This outfit is new to the block, and something of a pleasant surprise. The very name John’s calls to mind the wonderful Gotham-esque John’s Lane church across the street, but in fact it is named for John Creeth, a haberdasher who ran his shop on these very premises in the 1850s. Since acquired by the same group who have done yeoman service with the likes of Mary’s and Anne’s and The Giddy Dolphin, there has been a very conscious and deliberate and altogether successful attempt to preserve the past and do honour to the history of the area. Creeth had his haberdashery here in the 1850s ..read more

  Located in the middle of a housing estate and something of a maze to find. Guinness is bonding at 5:40 euros. The bar and lounge are extremely separated-cum-segregated and would appear to have different doors, the one not easily accessible through the other. The woman at the bar amused herself tremendously by singing on the job - such enthusiasm for one’s calling was heartening to witness and lent melody to our shy tippling. Particularly prominent, at the time of our visit, was a counter-hogging man with a weird hairstyle and also boasting an ostentatious eyepatch - we were too quick t ..read more

  This is a bar and a lounge combo, a significant portion being devoted to a Sushi-cum-Ramen restaurant - see Shakespeare’s of Parnell Street for a similarly eclectic pairing of Asian cuisine with Irish liquid fare. Guinness here costs €5.30. A patriotic or nationalist vibe is discernible, given the abundance of Irish flags and pictures of Irish patriots adorning the walls, not the least prominent of which is a portrait of John O’Leary, with whom Romantic Ireland is said to have died at last and is dead and gone and shares a grave, if Willy Yeats is to be believed in September 2013. It ..read more

  Which saint? Vincent (the address), or Patrick (super St. Pat’s Athletic)? This premises formerly operated under the name of Timothy Crough’s. Though highly praised by the barman of Slatterys of Beggars Bush (who particularly extolled the cheapness of the pint, which he thought at the time the cheapest in Dublin), we ourselves avoided it, put off by what seemed to us a sinister and uninviting exterior. Flash forward some seven years and we found the place transformed, and altogether friendlier. Upon our entry, we were reminded of our city’s smallness - in quick succession, we glimpsed ..read more

  Sitting beside a set of almost ‘Exorcist-steps’, this establishment previously existed in a former guise as a deeply dodgy-looking den of sin and gin called Murray’s - one never felt much in a hurry to head there at the time, and its profoundly shut state went some way to excluding one from its dormant doors. It has since, as of 2023, been reopened and extensively revamped and, while no Beamish bonder, we figured we would lose many credibility points by not going, and so we did, of a quiet and deeply dead Monday afternoon on which we were the first customers. As per so many rejuvenated ..read more

  ‘Tailors’ Hall has been part of the fabric of Dublin since the 1700’s, playing host to craftsmen, rebels and revellers alike.’ This is a nice instance of a fine historical property, long left neglected, getting a nice new dose of life. It is not a cheap outing by any means - scarifying food prices are evident on the menu, not least the costly chips (which are almost the same price as the chowder - in our book this equals = ABSOLUTE SCAM), while Guinness vends at six euros, which is perhaps reasonable enough once you cross the road to Temple Bar and nose out the competition. There’s a ..read more

  Technically a whiskey distillery, but also contains a hidden bar at the back called the POWER HOUSE BAR that dispenses stout (at a none-too offensive price either, let it be noted). You can skip the tour and the museum if you want, they won’t begrudge you, but by all means take it if you’re a whiskey buff, as Andy Stephens very much is. A veteran of said tour, he was fondly and familiarly greeted by the staff - ‘Have you been here before?’ they said, sarcastically-like. Some fifteen bottles of Roe and Co. he must have bought. Walk through the gift shop, go through the doors at the bac ..read more

  A nouveau olde pub - it flops like a soft penis, very much the little appendage to the capacious Murray’s Bar and Grill next door (previously the stuff of a sniffy footnote), and named after the famous Fenian (born in an English artillery fort, rared in county Tyrone and killed in Kilmainham Gaol). Dark and amber inside where many unique cubby holes are visible behind the counter, including niches for toothpicks, starch, keys, hinges, etc. Antique curios galore on the walls, with vintage ads for Parisian Hair Restorer, Clarke’s Snuff and so on. A nice hot coffee pot sat brewing on the ..read more

  This was a distinct relief after The Kestrel - Beamish serves for €4.70, and thus a bitter heart is already warmed and a tainted palette relieved. A very friendly Polish(?) barwoman served with alacrity and was full of chat and liveliness. We took note of a unique crafty beer on tap, called Hop-On From Howth Junction. Without any prompting, the woman of the house gave us a free sample of this unique brew, thus earning our everlasting gratitude and ensuring that we stayed for a second round. The place has big windows, which must offer a lovely radiant light by daytime (we speak from a p ..read more

  Named after the small bird of prey from the falcon family and shaped like a hexagonal bird tower jutting out marking the level land by the Walkinstown roundabout. When we arrived, we could have sworn the place was shut, so dead and deserted a face did it present unto us, prompting peering into dark windows only to see chairs piled up in empty rooms. We were on the point of moving swiftly on (would that we had!), when a light was discerned on the other side of the building - lo and behold, it was open after all, with a respectable crowd and even a live singer droning on, working the roo ..read more