Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [102]
Bar With No Name (Map; 675 3708; 3 Fade St) A low-key entrance just next to L’Gueuleton leads upstairs to one of the nicest bar spaces in town – three huge rooms in a restored Victorian townhouse plus a sizeable heated patio area for smokers. There’s no sign or a name – folks just refer to it as the bar with no name or, if you’re a real insider, Number 3.
Bernard Shaw (Map; 085-712 8342; www.bodytonicmusic.com; 11-12 South Richmond St) This old-style pub was taken over a couple of years ago by the Bodytonic production crew and restyled as one of the hippest joints in town. There are DJs nightly, playing anything from dub reggae to ambient electronica.
Dice Bar (Map; 674 6710; 79 Queen St) Co-owned by singer Huey from the band Fun Lovin’ Criminals, the Dice Bar looks like something you’d find on New York’s Lower East Side. Its black-and-red-painted interior, dripping candles and distressed seating, combined with rocking DJs most nights, make this place a magnet for Dublin’s beatnik crowds.
No 4 Dame Lane (Map; 679 0291; 4 Dame Lane) This stylish bar across two floors is popular with clubby kids and professionals alike. They come for the modern ambience and the DJ-led entertainment, which is mellow midweek but loud and dancy weekends.
Market Bar (Map; 677 4835; Fade St) This fashionable watering hole is run by the same guys as the Globe (below), around the corner. Little would you know this beautiful, airy Victorian space was a sausage factory in a former life.
Globe (Map; 671 1220; 11 South Great George’s St) The granddaddy of the city’s hipster bars, the Globe has held on to its groover status by virtue of tradition and the fact that the formula is brilliantly simple: wooden floors, plain brick walls and a no-attitude atmosphere that you just can’t fake.
Hogan’s (Map; 677 5904; 35 South Great George’s St) Hogan’s is a gigantic boozer spread across two floors. A popular hang-out for young professionals, it gets very full at the weekend with folks eager to take advantage of its late licence.
Porterhouse (Map; 679 8847; 16-18 Parliament St) Dublin’s first microbrewery is our favourite Temple Bar watering hole. Especially popular with foreign residents and visitors, the Porterhouse sells only its own stouts and beers – and they’re all excellent.
SamSara (Map; 671 7723; 35-36 Dawson St) This huge, Middle Eastern–themed drinking emporium packs young office types and pre-clubbers in at weekends, when the bar runs late.
South William (Map; 679 3701; South William St) Its star doesn’t shine quite as brightly as it did a couple of years ago when it opened, but this remains one of the hippest bars in town. Behind the glass frontage you’ll get top-class music, great DJs and a downstairs club.
Sin É (Map; 878 7009; 14-15 Upper Ormond Quay) This excellent quayside bar is proof that the most important quality for any pub is ambience. There’s no real decor to speak of, but this place buzzes almost nightly with a terrific mix of students and professionals, the hip and the uncool. It helps that the DJs are all uniformly excellent.
Village (Map; 475 8555; www.thevillagevenue.com; 26 Wexford St) Packed to overflowing every weekend, this large modern bar is where the lovely lads and gorgeous gals show off their plumage in a fun-time courting ritual that has the rest of them queuing up at the door to join in. There are excellent DJs nightly; the nightclub bit of the venue Click here opens Thursday through Saturday.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Dublin’s too small to be the entertainment mecca the tourist authorities and other interested parties would have once had you believe, but it’s still a pretty decent burg to have a good time in, with a range of options to satisfy almost all desires, from period drama to dog