What makes a great pub great.

igCorcaigh

MarkY91 wrote: »

I ****ing hate when you get to a bar and see a sign saying "€10 minimum on card"..it's actually fairly common. What's the story here? It's such a hassle

Bank charges I think.
It's a pain.

El_Duderino 09

Collie D wrote: »

Irish barmen. This can’t be emphasised enough. The full time Irish barman is a godsend...couple of orders on the go. Quick efficient service.

Compare this to the continent or even the UK where generally it’s some student who’ll only be there a few weeks who thinks they have to stand over each pint as it’s pouring and can’t pull another until that one is done and whose head would probably explode if he had to deal with more than one customer at a time.

True the professional barman is good to keep 5 orders in their head. But compare that to a weatherspoons where they have bar staff queueing up to take tour order. Almost no waiting around. You go up, place your order and get your drinks. Spoons do table service at no extra cost now too. Just order through the app.

I'm not a huge fan of spoons but it has some things really spot on and not having to queue for ages to get a drink is definitely one of them.

Collie D

Funny you mention Wetherspoons because I had that in mind when I posted. Was in the new one in Dublin during the week for a look and found service to be quite lacking. One of the lads was at bar for almost ten minutes when we first walked in and twice we had a plate of food delivered which we hadn’t ordered - although one of our lads dispatched both regardless.

Now, the place was full but there weren’t too many people at the long bar so shouldn’t have taken that long and I was served pretty quick myself.

El_Duderino 09

Collie D wrote: »

Funny you mention Wetherspoons because I had that in mind when I posted. Was in the new one in Dublin during the week for a look and found service to be quite lacking. One of the lads was at bar for almost ten minutes when we first walked in and twice we had a plate of food delivered which we hadn’t ordered - although one of our lads dispatched both regardless.

Now, the place was full but there weren’t too many people at the long bar so shouldn’t have taken that long and I was served pretty quick myself.

Haven't been to one in Ireland yet. I only have experience of the English ones. I imagine a lot of the staff are on zero hour contracts, whicc I'm not a big fan of but that's a separate story.

ShamNNspace

Two things I hate in Irish pubs
... When a member of staff asks "are you allri?" instead of "Can I help you"
... Noise. Iv been in pubs where the jukebox. The radio. And 2 Tvs one on terrestrial and one on satalite all blaring out and competing with each other. Its just noise
Another bugbear of mine I was in a pub once and there was a sign on the door
NO smoking
NO vaping
NO hawking
NO singing
NO children after 9
NO standing at the bar
NO under 21s
All I could see was NO NO NO Anyways any pub that disallows an impromptu sing song is not worthy of the name

Collie D

ShamNNspace wrote: »

Two things I hate in Irish pubs
... When a member of staff asks "are you allri?" instead of "Can I help you"
... Noise. Iv been in pubs where the jukebox. The radio. And 2 Tvs one on terrestrial and one on satalite all blaring out and competing with each other. Its just noise
Another bugbear of mine I was in a pub once and there was a sign on the door
NO smoking
NO vaping
NO hawking
NO singing
NO children after 9
NO standing at the bar
NO under 21s
All I could see was NO NO NO Anyways any pub that disallows an impromptu sing song is not worthy of the name

NO complaining

ShamNNspace

Collie D wrote: »

ShamNNspace wrote: »

Two things I hate in Irish pubs
... When a member of staff asks "are you allri?" instead of "Can I help you"
... Noise. Iv been in pubs where the jukebox. The radio. And 2 Tvs one on terrestrial and one on satalite all blaring out and competing with each other. Its just noise
Another bugbear of mine I was in a pub once and there was a sign on the door
NO smoking
NO vaping
NO hawking
NO singing
NO children after 9
NO standing at the bar
NO under 21s
All I could see was NO NO NO Anyways any pub that disallows an impromptu sing song is not worthy of the name

NO complaining

NO politics
NO religion

El_Duderino 09

ShamNNspace wrote: »

NO politics
NO religion

Amazing that those were seen as different topics.

Do people still discuss religion? Oh maybe the existence of a God. Yeah if that topic needs discussion then do it elsewhere. Fair enough.

Baron Kurtz

ShamNNspace wrote: »

Two things I hate in Irish pubs
... When a member of staff asks "are you allri?" instead of "Can I help you"
... Noise. Iv been in pubs where the jukebox. The radio. And 2 Tvs one on terrestrial and one on satalite all blaring out and competing with each other. Its just noise
Another bugbear of mine I was in a pub once and there was a sign on the door
NO smoking
NO vaping
NO hawking
NO singing
NO children after 9
NO standing at the bar
NO under 21s
All I could see was NO NO NO Anyways any pub that disallows an impromptu sing song is not worthy of the name

Yeah, not too fond of that greeting. It deserves a "I'm fine, thanks" really.

IAMAMORON

I was on a binge in Budapest a few weeks ago, and whilst the pleasures of drinking mojito's for 3 quid should not be ignored, the Hungarians are a little too quick to the pull their knives on you when you get a little close like. Any country whose national hero arranged the assassination of 200 of his colleagues before assuming power has to be either feared or revered, I am genuinely just not sure yet. I still love you Astoria , btw.

We are a gang a spoilt bastards. The fact remains that most of us chunts is within five minutes of some of the greatest craic and codology this planet has ever evented.

No one does public houses like they do in Ireland, it is an unparalleled culture with which everyone should be proud. There is good reason why it has survived all the wife bollickings at 3 o'clock on a Monday morning, don't forget most inhabitants of this bright corner of the world might not even exist were it not for the pleasures of the Irish pub.

Balanadan

igCorcaigh wrote: »

Bank charges I think.
It's a pain.

Bank charges alright. Just carry some cash

El_Duderino 09

Balanadan wrote: »

Bank charges alright. Just carry some cash

I use about 20-30 a month in cash. Everything else through the card. Pubs and other businesses should catch up to consumer spending preferences.

I think choosing to impose a charge on card payments in an indication that the pub wants old people as clientele. Which is fair enough but the pub should know that they're discouraging younger patrons.

suicide_circus

Service in the Dun Laoghaire and Blackrock Wetherspoons is extraordinarily bad.

El_Duderino 09

suicide_circus wrote: »

Service in the Dun Laoghaire and Blackrock Wetherspoons is extraordinarily bad.

Must be a different business model to English Spoons. Usually have loads of staff in the ones Ive been to. It's much more transactional though. I wouldn't expect great chats or heart to hearts with the staff or anything. But TBH I wouldn't really expect that anywhere except my local village pub.

Balanadan

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I use about 20-30 a month in cash. Everything else through the card. Pubs and other businesses should catch up to consumer spending preferences.

I think choosing to impose a charge on card payments in an indication that the pub wants old people as clientele. Which is fair enough but the pub should know that they're discouraging younger patrons.

Fair enough, pubs could put up the price of their drinks to absorb card charges.

When you go abroad, you'll find many businesses won't accept cards at all, just cash.

El_Duderino 09

Balanadan wrote: »

Fair enough, pubs could put up the price of their drinks to absorb card charges.

Yes. Exactly the same as they do to cover all the overhead costs.

Balanadan

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Yes. Exactly the same as they do to cover all the overhead costs.

It's not difficult to carry cash though, and I'd rather pay less.

El_Duderino 09

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Balanadan wrote: »

It's not difficult to carry cash though, and I'd rather pay less.

OK. I prefer card payments. Not asking you to do anything.

lainey_d_123

I'm just happy if there's no TV. Can't stand meeting friends in a pub and there's a TV blasting out rubbish or sports. I struggle to hear the conversation and everyone keeps glancing at the TV. It's anti-social and irritating. I get putting it on for major matches, but for the love of God, I don't want Sky News on when I'm trying to relax and chat to a friend.

igCorcaigh

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Yes. Exactly the same as they do to cover all the overhead costs.

No though. Pubs are very price sensitive.
It's a commercial decision and their prerogative.

I'm certainly not bothered to pay in cash, it's just a minor annoyance.

igCorcaigh

What does turn me off using cash in a pub is the embarrassing issue of being mischarged.

I made an incredible ass of myself a while back by incorrectly accusing the bar staff, who I know very well, of inadvertently overcharging me.

I prefer revolut.

Lewis_Benson

A comfortable place to be.
The possibility of seeing a good live band, (not essential but I like watching / listening to good musicians)

A decent selection of beer, I like pale ales and IPA's so having a few on tap is nice, otherwise ill drink guinness if nothing else available..

A few nibbles is nice.

I dont mind gastropubs, but they should stop serving food after 9.

A good barman/woman who can get orders right without asking what you wanted repeatedly.


My local in athlone, is a tiny pub, but does good live music at the weekends, its tiny, youd think it was an old mans pub.

My other favourite is a big spot with good craft ales on tap and mighty pizzas to go with the beer.

bucketybuck

What puts me off pubs are ****ing cocktails. No I don't want to wait all night for a simple pint just because all the bar staff are taking 10 minutes to make every one of those wanker drinks.

Want to serve at a rate of one drink per hour? Fine, but I'll go somewhere else thanks.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

My favorite pub in Dublin is the Dark Horse in Blackrock. I think it's closed now though . A real shame. Great music, great food and they had a great selection of beers and whiskey. It was never jam packed, but it was never empty either (from what I remember). The pool table was also kept very well, a good fast table. Got to know a couple of the local lads in there and we would have great craic playing pool every Friday night.

My local now is quite good too, but the atmosphere only starts to pick up after midnight when other pubs are closed, it's only open Friday and Saturday, until 5AM though :eek:. No pool, locals are a bit odd but the music is wicked and the beer is dirt cheap.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes a good pub a good pub, but it's largely to do with atmosphere I think. A place where you can talk to your mates, good choice of tasty beer and bar staff you can have a chat to. Not a fan of TV screens, that sucks the life out of a pub (ok ok, having the world cup on is great craic too, and I am not a football fan).

El_Duderino 09

bucketybuck wrote: »

What puts me off pubs are ****ing cocktails. No I don't want to wait all night for a simple pint just because all the bar staff are taking 10 minutes to make every one of those wanker drinks.

Want to serve at a rate of one drink per hour? Fine, but I'll go somewhere else thanks.

Yeah but it's fundamentally a question of having enough staff to handle busy times. I don't have any use for cocktails but it's not the fault of the customers. It's the pubs fault for not having enough staff to deliver the services it offers without making you wait ages.

YFlyer

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Must be a different business model to English Spoons. Usually have loads of staff in the ones Ive been to. It's much more transactional though. I wouldn't expect great chats or heart to hearts with the staff or anything. But TBH I wouldn't really expect that anywhere except my local village pub.

What I notice with them in London is that they would only serve one customer at a time. Disaster waiting to be served.

The Alpha

Pauliedragon wrote: »

How long's a piece of string. I like loud some people like quiet. I like blondes u like brunettes. I like meat you like fish. There is no great it's about personal choice. Its like the fools I used to serve ordering a €100 bottle of wine just to be seen when the €20 is just as good but you might personally not like it. We all have different opinions which is what makes us humans great and helps keeps the godfathers at boards in business. ðŸ‘

Fish is meat so you like meat or meat???

fryup

where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came

tayto lover

To me there are two kinds of pubs.

1. A cozy pub I go to with no tv or live music. Where people are talking to each other and some having a laugh. When you listen you can hear the atmosphere. The drink is good and reasonably priced and the owner knows his customers.
The toilets are also clean and fresh.

2. The pub I go to if I want to watch football or golf. Good sized screen and good drink even if it’s a bit more expensive than the other pub.

El_Duderino 09

YFlyer wrote: »

What I notice with them in London is that they would only serve one customer at a time. Disaster waiting to be served.

The idea of serving multiple customers is only really necessary ig you have stout that needs more time. Otherwise why would the barstaff serve more than one customer at a time?