Temple Bar is fine for a pint and a photo but it is not where Dubliners drink. The good pubs in Dublin are in the streets you would walk past if you were not looking. Six worth the detour.
The Brazen Head, Bridge Street
Pulling pints since 1198. Yes really. The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Ireland and one of the oldest in Europe. The cobbled courtyard is small and gets full quickly in summer. Inside the rooms are low-ceilinged and properly atmospheric. The food is decent stew-and-potato pub fare. Trad sessions most nights from around nine in the evening.
The Long Hall, South Great George's Street
Victorian original. The bar runs the length of the long narrow room, the mirrors and the gas-lit lamps are the originals from 1881, and the carved wooden bar back is the most photographed in the country. Tom Cruise drank here when he was filming Far and Away. So has Bruce Springsteen. So have several million Dubliners.
Mulligan's, Poolbeg Street
Mulligan's is a journalists' pub. The Irish Times used to be on Fleet Street next door and the Mulligan's downstairs bar still has the wooden booths where reporters used to file copy by phone. James Joyce wrote about it. The pint is reckoned by serious drinkers to be the best in Dublin.
Where do locals go on a Friday after work?
Grogan's on South William Street, behind Brown Thomas. The toasted ham and cheese sandwich and a pint of Guinness is the unofficial Dublin Friday lunch. The walls are covered in the work of Irish painters who would trade canvases for tabs. The crowd skews artistic and political.
The Stag's Head, Dame Court
Hidden down a small alley off Dame Street. The Stag's Head has a stained-glass dome over the main bar, original mahogany fittings, and one of the most reliable pints in the city. Come for an early evening drink before dinner. Tourists find it eventually but it never gets the Temple Bar crush.
The Cobblestone, Smithfield
The best place in Dublin to hear trad music played for the people in the room rather than for camera phones. The back room is small and the players sit at a table while the audience listens. Sessions every night. No food, no fancy gin menu, just the music. North side of the river, fifteen minute walk from Temple Bar.
What is the difference between a Dublin pub and an Irish bar?
An Irish bar serves Guinness, plays trad on a speaker, and decorates with vintage tin signs the owner bought in bulk. A Dublin pub has fittings older than your country, a clientele that includes regulars who would notice if the brass needed polishing, and a barman who pulls your pint without you needing to ask twice. The places above are pubs.
How long does a proper pint of Guinness take to pour?
About a hundred and twenty seconds. The two-part pour. First fill three-quarters and let it settle, then top it off with the dome of foam. A barman who serves you a pint in under a minute does not respect Guinness or you. Be patient.
Are there any non-stout options worth trying?
Yes. Hopfully Lager, Trouble Brewing's Vietnow, and Galway Bay's Of Foam and Fury (which is brewed in Galway but is on tap all over Dublin) are all good local craft options. The Porterhouse on Parliament Street has the widest non-Guinness tap list in the city.