Sidetracked in the capital
In the new Dublin, you can play Spiderman on the roof of Croke Park (skylinecrokepark.ie). You can bring your own wine (and vinyl) to The Vintage Kitchen (thevintagekitchen.ie). You can visit a Bram Stoker Museum in Clontarf (thestokerdraculamuseum.com), or you can spend Saturday slipping over to Dalkey Island in a kayak (deepblueseakayaking.com).
We know South William Street has had a second coming. But Capel Street, which has looked a year from ruin ever since I first visited, is bubbling with new arrivals — from independent cafes, like Brother Hubbard, (brotherhubard.ie) to restaurants, like Musashi (musashidublin.com), a Japanese joint as small and perfectly formed as its sashimi.
Then, there’s The Hacienda (nearby, at 15 Little Mary St). This sealed-off bar looks grim and forbidding, but ring the buzzer and Shay, the barman, moseys out. He ushers you into a weird and wonderful drinking emporium decorated with everything from dartboards to diving helmets. A paragraph can’t do it justice; a pint might.
For the repeat visitor, and the locals, this is excellent news. First-timers can flock to Temple Bar, the Guinness Storehouse and Trinity College, but for those of us nosing out the nuance, these are exciting times.
I’m tempted to give an honorary Dublin Bus award (‘You wait for ages, then three arrive at once’) to that rarest of birds: the urban roof garden. Pessimists sniggered when The Marker (themarkerhoteldublin.com) announced that its crowning glory would be a roof garden inspired by the Burren, but it was one of the hottest spaces in the city during the heatwave. There’s an al fresco courtyard slotted into The Gibson Hotel (thegibsonhotel.ie), complete with Asian greenery and funky, neon bucket seats.
You don’t have to buy a drink to get a rooftop perspective. The elegant little garden atop the Chester Beatty Library (clb.ie; free) has surprising views over Dublin Castle and few Dubliners know it exists.
The garden’s Japanese feel is no surprise. The Chester Beatty houses the most valuable gift given to the Irish nation — a priceless collection of manuscripts, prints, icons, miniatures, books and objets d’art collected by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. Treasures range from jade books to dragon robes worn by emperors.
Several new restaurants have been showered with publicity, with 777 (777.ie), Damson Diner (damsondiner.com) and Fade Street Social (fadestreetsocial.com) striking a chord with affordable food, zippy cocktails and smashing people-watching.
Others are below-radar, working word of mouth without the free pass that a PR company or famous friends can bring. Yamamori’s Izakaya (yamamoriizakaya.ie) is a cool network of rooms in the old Bewley’s on South Great George’s Street — you can take a pew at the counter, join a communal table in a space plastered with movie posters and vintage Asian beer ads, or pop downstairs to the whiskey lounge. A plum sake or sake martini is perfect for the wee hours when you want more than a bar, but less than a club. Another bright idea is the resurrection of a 150-year-old wine business in the basement of 28 South William Street. Bagots Hutton (twitter.com/bagotshutton) may look snooty, with its pallet of Chesterfields, candles and wines-by-the glass, but it does some very moreish food boards, a recent ‘cheesy Tuesday’ offered a free cheeseboard with every bottle of wine, and the chill-out vibes are subtly pumped up as day seeps into night... clock the DJ, dahling.
If you like the Little Museum of Dublin (littlemuseum.ie), then you’ll love the littler museum flat at the Iveagh Trust (01-4542313; €2). Open to small groups, by appointment, No 3B has been preserved since its last tenant, 95-year-old Nellie Molloy, died. Nellie kept the three rooms as they had been since 1915.
The result is a living space frozen in time. An old Lambert range is set with newspaper for kindling, floral wallpaper is bedecked with religious images and sepia family portraits; brass bedknobs, musty travel chests and old crockery hark back to the earliest years of Sir Edward Cecil Guinness’s famous affordable-housing project.
“Mine’s a Bison Kick.” That’s all you need to say at Bison Bar (bisonbar.ie), a brilliant little addition to Wellington Quay. Great, big hunks of meat are all you’ll find on the menu here — they’ve topped their stools with leather saddles — but the insider’s tip is to sink a few cocktails, before making your way up the backstairs after midnight. You’ll emerge into the beating heart of The Workman’s Club — a grimy series of Georgian rooms into which 20-somethings are squeezed like sardines.
“Mark this joint down.” So tweeted New York Times columnist, David Carr, when he checked into Number 31 (number31.ie; doubles from €150) recently.
A hush-hush hideaway splitting 21 rooms across a Georgian townhouse and mews designed by Sam Stephenson, Number 31 is one of the best small hotels in the city. Highlights include a dainty garden, sunken lounge and gorgeous communal breakfasts... that Charles Haughey and Terry Keane liaised here may or may not be as appetising. Travelling with friends, or fancy self-catering? Quirky options include the Martello Tower in Sutton (martellotowersutton.com; €420 for two nights), with two bedrooms and a kitchen with 360-degrees over Dublin Bay. In Temple Bar, the 18th century, No. 25 Eustace Street has been restored by the Irish Landmark Trust (irishlandmark.com; sleeping seven at €300 per night).
For the best alternative listings, check out Le Cool Dublin (lecool.com/Dublin), follow Visit Dublin’s #LoveDublin on Twitter, or pick up a copy of Totally Dublin (totallydublin.ie).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
