Dublin

last time i was home my friends took me to crackbird on south william st, which is a sort of pop up fried chicken place, good fun and a good atmosphere. may contain irish version of hipsters.

bar-wise i'm fairly out of the loop but georges street has many of the best imo, or if you go further south from there there are some good pubs a lot of the way along.

Yeah, I mainly frequent the hipstery bars so i'm keeping quiet on that score. Not a hipster though I swear

what are the hipstery bars? i tend to go to the bernard shaw just cos i used to dj with bodytonic so i am always likely to meet some of the old pals there, that and they sell decent beer.

Hipstery bars of my time (1999-2001): Modern Green Bar, Hogan's

The Shaw, Pygmalion, Twisted Pepper. Generally at the Bodytonic spots just cause they book good people

Whelan's, depending on who was playing

Whelans is hipstery to an extent but it's just too much of an institution now

I recall a dance club, not so noteworthy on its own, but which hosted a weekly DJ set consisting of 80s/early-90s indie, shoegaze, space rock & such.. That was always a reliably great night out & hipster central full-stop.

idk i dont like dublin that much, i guess i would probably say top three douglas hyde gallery, the luas, and getting late coffee on south williams street, which i guess makes me super boring

I would like to add to the top of my bottom three: Registering w/ the Garda - the fucking worst!

Ronan will sort that one out for you.

Best part of living in Dublin for me, as someone who goes to a lot of gigs, is simply having access to a wider variety of live music. Like i lived in Galway for years and it was always immensely frustrating having to travel to Dublin or miss out. Galway has actually gotten a lot better in that respect in recent years though, basically since i left

pub wise I have had some of my best times in the Lord Edward

also the Stag's Head
O'Neill's, granted it's a sprawl
and Nealon's which was once the Vicar's local
in fact that pub on or near Camden Street which was the Vicar's local later on was also good

went to Guinness Brewery with Lara Byrne once, that was a good time

All those pubs are solid choices. To be honest, when I lived in Dublin I went to Doyle's more than anywhere else (lol student) so I still have a lot of affection for there even if it's pretty unexceptional.

doyle's is a fixture alright

What's the place opposite, or close to opposite dublin castle? Thomas read's? Good pub.

and Nealon's which was once the Vicar's local

still possibly the pub I go to the most, as SF book club always ends up there.

in fact that pub on or near Camden Street which was the Vicar's local later on was also good

this is Devitts, a nice old man / local pub (ie not for hipsters, except to extent that I am a hipster). I don't go there much now as it is not so near me (and sad old vicar does not go to pubs so much anymore either).

Rathmines really is a desert for decent pubs.

Just read the new answers now. Glad to see the ILX hivemind subconsciously directed me to the Porterhouse last night (staying directly opposite). Good food and beer. Just walking back from the gaol now - definitely worth a trip. Is the Guinness Storehouse any cop? A bit put off by the fact it's not actually a brewery tour. Oh, if anyone's up for a pint Sunday, or indeed tonight, I'm in town.

Honourable mention for the Chester Beatty Library, by far my favourite museum in Dublin (since they closed the crazy Victorian-science Natural History Museum anyway).

Storehouse is a bit weak imo. View from the top is nice though

The Natural History Museum (aka the Dead Animal Zoo) is open again, huzzah.

Yeah, the Chester Beatty is a gem. I wuv the cafe there.

Mr Kappa - Guinness Storehouse is a huge building and you get a great view of Dublin from the top. I've never done the tour but I was there for an event once. If you like views and industrial architecture it is worth visiting. If you were living the tourist dream you could do it as the first part of a triple header followed by the Irish Museum of Modern Art (in the olde Royal Hospital Kilmainham) and Kilmainham Gaol (where our dead patriots were killed by the evil foreigner).

Chester Beatty library is stunning. So much interesting stuff.

The Kilmainham tour is definitely worth doing as well.

i'm djing at mother in copper alley on saturday btw...dubliners.

The gaol tour was worth doing. It's the prison from The Italian Job! The storehouse was pretty shite though, interesting how they set it up, but the whole thing was just a giant advert. Decent view but it was already dark. The screens where you can watch the vintage Guinness TV ads were good though.

I think a lot of film scenes were done in Kilmainham, probably because it is one of few oldschool jail-like buildings that are not in use as a jail.

mmm, slightly less films than I thought, but they include THE FACE OF FU MANCHU: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmainham_Jail#Films

BAH! I always forget to put links on a separate line, as a way of avoiding the horror that is Full Justification.

I think a lot of film scenes were done in Kilmainham, probably because it is one of few oldschool jail-like buildings that are not in use as a jail.

The reason is that the guys wanting to restore the gaol had no money and hiring it out to film crews was the only way they could raise the cash!

dmac in dublin is 'a thing'

aside from becoming an urbanite wretch of the highest and totally selling out my heretofore begrudging stony grey soil of mayo disavowal of all things east of tarmonbarry, i'm quite looking fwd to a few years amongst the enemy.

Aside from evening courses, five a side at ucd, boardsdeals-funded meals out, long and brisk walks around muggers and heroin-users along the canal, and three hours on the 16a from the centre to terenure, any clues from the locals as to what to expect?

Bear in mind that i'm in the bottom 5% of ilxors as rated by culture, though as to whether that's been environmentally-stymied thus far or not is open to (short and bad-natured) debate.

You are staying out in Terenure? Noice.

when i burn my bridges i nuke em

terenure/rathgar is, indeed, noice, but it is, unfortunately, temporary.

Is daft.ie the best way to find accommodation, or should we register with a few agencies? Bear in mind that we're not going to be able to come up with much in the way of references, having lived 'at home' for the past few years.

Any clues/advice as to area? Kilmainham/inchicore seem like a winner in terms of the price/transport/decent accommodation available balance.

I can get to work from anywhere but ms mac is stuck out at eastpoint (near clontarf) which is a bit of a pain.

Daft does the job I think. How about Stoneybatter? Near the Luas and stuff.

I'd say you'd be able to get somewhere with a garden etc. in Kilmainham/Inchicore for a similar price to what you'd pay for something pokier in Stoneybatter. But if you like hipster street parties and the like then go for it. I live in Drimnagh, so i can vouch for that end of town but i rent from a friend so i never ran into any problems with references or anything.

do i come across as hipster street party guy? i must be doin somethin wrong

thought that might be a red flag

Despite the supposed hipster cachet over here in D7, there were a posse of mucksavages knocking a sliothar about at the bottom of my street today, so you'd probably fit right in.

new rule- if you can't spell it you don't get to complain about it

dublin what's good

recommended things to do & places to eat? there first weekend in august

1. Find a nice pub (lots of suggestions upthread)
2. Have a Guinness
3. Go to step 2

otm, all of the pubs upthread well worthy of your time. Whereabouts you stayin

I'd suggest fap but i'm in kinsale that w/end

I have a weird relationship with Dublin but sometimes I fall so hard for the city all over again.

if you want hipster food go to bear or crackbird, google away. if you want guinness go to keogh's on south anne street. if you want music i'd say maybe twisted pepper (good lineups but venue is okayish at best) or bernard shaw (loads of children but a decent pub with good beers relative to dublin in general)

not sure about good high end restaurants, it's been too long for me and my friends don't seem to know. winding stair was the last one that people rated and still seem to.

some of my recs may be out of date, don't live there.

hang on, i think cozen likes craft beer, if so "against the grain" is dublin's craft beer bar, and in a fairly vibrant part.

i am ready to be told i don't have a clue tho, the longer i live away, the more i tend to spend my weekends home in suburbia cos i enjoy how totally different from london it is.

Also good for interesting beer is Mulligans in Stoneybatter (where I spent most of today)

otm, sean, very good spot

tbh, dublin's not short of quality pubs for beer, ambience or grub. you'd be grand pretty much anywhere.

What kind of things do you like, Cozen?

Some cultural/historical things to consider:
- Kilmainham Jail (where the Brit bastards killed our independence heroes)
- Chester Beatty Library (fascinating boutique museum of orientalist stuff bequeathed to the state by rich collector guy)
- National Museum on Kildare Street (you want bog bodies, we got bog bodies; also things made of gold and an Egyptian mummy, stuff, etc.)
- Literary Pub Crawl (out of work actors tell you literary anecdotes and bring you to pubs)
- 1916 Rising Walking Tour (you get brought around to sites of exciting uprising action)

My pub recommendations:
- Lord Edward (old school; make sure you go to the upstairs lounge; if in the mood for expensive fish food try their restaurant on 2nd Floor)
- The Brazen Head (popular with tourists, though don't let that put you off. Also, you are a tourist. And it does really nice Guinness and is official oldest pub in Dublin)
- Palace in Fleet Street (not to be confused with Palace on Camden Street, a hellhole; Palace on Fleet Street is appealing old school pub with literary connections but is always full)

I think I will be in London that weekend so no fappage from me, sadly.

I'd back all of those.

National Gallery & the National Museum at Collins Barracks are definitely worth a look too.

The Black Sheep on Capel Street is less smelly new location of Against The Grain crew.
+1 for Chester Beatty.
I am not great at restaurants but if you're looking for decent but not OTT try Winding Stair. Great view if you can get by a window.

hi gelligt

thanks friends, these are great recs. the chester beatty looks *exactly* like my thing and doesn't close till 15 june!

I ate at Winding Stair the one night I was in Dublin three years ago and thought it was great.

Yeah, restaurants I don’t know. I usually eat at Andra Bhavan on Marlborough St when I’m in Dublin. Excellent south Indian food. 10% discount if you pay cash.

some of my regular spots when I'm back

pubs: Long Hall (as above), Cobblestone (a bit touristy but in a good/buzzy way)
whiskey: you can get Redbreast/Spot anywhere really so just go to a nice pub, for cocktails Bar 1661 is decent
coffee: Mantle, Indigo and Cloth; the place serious coffee dudes (always dudes) talk about is Unfiltered but it's a bit out of the centre and I haven't made it up there yet
food: Two Pups (as above) for breakfast/brunch, they also do a nice wine/small plates thing in the evenings; for slightly fancy food I rate Library Street and Bar Pez; really want to go to Assassination Custard but I think you have to book by telephone and I've never figured it out
other things: there's always something interesting to see at the Royal Hibernian Academy; The Library Project for photography/books; Hugh Lane Gallery (but looks to be closed atm); Printing Museum is a niche gem

yes winding stair absolutely a rec

assassination custard is like hiring a whimsical chef and small restaurant for whatever time you can agree. ive never been but it comes highly recommended from others

gyac i cannot remember where or if you tried on a flat cap but it may have been bowes also

cad im not about otherwise id offer a meet but the above list def sees you well covered for most things, by all means set out more requirements im sure th hivemind here can come up with plenty

stoneybatter has l mulligans, grano and walsh's which would be a fine way to spend an evening imo, you could get the cobblestone in the same effort

The National Gallery has a gorgeous Caravaggio and it’s free!

I’m actually in Dublin end of the month for an afternoon and so disappointed to hear about Hugh Lane…I’ll make sure to go to Chester Beatty though

The Hugh Lane Gallery will close on 28 September 2025 for refurbishment and is expected to remain closed for at least three years. Find out more below.

i’m going to tick off at least a few of these! free day time mostly limited to sunday and a bit of friday but i should have a couple evenings to wander to some of the pubs mentioned here.

today: stumbled on the winding stair, too early for food but got a copy of the dalkey archive which i haven’t read and a couple of picture books to bring back to the child.

also stumbled on the national gallery, can confirm it is free and that the carvaggio is a treat. some wildly creative stained glass too by a guy called harry clarke.

What a relief. For a second I was picturing "stumbled on the Winding Stair, now I'm in the hospital."

Excellent work

it's pretty touristy but we enjoyed EPIC when we went a couple of years ago https://epicchq.com/

harry clarke and francis bacon exhibitions were all in hugh lane last i saw glad you caught some of the former, astonishing stuff

Well, this answers my question about the Silk Road cafe at the Chester Beatty and how they're going to manage with having to shut down for six months.