’s best pubs for sunny weather.

Where: 78 Meath St, The Liberties, Dublin 8, D08 A318
Access from the city centre: Buses C4, G1/G2, 13, 23, 24, 27, 56A, 73, 77A, 80, 150, 15ish minute walk
Food: Coke Lane Pizza
Sport: Major sport on (rugby, Premier League, etc), but more musical than sporty
TVs: A few here and there, even outside
Music: Music for cool people – there’s also a DJ booth
Family-friendliness: Fine in the afternoon/early evening
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Dudley's, Arthur's, Swift, Love Tempo (still closed after a fire, as of this writing), Guinness Open Gate Brewery, Drop Dead Twice (just reopened after a fire), The Thomas House, The Lord Edward, The Bull & Castle and The Beer Temple/The Oak are all within a short walk; The Brazen Head is also not far, if you fancy paying more
Local sites of note: Guinness Storehouse, Vicar Street, Olympia Theatre, Christchurch Cathedral, Dublinia, St Audoen’s Church
Haunted: The Liberties should have plenty of ghosts. But Lucky’s? No sign!
Other notes: Very pet-friendly
Socials: Instagram