S0295 Jack O'Rourkes

This pub had one of the most substantial number of different Irish craft brewery taps that I've seen outside of a dedicated craft bar - five taps with the only brewery duplication being a Larkins tap and also Curious Society Atlantic 353 tap - a Larkins sub-brand.

The pub was relatively busy, but I was able to find myself a corner table in the front area, which meant I had space to get food. A quite traditional pub food menu is on offer, and I went for a very traditional option even from what was there - soup and a sandwich. Which was nice.

Its quite a large pub, and the toilets (surreally) make a claim to fame - the place in whcih the idea of Rock Shandy was invented!

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Second pub in a row that I'd be very happy to come back to, frequently, based on a first visit. Must. Stop. Liking. Pubs. In. Towns. I. Can't. Afford.

S0293 Conways

Every so often, there's a pub where the first impressions make me think it'd be perfect as my local. 

Its always somewhere I simply cannot afford to live, though. Blackrock is probably the most out of my league so far.

Conways joins S0194 The Hill (the prior incarnation - I can't say whether it would still have the same impression) and N0250 The Villager in this club. The house right next door to The Villager has been for sale in the past few years, and I did consider it...

This is quite a traditional pub, albeit with a few craft taps, and does feel maybe a little out of place in Blackrock these days. A fire, some curated books to read if you're having a quiet one, and some old Irish breweryana on the walls

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One slight thing to note here is a recurrent trend to the lower rated reviews on Google/Tripadvisor/etc here; nothing I saw there on the night I visited however.

S0298 The Old Punchbowl

This used to be one of my uncle's local, until he moved to Wexford. And weirdly I thought I saw my aunt there; but it was actually just someone that looked a fair bit like her - I don't think they make regular trips back!

One of the older pubs (with genuine claims to it) in Dublin and definitely one of the oldest in suburban Dublin, I have always been convinced this pub used "Olde" instead of Old in the name. Google and the Irish Newspaper Archive both tell me no, though.

The pub claims to be "Dublin's Rugby Pub", a title I imagine would be hotly contested. Considering there will be specific pub to club loyalties, I suggest that a blitz tournament could be arranged to decide that title for certain. 

There was a Brighton game on TV while I was here, but there was no lucky pub type results against one of the big boys this time unfortunately. However, it was a decent place to watch that game even if some of the fairly large tap selection was off.

The pub is up for sale currently, but still trading.

November 2022 Licence Update

Two new additions this month, and both are restaurants with full pub licences.

Additions:

1019365 The Food Hall, UCD - a Wright Group venture; this is explicitly open to non-UCD customers

1019413 Mama Yo, Camden Street - yet another Press Up restaurant

1019279 Maldron Merrion Road

This hotel had only just opened when I visited, but it replaced one of Dublin's well known hotels on the same site - the S0188 Tara Towers, a quite ugly and entirely not towering concrete block that had stood here since the 70s. Towards the end, when the hotel was already being managed by Dalata (who operate the replacement), it was being promoted as a "70s retro hotel" on their official Twitter!

The old hotel had a larger bar, showing live sports and appearing far more like a pub in a hotel rather than a hotel bar. The new offering is a hotel bar through and through; although one where you can still walk in off the street and get served.

Its quite like any other Maldron or Clayton bar really, with the same drink offerings and the same furniture etc. I expect they will get some local trade, as there's not much else nearby.

S0165 Merrion Inn

Nice pub. Exceptionally expensive - but what are you expecting out here? It's also the only pub for a vast, vast area of very expensive houses, so I'd be quite surprised if it wasn't expensive.

There were some interesting taps here, albeit you'd pay >€7 a pint for them - the online menu also shows a very good range of bottles.

October 2022 revisited pubs

Despite a rather mental month of non-socialising stuff (I've gone back to college, in the evenings, which will probably limit things for the next academic year; for instance), there were still a few revisits this month.

I'm relying on my phone spying on me to remember some of the incidental visits that could be five weeks ago at this stage - I find it unlikely that I wasn't in McGraths in October, but the spy in my pocket says no!

N0053 Graingers, Amiens Street - a lengthy train delay caused by bad scheduling - my inbound DART arrived just as the outbound train home left!

S0083 Beer Temple, Dame Street - last visited in its previous The Oak incarnation - this name still applies to the original The Oak bar section, of course.

1001292 Olympia Theatre, Dame Street - I refuse to use the branding here

S3908 The Well, Stephens Green