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 Temple Bar. Granted, you are still right in the middle of Dublin, and things could be busy. Depending on the time of year it could be full of tourists making their way from Trinity College across the street, but on the whole, it was a useful meeting point that offered more than the usual city centre beer options. Indeed, it was an ideal spot for that all-important post-race pint after the VHI Women’s Mini-Marathon (only a 10K, but we’ll let that slide). It was on that occasion that, complete with medal, I made what I didn’t realise would be my final visit to this pub under that name. Only a few weeks later, it vanished into renovation, re-emerging in its current form: Tapped.
While still a part of the larger Porterhouse group, it’s been styled very much more as a ‘bar’ vs a ‘pub,’ and it’s taken a while to settle. My first few visits were, it must be said, not great. The initial redesign felt rather like they’d ordered a ‘taproom’ kit from the early 2000s – lots of plastic, colours just a bit too bright and faux-industrial, and the service was, frankly, poor. Even on the relatively quiet times I’d stopped in, it seemed nearly impossible to get served…yet that was rather less difficult for the younger men around me, or so it seemed. Comparing notes offline at the time, it seemed quite a few other women had a similar experience, and so I essentially gave up trying for a few years.
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, direct from Untappd (no relation), and there are quite a few cocktail options as well, plus many food choices – it’s vastly improved on this front. And it is certainly one of the most varied beer selections you’ll get in this part of Dublin: there are the expected options from Porterhouse and local stalwarts such as Rascals, Whiplash, Hope and Trouble. But if you’re looking for a spot to watch the rugby with less-adventurous friends, there are also ‘normal’ beers like Heineken, Guinness and Beamish, plus some useful non-alcoholic options.
It’s not the sort of welcome you get at, say, Underdog, but service was much improved, though it’s hard to gauge how it goes at a busier time. The crowd still tended toward ‘younger,’ but that’s no bad thing…it simply didn’t feel as mixed as many other spots, and it’s natural you would get at least a bit of a ‘student’ element so close to Trinity (if not student-friendly prices).
Dare we say that Tapped is Dublin’s ‘most improved’ pub over the past year or so, at least, taking complete re-brandings out of the picture? It’s an entirely subjective take, but I feel much more warmly toward the spot…I may even stop in again after this year’s VHI Mini-Marathon.
But first, there’s the actual Dublin City Half Marathon to get through…that’s almost certainly going to be one for Juno after!
Where: 47 Nassau Street, Dublin, IE D02 P285
Access from the city centre: You are there
Food: Gastropub offerings, pizza & nibbles – even a fancy spicebag
Sport: Big events on – Six Nations, Premier League and the like
TVs: Screens throughout may show either sport or the latest Untappd check-ins
Music: Indie vibes
Family-friendliness: Feels less welcoming than in its previous incarnation, but the food menu has many options during the day
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Harty’s Bar is next door, and Bowes, O’Neill’s, Cassidy’s, Mulligans, The Palace Bar, JR Mahon’s, The Oval Bar, Porterhouse Temple Bar, Kennedy’s and many, many more are all within a very short stroll
Local sites of note: Trinity College, National Library of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland (Archaeology and The Dead Zoo), Leinster House, Irish Whiskey Museum, NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM
Haunted: Still missing the old Porterhouse Central wall panelling, which surely felt haunted
Other notes: Open from 11 am – 3 am if either day drinking or late nights are your thing
Socials: Instagram, Facebook
Edit again, mid-April 2025: Welcome to 
We’ll come back to his point about the people later, but at first glance, I had the same reaction – why on earth had what looked like an Oirsh pub been dropped into the centre of Dublin? While it’s true that there are Dublin pubs that cater more to the tourist trade than to locals (and not just in Temple Bar) that do dip into a more stereotypical ‘Irish pub’ feel, to tip over into what we might call Full Oirish seemed, well, unseemly. Unnecessary. Just a bit, well, naff.
While it’s still a small spot, the dark wood and low lighting add to the cosy feel, and the interior décor is very much ‘Easter Rising’ themed with images of the leaders around the pub, it doesn’t veer off into a theme park feel; indeed, given that the pub is steps away from the GPO, if the interior matched the exterior sign, it could easily career rapidly into the realm of the offensive. But – and here’s the thing – it does not! It’s quite nice! It includes portraits of many of the women involved – something especially notable if, like me, you’ve recently watched ‘Michael Collins’ for the first and only time, and wondered where the women were…but I digress.
We kick off our 2025 pub-visiting endeavours with a stop off at 
Its more 
Some of that may also come from its beer selection; there’s the usual Guinness-and-macros lineup (plus Murphy’s), as well as two new taplines from 
In the immortal words of 
There can be a bit of a dark side to going all in on Christmas, though – a pub might attract groups of Twelve Pubs of Christmas revellers. Now, I like a 
Well, as mentioned, they have the ideal backdrop for the social media documentation of their special day – there is no corner of the pub lacking holiday decorations. They can also be sensible by getting a bit of food, and while the beers on offer aren’t terribly adventurous – their own-brand offerings look to be from Franciscan Well, so more or less a small step up from your standard Heineken portfolio plus Guinness, but it does give Beamish stans their fave, too. But The Ginger Man is the kind of place that’s busy no matter what – its proximity to Trinity College means there are always plenty of students and tourists, plus a big after-work crowd. There are likely smaller numbers of JP Donleavy fans coming to see a pub named after his novel, as there are 
The Oval’s most recent refurbishment was only about a year or so ago, and while it feels fresh and tidy, there’s still enough of a patina to give it a feeling of the history of the place; the décor and grillwork have an authentic feel. The pub is divided up into multiple sections, with more of a dining-room feel upstairs, but even within the relatively small main bar area, there are distinct areas to sit and relax, either alone or to spread out with friends. And while you can, of course, have a Guinness and all the other usual big brands, The Oval has two house beers, a pale ale and lager, that are brewed for this and other 
Indeed, every time I’ve stopped it it’s been a good mix of people from all over, either enjoying a pint before heading on to a gig at The Academy or an after-work crowd catching up before catching buses. While it doesn’t have the selection of local independent beers that its neighbour 
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, 
And, speaking of podcasts, there’s an entire episode of 
This is no surprise, though, as the other pubs in the group have always supported independent beer; we’ve covered 
Despite its Viking-era foundations, Dublin rarely feels like an ‘old’ city by European standards – something we can, in large part, blame on the 
Built as a house in 1734, Toner’s has been continuously operated as a pub since 1818, and to quote the 
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 
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).
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 
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 
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 
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 
For me, Bowes