The price of a drink in Dublin

Mammanabammana · 04-09-2012 4:07pm #1

So I just went into a pub in Dublin looking for the (belated) hair of the dog...not sure if I should name and shame here but for now I'm just gonna throw this out there, he tried to charge me just under €14(!!!) for a large gin and tonic...needless to say I told him not to bother and walked up the road to the next pub which charged me just under €10 for the same drink...but like, wtf? :eek: How can they get away with charging a price like this? Which is the standard price for that drink in Dublin?

kfallon · 04-09-2012 4:08pm

Even the price of gin would depress you never mind the actual drink itself

enda1 · 04-09-2012 4:10pm

What's a large G&T? Is it a double shot of gin? If so 10's no surprise.

Shryke · 04-09-2012 4:11pm

Last time in Dublin I payed just over a fiver for a rotten guinness. Sitting in a pub in Galway right now. 3 euro, lovely pint.

04-09-2012 4:17pm

Moved from After Hours

Dublin City Forum Charter now applies. Please read before posting.

Temptamperu · 04-09-2012 4:17pm

2.90 for a little bottle of diet coke the other night for me, i wouldn't mind but it was a horrible pub with awful staff.

BeerNut · 04-09-2012 4:30pm

Mammanabammana wrote: »

How can they get away with charging a price like this?

Just a guess, but it could be that customers don't read the pricelist (which includes gin) that every pub is obliged to post by the door before they order.

If the list was missing, OP, report the pub.

FloatingVoter · 04-09-2012 6:47pm

Change of €8 for a double vodka and dash of orange in the Oval on Abbey Street. Stags Head maybe a fraction more.
Sounds to me like you were paying hotel prices (and the cost of the tonic water comes into it).

Stevecw · 04-09-2012 8:06pm

Mammanabammana wrote: »

So I just went into a pub in Dublin looking for the (belated) hair of the dog...not sure if I should name and shame here but for now I'm just gonna throw this out there, he tried to charge me just under €14(!!!) for a large gin and tonic...needless to say I told him not to bother and walked up the road to the next pub which charged me just under €10 for the same drink...but like, wtf? :eek: How can they get away with charging a price like this? Which is the standard price for that drink in Dublin?

Name them please, we have threads here looking for cheapest drinks around/good deals etc....so those that are charging crazy prices shud be named and shamed, and hopefully lose a few customers cos of it.

Dravokivich · 04-09-2012 8:37pm

Not all pubs in dublin are like that. There's a few places that charge crazy rates. I just don't go to'em. Its a case of buyer beware really.

djPSB · 04-09-2012 8:49pm

What's the standard price for a pint?

There's not too many places below €5.

Danye · 04-09-2012 9:01pm

djPSB wrote: »

What's the standard price for a pint?

There's not too many places below €5.

The Gate Bar in Crumlin are now only charging €4.50 for a large bottle of Bulmers.

Which isn't bad considering most other pubs in and around the locality are charging €5 +

The price of drink right through out Dublin is very over priced though. Prices haven't come down too much since the downturn in the economy.

And publicans are wondering why there not making money? :rolleyes:

Fuinseog · 04-09-2012 9:14pm

Mammanabammana wrote: »

So I just went into a pub in Dublin looking for the (belated) hair of the dog...not sure if I should name and shame here but for now I'm just gonna throw this out there, he tried to charge me just under €14(!!!) for a large gin and tonic...needless to say I told him not to bother and walked up the road to the next pub which charged me just under €10 for the same drink...but like, wtf? :eek: How can they get away with charging a price like this? Which is the standard price for that drink in Dublin?

they were bitching on TV3 news yesterday that sales are down 34%. if you want the customers stop ripping them off.
I go to the offi and drink at home, maybe have a few friends over.we can have the craic without going to the pub or forking out for a taxi.
its nothing to do with the recession. pubs are overpriced and too much hassle.

Axolotl · 05-09-2012 12:38am

Dunno if this applies to many of ye, but all pints are €3.50 in McTurcaill's with a student card ^_^ Hard to beat! (plus they never check the cards so it's essentially €3.50 pints all round)

The Scientician · 05-09-2012 6:17am

Got charged €3 for a friggin pint of blackcurrant cordial in a pub on the south quays there the other week. I won't be going back again.

jupiler_beer · 05-09-2012 6:55am

Just wait for the BUDGET!!!!

Fuinseog · 05-09-2012 8:41am

The Scientician wrote: »

Got charged €3 for a friggin pint of blackcurrant cordial in a pub on the south quays there the other week. I won't be going back again.

if a buy a round of pints outside of Dublin they would not charge for the miwadi. I would definitely not pay more than 1.80 for it. while people entertain these prices the prices will be maintained.

afatbollix · 05-09-2012 8:54am

Yesterday the UK pub industry said that that for the first time in 5 years business has picked up and finally turned around.

But they made the point that a lot of pubs have moved away from just offering drink, good food at good prices like 2 curry's for a tenner on a Tuesday night or opening early for coffee. Deals that get people threw the door.

The industry needs to change in Ireland big time.

I'm surprised a weatherspoons type chain hasn't opened yet in Ireland.

BeerNut · 05-09-2012 9:54am

afatbollix wrote: »

good food at good prices like 2 curry's for a tenner

I've never seen anywhere with offers like this where the food can be classed as "good".

afatbollix wrote: »

I'm surprised a weatherspoons type chain hasn't opened yet in Ireland.

I'm not. The capital investment involved in buying enough licences to get the supermarket-like buying power Wetherspoon has is ginormous, and not something Wetherspoon itself has to bother with under UK licencing law. Companies which already own chains of pubs, like Charlie Chawke or the Fitzgerald Group, could Wetherspoonise themseves, but why would they want to: they're mostly not the ones in trouble.

AnonoBoy · 05-09-2012 10:24am

What sort of gin were they serving you?

Was it a really fancy kind or just a regular Cork Dry Gin?

It's very bad form if they're trying to hoist the more expensive brands on you without you asking for them.

CucaFace · 05-09-2012 11:30am

djPSB wrote: »

What's the standard price for a pint?

There's not too many places below €5.

Not true.

There are loads of places doing cheaper pints, but you have to support these places.

Seems to me that since the Sub Lounge (O'Reillys) underneath Tara street started with their €3.30 pints every day a lot of other bars in that area have had to follow suit and now doing pretty cheap drinks also.

No point in complaining about the price of drink when there are alternatives and these more expensive bars will never lower their prices until they are losing their business to cheaper bars.

Great website here to get good deals. : www.publin.ie

Cool Mo D · 05-09-2012 11:33am

djPSB wrote: »

What's the standard price for a pint?

There's not too many places below €5.

If you're talking about Guinness, only a tiny number of rip-off merchants and temple bar tourist traps will charge more than €5 for a pint in Dublin.

starviewadams · 05-09-2012 5:55pm

Dark Horse on Georges Quay do €3 pints or a pitcher for €8.Nice spot too,never too packed or full of students.

The Czech Inn opposite The Turks Head off Parliament Street does great beer deals too.

liffeylite · 05-09-2012 10:04pm

sugarman wrote: »

Got charged €6.50 for a pint in The Temple Bar on Saturday:eek:

I was worse for paying it, they were €5.20 an hour earlier! If I had'nt have qued for over 10mins I'd have told them to keep it.

The fact that you queued is exactly the reason they can charge it :-) is there a busier pub than this in the country? I would love to know what theur turnover is...

Paul Tergat · 05-09-2012 10:45pm

BeerNut wrote: »

I've never seen anywhere with offers like this where the food can be classed as "good".

My local in England does a different offer each day, 2 burgers and chips for £8, fish and chips for like £4 etc and its decent stuff. Those types of offers keep the pub busy during the week when its quieter.

CucaFace wrote: »

Seems to me that since the Sub Lounge (O'Reillys) underneath Tara street started with their €3.30 pints every day a lot of other bars in that area have had to follow suit and now doing pretty cheap drinks also.

Aye drink in here when I come to town, decent spot and its never too busy either

starviewadams wrote: »

The Czech Inn opposite The Turks Head off Parliament Street does great beer deals too.

Czech Inn is great. Some really decent offers and they serve some different beers to the norm

Mr_Spaceman · 06-09-2012 2:13am

The Ginger Man on Fenian Street does pints of beer from Cork's Franciscan Well Brewery for €3.50.

It's a grand spot and a regular haunt of mine when in Dublin.

Spend your evening between there and the nearby MacTurcaills' with all pints costing €3.50 as well and you can have a right good recession session.

Check the publin.ie guide as well and you won't go far wrong.

Fuinseog · 06-09-2012 8:50am

it seems publicans have two choices- decrease their prices and bring in special offers or bitch to Joe Duffy about how bad business is.

Martyn1989 · 06-09-2012 2:13pm

BeerNut wrote: »

I've never seen anywhere with offers like this where the food can be classed as "good".

The food in the Cottage Group pubs is nice and they do these deals.

BeerNut · 06-09-2012 2:17pm

Fair point: 2-for-1 mains in Against the Grain on Tuesdays and Brew Dock on Saturdays, isn't it? Though afatbollix was talking about the UK where so much pub food, especially cheap pub food, is microwaved crap.

Martyn1989 · 06-09-2012 2:39pm

BeerNut wrote: »

Fair point: 2-for-1 mains in Against the Grain on Tuesdays and Brew Dock on Saturdays, isn't it? Though afatbollix was talking about the UK where so much pub food, especially cheap pub food, is microwaved crap.

Yes thats it and the Black Sheep on Wednesday's.

And yes pub food generally in the UK is terrible, but to be fair I've never gone out of my way to find decent pub grub over there, its always been straight to a Wetherspoons. (Apart from Hickory's Smokehouse in Chester, who have a fantastic range of American craft beers and the best ribs I've ever eaten).

The Cottage Groups deals really just highlight how difficult the midweek is for some of these bars, IMO they provide a much nicer experience then the Bull and Castle or the Porterhouse but still have an offer which is unparalleled in Dublin, fairplay to them. L. Mulligan's and Kavanagh's are in their own league food and service wise but they've gone for something different.

Mr_Spaceman · 06-09-2012 4:22pm

starviewadams wrote: »

Dark Horse on Georges Quay do €3 pints or a pitcher for €8.Nice spot too,never too packed or full of students.

The Czech Inn opposite The Turks Head off Parliament Street does great beer deals too.

I don't know if they still have the offer, but The Turk's Head offered Fosters' cooking lager at under €4 per pint at certain times. Worth checking if you're in The Czech Inn.

CucaFace · 06-09-2012 4:27pm

Mr_Spaceman wrote: »

I don't know if they still have the offer, but The Turk's Head offered Fosters' cooking lager at under €4 per pint at certain times. Worth checking if you're in The Czech Inn.

Turks head do €3.50 a pint i think now on a Sunday between 2 and 8.

Not 100% sure about the times but not bad for a pub in Temple bar.

Lafayette (near O'Connell bridge) also do €10 pitchers of Bavaria and a pint and a pizza for €10.

Draco · 06-09-2012 4:33pm

OP, why not name and shame? That's why I set up pintofplain.com. Publicans will continue to charge over the odds for as long as they can get away with it.

cojomo2 · 06-09-2012 4:37pm

Mr_Spaceman wrote: »

The Ginger Man on Fenian Street does pints of beer from Cork's Franciscan Well Brewery for €3.50.

It's a grand spot and a regular haunt of mine when in Dublin.

Spend your evening between there and the nearby MacTurcaills' with all pints costing €3.50 as well and you can have a right good recession session.

Check the publin.ie guide as well and you won't go far wrong.

It's 3.60 now and has been for a good while

lovely beers, big fan of the friars wiess and the writers block

was in there the other day , sitting beside a table of about 12 people, all dinking Bud!! They really don't know what they are missing, and for a good 1 euro plus less per pint!

Mr_Spaceman · 06-09-2012 4:43pm

cojomo2 wrote: »

It's 3.60 now and has been for a good while

lovely beers, big fan of the friars wiess and the writers block

was in there the other day , sitting beside a table of about 12 people, all dinking Bud!! They really don't know what they are missing, and for a good 1 euro plus less per pint!

There's just no telling some people... fools!

Anyway, I'll be over in Dublin next week. I might have to pace my pint intake now that The Ginger Man has added 10c to the price of a Writer's Block! :pac:

starviewadams · 06-09-2012 5:31pm

The Globe on Georges Street do €4 pints of Becks,and the rock bar downstairs in Bruxelles does all pints for €4 before midnite 7 days a week.

markymark21 · 09-09-2012 4:30am

BeerNut wrote: »

I've never seen anywhere with offers like this where the food can be classed as "good".

.

The William Blake, near Old Street in Hackney. Lived near there a few years ago, did really good food and was cheap as chips. Good service as well. The missus found some plastic in her food, they refunded her her meal and gave us both vouchers to have two mains each and a drink.Doubt you'd get a response like that in any Dublin pub!

There curry night was pretty sweet as well!

http://www.thewilliamblake.co.uk/resource/binary//f333a8264fc6466cd1b0047aadbbcd6f/STG00700%20CI%20March%20Refresh%20Spice%20Night%20MenuTuesWeds%205-10%20%C2%A36.45.pdf

Mr_Spaceman · 09-09-2012 10:13pm

markymark21 wrote: »

The William Blake, near Old Street in Hackney. Lived near there a few years ago, did really good food and was cheap as chips. Good service as well. The missus found some plastic in her food, they refunded her her meal and gave us both vouchers to have two mains each and a drink.Doubt you'd get a response like that in any Dublin pub!

There curry night was pretty sweet as well!

http://www.thewilliamblake.co.uk/resource/binary//f333a8264fc6466cd1b0047aadbbcd6f/STG00700%20CI%20March%20Refresh%20Spice%20Night%20MenuTuesWeds%205-10%20%C2%A36.45.pdf

Excellent tip, chief. I must pop in next time I'm over that way.

Obviously not Dublin-related but I'm all over a deal like that!

nudger · 10-09-2012 10:17am

afatbollix wrote: »

Yesterday the UK pub industry said that that for the first time in 5 years business has picked up and finally turned around.

But they made the point that a lot of pubs have moved away from just offering drink, good food at good prices like 2 curry's for a tenner on a Tuesday night or opening early for coffee. Deals that get people threw the door.

The industry needs to change in Ireland big time.

I'm surprised a weatherspoons type chain hasn't opened yet in Ireland.

Weatherspoons tried to open pubs in Dublin in 2003 but Diageo made it difficult for them, eventually refusing to sell any of their products to them.

A Dublin pub without Guinness could not survive then, now who knows?

Diageo had just bullied the Bartrader group out of business with legal costs forcing them to back down.

Bartrader was set up by leading publicans joining together to try force Diageo to lower their prices.

Draco · 10-09-2012 10:33am

nudger wrote: »

[/B]
A Dublin pub without Guinness could not survive then, now who knows?

There's a few pubs these days that don't serve Guinness - none of the Porthouse pubs, Against the Grain, Brew Dock, Black Sheep, L. Mulligan's. They're all craft brew places so have a different draw.

Miguel_Sanchez · 10-09-2012 10:42am

Draco wrote: »

There's a few pubs these days that don't serve Guinness - none of the Porthouse pubs, Against the Grain, Brew Dock, Black Sheep, L. Mulligan's. They're all craft brew places so have a different draw.

Mulligan's have bottled Guinness available.

Morag · 10-09-2012 12:12pm

nudger wrote: »

A Dublin pub without Guinness could not survive then, now who knows?

Some do, like the black sheep.

Was in Kilkenny for the weekend and there's a world of difference in price and service between the pubs there and some of the ones dublin city center. But if your willing to not go to temple bar or around the grafton street area there are plenty of places which do deals. Can't see them being as good as the fresh full cocktails for fiver mind which we were drinking in kilkenny at the weekend.

faigs · 10-09-2012 12:19pm

I paid €8.80 for a small Cork Dry Gin and Tonic in Dakota on South William Street a couple of weeks ago, disgraceful. I tweeted them a couple of times but got no response to justify their ridiculous prices. I then walked up to Solas on Wexford St and got a G&T, they use Hendricks Gin as their house gin, (much nicer IMO) and it cost €6.90, much better value.

Should bars not reduce the price of lower carb drinks? Its like people who don't drink beer are being penalized for drinking slightly healthier drinks. It would help reduce the high levels of obesity in this country if spirits and wine were at least the same price as beer per unit. I know mixing with coke etc is high carb but you know what I'm getting at!

Beefy78 · 10-09-2012 4:51pm

BeerNut wrote: »

Fair point: 2-for-1 mains in Against the Grain on Tuesdays and Brew Dock on Saturdays, isn't it? Though afatbollix was talking about the UK where so much pub food, especially cheap pub food, is microwaved crap.

I've eaten plenty of good, cheap, pub grub in the UK which wasn't microwaved.

Beefy78 · 10-09-2012 4:58pm

faigs wrote: »

I paid €8.80 for a small Cork Dry Gin and Tonic in Dakota on South William Street a couple of weeks ago, disgraceful. I tweeted them a couple of times but got no response to justify their ridiculous prices. I then walked up to Solas on Wexford St and got a G&T, they use Hendricks Gin as their house gin, (much nicer IMO) and it cost €6.90, much better value.

Should bars not reduce the price of lower carb drinks? Its like people who don't drink beer are being penalized for drinking slightly healthier drinks. It would help reduce the high levels of obesity in this country if spirits and wine were at least the same price as beer per unit. I know mixing with coke etc is high carb but you know what I'm getting at!

The problem is the price of the mixers. When you're getting charged €1.50 to €2 for a small bottle of mixer it makes not drinking beer in Dublin a very expensive choice. That's the big difference with the UK. A pint in Dublin and a pint in London are pretty comparable now. A spirit + mixer is not comparable.

starviewadams · 10-09-2012 5:35pm

faigs wrote: »

I paid €8.80 for a small Cork Dry Gin and Tonic in Dakota on South William Street a couple of weeks ago, disgraceful. I tweeted them a couple of times but got no response to justify their ridiculous prices. I then walked up to Solas on Wexford St and got a G&T, they use Hendricks Gin as their house gin, (much nicer IMO) and it cost €6.90, much better value.

Should bars not reduce the price of lower carb drinks? Its like people who don't drink beer are being penalized for drinking slightly healthier drinks. It would help reduce the high levels of obesity in this country if spirits and wine were at least the same price as beer per unit. I know mixing with coke etc is high carb but you know what I'm getting at!

The justification for their prices are that people continue to pay them!

If you want to save money when going for a drink just have a 2 minute peruse on Publin.ie and you'll find plenty of pubs with very good drinks prices.

Martyn1989 · 11-09-2012 1:52am

faigs wrote: »

Should bars not reduce the price of lower carb drinks? Its like people who don't drink beer are being penalized for drinking slightly healthier drinks. It would help reduce the high levels of obesity in this country if spirits and wine were at least the same price as beer per unit. I know mixing with coke etc is high carb but you know what I'm getting at!

I don't understand why a 'healthy option' would be cheaper, low fat/health foods and drinks are always more expensive because people are willing to pay more for them. I don't get why you feel your being penalised, if you don't want it, don't pay for it.

AnonoBoy · 11-09-2012 10:48am

Martyn1989 wrote: »

I don't understand why a 'healthy option' would be cheaper, low fat/health foods and drinks are always more expensive because people are willing to pay more for them. I don't get why you feel your being penalised, if you don't want it, don't pay for it.

Pubs aren't under any orders to try and reward people for being healthy. They're pubs!

Beefy78 · 11-09-2012 10:53am

There's no obligation for the healthy option to be cheaper, but in this case there's no real reason why it should be so much more expensive. Particularly when you're contrasting the price of a dirty Smirnoff or house gin with a decent beer.

Spirits are ridiculously over-priced in Dublin.

faigs · 11-09-2012 11:14am

All I'm saying is that the spirits are ludicrously overpriced. Why should I have to drink high carb beer if I want to budget myself to €5 a drink? On the continent spirits are the same price - the bars use split sized mixers and just open them as the need them and pour the mixer as a dash. None of this baby bottle rip off.

In general I don't mind paying 6-7 euro for G&T, thats just the way it is in Dublin, but do you really think €8.80 is a fair price? And correct, I don't want it so I won't pay for it, I'll go so a bar up the street that's nearly €2 cheaper and use beter gin!

It's that price in Dakota that made me feel penalized, I know bars will never make them the same price as beer but if spirits were cheaper then maybe, just maybe it would help fight obesity here, it is a huge problem. I know I'd be more likely to drink a vodka soda/G&T more often in a round if it was a fair price.

AnonoBoy · 11-09-2012 12:52pm

I was in a bar in Dun Laoghaire recently where all spirits were 3.80. The Harbour Grill I think it was called.

But it's not a pub's responsibility to tackle the obesity crisis.

If people are that worried about their weight then they can stay off the booze altogether or get some exercise.

The price of a drink in Dublin

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