It must be New Pub Season – everything around Dublin seems to be rebranding, relaunching or reopening.
This particular new pub is in the space previously occupied by the much-lamented Underdog, and it would be fair to say that there has been a certain amount of impatience in the local beer-nerd community to see what it would be like.
Of course, it’s an entirely different business, so there were no expectations that Bar Anam would be any kind of like-for-like match for Underdog. Yes, there is (some) independent beer, which we’ll come on to shortly, but it’s not the main focus of the experience. As we’ve already described elsewhere, there simply aren’t that many spots in Dublin that have much beyond your typical Diageo-and-Heineken options, and in the absence of Underdog, there’s really only Brickyard, Porterhouse or Tapped if you’re looking for a wider variety of both breweries and styles – spots like Rascals and Fidelity may have some guest taps, but they are mostly their own beers.
Yes, there are individual pubs that have a dependable set of the same 4-6 offerings – nearly always Scraggy Bay, Ambush and a few Whiplash choices – and it’s fair to say that Bar Anam fits into this category at present. There aren’t quite as many taps (yet?) as at their sister bar, Dudley’s, but there is a strong cocktail game – all those we saw on opening night looked wonderful.
The food is still on its way, but it sounds like it will be tasty: Korean-inspired fried chicken and dumplings from DAK will be serving up from the still-under-construction back room shortly.
While the proximity of The Black Sheep means there is still a somewhat-larger craft beer offering a short walk away (albeit one that is, again, mostly a single brewery – Galway Bay in this instance, plus some rotating guest taps), time will tell if this becomes a hangout spot for the now-peripatetic beer nerd crowd.
But we do hope that in any event, Bar Anam manages to make a success of this spot; the turnover here in recent years has swift. We’ll be back to test the food very soon…
Where: 199 King St N, Dublin 1, D07 PR5X (at the top of Capel Street)
Access from the city centre: Buses 1, 11, 16, 44, 46A, 155, Luas Green Line, 15-20 minute walk
Food: Korean fried chicken is on its way
Sport: Not so far
TVs: Not yet
Music: Perhaps a bit loud, but all bangers; there was even a DJ opening night
Family-friendliness: Remains to be seen, but the food sounds like it will be crowd-pleasing to most palates
Pub-crawl-ability: High – The Black Sheep, J McNeill’s, The King’s Inn, Bonobo, Bar 1661, The Church, Slattery’s…or wander on to Smithfield or Stoneybatter…
Local sites of note: National Leprechaun Museum, Wolfe Tone Square, 14 Henrietta Street, King’s Inns,
Haunted: Is this spot cursed? One hopes not…
Other notes: Still the same basement toilets, though a bit spruced up
Socials: Instagram
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