Temple Bar Pub

irishamck
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
4
Reviews
7
Photos
Editor Pick

Temple Bar Pub

  • March 26, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland

Quite possibly my favourite bit of my little trip to Ireland was the night spent in the Temple Bar. The fact that one of the most famous bars in the city has the same name as the cultural centre of Dublin can be quite confusing, but once you realize they are two separate things, then it all becomes quite clear. So if someone tells you 'You have to go to Temple Bar' it doesn’t really matter if they mean the area or the pub, because in many ways they are one and the same. The pub is right in the centre of the area known as Temple Bar, and also one of the easiest places to find. Located on the corner of Temple Bar road, at a cross roads of cobbled streets, and is hard to miss.

If you’re looking for a little bit of traditional Irish night life, you really can't go wrong with Temple Bar. It's an often noisy and crowded pub, with several sections and rooms, and people loud and talking and always enjoying themselves. The atmosphere is fantastic, and just what you'd hope to find in such a bar. The service is good, and pretty quick and the bar right at the entrance of the pub. Have a pint of Guinness and then find a spot and listen to the live local music that resounds through the entire place and out onto the streets.

Every image you have ever had of an Irish pub at night comes together here, and not only with locals but with a host of other like minded travellers, all wanting to a taste of the local culture and a chance to spend the evening with locals and travellers alike.

My friend and I sat nursing our shared pint of Guinness throughout the night while the fiddle playing and singing went on without stop, and the place got more and more crowded (even though it was a weekday the place was still heaving). The prices were reasonable and the atmosphere fantastic, and all of it easy to find and in very easy walking distance from most places in the centre of the city including some hostels. What more could you ask of an Irish pub? I highly recommend that if you’re in Dublin you give it a look.

From journal A Day in Dublin, a Taste of Music and Guinness

Temple Bar

  • March 19, 2007
  • Rated 3 of 5 by atherts from Portland, Oregon
Temple Bar

We were not overly impressed by the Temple Bar area. Either we're not average tourists, or we hadn't had nearly enough to drink. We tried it with no Guinness and once had a pint in the area. We still found it noisy, crowded, smelly (think of a damp crowded urinal and you might be close).

I think the charm ensues from a lot of Guinness, quasi-traditional music and low lighting. Evenings would be the best time to visit. There are a number of shops that have interesting products. We poked around in several music shops, but found that the prices were higher and selection worse than smaller shops in local areas. For shopping, Grafton Street was a better option.

From journal Co. Dublin

Editor Pick

Temple Bar

  • December 1, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Andrew from Toronto, Ontario
Temple Bar

Ah, Temple Bar. First off, let's make this clear: Temple Bar is not an actual bar. Well, it is, but when Dubliners refer to "Temple Bar," they actually mean an area of the city, that just happens to have a lot of bars in it. Temple Bar is actually a street (and, in fact, "bar" in this archaic sense describes a street near a river or some such thing).

Based on what I had read about Temple Bar before I arrived in Dublin, I imagined it as a sort of European Vegas: a hedonistic refuge for those looking to get drunk and crazy and damn the consequences. I had also heard that it was a popular destination for English bachelor/bachelorette parties. This turned out to be remarkably accurate -- bachelor/ette parties were everywhere, and most of the people (or at least, the loudest people) were English.

I was not all that eager to hang out with these people, so I set off in search of a pub playing live Irish music. This was not as easy as I had hoped it would be. Apparently only tourists listen to Irish music. Plenty of places advertised “live Irish music nightly”. But covers of Van Morrison, U2, and – I don’t know why – John Denver, by one guy with a guitar, are not exactly what I had in mind.

After spending a great deal of time looking for an Irish music pub, I finally decided to give in and try to enjoy Temple Bar for what it was. So first I checked out Temple Bar – the actual bar of that name. It was packed, with English and Americans. I didn’t stay long. Next I tried a place called Turk’s Head, which was also pretty packed, and which I didn’t care for because it made me feel old. Stupid kids. After this I crossed the Liffey and ended up in a place called Zanzibar, which was a little less crowded, though still busy, and seemed more my style. At first. Ultimately it was too loud and I just didn’t care for it. I wouldn’t recommend any of these places. Not to myself, at least.

A word of caution: at 2am in Dublin on a Saturday night, finding a taxi is not easy. They are everywhere, but so is the competition to get one. In fact after an hour of trying, I was still standing in the cold. Eventually I discovered, to my tremendous relief, that the city bus that went past my hotel was still running. This is why I am very pro-Dublin bus.

Oh, and in the end I did find some Irish music -- just a few songs, mind you, mixed with some other stuff, but better than nothing.

From journal A few days in Dublin

The Temple Bar

  • May 13, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by irishamck from Gloversville, New York
The Temple Bar was great! Yes, there is actually a place called the Temple Bar, not just the region. Live music is played there daily (traditonal music) and I definitely recommend stopping in when in Dublin.

The people are very friendly. In fact, my friend and I started chatting it up with an Irishman who lived in California for a bit! I even got my picture taken with him!

From journal A Song for Ireland

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