Food

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Barebone

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A menu and pint of Ambush at BareboneBack 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.

What, though, does this have to do with Dublin pubs?

Well.

In the episode ‘No Man is an Island,’ Hamish decamps to a nearby island – we’ll be vague about why, and let you avoid spoilers in case you haven’t had the chance to watch – and during his absence, those left behind in Lochdubh are not thrilled with his replacement, PC Duggan, who is much more committed to following the letter of the law. In response, they employ a strategy of treating him like ‘the man before the man before Macbeth.’ Once again, avoiding spoilers, it is an absolute delight, and you should go watch the entire run of the programme.

No doubt, you are still wondering what this has to do with Dublin, much less pubs – but we’re getting there.

A pint of Ambush with a view of the bar behindIn 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 Teach Tábhairne Ag Teach, a semi-sport-related concept with a single independent tap and a lot of beer you’ll find anywhere – a massive downgrade. As we’ve said before, we aren’t anti-Guinness, we just want to see it as well as a wider variety of other local beers. And this was…not that.

Fast forward to a few months ago, and what had been ‘the place that replaced Against the Grain‘ (at least, to our social circle) closed as well. Drumroll, then, for the opening of Barebone – ‘the place that replaced the place that replaced Against the Grain.’

The exterior of BareboneAlthough 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.

Steak and a pint at BareboneFood 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 Fidelity or Daphni. In some ways, it’s a bit surprising there hasn’t been something more music-led here before, given the number of live venues within a short walk – ideal for pre- or post-gaming those events.

All told, Barebone is a great new-old addition to Camden Street – a welcome return in the sense that there’s a reliable pre-gig spot as there was in the Against the Grain days, but it also feels like it can be dialled-up as a spot for a ‘nice’ night out, plus everything in between. We’ll certainly be back.

Vinyl on the wall at BareboneAnd 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?

Where: 11 Wexford St, Dublin, D02 HY84
Access from the city centre: Buses 9, 14, 15, 16, 27, 56A, 65B, 77A, 83, 140, 151, 15-ish minute walk
Food: Steak, Korean-inspired chicken, tacos…all interesting
Sport: Music >> Sport
TVs: More speakers than screens
Music: Well-curated vinyl selection, not dissimilar to that at The Big Romance
Family-friendliness: More of a grownup vibe
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Bleeding Horse, Devitt's, Anseo, The Camden, The Portobello Bar, Whelan's, Ryan's of Camden Street…and the local ‘Spoon's, Keavan's Port
Local sites of note: Iveagh Gardens, St Stephen's Green, National Concert Hall, Marsh's Library, St Patrick's Cathedral
Haunted: Hopefully, the good times are back…but a few ghosts wouldn’t go amiss
Other notes: Fantastic service all around
Socials: Instagram, TikTok

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: BrewDog

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Exterior of BrewDogBrewDog is, once again, back in the news for Negative Reasons, but coincidentally, we had plans to be at Dublin’s BrewDog over the weekend anyway. And so, rather accidentally, we’ve managed to cover a pub that’s been getting some press coverage…let’s dive in.

Similar to many other extant BrewDog pubs around the world, it’s a large, modern building: lots of exposed beams and concrete. Dublin’s BrewDog has the advantage (or disadvantage) of being something of a trek around the docks: this means there are interesting views of the canal and Poolbeg chimneys from the large windows and expansive deck, but you need to be heading there on purpose; there’s limited casual foot traffic beyond the offices in the immediate area. This can, theoretically, draw a large after-work crowd, but we’ve never found it particularly crowded – but whether that is down to the sprawling layout or a true reflection of its popularity is hard to say.

Inside BrewDogInside, the look is straight out of the Craftonia playbook, with very little to give it a local feel from a decorative perspective. There’s an indoor firepit downstairs, with lots of long tables for groups (plus semi-covered outdoor seating at the back), and the upstairs has shuffleboard and a deck. The BrewDog branded house beers tend to be on the ‘it’s fine’ side – more on the other locals and collaborations in a moment – and the food is also in the ‘useful for a wide range of palates and allergy needs’ category without being particularly remarkable.

So far, so generic.

And yet, here’s the unexpected (to us) part: we’ve never had anything but positive experiences here. We used to come more often (back in the pre-workplace culture allegations era) when we lived nearby, for two main reasons: first, during different parts of lockdown, BrewDog could actually open, thanks to their outdoor seating; secondly, they have always been extremely family-friendly, and when we had Smaller Offspring, it was a more important part of the experience.

A pint and table decorations at BrewDogNowadays, we are rarely in this part of town, and if we were looking for pre-show drinks, we’d be more likely to hit up Daphni, and yet, there are two other factors that give this particular BrewDog real appeal: the excellent staff, and the guest beers. We’ve never had a visit where the team behind the bar have been anything other than great: always deeply knowledgeable about the beers and beer styles in general, whilst being friendly and helpful. Given the size of the pub, it’s often a spot for events and parties, and they are clearly skilled at keeping those running smoothly and efficiently. And the guest and collaboration beers from the likes of Hope and Four Provinces are very much the sorts of things you won’t generally find elsewhere – on this most recent visit, they were excellent. Granted, we shouldn’t have to get so excited about finding a perfect pale ale on tap, but it’s a vanishingly rare thing these days.

The bar at BrewDogWe have no insights into ‘what will happen’ with BrewDog’s uncertain future (though it’s difficult to imagine a space of this size continuing without global private equity money). In our ideal world, this would continue as an independent tap room and community space with the same staff, but we also know that’s highly unlikely. It’s also possible a buyer will swoop in and continue running BrewDog’s portfolio as-is (for good and ill), but as of this writing, it’s all guesswork.

In summary, it’s a pub with a great team (and having worked for a lot of ‘evil multinationals’ like Amazon, we 100% empathize with rarely having the luxury of choosing the ownership/management of your parent company, even if we might choose to spend money elsewhere when possible), a unique-for-Dublin space and some interesting guest beers. While we may be no fans of BrewDog’s leadership, we’ve got our fingers crossed for everyone who works here.

Where: Three Locks Square, 4, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2, D02 E5R7
Access from the city centre: Buses C1/C2/C3/C4, 47, 56A, 77A; 30ish minute walk
Food: Pizza, burgers, salads, bowls: lots of veggie and vegan options, too
Sport: Lots of sport
TVs: Screens inside and even outside on the patios and terrace
Music: Varies, depends on the time of day
Family-friendliness: Very welcoming to families
Pub-crawl-ability: Medium – The local ‘Spoons (The South Strand) is the nearest spot, Daphni and Dockers are quite close, but otherwise, it’s a bit of a further trip to the pubs of Ringsend or spots like The Wind Jammer
Local sites of note: Grand Canal Dock, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
Haunted: Only by alleged corporate malfeasance
Other notes: One of a very few fully-accessible spots in Dublin, with useful toilets and a lift
Socials: Facebook, Instagram

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Wicklow Wolf

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Sign in the Wicklow Wolf taproomWe admit we are stretching the boundaries of the blog this week, as our profiled location is neither a pub, nor, in any meaningful way in Dublin. The clue, indeed, is in the name: we headed a long way out of town to visit Wicklow Wolf Brewery.

But given that it’s getting more and more difficult to find independent beer in Dublin, perhaps we should be practicing our longer-distance travel skills; taprooms are already Not Really A Thing here (with some exceptions we’ll get to), and getting beer fresh from the source made a huge difference – something else we’ll get on to momentarily.

Tanks in the Wicklow Wolf breweryFirst, though, the practicalities and context: it’s a good 90+ minutes on the bus (or train and bus) from Dublin city centre out to the industrial estate that houses Wicklow Wolf’s production brewery and taproom. The occasion in this instance was a Craic Beer Community meetup – for the Extremely Online, this is what happens when your local beer nerd WhatsApp group comes to life. We couldn’t make the last outing to O Brother and their relatively new taproom that is *nearly* in Dublin (though we must make it there at some point soon), so getting to join the outing to Wicklow Wolf was something of a moral imperative.

Your fave Beer Ladies Podcast hosts, Lisa and Katie, in the breweryOnce there, we got the usual friendly brewery tour, made a little more in-depth and interesting as we could skip over a lot of the basics that one might get on a more general brewery tour for The Normals (which they absolutely do – the tour after ours was a knees-up for a local women’s rugby team). Instead, we could get some fairly obscure technical questions answered, and go deep on the merits of the brewhouse and the sustainability efforts of the brewery. And then it was on to the tasting, at one of the smaller, private bars that overlooks the brewing floor – your fair scribe was thrilled to see Locavore 2025, a fresh-hopped ESB still on tap (it appeared in cans around town just before the holidays, and as one of a very few bitters available in Ireland, it’s always most welcome to see), but trying the core range of Wicklow Wolf beers was more instructive than expected. We must confess that in general, we don’t gravitate toward Wicklow Wolf’s core range when we see it around town, but the massive difference in quality on-site more than suggested that we’re often not getting it in the best shape elsewhere. Now, to be clear, it’s never been off, but it does make one wish that more pubs looked after their independent lines as lovingly as they do their Diageo and Heineken ones – the beer here was all top-notch.

A tasting glass in the taproom

We settled in after the tour for pizza and more beers, and the taproom portion of the facility is spread across several areas – there’s a large covered and heated porch, which was clearly popular with families (they do coffee and pastries in the mornings and afternoons), and inside, more bar and couch-space, with some well-placed old can art and branding décor.

With the only real taprooms in Dublin proper at Rascals (who also do a lovely, albeit smaller, brewery tour, and fantastic pizza) and the Guinness Open Gate (no brewery tour as such, but excellent pretzels, which, if we’re honest, we tend to prefer to the beer there, though there can be a nice surprise), it’s nice to have the option for a short day trip. We’d be remiss not to mention other production breweries you can tour, however – Hope and Rye River both offer excellent tours, and while both include tastings, there isn’t (at present) a casual taproom you can simply pop into as there is at Rascals or the Open Gate. There are often rumours of more opening, yes, but with such a small market, there is no equivalent of London’s Bermondsey Beer Mile in Dublin.

Can wraps ready to goAnd beyond a great day out, with some really lovely beers, what was our biggest takeaway?

Well, we need to get down to O Brother…but in the meantime, we’ll be off on another out-of-town Craic Beer Community jaunt at the end of the month, to blog faves Ballykilcavan in County Laois – though we’ll be back in Dublin proper next week with a real local pub.

Where: Wicklow Wolf, Moneycarroll, Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow, A63 A243
Access from the city centre: Buckle up: Bus 133 from Busáras or Dart to Bray and the 131 bus
Food: Pastries and pizza
Sport: Might have been some!
TVs: A few screens, but not the main focus
Music: Likely depends on the crowd
Family-friendliness: Quite a few kids around, very family-friendly in the various seating areas
Pub-crawl-ability: You are on an industrial estate, but there is a pub, The Mount Kennedy, in Newtownmountkennedy
Local sites of note: Wicklow Mountains
Haunted: Even by our standards, highly unlikely
Other notes: There’s also a run club, just like at Rye River! We need some in town…
Socials: Facebook, Instagram

*All are welcome to join the Craic Beer Community! Simply get in touch.

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Bar Rua

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Exterior of Bar RuaWhile perhaps rather less traditional-looking than many pubs, this week’s destination is one that is surrounded by many classic Victorian pubs, and so perhaps serves as something of a palate-cleanser: Bar Rua.

Just steps away from well-trodden spots that often appear in tourist must-visit lists, including The Long Hall, Neary’s and The Hairy Lemon, Bar Rua looks, at first glance, more like a late 1980s/early 1990s hype restaurant – think a little bit like Spago-on-the-Liffey. The modern red-and-glass exterior does have, in the local parlance, ‘a bang of the Celtic Tiger on it,’ but it’s a softer impression inside. While still clean and modern, the photos of Irish celebrities lining the walls do add a more ‘pubby’ feel, and there’s something reassuring about Brendan Gleeson casting a watchful eye over the premises.

Pictures on the wall at Bar RuaAnother unusual feature of this pub is that there are guestrooms above it, so again, despite its non-traditional look, it does hearken back, in some ways, to the functions of an inn. As a sidebar, we also discovered that you can also stay above The Beer Temple – this was news to us! There are a variety of spaces spread across the building, so private events are common, with bars in multiple locations. One slight oddity on our visit was that the Full Sail – one of Galway Bay Brewing’s flagship beers, and always a solid option – was not available anywhere despite its tap handle popping up in different parts of the pub, but that was made up for by an excellent guest beer from Belfast’s Boundary instead. Is Bar Rua, indeed, still officially a Galway Bay pub? The property was sold a few years ago, and it certainly still has a fair few Galway Bay beers and their food menu, although it doesn’t show up under ‘our bars’ on their website…but it’s there if you do a bit of digging. Granted, this much more ‘inside baseball’ that the average punter likely cares about, but hey, we’re curious.

An upstairs room at Bar RuaIn any event, the food, drink selection (minus the absent Full Sail, on this occasion) and service are all on point; we’re still disappointed with recent visits to The Brew Dock, which is still very much in the Galway Bay stable, but all of those elements were in fine shape at Bar Rua. And with so much choice in the area, pubs here need to be on top of their game; it’s easy enough to walk a few doors down if something doesn’t suit or seems ‘off’ on the day, or if you’re simply seeking a change of pace.

And we confess it had been some time since we’d last popped in to Bar Rua – possibly not since the 2024 Women’s Mini Marathon, when they were offering very welcome free glasses* of any flagship beer to finishers. Our party was certainly on brand on that occasion, with red faces from the effort (‘rua’ being an Irish word for ‘red,’ though at least in the smaller offspring’s school, they prefer ‘dearg’ for a ‘red’ red) – perhaps we need to stop in again after this year’s event…though a race medal is certainly not required to enter the pub.

We had a lovely visit on a recent chill Sunday afternoon – it’s not always easy to achieve calm in Dublin city centre on a weekend, but Bar Rua kept us cosy, well-fed and well-watered: a very relaxed spot indeed.

Where: 32 Clarendon St, Dublin 2, D02 HX66
Access from the city centre: You are there
Food: Standard Galway Bay menu, plus a cheese plate
Sport: All the usual big games & sport are on
TVs: Many all around the pub
Music: Fairly MOR tunes in the background
Family-friendliness: As with all Galway Bay spots, very welcoming
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Neary’s, The Hairy Lemon, Caribou, Sheehan’s, The Long Hall, Grogan's, Peter's Pub, Sinnott's Bar and more are all nearby
Local sites of note: Gaiety Theatre, Craft Central, Little Museum of Dublin, George's Street Arcade, St Stephen's Green, Grafton Street
Haunted: Celtic Tiger ghosts?
Other notes: Many levels and upstairs toilets, so not especially accessible, despite being a modern building
Socials: Facebook, Instagram

*For the visitor, a ‘glass’ in Ireland is a half-pint.

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Sheehan’s

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Exterior of Sheehan'sThis week, we remain on the south side of Dublin with a visit to Sheehan’s, a very central pub indeed. Despite its close proximity to Grafton Street and the Gaiety Theatre, we confess to never having particularly noticed it – though, granted, we are rarely near Grafton Street on purpose, and when in this part of town, we are typically headed to Caribou (after the inevitable stop-in at Craft Central).

It can feel a bit like running a gauntlet over there these days; the now-constant massive queue of Young People waiting for pizza slice at Bambino (and then Instagramming it all over the footpath) is a non-trivial obstacle. One imagines that the queueing is part of the ‘experience,’ though while it’s a perfectly fine pizza slice – at least, it was when we tried it at first opening, just before the hype kicked in – it’s not something we would wait for when there’s nicer pizza at Rascals or Vice, and you can sit down or have it simply appear at your house (or at Doyle’s Corner, in the case of Vice)…but we digress. The nearby crowds meant that we’d never really had cause to walk in the direction of Sheehan’s, but after seeing that they had recently become a venue serving Trouble Dark Arts Porter (see, we can be influenced by The Socials, too), it became a priority spot to try.

Trouble Dark ArtsAnd it was a very pleasant discovery indeed – the Dark Arts was as fresh as promised, but there were other independent offerings as well, notably Sullivan’s Black Marble Stout from Kilkenny. There were several Changing Times beers, and while we remain unconvinced about them in general from both a cost and taste perspective, as long as there are other options, it’s fine to see them. There was also Beamish, for the ‘split the B’ enthusiast in your life, plus the usual suspects.

The bar at Sheehan'sIt’s a very ‘pubby’ pub, with the usual dark woods and a lovely decorative ceiling. The atmosphere was very calming, certainly a change from the post-holiday shopping and pizza lines outside. It wasn’t quite full Old Man Pub, but was heading in that direction, in the best of ways, though it also felt fresh and up-to-date, with a good mix of clientele. It definitely feels like it’s been in the family for a good long while, and, indeed, it has. And if it’s one of those days where The Hairy Lemon or The Long Hall are absolutely overrun with tourists, Sheehan’s has a bit more of a calm, local vibe – it’s worth the very short walk around the corner.

A corner at Sheehan'sRather like TP Smith’s and Delaney’s, it seems that if we just wait around long enough, we’ll find independent beer in unexpected places (albeit of the more normal, core-range variety). But let’s hope we continue to be surprised…in the good way!

Where: 17 Chatham St, Dublin 2, D02 X923
Access from the city centre: Right in the mix
Food: Pub grub, pies
Sport: One imagines occasional sport
TVs: A few around the pub, though all were off on our visit
Music: Very chill on our visit
Family-friendliness: Not one for the kids
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Neary's, The Hairy Lemon, Caribou, Bar Rua, The Long Hall, Grogan’s, Peter’s Pub, Sinnot’s Bar and more are all nearby
Local sites of note: Gaiety Theatre, Craft Central, Little Museum of Dublin, George’s Street Arcade, St Stephen’s Green, Grafton Street
Haunted: Please?
Other notes: Basement toilets, but also a dedicated whiskey bar upstairs
Socials: Instagram, Facebook

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Delaney’s

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Exterior of Delaney'sWhile Dublin city centre certainly has plenty of pubs, we are fortunate in also having additional parts of town that are also jam-packed with excellent options, especially when the holidays can make those in the immediate centre more crowded than usual. Smithfield and Stoneybatter are particularly blessed with not only a large number of pubs, but pubs that all have their own individual character – there’s cosy vibes with craft beer and pizza at Bonobo, or fantastic food and local colour at L. Mulligan. Grocer, plus all the trad music you could wish for at The Cobblestone – and that’s name-checking only a few of the many options.

A pint of Whiplash at Delaney'sSo, it’s taken us a while to get to Delaney’s, which has very much a ‘pubby’ pub feel, but it was worth the wait. There’s a wonderful fireplace for our current season, and a large back garden for less-chilly temperatures (though it is also heated); it is truly a pub that caters to the ever-changing weather – just mind the suit of armour by the back door. While the building was built as a house around 1800, it’s been a pub since the 1880s, and it’s very much a family-run pub.

Indeed, it has the kind of ‘neighbourhood pub’ feel you get in many places around town. Delaney’s doesn’t have the slightly-faded grandeur of some of the high Victorian pubs like The Long Hall or The Hut, but it has a warm welcome and plenty of books for those chill solo pints. Local independent beer is represented by Whiplash and Trouble, and there’s food if you’re peckish, too. There is the customary Guinness, but also Beamish, Harp and Heineken/Beavertown’s Neck Oil, whose ubiquity in Dublin seems to be increasing in inverse proportion to its quality…but here we are, that’s on Heineken, not the pub.

Granted, this is not a spot that you’ll be bringing the kids, but there are plenty of other places around nearby that do welcome them; if you’re on the hunt for an afternoon or evening out alone or with your fellow grownups, you can catch the sport or relax with a local pint at Delaney’s.

Where: 83 King St N, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 PF51
Access from the city centre: Buses 23, 24, 37, 39, 39A, 70, Luas Red Line, 27ish minute walk
Food: Pub grub
Sport: Sports galore
TVs: All around
Music: Classic rock vibes
Family-friendliness: No kids here
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Cobblestone, Bonobo and The King’s Inn are all in the immediate area, with Walsh’s, The Belfry, L. Mulligan. Grocer, Hynes’ Bar, The Barber’s Bar and The Glimmer Man in Stoneybatter, and Fidelity and Frank Ryan’s not much further on…plus, all of Capel Street, too…
Local sites of note: Lighthouse Cinema, Jameson Distillery, St Michan’s Church, TUD Grangegorman
Haunted: The suit of armour looks far too recent to be haunted
Other notes: Main floor toilets
Socials: Instagram

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Hole in the Wall

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Exterior of The Hole in the WallStaying on a holiday theme, we venture out toward the Phoenix Park this week to visit The Hole in the Wall – a pub that may be better known for its Christmas decorations nowadays, but also one which has a much better claim toward being one of the oldest pubs in Dublin than a certain establishment that trades on this point. Ahem.

But first, the surroundings: the pub gets its unusual name from its proximity to the park, where in times past, British soldiers from the former Marlborough Barracks – now McKee Barracks – could avail of its drink through a literal ‘hole in the wall,’ and thus avoid leaving the Phoenix Park. The pub was known as The Blackhorse Tavern from the 1650s, and the core of the original building does seem to tally well with this sort of date. However, its claim to fame as ‘Europe’s Longest Pub’ is more recent; that’s a result of local cottages being knocked together to add on more and more space as it curves around the edge of the park. There’s also a shipping container coffee stall outside, and plenty of seating for better weather.

Christmas at The Hole in the WallInside, it can be absolutely packed at this time of year, both with decorations (similar to The Ginger Man) and with young visitors to Santa’s Grotto. The many and various rooms within the pub are quite narrow, so it can be a challenge to walk through if there’s a crowd, but it can be done – there are many small nooks and crannies and little benches to be found with a bit of looking around. The beer is mostly the usual suspects from Guinness and Heineken, at least on our visit; the tap for The Holer Pale Ale (previously brewed by Rascals?) was off, and so the only independent beer option was a bottled McCaffrey Irish Pale Ale from Brewmaster/Dundalk Bay Brewing Company, which was…fine. If we’re being nitpicky, it could use a bit of a spruce-up in the beer regard, but the decoration and speed of service with the large crowd was remarkable.

More decorations at The Hole in the WallBut The Hole in the Wall is a pub for life, not just for Christmas – there are also running and cycling clubs based here, and it’s a handy spot if you happen to be on this side of the Phoenix Park (though you’d have Nancy Hands – its sister bar – on the other end). Given how few truly ‘old’ pubs there are in Dublin, we’d love to see them lean into this aspect even more, but in an evidence-based way…we suspect there are some truly fascinating stories to be told here.

Where: Blackhorse Ave, Phoenix Park, Castleknock (part of Phoenix Park), Dublin 7, D07 V663
Access from the city centre: Buses 37, 38, 38A, 39, 39A, 70
Food: Pub grub
Sport: Major sports shown
TVs: A fair few around the pub
Music: Mostly MOR hits
Family-friendliness: Not just for Santa’s Grotto, but year-round at the usual times
Pub-crawl-ability: Low – Cumiskey’s Bar is nearby, but that’s about all in the immediate area; it’s a long way to Nancy Hands and Ryan’s of Parkgate Street on the other side of the Phoenix Park
Local sites of note: Phoenix Park, Dublin Zoo, Áras an Uachtaráin
Haunted: Could do with a good ghost story or two, given its age
Other notes: Dogs welcome
Socials: Instagram, Facebook

Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: Grainger’s Cafe Bar

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Exterior of JJ Grainger's by nightDublin – indeed, Ireland – is not over-endowed with glorious (or even ‘fine’) train stations. Having recently visited Antwerp, with its beautiful Antwerpen Centraal, well….we have no equivalent. Many (if not most) of our Irish train stations don’t even have a bar, much less anything on the continuum between the wonderful Stalybridge Buffet Bar in Greater Manchester to the renowned Peronas Travel Bar in Vilnius. Connolly Station no longer even has its own in-station pub, as Madigan’s – one of Dublin’s few pubs with an alleged ‘active haunting‘ – has now been closed for some months, with no indications of reopening any time soon, if ever.

A pint of Trouble Dark Arts on a table

Fortunately, for those waiting for their trains near Connolly, there are alternatives to the mid or absent train station pub, starting with Grainger’s Cafe Bar (aka JJ Grainger’s). Built in the 1830s – with the nearby railway bridge (and, naturally, station) appearing some decades later – the pub has been in the same family since 1928. And while the bar area itself is quite small, it’s well-formed: dark wood, bar seating and some cosy tables. And there’s even good beer – a nice selection that included Trouble Dark Arts (one of our favourites), plus Ambush, as well as Hope’s Underdog and their Paddy’s Barleywine, a real surprise. Add in a Rascals tap or two – and there was at least one working – and this may now rank as one of the finest independent beer lineups in Dublin, now that Underdog has, sadly, left us. Your usual Guinness and Heineken options were available, too.

A Hope Paddy's Barleywine The staff were also friendly and welcoming – how many pubs would put on the ‘Airwolf’ theme when asked to do so (not, it must be said, by us, but we did enjoy it)? And while it’s true that this part of Dublin still has a bit of a ‘reputation,’ something we’ve discussed in our entry on The Morris Bar, just a bit further along Talbot Street, the positive energy in Grainger’s is further evidence that things are, gradually, improving.

And in any event, a quick pint here before a train from Connolly has much more to recommend it than sitting there with a poorly-brewed tea – allow yourself a little bit of extra time to relax in the pub before heading into the station.

Where: 51 Talbot Street, Dublin
Access from the city centre: Buses 14, 15, 27, Luas Red Line, Luas Green, 20-ish minute walk
Food: Breakfast, pub grub
Sport: If they happen to be on at the time
TVs: A few screens here and there
Music: Top-class ’80s tunes on our visit, from Squeeze to Julian Cope
Family-friendliness: Early on, before a train? Why not?
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Molloy’s, Mooney's of Abbey Street, The Morris Bar, Kimchi Hophouse, MeMa's, The Sackville, The Big Romance, The Flowing Tide, The Palace Bar, Piper's Corner, JR Mahon’s, The Oval Bar, Urban Brewing, The Brew Dock, Mulligan's and The Confession Box; also not too far from The Silver Penny if you must visit a ‘Spoons
Local sites of note: Connolly Station, O'Connell Street, The Spire, The Portal, GPO, Busáras, Connolly Station, Abbey Theatre, Gate Theatre, NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM, Ha'Penny Bridge
Haunted: Can it take in the poltergeist from Madigan’s?
Other notes: Basement toilets – not ideal from an accessibility perspective
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Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: McGowan’s

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Outside McGowan's by nightWe’ll say up front that we are very much not night owls.

And perhaps that’s the major reason that we didn’t really ‘vibe’ with McGowan’s, which brands itself as a late-night establishment, beautiful frontage notwithstanding. But let’s give the spot a fair shot, with a bit of context and the usual descriptions.

We’d just come from watching Ireland’s astonishing last-minute victory over Hungary in their World Cup qualification campaign, and Doyle’s Corner was packed for the occasion, as were most other pubs in the immediate area. Yet when we got to McGowan’s – a spot we’d long meant to check out, but had never managed to, despite its proximity to many usual haunts – it was nearly empty.

Inside McGowan's

And it’s an enormous pub; with its (very attractive) Christmas lights, it seems to take up a fair chunk of the neighbourhood, and inside, the huge u-shaped bar serves a ground floor with multiple spaces, as well as further areas upstairs, plus a covered outdoor space (though more on that in a moment).

Alas, there’s no interesting beer; just the usual Guinness and Heineken options. And while the pub is kept very tidy, with the wood highly polished and the seating in good order, there are a few oddities in the décor, at least, from our perspective. Framed Rolling Stone covers and old American license plates give the place a very 1980s feel (even if many of those magazine covers were from the 1990s); the neon sign outside proclaiming, ‘say hello to my little friend’ also adds to that impression. It is peculiar, and in some ways, not so different from being in an ‘Irish’ bar in the US midwest.

A Smithwicks at McGowan'sIt’s once again worth stating, though, that it’s entirely possible that we’re not the target demographic, and that the real action begins after, say, 9 pm…by which point, we’re generally in pajamas. In this particular instance, we wanted to continue to celebrate the footy win, and so hopped back across the street to The Back Page, which was still full of fans in Ireland jerseys (and a reliable Sierra Nevada tap, among others).

There is no shortage of pubs in Phibsborough, though, and it’s safe to say that there are a few catering to nearly every taste and segment. This one may not be for us, but it mostly likely has a strong constituency of its own.

Where: 16-18 Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin
Access from the city centre: Buses 4, 9, 46A, 140, 155, Luas Green Line, 25ish minute walk
Food: Pub grub
Sport: All of them, per the website
TVs: Many all around the pub
Music: Generic rock
Family-friendliness: Didn’t have that vibe
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Back Page, Doyle's Corner, The Boh, The Hut, The Bald Eagle and The Bernard Shaw are all within a short walk
Local sites of note: Dalymount Park, Mater Hospital, Blessington Street Basin, Mountjoy Prison, TUD Grangegorman, King’s Inns
Haunted: Not overtly
Other notes: A pub since at least the 1840s, and with a long family history; would be nice to see more focus on that
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Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Hairy Lemon

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Upstairs at The Hairy Lemon: old signs and bikesWe’ve not always been fair to The Hairy Lemon.

In truth, until recently, we’d only visited it in a tourist capacity, long before moving to Dublin (see also: The Long Hall), and as a result, it felt less like a ‘local’ pub and more like one that catered purely to those here on brief trips. And while it certainly has a booming tourist trade, a more recent stop by made us realise that there’s more going on here, and that it can be well worth a drop in when we’re at Craft Central anyway. Uh, we are not infrequently ‘at Craft Central anyway’ – but that’s another story.

The bar at The Hairy LemonThe first point in its favour – for us, anyway – is its support for local independent beer: there are multiple Rye River taps, and they are all kept in excellent shape. Indeed, it has always felt like many of the more tourist-friendly pubs are missing a trick by not highlighting other Irish beers. Yes, people want their Guinness, but plenty of tourists also want to follow it up with something else that seems unique or exclusive to the area. The Hairy Lemon does a fine job of offering both experiences, and not just a token ‘extra’ tap – there’s not just a variety of styles from Rye River, but also Murphy’s and the rarer Murphy’s Red.

A terrible picture of the exterior of The Hairy LemonWhile it’s true that when in this general direction we are more often to be found at Caribou, with other beer options in a more ‘bar’ vibe setting, tourists (or anyone else) looking for more of an traditional pub feel are well catered to at The Hairy Lemon. And it comes by its ‘Irish pub’ bona fides honestly: the current all-yellow paintjob may be more recent, but it’s been a pub since at least the mid-19th century. The Hairy Lemon is named for one of Dublin’s many ‘characters’ – like Bang Bang (commemorated in both café and pub form, with Bang Bang in Phibsborough and Dudley’s in The Liberties), The Hairy Lemon was ‘known’ around town, and while he had no specific connection to the pub, it honours his memory, and, more broadly, that of the other long-gone Dublin ‘characters.’

And if on your visit to The Hairy Lemon it seems packed full of tourists at lunchtime, a wander upstairs can be blissfully calm; there are several pleasant nooks and crannies in which to sit with a quiet solo pint, even here in the middle of town.

Where: 41-42 Stephen Street Lower, Dublin 2
Access from the city centre: You are there
Food: Breakfast, pub grub, tourist faves, kids’ menu
Sport: Essentially all of them
TVs: Many all around the pub
Music: Fairly MOR tunes, at least on a weekday afternoon; live music in the evenings
Family-friendliness: Always a fair few kids during the day and evening and plenty of food for them
Pub-crawl-ability: High – Neary’s, Caribou, Bar Rua, The Long Hall, Grogan's, Peter's Pub, Sinnot's Bar and more are all nearby
Local sites of note: Gaiety Theatre, Craft Central (we said what we said), Little Museum of Dublin, George's Street Arcade, St Stephen's Green, Grafton Street
Haunted: An appalling lack of good ghost stories
Other notes: Still looks more or less the same as it did when The Commitments was filmed here
Socials: Instagram, Facebook