We venture south of the Liffey again for two purposes: bagels and beer. Whilst our main goal on our visit to The Vintage Inn was more successful than the side quest, we found much more than we expected, in all of the best ways.
The Vintage Inn is a very near neighbour of The Merry Cobbler, but they are quite different establishments – both very ‘pubby’ in their own ways, but with different features and charms. A standout feature here is the beer garden, one that we will certainly include in our Best Pubs for the Sun list (though it’s possible we had our fill of sun for the summer a few weeks ago). But with a mix of cover and open air, it’s a fine spot in most weathers – beautifully decorated with a wide variety of seating options, plus the requisite giant Jenga that all beer gardens seem to have nowadays.
Inside, what could have been a tired 1970s-era renovation in a 19th century pub has been thoughtfully updated, keeping a bit of the old for camp and comfort, with a blend of fantastic local art, memorabilia and the finest Pride gear (not just in June, we are told, but all the year round, and it’s wonderful) well-placed on all the walls. It’s one of the most cleanly-designed pubs we’ve ever been in, but it still feels packed with personality – these aren’t the ‘hotel bar’ vibes you get from some spots that are just that bit (or rather more, in some cases) too over-designed, nor is it the ‘Oirish Pub’ kit of old signs and bits of hardware one finds (mostly) abroad. In short, it feels, friendly, inclusive and fun.
And there is truly something for everyone – sport, including an emphasis on women’s sport (FINALLY), is on various screens, there’s a monthly folk club, drag bingo and pub quizzes galore. But you’ve likely come to read about the bagels, and we wouldn’t leave you disappointed. Ireland is not generally known for its strong bagel game – see also: soft pretzels – so when one finds legitimately amazing bagel sandwiches, it would violate the social contract not to share the good news. Now available as part of the weekend brunch offering, the authentic bagels come courtesy of Fat Baby Bakes, and as former Brooklynites, we can vouch that these are the real deal, made all the more so by the perfect eggs, bacon and cheese from local producers (other toppings are available, but really, these are just as they should be).
Our one minor quibble is that the only independent beer on tap – at least on our visit – was from Galway Hooker and well…we’ve never liked Galway Hooker, their beers never seem to quite do it for us. It would be lovely to see another local rotating tap, but there is also the full Guinness/Murphy’s/Beamish trinity on offer, plus a variety of cocktails.
Even barring the beer, this is another case of ‘if this were our local, we’d be here all the time’ – but it’s also a pub with such a warm welcome (and such an outstanding beer garden) that we know we’ll be more purposeful about making the trip down in future, and not just for the bagels.
Where: 74 Irishtown Road, Dublin 4
Access from the city centre: Buses C1, C2; Dart to Lansdowne Road; 40-ish minute walk
Food: Weekend brunch; keep an eye on the socials for more
Sport: Sport – not just of/for men!
TVs: Screens tastefully positioned, not overwhelming
Music: Great tunes from many eras
Family-friendliness: Kids welcome for brunch/before events at the Aviva
Pub-crawl-ability: Low-medium – The Merry Cobbler and Irishtown House are very close, with The Oarsman and The Yacht Tavern up the road in Ringsend; The Old Spot and The Bath Pub are not too far away.
Local sites of note: Aviva Stadium, Ringsend Park, Irishtown Stadium, Seán Moore Park (for Poolbeg Parkrun), Poolbeg Chimneys, Sandymount Strand
Haunted: No stories forthcoming, but we’d love to go to a Samhain/Halloween event here
Other notes: Dogs most welcome
Socials: Instagram, Facebook
While we are 
There was a strong cocktail game as well, and while we didn’t have time to sample the food, it did look rather more interesting than many other pub options…perhaps something we’ll revisit to consider adding to the 
Upstairs there is a glorious sun deck, so rather than 
Yes, it’s yet another new pub this week, replacing one more short-lived but much-loved Dublin spot – we venture back to 
Indeed, it seems to have hit the sweet spot between newly-opened 
And while we couldn’t find any direct connection between Phil Lynott and pubs in this part of town – it would be a bit of a walk to 
It must be New Pub Season – everything around Dublin seems to be 
What is it with certain parts of Dublin and lovely places Going On Fire?
The ‘bumblebee’ yellow-and-black paint job outside has been replaced with a more plain black exterior, though still with yellow lettering, but it looks ever-so-slightly more sombre (or, perhaps, sophisticated?). Inside, it’s still got a bit of an under-construction feel, with the sense that more decoration is coming, but what’s there now is a mix of darker hues of blue, black and red, and to good effect. The stage area toward the rear looks like it will soon be back in action, and there is a comfortable mix of different seating options.
Where: 18/19 Francis St, The Liberties, Dublin, D08 EK06
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 
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 
As a sister bar to 
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.
Back in the 1990s – before Trainspotting, as it happens – Robert Carlyle and Shirley Henderson starred in Hamish Macbeth, a vastly-underrated Scottish cosy crime comedy-drama, with a bit of quirky/folksy paranormal goodness thrown in here and there for good measure. In the show, Carlyle played the titular Macbeth, a police constable with an adorable Westie, a fondness for the odd herbal cigarette and a work ethic that isn’t overly-dedicated to solving crimes, but who, nonetheless, keeps his small, eccentric village in good order. Shirley Henderson’s character starts off as a relatively conventional love interest (this was, after all, the 1990s), but as with all the characters in this excellent show, we discover much more as we go along.
In 2024, Dublin craft beer OG Against the Grain closed abruptly, not long after a renovation. What had been a friendly and welcoming Galway Bay pub with an excellent tap lineup of own-brand and guest beers was replaced by the wildly-underwhelming 
Although initial chatter was the Barebone would be ‘just a restaurant,’ we’re happy to report that it does still feel like a neighbourhood pub – but one that also happens to do quite good food. Yes, the décor has been upgraded even a smidgeon more – lots of dark tiles, mirrors and subtle brass fittings (including very handy coat/bag hooks, which we don’t see enough) – but it’s all thoroughly welcoming, both for the person stopping in for a quick (or not-so-quick) drink and their more relaxed-dinner counterpart. While the taplist isn’t quite as extensive as it was during the Galway Bay days, there were independent options from Hope, Whiplash and Trouble, as well as more ciders than one usually sees, both on tap and in bottles. The cocktail list is interesting, and the only especially ‘expensive’ drink was Beavertown’s Neck Oil, which you can skip nowadays in any event. And there’s both Guinness and Beamish for the stout-comparing person in your life.
Food was fantastic – it’s not just your typical bar food – and it looks like a great spot for nibbles with a group, too, with a variety of options. The only major change to the layout is the addition of a DJ booth and some well-placed speakers – this is now another spot catering to the music enthusiast, in the vein of 
And so while it’s true that we didn’t need to quite go to the extremes the townspeople of Lochdubh did, we’re thrilled that the place that replaced the place that replaced Against the Grain is a worthy successor. And if you haven’t binged Hamish Macbeth yet, what are you waiting for?
Welcome to 2026!
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.’