night out in Kilkenny

maryfred

Looking for suggestions for where to go on a Friday night in the city. We're in the 40-50 age bracket,like live music,bars that would attract an older crowd. Any ideas?

Dymo

The Worlds end on John St, newly refurbished and a settled clientele.

Dozen Wicked Words

Most pubs in Kilkenny have a pretty mixed crowd age wise. Most of the Pubs on Parliament Street would be fairly traditional and have an older clientele, Brewery Corner does nice craft beer and has live music, some more alternative than traditional, but they have traditional stuff on there sometimes too.

Absolute Zero

Plus one for the world end bar. Good food , drink and overall a great time. Probably the best spot in Kilkenny.

kikel

Please ignore the people telling you to go to the Worlds End. It's a local joke here. Why they continue to try and get people to go there is beyond me. Please stay away from the place. Not a very nice joke really and unhelpful for anyone that is coming to visit our great city.

mountcisco

Kilkenny seems to be doing so well tourist-wise that people can afford to take the p*ss out of intending visitors! Wow !

Dozen Wicked Words

Not been in the Worlds End, it looks 100 times better from the outside since the facelift, though there was something heart warming seeing the lovely steel shutters when it was open, and closed, presumably its nicer inside too, but no idea if they have moved the less savoury regulars (who haven't died) on. Doubt it.

Benny Cake

Dozen Wicked Words wrote: »

Not been in the Worlds End, it looks 100 times better from the outside since the facelift, though there was something heart warming seeing the lovely steel shutters when it was open, and closed, presumably its nicer inside too, but no idea if they have moved the less savoury regulars (who haven't died) on. Doubt it.

Fur coat no knickers, still full of the usual clientelle....

Dozen Wicked Words

Benny Cake wrote: »

Fur coat no knickers, still full of the usual clientelle....

Hahaha, thought it probably would be.

maryfred

Dozen Wicked Words wrote: »

Hahaha, thought it probably would be.

OP here. Who are the usual clientele? Still no wiser as to where to go on a Friday night. :-(

Dozen Wicked Words

maryfred wrote: »

OP here. Who are the usual clientele? Still no wiser as to where to go on a Friday night. :-(

It's not a great place, avoid. Other than that, you won't go too far wrong in most places in Kilkenny.

mahamageehad

maryfred wrote: »

OP here. Who are the usual clientele? Still no wiser as to where to go on a Friday night. :-(

A very easy way to see what kind of music is playing on the night you want to come is to check their Facebook!

I quite like the Dylan which is a whiskey bar (they still serve all other drink). They often have live music and it's buzzing without being too full. Ryans on Friary Street is also a good choice and usually has music, it can be busy with parties though. For a more relaxed night try Tynans or Bollards. You'll find that most places on a Friday in Kilkenny have music, it just depends on what you're in the mood for - trad, band, jazz etc. If ye fancy some wine there's a great little wine bar in Bollards. Langtons would be quite a popular spot especially with tourists but it could be a bit young? Cleeres has a more traditional bar vibe to it and Brewery Corner is great for trying some craft beers!

I know I've mentioned a lot of pubs above, and I'm sure I've left out some good ones too but Kilkenny has so many pubs to choose from, those are the one's I'd personally recommend for that age.

andyman

+1 on The Dylan. Lovely bar.

Saruman

If you are after some decent Irish beer and want to support independent local Irish breweries then head to brewery corner opposite the Smithwicks brewery.

thelad95

If being charged €7 for craft beer is your thing, check out Brewery corner. I think you would love Kytelers. Avoid The Worlds End like the plague. Cleere's is quite nice as well as is Matt the Milllers.

Callanutd

+1 for Brewery Corner, Cleeres would also be what you are looking for I would think. Both at the end of Parliament street. The other side of town then you have Tynans, The Dylan and my personal favourite Billy Byrnes at the top of John Street.

Saruman

thelad95 wrote: »

If being charged €7 for craft beer is your thing

While I have no doubt that there are beers available that could conceivably cost that much, that's not the average price of a pint of craft beer in brewery corner or any craft beer bar I have ever been in on this island. I would say many beers in brewery corner are less than €5 per pint and it's a little disingenuous to indicate otherwise.

I have paid over €7 per pint for certain beers in Ireland but they tend to be high alcohol imports over 7% ABV.

Dozen Wicked Words

I'm not a beer expert, so have mostly had the O'Haras own or a few different bottles and have never paid over 5 euro something. I've always found it a relatively cheap night in Brewery Corner. Out of all they have on offer, I wonder how many exactly are 7 euro? Not many I'm guessing.

Slashermcguirk

I have been down in Kilkenny with friends a number of times and found both Kytelers Inn and Cleeres to be very good. I think Cleeres is nice for a relaxing pint and you can chat away with a group of friends.

Kytelers is much busier and usually has some good music playing so if you want more atmosphere that could be the place to go. They are both next to the new Smithwicks Experience too, you get a nice pint at the end of the tour and its good fun with a group of friends. The last tour seems to leave at 5pm each day.

There are a few other pubs on Parliament Street too but not as familiar with them. Cleeres would be my favourite.

Threadhead

There are beers in Brewery Corner that cost over €100 too but you don't have to buy them either. Brewery Corner is no different from most craft beer pubs, I find it very reasonable and with great variety across the board.

Bootsy.

Ryan's always has really good bands on a Friday night and the age group would be spot on, the only problem is there is very little space, worth it if there is room though.

Billy Byrne's is another good spot, on a Friday they either have a piano jazz trio or Boom Bust & Bailout, who are lively folk kind of stuff, sometimes different bands. They do 'tapas' too, very nice and not expensive, the menu and music line up are on their facebook page.

Friday nights are actually not great in Kilkenny for live music other than the above. DJs in Pumphouse playing soul/funk/disco this Friday, DJs in Brewery Corner playing indie classics (I think). For late bars you have Langton's front bar with a DJ playing classic 60s/70s/80s hits for an older crowd. Langton's nightclub is not open on Fridays and there is no gig in The Set Theatre this coming Friday. Other than that it's the commercial cattle-marts with the ear-bleeding pop crap, ie Morrison's and Matt The Miller's.

Cleere's and Tynan's are both worth a visit for a pint and they sometimes have music. I haven't been to The Dylan yet but have heard good things.

maryfred

We went to Kytelers for a while,guy playing guitar but singing mostly Irish trad and folk stuff which wasn't really our scene,went then to Cleere's, walked in and 2 guys playing guitars in the middle of John Martyns "May you never" Bliss! Complete brain freeze,because I can't think of their names. Thanks for all the suggestions. BTW,we had dinner in the Marble City Bar,twas only fab!

mountsky

Maggie Hollands pub is an absolute must!

Fitz*

Will be going to Kilkenny in a few weeks time, does anyone know of any pubs/clubs that do set genre nights? or even just rooms of clubs. Was looking at somewhere along the lines of deep-house/tech-house/electro. Would the Pumphouse be best suited for this, or is there others?

Also really enjoy a good live band (split musical tastes I know, but I like to have an open mind), so where would the best bands be?

thanks in advance.

Absolute Zero

FitzShane wrote: »

Will be going to Kilkenny in a few weeks time, does anyone know of any pubs/clubs that do set genre nights? or even just rooms of clubs. Was looking at somewhere along the lines of deep-house/tech-house/electro. Would the Pumphouse be best suited for this, or is there others?

Also really enjoy a good live band (split musical tastes I know, but I like to have an open mind), so where would the best bands be?

thanks in advance.

Worlds end bar. They have a pretty good rave scene on a Thursday night if you interested.

thelad95

Absolute Zero wrote: »

Worlds end bar. They have a pretty good rave scene on a Thursday night if you interested.

Why do people persist with this joke especially when the poster above has more than likely read the first page of the thread and realizes it's a joke already?

kikel

thelad95 wrote: »

Why do people persist with this joke especially when the poster above has more than likely read the first page of the thread and realizes it's a joke already?

This has gone beyond a joke. Twice in the same thread. KK is meant to be known for its friendliness as a city, but a few keyboard cowboys think that it is funny to send people to this place.

Dymo

kikel wrote: »

This has gone beyond a joke. Twice in the same thread. KK is meant to be known for its friendliness as a city, but a few keyboard cowboys think that it is funny to send people to this place.

What's your problem with the Worlds End bar, there a business in Kilkenny like any other, and there in a prominent position in the city. If you have reason why or proof why it shouldn't be suggested here, I'd like to hear it.

Slattsy

Tynans Bar - best guinness in Kilkenny and just a darn good pub.

kikel

Dymo wrote: »

What's your problem with the Worlds End bar, there a business in Kilkenny like any other, and there in a prominent position in the city. If you have reason why or proof why it shouldn't be suggested here, I'd like to hear it.

I've no problem with the place but the number of people coming on here and promoting the place to outsiders looking for a good weekend in Kilkenny is a bit of a joke. The people coming on here promoting the place i doubt visit the place regularly. It's been a running joke on this forum for years. Hopefully the place as a business is on the rise and will improve its reputation over time. The new shop front is definitely an improvement. What others have said about the food is encouraging.

thelad95

kikel wrote: »

I've no problem with the place but the number of people coming on here and promoting the place to outsiders looking for a good weekend in Kilkenny is a bit of a joke. The people coming on here promoting the place i doubt visit the place regularly. It's been a running joke on this forum for years. Hopefully the place as a business is on the rise and will improve its reputation over time. The new shop front is definitely an improvement. What others have said about the food is encouraging.

Went in there a couple of weeks after the Bruce concerts and it was still rough as fúck. It is NO place to recommend to a tourist.