Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DRINKING & NIGHTLIFE
Temple Bar's loud and busy pubs are a far cry from authentic, but they're un-
doubtedly fun - that is if your idea of fun is mixing it with a bunch of lads and lasses
from the north of England, egging each other on to show off their family jewels and
daring one another to drain 10 Fat Frogs in a row, in front of a bemused audience of
Spanish and Italian tourists, all sharing three glasses of Guinness. You've been
warned!
PALACE BAR
(21 Fleet St; all city centre)
With its mirrors and wooden niches, the Palace (established in
1823) is one of Dublin's great Victorian pubs and a stubborn stalwart against the modern-
ising influences of the last half century. Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O'Brien were once
regulars and it was for a long time the unofficial head office of the
Irish Times
.
PUB
VINTAGE COCKTAIL CLUB
(Crown Alley; all city centre)
Behind the inconspicuous, unlit doorway initialled with the let-
ters 'VCC' is one of the coolest bars in Dublin, a '60s-style London members' club or Ve-
gas Rat Pack hang-out. The emphasis is on expertly made cocktails served in a super-styl-
ish setting: the 2nd-floor smoking lounge is easily the most elegant place in town to light a
Lucky in. All-round class.
BAR
FRONT LOUNGE
(33 Parliament St; all city centre)
The unofficially gay 'Flounge' is a sophisticated and friendly
bar that stands out from other gay joints in that it is quieter, more demure and popular with
a mixed crowd. Sexual orientation here is strictly secondary to having a drink and a laugh
with friends, even though the 'Back Lounge' toward the back of the bar is traditionally pre-
dominantly gay.
BAR
PORTERHOUSE
(16-18 Parliament St; all city centre)
The second-biggest brewery in Dublin, the Porterhouse
looks like a cross between a Wild West bar and a Hieronymus Bosch painting - all wood
BAR
