We had the pleasure of spending the day in Dublin before taking the train westward. This isn’t your typical museum, parks, and Guinness Open Gate tour itinerary. We did make it to a few touristy spots, but mostly we were just focused on eating and drinking our way through this Irish city. We arrived late on a rainy evening to Dublin Airport (DUB), where lucky for us there are very convenient bus options to get you to city center from the airport.
Bus Options From The Airport
The 757 for €7 – This line will connect with most stops in the main city center and boasts free wifi on board. If you buy online here in advance, you can save a bit of money.
Aircoach for €8 – While this is the most expensive option, it operates on a 24-hour basis so for late night flights this may be your best choice.
Dublin Bus 16 which is just €3.30. This is the public bus which will take a bit longer as there are more stops along the route, but if you are on a budget this is a good option.
We opted for the 757 since it was cold, wet, late, and because it would drop
us off almost at our hotel’s door step.
Where To Stay
We stayed at the Harcourt Hotel which was a nice location for ease of getting around. It also boasted an affordable price. We paid €85 which isn’t quite hostel or backpacker’s budget, but very reasonable for a hotel in Dublin. What we failed to take into consideration was it’s great location for partying into the early morning hours. Late night partying really isn’t something we enjoy so we headed to bed not knowing that in an hour or so the city would come alive and the club on the ground floor of our hotel would turn into the hub of partygoers.
The hotel itself was nice. There is a charm about it with it’s polished dark wood and grand staircase going from the lobby to the upper floors. The rooms are out of date but they were clean and cozy. Something that is always important to us is that the staff is friendly and at the Harcourt they were exceptionally so. If you don’t want to travel far for a drink or bite to eat, there is a restaurant and bar on the first floor that stays open late.
Location : 60 Harcourt St, Saint Kevin’s, Dublin
Eating and Drinking
Brunch at Veginity
My wife didn’t want our day to start with a couple of pints for breakfast so instead we headed to Veginity to put something a little more substantial in our bellies. A plant-based restaurant is usually not my first choice when it comes to picking a restaurant but Megan came across this place when
searching the web and the food looked enticing. Before getting a brick and mortar restaurant, they were awarded best street food twice. We arrived to a nearly empty restaurant just after 11am which we just attributed to it being a Thursday and a little bit off of the tourist path. After placing our orders, we realized they are busiest first thing in the morning because they were already sold out of the pizza rolls we wanted to try. Veginity has a
selection of draft kombucha that are very interesting, quite tasty, and a refreshing addition to any meal. The food did not disappoint and if I found myself passing through Dublin again I would like to give
their dinner menu a try.
Location : 101 Dorset Street Upper, Inns Quay, Dublin
Grabbing The Perfect Pint
Now that the formality of eating was out of the way, I could focus on the more important thing, the PINT! There are of course many places to grab the perfect pint in Dublin. We chose to go with one of the oldest pubs in Dublin, The Long Hall. It was just what I was looking for in a pub – Victorian decor and traditional Irish charm. We stayed here for two pints, chatting it up with the bartender and just enjoying the feel of this place.
Location : 51 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2
Dublin Craft Beer + Pizza
While you can’t think about beer in Ireland without thinking of Guinness, there is, however, a growing and successful craft beer scene. I wanted to check out the local brewery scene so we hopped on the 13 bus that headed towards Inchicore to visit Rascals HQ.
Tip: if you don’t have a pass you will need exact change in coins to ride the bus. The one way to the brewery cost us €6.
After a half hour bus ride we arrived to Rascals HQ just after they opened. We were promptly seated at a table as there is no bar seating option. We quickly looked over the beer selection eager to try some new brews. After much deliberation, we chose the core beer flight and two pints that sounded interesting to us. Each brew was unique and complex. Rascals is also home to some delicious pizzas so of course we had to try one of those too. Who the hell doesn’t like pizza and beer? Fresh ingredients, crispy crust, and a little bit of heat. The pie we chose had tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, chorizo, jalapeños, roasted peppers. Damn that pizza was good!
Location : Goldenbridge Estate, Tyrconnell Rd, Inchicore, Dublin
Oysters + Guinness at Temple Bar
Needing to let our food settle and walk off some of the beer we decided to skip the bus and walk back to city center. We took our time and minus the few stops along the way it only took about an hour of walking time. The next stop on our agenda was a huge tourist draw but I was craving oysters and Guinness so we headed to The Temple Bar where we were able to get a seat right away at the window. Oysters and Guinness really is the perfect pairing. Personally I tend to be a purest and just a squeeze of lemon suits me just fine, but these oysters came with all of the fixings you could possibly want.
Location : 47-48 Temple Bar, Dublin,
Dinner at Against The Grain
When it was time for dinner, we chose a place that was recommended to us by our server at Rascals. Against the Grain is a modern bar offering up 32 draught selections and an elevated pub food menu. This place didn’t miss the mark when it came to the food. It was bursting with flavor in every bite. As for the beer, they carried a good selection of both local and international brews. If you are looking to have a good sit down meal, this is definitely worth checking out.
Location : 11 Wexford St, Dublin
Breakfast On-The-Go
Before heading to the airport or train station, make sure you stop by one of the locations for The Rolling Donut. This Irish family owned business has been turning heads since 1978 and ours were no exception. The beautifully decorated rings of dough lined the street-facing window beckoning us inside. We each picked our own and splitting a third was a definite necessity. Megan is already trying to work Dublin back into our itinerary so she can get her fingers sticky with these again.
Locations : 55 South King Street, Dublin 2
There are a few other locations that can be found on their website, but this was the closest walk from our hotel.
Well that was our day in Dublin. We hope it helps you out a bit if you find your way here. Just remember to research your hotel location before booking so you don’t make the same mistake as us – but hell, if partying until the earlier hours is your thing, Harcourt Hotel is where to be!
Cheers,
Matt & Megan
Comments
It certainly sounds like it was a great day in Dublin.