Night out in Dublin

Any recommendations for a good night out in Dublin for a couple of first time visitors to Dublin who are in their early/mid 20’s? They are from New York but recently relocated to London.
Thanks

Dublinchick said:

Any recommendations for a good night out in Dublin for a couple of first time visitors to Dublin who are in their early/mid 20’s? They are from New York but recently relocated to London.
Thanks

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I'd recommend Cafe en Seine

I'd recommend O'Donoghue's or somewhere else with a trad session, I imagine there's hundreds of Cafe en seins lookalikes all over New York.

How well do you know the people Dublinchick?

Do you know what sort of things they are into? Any Noo Yoikers I've met would normally look for a pretty active night. Would they appreciate something a bit different from the norm?

Thanks for the info.
I worked with one of them for a year. They are orignally Korean/American and the reason they relocated to London was for an experience new things, so I would say they something a bit different would really appeal to them.

The literary pub crawl is supposed to be good (haven't done it myself though) and has appealed to the visitors we've entertained over the years.

If they like trying different beers, The Porterhouse is good with their beer selection from their micro brewery. Think they may also have music some nights too.

The Dawson Lounge is good for the novelty factor (top of Dawson St, down-stairs) - its the smallest pub in Ireland apparently.

OP - what sort of night do you have in mind?

I'd imagine all you'll get suggest if you don't specify is booze related.

D2 on Harcourt St. is good. Nice crowd, good music and loads of the essential toilets . They also have a great beer garden out back and have different nights that they do specials.

See the following links:

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What about one of the Hooley nights in johnny foxes? Bit far out i know, but plenty of b an b's around, well worth a trip for good old irish traditional music, food, and drink

or anywhere in temple bar, its brilliant there at night, the atmosphere is electric.

Olly64 said:

or anywhere in temple bar, its brilliant there at night, the atmosphere is electric.

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Please don't recommend that hellhole to anyone. Its one of the most awful places in Dublin. Rowdy drunken stag/hen parties, overcrowded overpriced pubs and a dangerous place to be later on in the night. Even the restaurants there are poor given that they are mainly catering to tourists and not repeat business. As previous posters said the Dawson St area is far nicer and more reflective of the real Dublin eg Kehoes, McDaids et al.

stags head than on toward grafton street area. For clubs perhaps Krystle as the latest 'trendy' place. For a night of just pubs and no club perhaps Dakota. Ron Blacks is alright, pricey though, but as new yorkers they should be used to that. Depends on whether they want a dance floor toward the end of the nite. Finish it in Abrakebabra for 100% prime Irish beef

Kehoes is a great spot then across the way to Bruxelles lively bar with music. The Hub (just off temple bar) is another great spot for live music

Coppers

SOM42 said:

Please don't recommend that hellhole to anyone. Its one of the most awful places in Dublin. Rowdy drunken stag/hen parties, overcrowded overpriced pubs and a dangerous place to be later on in the night. Even the restaurants there are poor given that they are mainly catering to tourists and not repeat business. As previous posters said the Dawson St area is far nicer and more reflective of the real Dublin eg Kehoes, McDaids et al.

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Totally agree. About 2 years ago decided I'd like a Tex Mex, went into a restuarant in Temple Bar at 8pm, ordered a meal, and 1 hour later no sign of it. After repeatedly asking for it as I was starving, I left at 9.30pm to go somewhere else (for even a bag of chips at that stage). The crowds that were outside at that time, made my blood run cold. Without elaborating, I really felt unsafe and promptly got a taxi home. I would never, ever bring anyone I had visiting Ireland into that area at night.

cinders said:

The literary pub crawl is supposed to be good (haven't done it myself though) and has appealed to the visitors we've entertained over the years.

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I can definitely recommend the literary pub crawl. We had to entertain a student relative from the West Coast on a round the world trip.

I tagged along myself and was surprised at how good the night was. The actors were very good and there was one Brendan Behan sketch about a donkey and a convent which has us falling around the street with laughter.

There is also more than enough drinking time (pubs... included O'Neills Suffolk Street, Davy Byrnes, The Old Stand).

I left my car in town overnight!

How about a trip on the Ghost Bus to begin the night - [broken link removed]
or a bit of culture at the Abbey theatre - [broken link removed]
then finish off in a late-night traditional session where they can rub shoulders with real Irish people.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I've passed them on (and told them to avoid Temple Bar). I'll let you know what they ended up doing!

I'll just fill in some of the gaps in the accounts given above. Temple bar isnt as bad as some people seem to think. Its a diverse place.

There are a few pubs there which are like little england for stag parties but theres other places which are more diverse such as the porterhouse and the oak pub and Eamon Dorans at Temple bar Square.

Also Sin Nightclub down the laneway next to the Olympia is probably one of the few places you can go on Sunday night till 4 or 5 am.(which I dont recommend if you have to go to work the next day)
Restaurant, bar, shift and catering staff who work when others are enjoying themselves go to Sin on Sunday night because this is the only time they have off. Also visitors who are here for the weekend go there too as they dont want to sleep on a holiday just beecause its a Sunday.
Regarding food , I'd advise everyone to avoid Abrakebabara. They put me off fast food for life and I havent touched fast food for the last 2 years as a result of my last experience.

For culture in the daytime, I would recommend the girls get on the tour bus which goes around the city and stops are various interesting places such as the Museum in Benburb Street , the Phoenix park and they can stop off at Kilmainham Jail and listen to a very entertaining and educational story of Irish history which will help them appreciate how things are the way they are today.
The bus (if they choose the route I recommend) will pass through Fitzwilliam square and Stephens Green and they will get to see the historic architecture of a nice part of the city while listening to a tour guide.

I would also recommend they take a bus from St Andrews Street Tourism centre (at the back of Grafton Street) to NewGrange. Being related to an ancient Korean culture themselves, they should be impressed that this structure is world class in terms of historic significance.

They did the bus tour and really enjoyed it, stopping off at all the usual stops and maganged to a street preformer fair that was on in Merrion Square. They checked out the Porter house and doing a pub crawl around the area. They went to Elephant and Castle for brunch on Sunday and said it was 'the best brunch they have ever had'. Thanks again for all the useful information!