Pacinos restaurant on Suffolk Street has two sort-of secret additions, the Blind Pig in the basement and the Little Pig not-in-the-basement (well, someone else has already said its upstairs). Both are reservation required; and both have convoluted entry procedures - the linked article gives away the Blind Pig one but we went to the Little Pig; which is even more convoluted and which you can find out for yourself if you go.
Its a fully pub licenced premises, so I would assume that in ordinary times you can just go for cocktails; however at the time of visiting, food was not optional. Our 2215 sitting would also be impossible now, but the regulations had not been hardened by then.
The offering here is the quite common Prohibition-era style cocktail bar. Considering Prohibition era cocktails were devised to hide unpalatable bootleg spirits; and all the Dublin ones aping that style use good quality ingredients, any attempt at authenticity is gone from the start, but they go deep here to try and keep it feeling era-appropriate. There is an antique pull-handled toilet with no cistern siphon in the gents, so you need to pull multiple times to get a flush, for instance.
Its a small room and the available space for customers has been further reduced to allow for distancing, with tables moved appropriately apart and some new permanent fixtures at the bar to stop it being used
The cocktails we had - its a few weeks ago now, so I can't remember all of them, but they included an Aviation and a Sazerac - were all well made and the required accompanying meal was very good; and while it met the 'substantial meal' rules, was not like having to eat a carvery at 11pm.
In the circumstances, this was a very satisfactory end to the evening and I'll willingly return - when I'm allowed out of the county maybe!
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