Dublin – Black Sheep

This was another in the series of Galway Bay Brewery pubs that Liam and I visited in Dublin last weekend, just a short walk away from the Paddle and Peel. As noted in my other posts, anyone wanting craft beer in Dublin is unlikely to go too far wrong by looking out for pubs operated by this brewery.

As with the other pubs, it was possible to either look at the menu on-line or on the blackboard by the bar.

I think the staff member seemed a little disappointed when we mentioned that we weren’t ordering food, although she still showed us to a suitable table in the heart of the pub rather than something out of the way. It was a Saturday afternoon and wasn’t yet very busy in the pub, although I saw a few food orders being taken out. I thought that the pub had a traditional and community feel to it, with the craft beer adding an on-trend element.

The floral display…… A pub has to know that it doesn’t have a rough clientele, as this sort of foliage isn’t really something suitable for a venue where the locals take to throwing things about the place.

I went for the Stag Stout from 9 White Deer Brewery and that was a really decent beer, as well as the Weights + Measures from Galway Bay Brewery. Reasonably priced, I was pleased with the quality of both of these, although conscious that I had worked through nearly the entirely beer menu in all the city’s Galway Bay Brewery pubs.

The pub is generally very well-reviewed on-line, although I liked the:

“Ordered the Penne Arrabiata with meatballs, bad idea. Sauce was lukewarm/cold, meatballs were dry, tough and also cold, dish covered in toasted grass?? Which was hugely unpleasant.”

I’m intrigued by the toasted grass and slightly disappointed that the customer didn’t upload their photo.

There’s still table service at pubs in Dublin (or was when we were there) and the staff member was helpful and knowledgeable about the beer options. The food looked tempting, but we’d had pizza in the pub before, so another meal seemed unnecessarily decadent. As a pub, I liked this one and it’s just a short walk from O’Connell Street.