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?
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