We didn’t have time to get to a ‘new’ pub this week for a conventional entry, but given the (strange) glorious sunny weather, we’ll do a quick round-up of the nicest beer gardens in Dublin – plus an introduction to our newest tag, Pavement Pints*. There are relatively few true beer gardens in Dublin compared to many other major cities, though given our typical weather, it’s not terribly surprising. And it’s probably worth defining what we mean by ‘beer garden‘ here on Weirdo Dublin Pubs: for our purposes, it’s a more permanent outdoor space at the pub with at least a number of substantial tables and chairs. But we also have more than a few pubs with semi-official spots to stand with your pint in good weather, as well as those that have either a bench or a few chairs here and there, so we’ve been encouraged to create the Pavement Pints category to cover these locations.
And so, with definitions out of the way, here are some of our favourite proper Dublin beer gardens, along with a ‘why you might like it’ note for each. We’ll start strong: it’s hard to top Bonobo, with an always-interesting beer lineup and a large (by Dublin standards) patio with many tables and chairs, and its sister pub on the south side, Kodiak. There’s pizza at both as well, if you’re putting in a full afternoon’s work. Another excellent option for beer, food and general ‘vibes’ is the back deck at The Bald Eagle – again, it’s a large space, and there’s a mix of covered areas and even televisions if it’s a sportsball-day, plus a lot of fun art (mind the Dalek!), good beer and food for all the family. And we have only just mentioned The Brian Boru – but it is, perhaps, one of the sunniest spots around, especially in the afternoon. Hynes’ Bar also has a lovely outdoor space with a mix of seating options, beer, snacks and a good sense of humour in its mural. Staying Northside (we will cross the river, I promise, but the Northside is just, well, better in this regard), The Tolka House has a large covered patio and is an ideal spot to refuel after a visit to the National Botanic Garden. We’ll begin heading toward the city centre with a stop off at MeMa’s – its beer garden is one of the quirkier ones, but get there early – it fills up quickly. And for a tasty bite and a true sun trap before an event nearby, Urban Brewing has a delightful outdoor space, umbrellas and all.
Then, to the other side of the Liffey: Toner’s has an enormous beer garden for its city centre location, and the Guinness Open Gate has beautiful outdoor spaces (and that pretzel), but book ahead to get your spot. Love Tempo is, as of this writing, still closed after a fire a few weeks ago, but we look forward to adding them back to the list when they re-open – their beer garden is a hidden gem of a sun-trap. Tapped has a semi-secret beer garden in the alleyway that’s well worth a visit. And if you are heading further south, The Brickyard has a covered patio out front, and they are a wonderful spot for both food and beer.
Next, on to Pavement Pints, and it would be rude not to start with The Gravediggers. (And yes, we did just hop back over to Glasnevin, sorry/not sorry). While there’s no formal outdoor seating, there are always people outside with a pint in fine weather, both right in front of the pub and in the centre of the square. Of course, it is a residential area, so do be mindful if you’re enjoying pints al fresco. The Black Sheep has a few outdoor tables, sometimes covered, as do many other spots along Capel Street. There are a few chairs to be found outside Underdog, and there’s no better spot for craft beer in Dublin, but you’ll need to either get there early or play musical chairs (and, ideally, you don’t mind the traffic that’s maybe a meter away). Contending with traffic noise from both cars and the Luas are the benches outside Fidelity; once again, there are only a few, but their Whiplash and guest beers are lovely, traffic notwithstanding. Taking the Luas further out to The Circular will also land you at another good Pavement Pints spot – and they are introducing a regular market in the near future, too. Another newer spot in this category, albeit closer in, is The Morris Bar, where they have only just added a small outdoor seating area to the front.
Finally, we cannot decide whether the outdoor space at Rascals counts as a beer garden or is more Team Pavement Pints – what say you, gentle readers? In any event, don’t forget your sunblock…
*Name inspiration courtesy of Peter at Craic Beer Community – if you’re a local beer nerd, do join!
Last week, we asked whether 
The pub has been here since the 1850s, and in the Hedigan family since 1904, and you can’t miss their name in neon, either. Of course, like so many pubs along this route, it’s name-checked in Ulysses, and has a useful write-up 
Well, there have been proposals to 
We are back this week with a ‘request pub’ – one that’s much further north than our more common north-of-the-Liffey-but-still-pretty-central stomping grounds. We’re heading out of Dublin City proper to Howth; it’s an easy trip on the DART, but a bit of a pain if, for example, you needed Dublin Bus to deposit you to a nearby spot at a predetermined time. Dublin Bus is not always especially good at the concept of ‘on time’ (but it’s pretty great on ghost buses), so the journey in this general direction involved more taxis than I typically take in a 6-month period, but we got there in the end. Our (eventual) destination was 
I’d recently had an exchange on the socials lamenting the lack of railway station bars in Ireland, and while we have nothing here quite like the small-but-mighty 
We enjoyed excellent food and service when we stopped in, which isn’t necessarily a given in some pubs mid-week in the middle of the afternoon (hardly a fruitful time for most), so it was much appreciated. There is outdoor seating as well around both ends of the pub, but we kept to the more dimly-lit interior on a lovely sunny afternoon. Having offspring who actively avoid the sun may be odd to others, but hey, at least their vampiric ways are preventing long-term sun damage, and the pub interior really is lovely, all stone and dark wood.
A proper ‘Pubs of Croke Park’ roundup is long overdue, and with so many events on this summer, we may as well finally start working on that. While we’ve already covered a few handy ones like 
It’s very much a ‘locals’ pub most of the time, but a welcoming one; I’ve had out-of-town guests wind up there and have great chats with the barstaff. No frills, but no pretention, either. If you are looking to pre-game before an event at Croke Park, it’s hard to be better-placed for an easy walk in to the stadium. And, of course, the pub’s name 
Locals know this, but the visitor to Dublin may not know that horse racing is Kind of a Big Deal. There are endless ads from the various wagering platforms leading up to some of the larger race meetings, and as we’re in the middle of Cheltenham Week*, it seemed appropriate to venture to one of the many Old Man Pubs that draw in the 
But back to The Wind Jammer: the exterior looks more than a little tired, but once in the door, it’s perhaps surprisingly tidy and well-wallpapered – not to the standard of the much-newer 
While it’s only a short walk from more ‘hipster’ bars like 
Back in the day – you know, perhaps 3 years ago – this week’s pub was The Porterhouse Central. It was a very handy spot in that you could enjoy a mix of interesting beers from Porterhouse and various guest options, but you avoided 
However, I happened to be in the area and had a bit of time after a meeting, so I gave Tapped another try. I’m pleased to say that the interior, while still feeling just slightly too ‘taproom’ has been softened and improved. There is now much more comfortable seating and the lighting is more dialled-in; it feels warmer on the whole. There are screens showing the beer lineup, 
While it may seem that we rarely venture south of the Liffey (true, really), we recently had occasion to be down in our old Ballsbridge stomping grounds, and so returned to 
There has been much local discussion surrounding the launch of 
And that may be all well and good for many customers, but these new brews haven’t (mostly) muscled out the usual macro suspects; it’s the ‘good’ beers that have been jettisoned to make space, including – really a loss here – the Pilsner Urquell. Removed from The Bridge’s menu now are Rye River Upstream Pale Ale, Warsteiner lager and, er, Madri. The Madri may be no great loss, but the others are keenly felt (especially if, say, A Friend were really looking forward to a Pilsner Urquell, sighed to make do with a Warsteiner and then realised that the only drinkable lager was Carlsberg). To add insult to injury, the hand-painted panel all about Pilsner Urquell has been partially, but not entirely, covered by a television. Ouch.
This week’s pub is one that we’ve both been asked to profile repeatedly, and, in nearly equal measure, begged not to reveal it as a secret hidden gem. Is it possible to satisfy both of these audiences? Let’s find out – and so, we venture back to Marlborough Street, home to 
Also unlike many other Old Man Pubs, there was an independent beer option: Kinnegar’s Scraggy Bay. In some pubs that don’t have that kind of turnover for non-Guinness options, they aren’t always as fresh, but there were no such issues here. Guinness was, of course, plentiful, but there were many pints of lager being consumed, too – it is slightly unusual to see Tuborg on one of the taps in a Dublin pub, but I have a soft spot for many Carlsberg products, so it was quite welcome. The décor is, again, by no means fancy, but it’s very well-kept: red and cream paint, lighter wood tones and simple brass lamps on the bar. The crowd was clearly mostly regulars, and although most were deeply invested in the multiple channels of horse racing, there were other long-running conversations, too.
And while it may be true that this is not the cleanest nor most well-kept part of Dublin, that is presumably part of what keeps the tourists away, Georgian architecture notwithstanding. And although some parts of Reddit may be thoroughly convinced that we’re all just waiting to get murdered north of the Liffey, there are signs of positive development; newer pubs like The Morris Bar, just a short walk away, suggest that things are slowly improving. But for a pub like Briody’s that’s been here for over a century in various guises, it seems to be content to keep its current mix of regulars and semi-regulars who drop in whenever they are in town.
Although I’ve lived an extremely brief walk from James Gill’s Corner House for over 4 years, I have never managed to be going past when it was open – until now. Its ‘regular’ opening hours are nothing of the sort, but that’s part of this pub’s mythology. Gill’s Pub opens when Gill’s Pub decides to do so. So, what’s it like?
As mentioned, the opening hours are…erratic at best. But if the door is open, you’ll find the walls lined with match-day programs and event posters from previous games and concerts (for those of us who live nearby, we can simply hear everything in the garden – a blessing or a curse, depending on the fixture or artist). But inside there is also the mural of 
But during Behan’s youth, this area wasn’t merely residential – 
While our stats here show that you seem to be extremely interested in 
Of course, Walsh’s is far from new, as it’s been trading on this corner since 1826, so it’s coming up on two centuries in business. One wonders if there is to be an epic celebration next year…but back to the pub itself. It’s got a beautiful mix of stained glass and dark wood, cosy nooks and a fantastic snug…really, it’s quite close to the Platonic ideal of a late-19th century Dublin pub (albeit with televisions for the footy), so its recent restoration work has been well-planned and executed. The look and feel is certainly closer to the end of the 19th century than the beginning, but that’s no critique. And while it is best-known for its Guinness, they also serve Beamish, and there are also fresh lines of Trouble’s Ambush and Kinnegar’s Scraggy Bay – it made an ideal stopping-off point for my traditional 
And Walsh’s has another point or two in its favour: it has the full-on Victorian pub splendour, without the crush of tourists you can get at The Long Hall, and it has more variety on offer, drinks-wise, than