10/01/2022
Travel & Leisureās January 2022 Edition gives its suggestions for The Best Places in Dublin to Eat, Drink, and Shop in Dublin.
They suggest staying at The Shelbourne. Much as I love the grand dame, especially now that her nubile Nubians are back in position, I think that the Merrion has far better rooms, and is not part of a chain.
It then suggests breakfast at Brother Hubbard as a decadent treat. Not sure about that either. My experience of Brother Hubbard (which I do like) has been more Heytsbury Street Hipster than Decadent. In the absence of The Country Shop, where would I bring a visitor to Dublin for breakfast? Maybe Bewleys for the atmosphere. Or Alma, on the South Circular, though thatās still a bit too Heytsbury Street Hipster. My favourite greasy spoon by the Fruit and Veg market is now a building site, but on that side of town is Wuff in Smithfield which is pretty good. But for real Dublin character it has to be Dekeās Diner in a container on the Ringsend roundabout.
It then suggests a 1916 walking tour. Nah. Thereās more to Dublin than the Easter Rising. Our own walking tours do the full 4,000 years, from the slight stone age settlement to some slightly good modern buildings!
Snag lunch at Fish Shop. Hmmm. Fine if you like fish and are not gluten free. I think that I would have chosen The Fumbally or the cafƩ at The Hugh Lane Gallery or The Silk Road CafƩ at the Chester Beatty. But for Dublin style and originality maybe it should be Assassination Custard on Kevin Street.
Make your way to Brown Thomas for a personal shopping experience. I canāt argue with that, though my bank manager might. We offer a great at, antiques and craft shops tour. And I love the Joycean literary tours. And wealthy fashionistas should not miss Louise Kennedyās atelier on Merrion Square.
Visit the stunning Trinity College Library. I find myself in 100% agreement, though be quick before it closes for refurbishment.
Dine on the Early Bird Special at Richmond. Yes, the Richmond is definitely one of a cornucopia of great dining places that have appeared around Dublin over the last few years ā Bastible, Forest and Marcy, Variety Jones, -- I donāt think that I could have picked just one.
And finally for the pub experience it suggests that you order a pint or a dram at The Palace Bar on Fleet Street. A perfectly respectable bar, but there are so many others ā The Stagās Head, upstairs at The Bruxelles, The Cobblestone for music, The Gravediggers. Famously, Toners on Baggot Street was the only pub that W.B. Yeats ever had a drink in. He was brought into the snug by Oliver St John Gogarty and not enjoying the experience, never set foot in a pub again. Perhaps the best bar to visit would be Sam Stephenson's 1957 Horseshoe Bar in The Shelbourne described with forensic accuracy by a previous GM, paraphrasing Dorian Gray, as being full of āladies with a past and men with no futureā.
