Welcome to 2026!
Normally, the first post of the month is one of our Best Pubs For… round-ups, but we’ll save standard operating procedure for February, once we’re all back into the groove of things. And so we profile a brand-new pub that opened just before the holidays: Daphni.
Located in the Bolands Mills* complex of recently-renovated historic buildings in Dublin’s Docklands, Daphni is another pub from the Animal Collective group that includes Bonobo, Kodiak and Caribou. Like Caribou, its name is a nod to musician and DJ Dan Snaith, who records under both the Caribou and Daphni monikers. Music is very much a key element of the Daphni experience, and it’s a very well-considered one: the selection is eclectic, but interesting, and at a good volume for conversation. As with spots like Fidelity and The Big Romance that are sonically-inclined, the sound system is another by Hatchett; we here are not cool enough to know how it all works behind the scenes, but the effect is very pleasing.
As at their sister bars, there is also a strong cocktail offering, and the staff were very attentive and knowledgeable – both table service and going to the bar seemed equally handy. The beer list is perhaps not as interesting as at some of those other spots so far – Bonobo, for example, gets the Tap Room Only offerings from Kinnegar, but on our visit, there was nothing along those lines (so far). There was, however, very fresh Ambush, Scraggy Bay and Rollover, which are always nice, but a little more in terms of variety would be most welcome, especially as there are so few places with any real choice nowadays. That said, the prices were very competitive for ‘in town’ – €7.20 or so for most pints. By contrast, our group had been at a more city-centre pub that shall remain nameless earlier and paid closer to a tenner a pint (and no, this wasn’t in Temple Bar) for their sole ‘craft’ offering, which also wasn’t in the best shape, to add insult to wallet-injury! So, finding some fresh and at least not-tourist-priced pints at Daphni was most welcome. One imagines that once they’ve been open a little bit longer (perhaps after January, given the growing popularity of Dry January), the tap lineup may become more varied.
But in any event, this area has been something of a wasteland in terms of decent pubs and bars, especially when looking for a spot to enjoy before or after a show at the Bord Gáis; the immediate options were more or less ‘Spoons or ‘Spoons (well, with a slightly longer walk to BrewDog, but…well). The Dockers Bar isn’t so far, but it can be full of a post-work crowd. And it’s true that this area was, in no small part, redeveloped to suit the local Google office, but the restoration has been reasonably thoughtful, and Daphni doesn’t give off the FAANG-only vibes that, say, the Brave Horse Tavern did in Seattle (though their wonderful pretzels and dip would be most welcome here – full disclosure: your fair scribe is an ex-Amazonian, key prefix being ‘ex’). That may also change as people return to work from the holidays, but on the whole, it was a very mixed and friendly crowd, in the best way.
It remains to be seen what the future food offering might be, but we’re big fans of Animal Collective’s track record for both pizza and smaller bar snacks, so hopes are high – it should make a vastly superior pre-theatre venue to anything currently in the area (once again, looking at you, ‘Spoons), and certainly a great spot for drinks after.
All told, a fine beginning, and we’re looking forward to more.
Where: Flour Mill, Bolands Mills, Dublin 4, D04 H5C6
Access from the city centre: Buses C1, C2 C3, C4, 15A, 15B, 52, 56A, 77A, 82; 25-ish minute walk
Food: Not yet
Sport: Music > Sport
TVs: Absent
Music: VIBES. Jazz, electronic…all good
Family-friendliness: Saw a few small folk on our early-evening visit
Pub-crawl-ability: Low-medium – The nearby ‘Spoons (The South Strand) isn’t too far, ditto BrewDog, but otherwise, it’s a bit of a further trip to the pubs of Ringsend or back toward The Docker’s Bar
Local sites of note: Grand Canal Dock, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
Haunted: These lovely stone buildings need a ghost or two
Other notes: Basement toilets, but with a brand-new lift
Socials: Instagram
*They seem to officially have done away with the apostrophe in their corporate branding, but it does crop up in normal usage describing the site; one presumes this has something to do with how the legal entity was named vs labeling the buildings themselves, but who can say?
As regular readers know, we are always on the lookout for 
While the ‘since 1793’ date is a little shaky, given the current building’s construction 
So, ghosts aside, what is the pub like? Well…most definitely not creepy. If anything, it’s a bit too polished to feel at all like a liminal space. There are several very different sections of the pub with their own character, but none are especially dark or gloomy. The front is much more ‘pubby’ and the rear more of a restaurant or hotel bar vibe (the many large TV screens are part of what gives that impression), though it’s worth knowing that the back bar is where the sole local-craft-beer representative is; there’s a Rye River tap if you know where to look. Indeed, the food was very good – a step up from a lot of pub food, though the enormous portions are perhaps created more for tourists than locals. There’s also the usual Guinness – and Murphy’s – plus some Warsteiner.
There’s a covered outdoor space too, more 
While it does have a theoretically reasonably interesting drinks lineup, like its fellow Bodytonic-managed bar, 
It is, of course, entirely possible that it’s simply aiming for a younger/cooler demographic, which is fair enough…though it does beg the question as to why there’s a mural of Peter Fonda on one side of the building…it’s not something that resonates with GenXers like us…are the younger Millennials into Easy Rider? We’ve been told it’s a ‘no’ from Gen Z: ‘…it’s no Taxi Driver.’
Cask ale, as we have often complained, is something of a rarity in Ireland. While there are a few more pubs with a regular cask offering up in Belfast, here in Dublin, it is simply not a regular feature in most pubs. Happily, though, a tipoff from a reader (cheers, Ciaran!) alerted us to a beer engine in regular use at Harty’s Bar. Naturally, we dropped everything to go investigate.
One reason this pub had not been on our radar is that, appearances notwithstanding, it’s a fairly new establishment (but also not; bear with us) – until about 18 months ago, it was the Dingle Whiskey Bar. But like its neighbour, 
While it doesn’t have the selection of beers next door in Tapped, with its enormous bar, for a small space, it has a good lineup of some of the more standard Porterhouse beers – the Plain Porter, Yippy IPA and Red – as well as Trouble’s Ambush. There’s also Guinness, of course, and Beamish. But as you know, we were here for the cask option: this week, it was 
The recent run of warm weather has led to prioritising pubs with lovely 
A recent BlueSky chat was a reminder that unlike the Neighbouring Island, we have few pubs that are a middle ground between Old Man Pubs, with a standard macro lineup (always Guinness, of course, plus Heineken or perhaps Carlsberg) and ‘hipster’ pubs with interesting craft beers…there’s no direct equivalent of a free house with a mix of standard macros, family brewery offerings on cask (sob) and local indies here in Ireland (with a very few exceptions – 
It’s also worth mentioning just how spacious Kodiak is – the main floor has two full bars, each with its own distinct feel (one darker, one brighter) and tap lineup, so for you beer nerds, check out both, and then there’s the large beer garden at the back. Then there’s even more upstairs (shuffleboard!) – hangout spaces that would be ideal for parties, and the well-designed toilets can be reached via lift or stairs. Indeed, simply by moving around different parts of the pub, you can switch up your experience of the place: start off with a chill solo pint in subdued lighting, then grab some sun 
Stoneybatter
And the attractions are many: great support for local independent beers from the likes of Hope, Kinnegar, Trouble and The White Hag, as well as a notable cocktail list. For the more ‘traditional’ drinker, it’s possible to get Guinness, Beamish and Murphy’s, so if you’re one of those who enjoys doing the blind taste test of all three, The Belfry has you sorted. There’s also a wonderful little beer garden, and plenty of events that are very much rooted in the local community. It was an absolute oasis for this year’s instalment of the always-busy-but-great-vibes 
Our only other ‘complaint’ is that The Belfry tends to open later than some other pubs, so it’s not always handy for a quick weekend lunchtime pint. All the more incentive, really, to get there as they open to secure a comfy leather chair and a refreshing beverage…
Although the branding is different, Urban Brewing is an outpost of 
But what I particularly enjoy about Urban Brewing is that each part of the venue feels very different – the outside space is the go-to when the weather is good, but the modern bar in the old building has a lovely look and feel, while the vaults below are great for events – cosy and always beautifully decorated. And as a newer business in an older building, they’ve had the space to get their accessibility figured out in the retrofitting; there are lifts as well as stairs.
And while you’re not really here for the beer – labelled moderately-pretentiously-but-it-works as ‘pale ale,’ ‘lager’ and ‘stout’ in lower-case cursive on gold tap towers – they are, for the record, the Changing Times pale ale, Birra Moretti and, of course, Guinness. But if it’s good beer you’re after, you can do what we did and stop off at 
Sometimes, just sometimes, a fantastic new(ish) pub pops up where you least expect it. Dublin’s Talbot Street has had a lot of publicity 
At that time, the shopfront that is now the pub was The Morris Wallpaper Stores, and the signage from that era has been preserved above the door. The theme continues inside, with framed William Morris wallpaper samples on the exposed brick, giving a mix of industrial chic and cosy early-20th century-pub vibes. There’s a pizza spot toward the back (check for opening hours, as these things evolve) with more communal-styles tables, but the seating in the main bar is much ‘pubbier,’ and very comfortable indeed.
There’s a good mix of the usual Guinness-and-friends offerings, but also a handy Rye River tap, as well as Beamish for the Corkonians in your life. The cocktail list is interesting as well. On our visit, the staff were all wonderful, and the attention to detail that went into the design of the pub is evident. It hits just the right mark of honouring the building’s past without feeling like a theme pub.
And yet, while some of those elements may not be what tourists envision when they think ‘Irish pub,’ MeMa’s feels very much part of the fabric of the neighbourhood. One of the reasons I especially enjoy stopping in – beyond the comfortable seating options – is their support for independent Irish beer. There is always Ambush on from Trouble, and usually something from Rye River as well, plus a few other wild cards. The same can be said for their championing smaller Irish distillers, and some of the cocktails are a great way to showcase those producers (perhaps not, it must be said, in the ‘tower’ format, but in your standard-sized cocktail, absolutely).
There’s also what sometimes feels like a secret beer garden, which is a welcome respite on Parnell Street, and MeMa’s is definitely one of those pubs that seems, TARDIS-like, to be bigger on the inside. In addition, it’s a handy spot for us Northside folk to meet friends, with the Luas just outside. And speaking of meeting friends, it’s an ideal spot for a group hang (if you make a reservation, obviously – don’t be That Group that shows up with 15 people and no booking) – there are many seating options, and something for nearly every taste.