Irish pubs on Holidays

HensVassal · 23-06-2016 08:54PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Never mind abroad: the idea of going to an "Irish" pub in Ireland is the mother of all turn-offs, except for the blaring 24-7 sports on all the tvs drowning out your conversation (often with the addition of loud music). They are never turned off in these supposedly "traditional" Irish pubs. Awfully anti-social experience.

What the fcuk are you talking about? Every single pub in Ireland has a tv showing some sport and music so loud you can't hear yourself think? Stop with the stupid hyperbole.
I could name a dozen pubs in Dublin city centre that are as quiet and peaceful as libraries.

Spanish Eyes · 23-06-2016 08:57PM

HensVassal wrote: »

What the fcuk are you talking about? Every single pub in Ireland has a tv showing some sport and music so loud you can't hear yourself think? Stop with the stupid hyperbole.
I could name a dozen pubs in Dublin city centre that are as quiet and peaceful as libraries.

Please share. Genuinely. Only one I can think of is the Library Bar in the Central, and you can never get a sofa there. But it's nice just the same, if that's what you want.

Very few places do not have TV. Some have muted them, but they are there just the same. I suppose they need them for big sports fixtures to get the crowd in. I can understand that. But where are they!!

Electric Sheep · 23-06-2016 09:00PM

Some people just don't like leaving their comfort zone even when abroad. You see it with some Americans who insist on staying at a chain hotel that they are familiar with, rather than trying somewhere more authentic.

HensVassal · 23-06-2016 09:07PM

Strumms wrote: »

There is also an Irish bar in Schipol airport in Amsterdam that doesn't sell Guinness and there used to be one in Nice airport also but that's now gone...

That's because its owned by Murphy's.

HensVassal · 23-06-2016 09:14PM

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Please share. Genuinely. Only one I can think of is the Library Bar in the Central, and you can never get a sofa there. But it's nice just the same, if that's what you want.

Very few places do not have TV. Some have muted them, but they are there just the same. I suppose they need them for big sports fixtures to get the crowd in. I can understand that. But where are they!!

Ok, so you've gone from Irish pubs all being deafening television showrooms that are an anti-social experience, to most of them having tv's that are muted? What is it now?

23-06-2016 09:15PM

Electric Sheep wrote: »

Some people just don't like leaving their comfort zone even when abroad. You see it with some Americans who insist on staying at a chain hotel that they are familiar with, rather than trying somewhere more authentic.

Authentic?

How can a hotel be inauthentic?

I know a lot of very clever travellers, American and others, who stay in budget hotels in order to maximise their budget for more valued experiences... such as drinking in an Irish bar!

People who prioritise spending money on hotels they deem to be "authentic" sound totally boring. A bit like those folk who upload dozens of hotel pics to their facebook.

Spanish Eyes · 23-06-2016 09:20PM

Electric Sheep wrote: »

Some people just don't like leaving their comfort zone even when abroad. You see it with some Americans who insist on staying at a chain hotel that they are familiar with, rather than trying somewhere more authentic.

If they are part of a tour group, IME they go to bed at half nine. And then start looking for the ice machine to top up their JD in the room.

No ice machines here. So warm JD then. Lol.

Spanish Eyes · 23-06-2016 09:21PM

HensVassal wrote: »

Ok, so you've gone from Irish pubs all being deafening television showrooms that are an anti-social experience, to most of them having tv's that are muted? What is it now?

Stop! what...... I don't think I did, but whatever.

Strumms · 23-06-2016 09:23PM

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

When I lived in France I made an Irish bar my local (Green Goose... best Irish bar in Paris; none of that Christy Moore shite forced down your throat, either)

I have heard a few good things about that place in particular the food from a friend who still lives over there.

Best one in Paris closed now sadly was the Leeson St. Not a tacky place just very authentic and lovely people ran it as well as drank there. Used to go there and watch the Dubs matches. Very much an ex-pats place rather then touristy you'd have to be given a map with directions to find it and still that would have been a task... getting out of it was the hard part. :eek::pac:

Strumms · 23-06-2016 09:25PM

HensVassal wrote: »

That's because its owned by Murphy's.

Ahh ok yes they did sell Murphy's but would never have suspected Murphy's of owning the place. Interesting.

Mint Sauce · 23-06-2016 09:26PM

Off a weeks holiday. Maybe one night.

Mec27 · 23-06-2016 09:28PM

irish bar in madrid was savage, i'm open to everything, the idea of sitting in an irish bar watching a dublin match when its 30 degrees outside however does not appeal.

FixdePitchmark · 23-06-2016 09:37PM

Deleted User wrote: »

In France, I make a beeline for the Irish pub.

The alternative is 2 old fellows drinking Pernod in a café talking about the Algerian War while kids kick a "Flipper" machine.

I get the cultural thing, but when I've spent the day going from museum to chateau I just like a drink in nice surroundings and the cafes where French people drink are usually anything but.

Well said, just back from France and just trying to get a pint is an ordeal. Not to mention how slow it is.

I use to be into this sort of Irish Pub snobbery - but after traveling the world and seeing the alternative, The Irish Pub can really do so much so quick.

People go on about Irish Pubs being just Brainless idiots - I've met all types in them.

So - always worth a look is my experience - and seeing a game is a very important thing for some.

And - this may be a shock as an Irishman.

I'll mix with anyone - but I love the Irish , imagine that.
Fun, funny, they tell you about stuff they have done, they tell you about their county, they tell you the news, they never leave you on your own if you want company.

Gen.Zhukov · 23-06-2016 09:46PM

Mec27 wrote: »

irish bar in madrid was savage, i'm open to everything, the idea of sitting in an irish bar watching a dublin match when its 30 degrees outside however does not appeal.

O'Neill's ?

Great bar. Irish barmen, but most of the people I met there were Spanish/Scans/Oz/Kiwi/Euros etc. Irish pubs in a big city are ok as they attract party animals from everywhere.
Good one in Gotenberg too.

Irish pubs in holiday resorts.........nah !

Strumms · 23-06-2016 10:40PM

1.618 wrote: »

O'Neill's ?

Great bar. Irish barmen, but most of the people I met there were Spanish/Scans/Oz/Kiwi/Euros etc. Irish pubs in a big city are ok as they attract party animals from everywhere.
Good one in Gotenberg too.

Irish pubs in holiday resorts.........nah !

I'm often in Madrid and I will say that O'Neills is a good bar, food is excellent and I like the fact that they have a late night snack menu till almost closing like mini sliders and so on, also the fact that they have a good pool table and it's great to watch a match in there.

I found the staff very hit and miss though.. they seem to hire a lot of hot young Spanish girls in particular for the evening shifts and they are pretty terrible but a good place on the whole if you can get past that, the terribleness not the hotness.

:pac:

Gen.Zhukov · 23-06-2016 11:07PM

Strumms wrote: »

I'm often in Madrid and I will say that O'Neills is a good bar, food is excellent and I like the fact that they have a late night snack menu till almost closing like mini sliders and so on, also the fact that they have a good pool table and it's great to watch a match in there.

I found the staff very hit and miss though.. they seem to hire a lot of hot young Spanish girls in particular for the evening shifts and they are pretty terrible but a good place on the whole if you can get past that, the terribleness not the hotness. :pac:

It's been a good while since I was in Madrid. Hot young Spanish girls you say, mmmm........... There was none of that ' type of thing ' going on when last there

Maireadio · 23-06-2016 11:20PM

As long as you're soaking up the culture of your destination in one way or other (if you want to of course), I don't see the problem with heading into an Irish bar to relax and catch a game. Holidays are about relaxation as much as adventure. Now, I think it'd be a waste to spend every evening in one but a couple of times over the course of the holiday is grand.

The King of Moo · 23-06-2016 11:27PM

If you go on holiday in France or Italy and try to find pubs straight away,

a) why did you go to France or Italy? and

b) congratulations, you're probably an alcoholic.

Deleted User wrote: »

In France, I make a beeline for the Irish pub.

The alternative is 2 old fellows drinking Pernod in a café talking about the Algerian War while kids kick a "Flipper" machine.

I get the cultural thing, but when I've spent the day going from museum to chateau I just like a drink in nice surroundings and the cafes where French people drink are usually anything but.

Huh? That sounds so much more interesting than listening to some drunk befreckled gom from Ballytirpet with flakes of skin from his scalded nose dripping into your tepid pint of poured-in-one-go Guinness telling you about how they didn't give him milk with his tae at breakfast and they only had crossents and buns, and sure at dinner the shteak was pink inside and he had to send it back twice and the second time it was awful salty!

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Because most people are only going there in the evening, or for a couple of pints? Not the whole day?

Next time I go to Chez Max beside Dublin Castle, I'm going to walk up to some French tourists and sardonically inquire as to why they're in a French joint when they're on holiday.

Béotiens.

Because French food is great?

Sh1tbag OToole · 23-06-2016 11:29PM

The worst and most expensive pint of Guinness I ever drank came out of an Irish pub in Torshavn

Maireadio · 24-06-2016 01:32AM

Fratton Fred wrote: »

The resort in Lanzarote I used to go to had the usual assortment of Irish, Scottish and English bars. I swear people would get off the plane, unpack, put on their GAA, Scotland or England Jersey, go to the appropriate pub and sit there for the duration.

Why the **** bother going on holiday?

Whilst the above wouldn't be my thing at all, the big difference is, you're going to the pub in a warm climate. If you're in a beer garden, you're soaking up the rays which you wouldn't usually get to do in these isles except for a snatched week here and there. And you're relaxing day after day rather then working. So, it is different to being at home really.

Electric Sheep wrote: »

And of course you couldn't think of a single other thing to do on holiday besides go to a bar...

But it might be one of many things you want to do on holiday. Why not visit as a bar at some stage during your holiday?

Maireadio · 24-06-2016 01:38AM

HensVassal wrote: »

I'd also like to add that the Irish pub is a good place to go to to meet local woman who are interested in Irish blokes. First night in Dusseldorf got the shift off a German bird in the Irish pub in the Altstadt. Result!

The shift? Ding ding ding! I hope you used protection! :pac:

Dj Stiggie · 24-06-2016 02:01AM

Have worked in plenty of Irish bars around Europe, all in cities though bar one in a small holiday town in Montenegro, which as some posters have pointed out, are good places to go for a pint. Resorts are a different kettle of fish.

It can be hard to just go and get a standard pint and a bit of craic, especially if you've just arrived and don't have a feel for the place.

I work in a craft beer bar now, and really the clientele isn't much different. However, myself and my foreign friends usually go to expat bars, or staff where you don't need the local language to work in because local staff are known to be crap and usually make you feel like you've inconvenienced them by walking in the door, which I've never felt in a well run Irish bar.

ProudDUB · 24-06-2016 02:38AM

Was at a family wedding in Portugal during the 2014 World Cup. Did touristy stuff during the day, but we spent all 5 (non wedding) evenings watching the football in the Irish pub, across the road from our hotel. It was jammers full of English, Irish and the odd German. The food was pure muck...chicken currys, lasagne, mixed grills etc etc, but the local wine was excellent and dirt cheap, so over all it was great craic. The misery of the English only made it better.

When I got home, I did regret not sampling the local Portugese seafood at the restaurants at the nearby marina. But some of my cousins went & and they said it was very hit and miss. You had to dig thru loads of over priced 'slop for the tourists, who don't know any better' dishes, to get one really great local tapas dish - sardine pate, I think. Very surly staff too. People were expected to piss off as soon as they finished their meal. Lingering & relaxing during and after your meal, or sitting and watching the sun set over the marina, over a glass of wine, wasn't encouraged. At all. Which is fair enough in a restaurant, I suppose....

But perhaps that is why the Irish bar over seas has such appeal...it somewhere that you hang out and linger for a while, in friendly and familiar surroundings, without undue pressure to be on your way?

Maireadio · 24-06-2016 02:47AM

The King of Moo wrote: »

If you go on holiday in France or Italy and try to find pubs straight away,

a) why did you go to France or Italy? and

b) congratulations, you're probably an alcoholic.

Judgy Wudgy was a bear.

People have given good reasons for dropping into an Irish bar on the first evening of a holiday. Did you read what those reasons were? And I don't drink very much at all and very often, the first night of a holiday will be one of the few times during that holiday when I go and have a few drinks (not necessarily at an Irish bar). It allows to me to get my bearings and have a chat with my travelling companions about the various plans for the holiday and maybe get tips from people who know the area. And it just sort of launches the holiday.

Many people on-thread have also pointed out that going to a pub is only a small part of their holiday and that they do lots of cultural things also. Soaking up culture, trying local food and seeing beautiful scenery on holiday is great but for many, me included, holidays are also about relaxation and doing things you enjoy in a hot climate. For many, having a few drinks is relaxing in the evening, and transplanting that to a warm climate enhances it. It's not remotely a waste of time. People work hard and want to spend their holiday unwinding, not racing around all the time. If a small portion of that relaxation involves drinking a familiar drink that you like and watching some sports, what's the problem with that?

I can never understand how judgmental some people are of others' holiday activities. There's more than one way to do something well. Ironically, I find people who can't wrap their heads around the fact that you can do both cultural things and familiar things on holiday to be far less imaginative than people who may drop into an Irish bar one or two evenings of their holiday.

Alf Stewart. · 24-06-2016 05:25AM

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Just wondering how many people here go to Irish pubs when away on holidays,
I know some people love them but i just don't get it ,why spend your holidays in them when you have them here ,
Each to there own and what ever makes you happy and all that but am i alone in staying clear of them on holidays ?

I've never understood the attraction either.

A few years back, I was in a fairly upmarket part of the Algarve, in the main town there was a few restaurants, shops bars, the usual you'd expect to find while on your holidays.

Anyway, there was one decent looking Portuguese bar in particular, it had a sign displaying "1€ large beers" and inside the bar/open area was quite tasteful, with a fairly ddecent, high quality tapas menu on offer.

Most nights the place had 6-8 patrons.

The Irish bar(s) of which there was two, had €3 beers, and the only thing I could see on the "menu" were taytos "imported from ireland" and peanuts.

This was in the summer of 2014, so world cup season, and the Irish bars were PACKED.

Couldn't get me head round that one for a good while tbh.

robbiezero · 24-06-2016 08:02AM

Electric Sheep wrote: »

And of course you couldn't think of a single other thing to do on holiday besides go to a bar...

You can do lots of stuff and also go to a bar.

OldMrBrennan83 · 24-06-2016 08:08AM

This post has been deleted.

andekwarhola · 24-06-2016 08:15AM

They're handy if you want to catch a sports game on the TV but apart from that, I'd prefer to drink somewhere local for a change of scene, beer and prices.

That said, looking down on other people's holiday choices isn't my thing. The purpose of a holiday for most people is just to relax in the sun away from work. Only students or neckbeards tend to be interested in your holiday authenticity merit badge.

robbiezero · 24-06-2016 08:17AM

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

So you can bore people senseless by talking about it when you get back and also look clever.

Maireadio · 24-06-2016 09:10AM

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

You don't have to!

Totally up to you, my post was not meant as the definitive view on the subject.

Irish pubs on Holidays

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