City Centre - Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Grogan’s

June 19, 2024 by weirdodublinpubs

Toasties and pints at Grogan's This week, we are journeying to one of those ‘needs no introduction’ pubs that’s simply part of the fabric here in Dublin, and sometimes, you just need a pint and a toastie. And so, to Grogan’s.

While the cash-only policy is, thankfully, gone, everything else is old-school in the right way. The slightly scuffed, but art-covered walls, the jumbled stools and tables, the mix of regulars and tourists and the just-right toasties that go perfectly with your pint are all present and accounted for. While Grogan’s – more correctly, Grogan’s Castle Lounge – has been a pub since 1899, the present incarnation has been going strong since the 1970s, when it became a renowned literary haunt for the likes of Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O'Brien. And while its old-school cred is very much deserved, it’s a progressive sort of old-school: Grogan’s was one of the first pubs in Dublin that served women without a fuss – and if you haven’t picked up Ali Dunworth’s recent book, A Compendium of Irish Pints, well…you should! It’s a fascinating look at the many nuances of ‘pints’ here in Ireland, and the relevant section here on how Grogan’s led the way on ‘allowing’ women to drink pints (rather than half-pints, or ‘glasses’ as they are more usually known here) IN FULL VIEW OF MALE CUSTOMERS…it was a whole thing! We also had Ali on the Beer Ladies Podcast in the season we just wrapped up, so do give a listen.

The colourful lightbox with regulars' faces on the wall at Grogan's And, speaking of podcasts, there’s an entire episode of Three Castles Burning dedicated to Grogan’s, and it is very much worth your time; Donal Fallon’s always-excellent podcast is required listening for anyone visiting or living in Dublin, and it’s a fascinating story. You know when a pub has generated this much affection over the years, there’s likely a reason for it.

And while I personally tend to go to quieter pubs most of the time, it’s hard to beat Grogan’s for people-watching (inside or outside), and it’s an ideal place to meet someone as it’s so central. The toastie (with or without ham – your choice) is a perfect quick bite, and it’s especially welcome in this part of town, where the options are pricier/larger sit-down meals or the odd packet of crisps. Beer-wise, there’s obviously plenty of Guinness on offer (both full-fat and 0.0), plus O’Hara’s as a local craft choice, and there is also Beamish, Murphy’s and the lesser-spotted draught Harp (at least here in Dublin – it’s much more common in Belfast), along with the usual macro suspects.

While it’s rare to find any empty seats, Grogran’s is also the kind of pub where if you simply wait a bit, something may open up, or you may be invited to join an existing party and have a chat. You may as well…

Where: 15 William St S, Dublin 2, D02 H336
Access from the city centre: You are very central
Food: Toasties
Sport: Only verbal gymnastics
TVs: No
Music: Not here
Family-friendliness: You do see kids brought in as tourists, but it’s awfully crowded for them; still, toasties!
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Long Hall, The Hairy Lemon, Caribou, Peter's Pub, Sinnot's Bar and Bar Rua are all within stumbling distance, with many more beyond
Local sites of note: George’s Street Arcade, Gaiety Theatre, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty, Craft Central (IYKYK)
Haunted: No well-known stories, but surely, at least a few old regulars would like to return…
Other notes: Grogan’s is open from 10.30 am, so you can always beat the crowds with a mid-morning tea
Socials: Instagram

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Caribou

June 6, 2024 by weirdodublinpubs

A glass of beer, a candle and a cocktail menu at Caribou

After a bit of an unplanned break, we are back, and this week, we are heading into the city centre to check out Caribou – the new bar from the Animal Collective folk that has recently opened in the former P Mac’s spot. The recent spate of Galway Bay pub closures/rebrandings, including Against the Grain and BRÚ House Fairview (now The Strand House) has not boded well for Dublin-based craft beer fans; most of the re-opened pubs have had zero or, at best, one craft tap remaining; the shift from The Beer Market to The Christchurch Inn is – so far – the only relaunch bucking that apparent trend.

While P Mac’s was not part of the Galway Bay family – its sister pubs include Cassidys and Blackbird (the other P Mac’s in Dundrum closed a bit ago), and the family resemblance was best seen through the dark spaces and drippy, red candles – it was always a spot with a nice selection of Irish craft beer, and when its closured was announced, I know I was not the only person concerned that it might be relaunched as a Fake Oirish Pub, with all macro beer and diddly-eye music for tourists, especially given its location, a short walk from St Stephen’s Green. Fortunately for us beer nerds, Caribou has us covered, with a nice selection of Irish craft beer, plus some international choices – and there are plenty of standard offerings for The Normals, too, as well as some very interesting cocktails. There is also an impressive array of alcohol-free cans and mocktails that is worth noting.

The bar at Caribou This is no surprise, though, as the other pubs in the group have always supported independent beer; we’ve covered Bonobo before (though wouldn’t it be improved by more housing nearby, instead of a vacant site? Well, that’s another story we won’t get into here), and Impala in Cork is lovely. I have yet to make it to Kodiak in Rathmines, but I had been past the OG Caribou in Galway and knew they had a good selection as well. Rather than find a new animal, the Caribou name has been transplanted to Dublin after the closure of the Galway spot, and very pleasant it is, too.

For anyone familiar with P Mac’s and its rather cavernous feel (not a bad thing, by my reckoning), the new look and feel at Caribou is light and airy, yet in discussions with the excellent staff, they said that not much had been done to the place, structurally. The removal of a snug near the front has opened up some windows that I would never have noticed before, and the new colour palette – lots of white, faded blues and mid-century modern wood – gives it an entirely different feel. And while the old red candles are gone, they have been replaced with white pillar candles – perhaps a nod to the old space? I am obliged to credit my fellow Beer Lady Katie Malone with this idea – and it’s a good one!

In the back at Caribou - couch, table and lamp — #image_title

All told, it’s not terribly dissimilar to Bonobo in ambiance, and there are still some cosier spots toward the back for a more relaxed conversation – the absence of the front snug is no cause for concern, and I say this as someone who loves a good snug. I suspect it’s a trickier balance to get right than it might appear at first glance – there’s a difference between simply throwing together some charity shop furniture and hoping it gives off hipster vibes, versus having a more intentionally-designed space and aesthetic. There is another pub I won’t mention by name that seems to have attempted a similar ‘vibe’ and missed the mark; it ends up feeling rather impersonal and slightly chaotic (though the less-than-stellar service hasn’t helped with that). A lot of the warmth and welcome at Caribou does come from the staff, so they’ve done well in that regard, and my suspicion is that this is what cements that feel of the place. Even with a brand-new (brand-new retro?) facelift, it feels authentic in a way that some pubs and bars attempting to play in this space simply do not.

And given Caribou’s location, just around the corner from St Stephen’s News – Craft Central for Those In The Know – there’s no excuse not to have some great craft beer options, and a well-trained staff who know their stuff, so it’s great to see that tradition continue in this location. The red candles may have gone, and I did very much enjoy them, but I can still go to Cassidys for that vibe, but the new chilled-out feel that Caribou brings is most welcome in this part of Dublin.

Where: Caribou, 30 Stephen Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 XY61
Access from the city centre: You are in it
Food: Only a drinks spot at present
Sport: Less sport, more chat
TVs: No obvious sign
Music: Bit of jazz, bit of indie
Family-friendliness: A more grown-up (or, at least, Elder Gen Z+) vibe
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Hairy Lemon, Bar Rua, The Long Hall, Grogan’s, Peter’s Pub, Sinnot’s Bar and more are all within a brief stroll – and there are many more beyond
Local sites of note: St Stephen’s Green, Gaiety Theatre, Craft Central (absolutely a landmark for the beer nerds), Little Museum of Dublin, George’s Street Arcade
Haunted: There was that definitely-real incident with the hot dog ghost…
Other notes: An ideal spot for a book and a pint
Socials: Instagram

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Toner’s

April 11, 2024 by weirdodublinpubs

Outside Toner's Pub Despite its Viking-era foundations, Dublin rarely feels like an ‘old’ city by European standards – something we can, in large part, blame on the Wide Streets Commission, which resulted in the demolition of much of medieval Dublin in the 18th century. However, the city the Commission members desired can very much be seen in the part of Baggot street we are visiting this week as we look at Toner’s Pub. While perhaps best known as a literary pub (yes, another one – we do have a fair few), it’s also practically the Platonic ideal of a Dublin pub: a Georgian building, a past as a grocer and tea merchant, lots of dark wood, Guinness and a surprising number of snugs, nooks and crannies.

Inside Toner's Pub Built as a house in 1734, Toner’s has been continuously operated as a pub since 1818, and to quote the National Built Heritage Service, ‘[t]he remarkably intact exterior greatly contributes to the historic streetscape in the centre of the south Georgian core.’ On my recent visit, that history was very much on display, as Toner’s is the first Pub Museum, an initiative sponsored by Heineken, and we did a bit of poking around to see how it all works (and, full disclosure, to get a free Heineken 0.0, which regular readers know is not my go-to, but it was a nicely-organised event). In brief, the project lets you scan a QR code at the front of the pub and then to investigate objects and locations throughout the rest of the pub – that may be a voiceover, a bit of music or other information about the item in question. It did reveal some fabulous anecdotes about former visitors, from WB Yeats to David Bowie, though I imagine many visitors just want to sit with a pint and soak up the history more organically. That said, it’s not always easy to find out those little historical snippets that the bartender or regulars may just ‘know,’ so it is very handy for tourists (or history nerds like me). Time will tell how scalable it is to other pubs, but I am all for doing a better job of documenting (and funding) pub history.

Front snug at Toner's And Toner’s does have an interesting history; it’s alleged to be the only pub Yeats ever went to, and his brief? occasional? presence in the front snug seems to be one of the connections that gets Toner’s onto the list of Dublin’s haunted pubs – again, something I’d like to see grow, at least from a folklore-gathering perspective, although alas, his magickal duel with Aleister Crowley took place in London. But Yeats was not the only Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn member to stop in at Toner’s – Bram Stoker was a more frequent guest, as he lived just a short walk away.

But what of the pub itself? First off, it’s bigger on the inside (no, really) – the front bar, while picturesque, is just the beginning. It winds around inside, with quite different-feeling sections upstairs and downstairs, but the enormous beer garden is one of the largest in Dublin – and it’s even heated. There are covered booths, some with laptop or phone charge points, as well as other seating options, so a rainy day need not rule out a bit of fresh air. Beer-wise, it’s very much a Heineken-plus-Guinness shop – the only ‘crafty‘ option is Five Lamps lager, but there is now a Murphy’s tap; the demise of Islands Edge has cleared the way for its return around town. Although I’d personally prefer at least one local independent option, you do have two (actual) stout options.

Only a tiny portion of the beer garden

While it’s true I rarely find myself in this part of town, I did make a mental note that the beer garden is going to be lovely once it warms up a bit more…perhaps an ideal spot to take out-of-town guests who want to see a ‘real Irish pub’ in the middle of their museum visits; stopping in at Toner’s can count in both columns.

Where: James Toner’s, 139 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2
Access from the city centre: 5-minute walk from St Stephen’s Green
Food: Crisps/peanuts or bring in a pizza from Cirillo's next door
Sport: Can have quite a rugby crowd, but big events in general tend to be shown
TVs: One above the main bar, a few elsewhere here and there
Music: Trad sessions and the odd ‘secret’ gig for the likes of Dermot Kennedy and Shaggy (indeed!) – keep an eye on the socials
Family-friendliness: More of a grownup spot, but the beer garden does have plenty of space if you’re getting pizza
Pub-crawl-ability: Medium-High – McGrattan’s, Kennedy’s, O’Donoghue’s and Doheny & Nesbitt are all very close, though I’d personally head further on up toward Cassidys, Bowes or The Palace Bar
Haunted: Did Bram Stoker bring any kind of attached elemental from Marsh’s Library when he drank here? Let’s say yes!
Local sites of note: Little Museum of Dublin, Huguenot Cemetery, St Stephen’s Green, Merrion Square, Fitzwilliam Square, Royal Hibernian Academy, Oireachtas, National Library of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland (Archaeology and The Dead Zoo), National Gallery of Ireland…etc.
Other notes: If you do venture outside, you will not be troubled by seagulls.
Socials: Facebook, Former Twitter, Instagram

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: O’Neill’s Pub & Kitchen

April 3, 2024 by weirdodublinpubs

Outside O'Neill's: sign & clock As tourist season seems more or less nearly in full swing, we’re sticking with Dublin city centre this week and O’Neill’s Pub and Kitchen – a tourist-friendly but also authentic pub that caters to a range of tastes and preferences – and one that’s large enough to offer a different experience depending on where you are in the pub (and just how crowded it is on the day or evening).

The snug downstairs at O'Neill's I recently had the unpleasant experience of stopping in a pub I’d never tried, and which shall remain nameless here, that was so aggressively diddley-eye that I had to flee after a single quick pint – the Clancy Brothers on a loop, too loud; a complete lack of non-Guinness options, the various tin signs and old farm equipment on the wall just that little bit too much like an Oirsih Pub of the sort you find anywhere in the world, and that doesn’t need to exist in the middle of Dublin. When I asked the bartender if there were any local craft options, she claimed not to know what that meant. Now, that in itself isn’t a dealbreaker, there are some excellent Guinness-only pubs that are well worth a visit – The Gravediggers and The Hut immediately come to mind – but add in the twee décor, the music (and I love good trad…just not the same four or five particular bits that get played endlessly to tourists) and the Americans wearing Peaky Blinders hats, and it was a big nope.

Barrels on the way up the stairs Happily, O’Neill’s is nothing like this, and visiting it not long after The Pub to Remain Nameless made its positive features stand out all the more. Yes, there are trad sessions – good ones are always welcome – but the usual background music is quiet enough to chat, not painfully loud. Yes, there are various old photos and signs, even some barrels as you head upstairs, but they seem like a more natural accumulation over the past 150-200 years, rather than having come from a warehouse as part of a kit. The ground floor is something of a warren (in the best possible way), with the bar serving several distinct spaces, including a pleasant snug by one of the doors. There is a good variety in terms of local craft options on tap (again, we’ll let the decorative hand pulls set high up on a shelf slide – there’s no cask here), but it’s always a good idea to have a backup choice selected; in my experience, the first choice is nearly always the one that just kicked. Happily, though, there are some good options (Lineman, Bullhouse, Whiplash and Trouble, to name a few independent Irish breweries showcased on my most recent visit, with Third Barrel upstairs), so it’s in no way a hardship.

Upstairs near Whiskey Corner And speaking of ‘upstairs,’ there’s a nice ‘Whiskey Corner,’ all red leather and dark wood, though of course you’re welcome to drink anything you’d like (and the whiskey selection is indeed a very good one). It can be quieter up here (not necessarily on big game days, of course), especially during the afternoon, and it can make a pleasant spot on your literary pub crawl, given its Seamus Heaney connections, among quite a few others. But again, there is a good variety of seating, with many little nooks and snugs, so it’s also a nice escape from Grafton Street shopping, just outside.

So, while my more usual MO is to hit up one of my locals before heading into town proper, my most recent visit to O’Neill’s was a good reminder that there are very nice spots right in Dublin city centre as well – they are not all tourist nightmares, even when you are absolutely in the middle of everything. Good times are possible!

Where: O’Neill’s Pub & Kitchen, 2 Suffolk St, Dublin 2, D02 KX03
Access from the city centre: You are there
Food: What I would term ‘tourist pub fare’ – Irish stew, soups, sandwiches, toasties and then burgers, etc.
Sport: Various screens for various sports – football, GAA, horse racing, etc
TVs: See ‘sport’
Music: Quiet enough to have a conversation; also trad events
Family-friendliness: Plenty of food options if it’s not late/too crowded
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Bowes, Cassidys, Mulligans, The Palace Bar, JR Mahon’s, The Oval, Porterhouse Temple Bar, Tapped and many, many more are all within a very short stroll
Haunted: With its literary cred, a ghost would be a big plus, but no obvious stories
Local sites of note: Grafton Street, Trinity College, NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM, Irish Whiskey Museum…you are central
Other notes: Not to be confused with O’Neill’s Victorian Pub & Townhouse on Pearse Street
Socials: Nothing updated for quite a few years

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Bowes

April 3, 2024March 28, 2024 by weirdodublinpubs

Bowes stained glass window I don’t have the largest list of city centre Dublin pubs to recommend (yet!), simply because I’m not in the more touristy parts of town very often, but one pub in this area I do quite enjoy is Bowes. It really does tick all of the boxes for a Victorian pub out of central casting – dark interior, stained glass, wood panelling and slightly worn around the edges. The exact parameters of those edges have been under discussion for some time, as there have been numerous attempts to get permission to expand into the sadly-derelict Irish Yeast Company building abutting the pub, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear path for or against that happening at the moment.

The bar at Bowes But as of this writing, Bowes seems to be doing just fine as-is: in addition to the usual well-kept Guinness, there’s always an excellent whiskey selection, rivalling that of The Palace Bar, and a good variety of local craft beer – Kinnegar, O’Hara’s, Rye River – plus some useful non-alcoholic options. One speculates that this kind of non-whiskey variety was unimaginable when Bowes was a regular hangout for Irish Times journalists in decades past, but it does suit its current mix of Trinity College students, tourists and long-time regulars; on my visits, I’ve always found a wide range of ages, accents, genders, backgrounds and interests, all equally welcome.It’s not the kind of pub I usually go to in my own neighbourhood, largely because I’m more often out and about with family in those situations, but it’s an ideal spot for a real ‘pubby’ pub when meeting up with other grownup friends and kicking back with a pint or two.

Pints of Rye River at Bowes For me, Bowes combines the best features of Old Man Pubs – decor, vibe and unpretentiousness – with what I also expect on a good afternoon or evening out: local beer and whiskey, a more diverse crowd and a generally sound atmosphere. If someone could just point me to a ghost story (or create one), it would have everything…

Where: Bowe’s Lounge Bar, 31 Fleet St, Dublin 2, D02 DF77
Access from the city centre: You are there
Food: I’ve only ever seen crisps consumed, but the internet claims there are other snacks
Sport: Not sporty
TVs: Possibly an old one somewhere, but never seems to be on
Music: Fairly MOR, but never too loud; I’ve also been when it has been music-free
Family-friendliness: Leave the kids at home for this one
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Doyle’s is next door, but O’Neill’s, Cassidys, Mulligans, The Palace Bar, JR Mahon’s, The Oval, Porterhouse Temple Bar, Tapped and many, many more are all within a very short stroll
Haunted: It certainly looks and feels like it should be haunted
Local sites of note: Trinity College, Book of Kells, Grafton Street, NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM, Irish Whiskey Museum…you are as central as can be
Other notes: Handy coat/bag hooks, which more pubs should have
Socials: None seem active

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Stag’s Head

March 14, 2024August 10, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

Look! We’ve gone south of the river! It does sometimes happen, if the right opportunity presents itself. And so, to The Stag’s Head.

While I had been to the pub at some point in the dim and distant past, long before I moved here, it was very much as a tourist. And while it does still feel a bit like a ‘tourist’ bar, with its well-preserved Victorian interior (see also The Long Hall, The Hut, The Palace Bar) and Temple Bar-adjacent location, there is some genuine local colour as well. That’s what brought me in most recently: a friend’s birthday party, and she chose the location because it has a very niche place in Irish music history: it is (so the story goes) where Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh dreamt up The Duckworth-Lewis Method – birthing the world’s finest cricket pop over (more than) a few pints. As an aside, the two have a new song out under Walsh’s aegis – check it out!

But back to the pub itself: while the ground floor hosts the main bar and generous snug, there are smaller spots to sit with a pint or a few friends, or even to host a corporate or life event – indeed, before we settled into the upstairs lounge, with its view over the alleyway, a wedding was in the process of winding down. The beer selection is mostly the usual suspects – a well-poured Guinness and the odd Five Lamps ‘crafty’ option – so not necessarily my first choice, but it’s worth noting that for a city centre Guinness, it’s not a bad price, and certainly cheaper than many (likely most) in the immediate vicinity.

It does feel a bit less welcoming than the places I more typically frequent, with a bit of a wait to be served, even without a queue, but some of that may be that the staff had already slogged through a wedding, and it was by that point a Friday night, so very understandable, especially in this part of town. But it is a beautifully-maintained spot, and there are times when simply relaxing with friends over a Guinness is called for.

And as a folklore nerd, I’m curious to see what one of their Folklore & Fairies evenings is all about, though I suspect it would be full of the louder spectrum of The People From Where I Came From, and I tend to avoid that crowd – still, perhaps something to try with a few friends rounded up in advance…if more local craft beer options were on offer, I’d be in!

Where: The Stag’s Head, 1 Dame Ct, Dublin, D02 TW84
Access from the city centre: You are there
Food: Toasties, oysters, pub grub
Sport: All sorts on the televisions
TVs: TVs in the main bar
Music: Live trad bands Fridays & Saturdays; stereo soundtrack was ‘wedding favourites’ on my visit
Family-friendliness: Likely depends on the time of day
Pub-crawl-ability: High – very short walk to The Oak/The Beer Temple, O’Neill’s, The Lord Edward, The Bull & Castle, The Brazen Head, The Porterhouse and all of Temple Bar, if you hate your money
Local sites of note: Olympia Theatre, Dublin Castle, Dublin City Hall, Chester Beatty Library, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublinia
Haunted: Surely a quality candidate for ghosts, if ghosts like dark wood and leather
Other notes: Extensive whiskey selection

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Cassidys

March 14, 2024June 15, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

I must admit, the immediate vicinity of this week’s pub is something I typically speed through as quickly as possibly – the visual clutter from its side of Westmoreland Street is not the most inviting vista, featuring, as it does, the National Wax Museum (NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM), lots of plastic major-brand logos, and CCT Dublin’s building in that block must be one of the worst insults to architecture in any European capital (and I have a soft spot for a lot of ‘ugly’ kinda-Brutalist buildings, but this…is not that). The other side is no better, with a KFC, Kingdom of Sweets, various shops selling tourist tat and TGI Fridays all taking up just slightly too much space in their tired-looking mostly-19th century buildings, some very much in need of a bit of kind restoration.

And yet, walk a few blocks in most directions, and you’re back in ‘tourist’ Dublin, with (slightly) cleaner streets, and Trinity College and the Central Bank/Parliament buildings just steps away – even nearby Temple Bar tends to look tidy compared to this particular section of road. And while I’d been curious about the nerdy art outside Cassidys – yes, finally, we’ve come to the pub itself – it’s only open in the evenings, and as a Tired Person who doesn’t tend to go out very late, I’d never had the chance to stop in – and, frankly, being-targeted-by-Star-Wars-art notwithstanding, I didn’t expect much from this spot – but that all changed, thanks to the hot weather that doesn’t seem to be ending.

I had an event at the National Library of Ireland, and happened to be walking home past Cassidys as it was opening – and, as wearing adult clothes and walking to and from the Library had happened at the hottest part of the day, I thought I’d break up the trip home and grab something low-key to cool off; I’d heard they had a craft tap or two, so surely, I could find a refreshing Ambush or something along those lines. I was more than a little pleasantly surprised to discover that this was not a case of a few local beers, but what could nearly map onto a good bar in Brooklyn or Philly in terms of selection – local beers were represented by the likes of Rye River, Trouble, Rascals, Barrelhead, Crafty Bear and The White Hag – and not always with the most commonly-spotted beers, either. UK craft came in the form of Thornbridge, with the US represented by craft and crafty options: Cigar City, Blue Moon, Stone and Lagunitas (feel free to judge some as you prefer). There was also plenty of normal-person beer – Guinness, of course, but also Estrella, Murphy’s and Erdinger, plus a few others – and that’s before mentioning the cans.

Add in the mix of gothy-meets-nerdy dive bar décor – drippy red candles, dark wood, Star Wars art (again – I realize I am being Personally Targeted), beer and beer-adjacent stickers everywhere – and I immediately felt at home – indeed, I was annoyed with myself for not having known just what was hidden away in this otherwise-best-avoided block of Dublin. Granted, there was also a slight sense in the air that the bar staff here had ‘seen things’ – indeed, they had to remove someone only shortly after opening, but it was all handled swiftly and as politely as possible, before it became a bigger problem – I’ve mentioned it before, but I am always thoroughly impressed by how well Dublin bar staff can defuse a situation before it becomes a larger issue; I’ve not seen it done nearly as well anywhere else I’ve lived – there’s probably a larger lesson of some sort there.

They don’t seem to update any social media or websites at a useful cadence, so perhaps that’s why they had not really been on my radar; IYKYK, I suppose. Well, now you know, and knowing, as I’m sure you’re aware, is half the battle…

Where: Cassidys, 27 Westmoreland St, Dublin, D02 PX77
Access from the city centre: You are in it
Food: Pizza, apparently
Sport: Not a priority
TVs: Didn’t see any
Music: Bit of a would-be metal-bar vibe, but plenty of indie faves mixed in
Family-friendliness: Let’s not
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Palace Bar is a short walk, JR Mahon’s, Piper’s Corner, The Flowing Tide and many more are nearby; there’s also Temple Bar, top, but you know how to manage that
Local sites of note: Trinity College, NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM, Ha'Penny Bridge, GPO, Abbey Theatre
Haunted: I sense something…a presence I’ve not felt since…
Other notes: Handy whiteboard with wifi details, beer specials and events near the front – also, plenty of cans; not to be confused with the other Cassidys in D2

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Beer Temple

March 14, 2024June 8, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

This week, we are back to a Galway Bay pub – The Beer Temple. Opened in late 2021, it is the bright, Shiny and Chrome conjoined sibling to The Oak, whose dark wood and deep colours we’ve discussed previously. Somewhat ironically, as it’s very much a Craft Beer with a capital Craft pub, you can get a Guinness here – whereas the Guinness Enthusiast story took place mere steps away in The Oak. But given its city centre location, right on the tourist trail, you do get Guinness Amateurs: on more than one occasion, I’ve seen customers take their 3/4 filled pints and begin to walk off, and the patient barstaff have to call them back to tell them that no, they will get full pints, it’s just going to take a moment. While I can’t personally imagine walking off with a partially-filled glass I’d paid something in the neighbourhood of €7 for (still cheaper than many, if not most, pints around Temple Bar), perhaps it’s a tradition somewhere.

I’m drawn to The Beer Temple because they typically have a very interesting list of guest beers from other Irish breweries like Third Barrel, Lineman and Boundary, as well as some of the more unusual Galway Bay beers; my current obsession is I Hear You Like IPA, their cold IPA (is it a ‘real’ style? don't at me, it’s tasty). However, my most recent visit this past weekend was Purely Medicinal – I was incredibly thirsty after running 10K in the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon, in unusual-for-Ireland heat and sun, and desperately needed something isotonic and food so pairing a BRÚ IPA (plus a lot of VitHit Hydrate) with some halloumi fries was the order of the day.

Again, given its city centre location, The Beer Temple does get a lot of tourists, but quite frequently they are there specifically to find new-to-them beers, and on this visit, I ended up in a lovely chat with a few of them, offering tips on other places to go and beers to try, and I also got some great suggestions for their cities in return. I always advise they make sure not to skip The Oak, given that it’s literally on the other side of the wall, and that they can order from either bar, but it seems many do not notice it’s there, despite the two bars sharing a staircase and toilets – so this is part of my justification for having two separate entries – not just do the pubs have different VIBES, but they do seem to end up with different customers. Indeed, I do find I am usually visiting one or the other, rather than both, depending on what I’m in the mood for or what has brought me to this part of town.

And while all 18 taps may not always be on, I love the blackboard above the bar, listing out each beer – it’s a cliché I am always here for, even if Dave and Barbara aren’t necessarily the ones to refer me to it…

Where: The Beer Temple, 1-3 Parliament St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 AN28
Access from the city centre: You are in it – nearly everything touristy is within a 5-10 minute walk
Food: Usual Galway Bay menu
Sport: Not so much
TVs: Nope
Music: Always plenty of bangers on the speakers
Family-friendliness: All Galway Bay pubs are pretty family-friendly, but I would usually head to The Oak if in town with the smaller one
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Temple Bar is right there if you enjoy watching money disappear, or hit up The Lord Edward, The Bull & Castle, The Christchurch Inn, Dudley’s, The Brazen Head or simply walk through to the other side
Local sites of note: Olympia Theatre, Dublin Castle, Dublin City Hall, Chester Beatty Library, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublinia
Haunted: Did the renovation unearth any ghosts? Or are they all up the road at The Lord Edward?
Other notes: Don’t be like me and forget there’s often a Dungarvan tap on The Oak side

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Palace Bar

March 14, 2024May 25, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

I know it’s been a minute, but between offspring, work, Eurovision and work travel, I had a lot on, so going out anywhere in Dublin wasn’t happening over the past few weeks, though going out in London for delicious cask mild and bitter was a nice bonus of the work travel.

On a side note that, back when I worked for dot-coms in the 1990s would have been a pop-up (this is before pop-up blockers were invented, children), I did very much enjoy a quick pint of ‘modern’ beer at The Kernel, but it’s always cask I seek out when on the Neighbouring Island, though I am happy to continue to report on the small-but-something cask resurgence happening here at places like The Black Sheep and the soon-to-be-reborn-again Underdog. Up North, homebrew stalwarts Get ‘Er Brewed have had a lovely series on cask by Matthew Curtis, and it was a nice coincidence to read the third part this week, especially the note on the cask line at Bullhouse East in Belfast, since I’m headed in that direction this weekend to celebrate a certain beer historian’s birthday. I was fortunate to live in places in the US with easily available cask – indeed, regular cask festivals – in both Philadelphia and Seattle, so I do hope that an increased focus on how great cask can be will encourage more of it on the island of Ireland – and this, dear reader, is where you would have closed your pop-up window, likely with an actual button, possibly animated, at the bottom of your window.

And so back to regular service, and this week’s Dublin pub – which does contain unused (or possibly entirely prop) hand pulls, as it happens – but we’ll give it a pass. We’re heading back into more touristy realms and crossing the river to the south side, but only just; The Palace Bar sits in between visitor hotspots like Temple Bar and Trinity College (plus, uh, the National Wax Museum), but I’ve always found it a pleasant place to stop in, even with a crowd, as you can still get beers from Rye River or The White Hag in addition to your Guinness, plus a top-notch whiskey selection. And it has a proper history to it – the Victorian interior is genuine, not the sort of ersatz mix you find in IrIsH pUbS elsewhere (and, regrettably, even in Dublin, sometimes – anyone who spends much time in my neighbourhood knows exactly which recently-renovated pub I’m likely being wildly unfair about; honestly, all would be forgiven if they would just put in one local craft line – sorry, yet another digression). But from its beautiful exterior which regularly features on the sort of ‘pubs of Dublin’ posters tourists buy at Carrolls to the dark-wood interior, it would be well worth a look-in, even without the welcome variety of beers, though I’m partial to the (often less crowded) back room with its glorious stained glass. Indeed, Publin has an entire feature on stained glass in Dublin pubs that is also well worth your time.

And there are the literary associations as well – of course, Brendan Behan, since few pubs, like the previously-featured Cat & Cage and Doyles Corner, do not claim him as a former regular, but also the likes of Patrick Kavanagh (currently the subject of much anger in our household, at least for a few more weeks, since the Leaving Cert requires much memorization of his works), Flann O'Brien (whose typewriter is here), Con Houlihan. Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney, per The Inquirer. As it’s been here since 1823, per the bar, or 1828 after conversion from a corset factory, according to Whisky Magazine, it’s quite an old pub by Dublin standards; we simply don’t have much in the way of really old pubs in the city, regardless of what some might say, but this certainly works.

Given its location and atmosphere, it gets more than its share of tourists; I don’t think I’ve ever been in and not heard a North American accent declare that yes, it’s true, the Guinness really is just better here – it’s a modern-day ritual. And it’s not one I mind, either, though I suspect the ‘better’ has much more to do with ambience and the fact that Diageo makes sure the tap lines in the city are clean, but that’s fine. It’s the same reason I’m always seeking out cask when I head to England, or traditional lagers in Germany…we all have our fair share of broadly similar craft beers – and I absolutely adore our local Irish ones, and they are my usual go-tos – but if I’m travelling, I want the local speciality.

I have great respect for a pub like The Palace Bar that lets you experience both options – your ‘classic’ Irish pub with a pint of Guinness, plus the opportunity to support your smaller, local independent breweries. And for the whiskey nerd or novice, there’s plenty to try, and lots of expert guidance, too – don’t be too shy to ask.

Where: The Palace Bar, 21 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 H950
Access from the city centre: You are in it
Food: Crisps?
Sport: GAA: hurling is especially big here
TVs: I’ve only ever seen the GAA on, though it’s possible there’s other sport
Music: Keep an eye out for evening trad sessions
Family-friendliness: I’ve seen kids in with crisps, but they are probably bored
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Temple Bar if that is your thing, but other, better options within a short walk include Bowes, The Flowing Tide, Mulligan’s, The Stag’s Head, Cassidys, The Oval, JR Mahon’s…
Local sites of note: Trinity College, NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM, Ha’Penny Bridge, GPO, Abbey Theatre
Haunted: Perhaps haunted by its former Irish Times regulars?
Other notes: In the same family since the 1940s; now (edited 20/08/2023) also stocking Ballykilcavan bottles – huzzah!

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Oak

March 14, 2024April 26, 2023 by Lisa Grimm

The time has come.

Yes, it’s the Guinness Enthusiast story, at last! And it takes place at one of my favourite city centre pubs – The Oak.

The Oak is a bit of a hidden gem, despite being physically attached to its fellow Galway Bay pub, The Beer Temple (one we’ll cover separately in a future post), and being smack-dab in the middle of Dame Street. It nearly always seems a bit quieter, no matter what’s going on next door or more generally in town. It’s my not-so-secret go-to spot before a show at the Olympia, just a few doors down, as the Olympia is an utter wasteland from a drinks perspective – nothing but Heineken and Island’s Edge as far as the eye can see. It’s important to be prepared.

The Oak’s interior is cosy and ‘pubby’ – lots of dark wood, repurposed from the RMS Mauretania, so they say, and small seating areas – and, perhaps because it’s small, it can be easy to overlook; Dame Street is busy. But because of its central location, it is a handy spot, both for locals looking for a pre- or post-event pint or for tourists from near and far – and that’s how it happened.

I was enjoying a quiet solo pint before a show, and there was a healthy mix of accents in the pub – some of my fellow North Americans, Irish of all descriptions, a sprinkling of Yorkshire and Lancashire, plus the common local Brazilian and Spanish regulars. There had already been a few ‘no, we don’t serve Guinness, but we do have our own stout’ encounters that evening – while some looked a bit surprised, all had at least given it a go on this occasion. A woman of middling years (as one of their number, I’m allowed to say so) with a pronounced Dublin 4 accent strode in purposefully and asked, not entirely impolitely, for a Guinness. The usual ‘no, but we have -‘ response began, and she immediately cut off the bartender mid-sentence, with rather more volume this time. ‘That can’t be. This is an IRISH PUB, you must have Guinness.’

Glances were exchanged all around the bar – after all, many of the tourists were here specifically to try other local beers – but she wasn’t done yet. ‘Are you SERIOUSLY SUGGESTING I cannot get a Guinness – IRELAND’S NATIONAL DRINK – at this so-called Irish pub?’ There was a pause, as she looked around for support, and she continued, at a further-increased volume, ‘do any of you here find this AT ALL ACCEPTIBLE?’ To the credit of absolutely everyone in the pub, not a single person responded directly, though there was a light chuckle toward the back of the room. After another dramatic pause, she tried once more to garner some kind of support – once again, upping the decibels: ‘I cannot BELIEVE that a business like this can exist, in this day and age, calling itself an IRISH PUB without Guinness.’

And with that, she turned on her heel and flounced out of the pub.

Finally, everyone smiled, and the visiting Canadian next to me made sure to leave a tip for the bartender, who just shook her head at the whole business. Someone else at the bar noted joking/not joking that surely a pub was Irish by dint of being, you know, in Ireland, but that they’d be more careful in future. He continued, ‘I bet she doesn’t even like Guinness,’ and with that, headed out.

He was probably right.
Or maybe it was performance art.

In any case, I was happy enough with my Weights & Measures.

Where: The Oak, 1-3 Parliament St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 AN28
Access from the city centre: You’re in it; 5 min walk from many sites
Food: Usual Galway Bay menu – I’m partial to the halloumi fries
Sport: Nada
TVs: No
Music: Always a nice background soundtrack, but not too loud
Family-friendliness: Children welcome at the usual times
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Temple Bar is right there if you have a fondness for stag parties and overpriced beer, or hit up The Lord Edward, The Bull & Castle, The Christchurch Inn, Dudley’s, The Brazen Head or simply walk through to the other side
Local sites of note: Olympia Theatre, Dublin Castle, Dublin City Hall, Chester Beatty Library, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublinia
Haunted: Really, everything in this part of town should have a ghost or two – did the wood from the ship bring something with it? Would that make it Wood Tape Theory, vs Stone Tape Theory?
Other notes: If you really fancy something from The Beer Temple, you can simply walk through and order it, though there’s usually a guest beer or two on at The Oak as well