Dublin – Porterhouse Temple Bar

I went to Porterhouse Central in Dublin a few years ago, so when Liam and I were in Dublin a couple of weeks ago we (well, I mainly) decided to try the Porterhouse Temple Bar located near to the River Liffey.

It was a Saturday evening and quite busy, with this photo being taken during a lull in proceedings. We were taken to a table which was suitable for our drinking needs, with the ordering process being efficient. It was perhaps a little soulless though in terms of the service, the downside of a busy bar. Although it’s Temple Bar on a Saturday evening, it would be unfair to expect exceptional personal treatment, but everyone was friendly.

The lighting didn’t make for great photos, but it was a convivial atmosphere with plenty going on in terms of the internal decoration.

I was going to get a photo of the drinks menu, but they took it away, so I made do taking a photo of the one in the toilets (there were no other customers in there). Not quite as decadent, not quite as clear, but it shows the various beer styles.

There were three dark beers, so I had half a pint of each to save me burdening myself by having to choose. I think I got them in the right order for putting on Untappd, although it was slightly fiddly as they all looked the same. They were all brewed by the brewery who operates the pub, the Porterhouse Brew Co and I thought they were all pretty much of an equal quality, which was decent but not exceptional in terms of the richness of taste. The three beers were the Irish Stout, the Plain Porter and the XXXX (that’s the name, I haven’t forgotten what the beer was called). As a random aside, it reminded me that Dublin is a great place to get dark beer given the whole presence of Guinness ensuring that stouts and porters are never far from the mind of the customer.

Some of the decoration outside the toilets.

And enjoying the drinks. I note that I always look slightly grumpy…..

Although this is a touristy and busy location, it’s still a really good pub with a friendly ambience, an interesting atmosphere and a comfortable environment. Although I went for a dark beer fest, there are numerous other beer types available brewed by Porterhouse. The service was timely, the prices were reasonable and I’m fairly confident from my experience in their other venue that the food would also be of a very acceptable quality. It might be a little touristy, but that shouldn’t deter tourists from going at least for a quick (or not quite so quick) drink……