The Best 5 Pints of Guinness in Dublin City
Let me start this post by assuring you that DublinByPub has not decided to pivot toward a clickbait, listicle-heavy style of content. Nor are we looking to join the small country sized amount of Guinness review pages out there. But being a website, Instagram account, twitter account, with something of a following, we’re often queried on where we believe the best pints in Dublin can be found. So hence: this post.
Before we go any further, please let us say that we believe the finest pint for sale within the known and ever-expanding ninety-three billion lightyear-wide cosmos which we inhabit is that which pours in Kavanagh’s pub in Glasnevin (original post here). Our position on this remains unchanged.
But for this post, we want to concern ourselves exclusively with pubs in Dublin city centre – i.e. between the canals.
I also want to say that taste is subjective. Some people eat liver with mushrooms and listen to Garth Brooks, and it’s not my or your place to pass judgement on such freaks of nature. If you don’t agree with our list, that’s ok – you can go and make your own list and post it up on the internet yourself, too.
Anyhow, here we go – in no particular order (after the first one) here are our five best Dublin City Centre Pints.
J.M Cleary’s: Amiens Street
A favoured haunt of Michael Collins, Cleary’s is said to have had its electricity bill taken care of by Irish Rail to balance the inconvenience of having had a railway bridge pass over its roof. Evidently, the time that would have been spent on the administrative task of paying the electric has been better spent perfecting their pint purveying abilities- they’re unrivalled between the canals, as far as we’re concerned.
(Price: €5.20 as of Summer 2022)
Click Here for our original post on Cleary’s
The Lord Edward: Christchurch Place
We adore and have always adored The Lord Ed. And while this has been the favourite pub in the world as far as yours truly is concerned, I had always only considered the pint to be adequate – not poor, but not even threatening for the top ten. But then something changed. Upon returning after lockdown, the quality of the pint was found to have improved exponentially. And a year or so later that level of quality remains the same.
(Price: €5.50 as of Summer 2022)
Click Here for our original post on The Lord Edward
Toner’s: Baggot Street
Famed as the only pub that WB Yeats set ever set foot in, Toner’s is sat on the well-trodden drinking trail referred to by some as The Baggot Mile. William Butler was good at the poems, but not great at the pints – so consider the likes of Ronnie Drew, Peter O’Toole and Patrick Kavanagh’s former patronage of the place as a more qualified endorsement of it. That said, it would have to lose a point or two on grounds of price, but it always feels worth the money when you’re sat in that famous snug.
(Price: €6 as of Spring 2022)
Click Here for our original post on Toner’s
Fallon’s: The Coombe
Sitting at the very start of the district which houses the Guinness brewery – The Liberties, Fallon’s is as fine an ambassador as you could hope for, for both the area and the brewery. One of the great historic Dublin pubs, it’s always dishing out consistently decent stout.
(Price €5.50 as of Summer 2022)
Click Here for our original post on Fallon’s
The Piper’s Corner: Marlborough Street
We wanted to include something of a wildcard here – a pub you never hear referred to as a great Guinness pub – but anytime any of us darkens the doors of the Piper’s, we’re always served some top-class pints. And the fact that you’ll likely get a decent bit of trad to listen to while you sip only sweetens the deal.
(Price: €5.80 as of Summer 2022)
Click Here for our original post on The Piper’s Corner
Honourable Mentions
Some other places we’ve enjoyed some very good pints in within the canals over the last few years.
- The Thomas House
- Grogans
- The Palace
- Kehoes
- J McNeills
- The King’s Inn
- Ryan’s (Parkgate)
- The Old Royal Oak
- Mulligan’s (Poolbeg)
- Briody’s
- Walsh’s (Stoneybatter)
- O’Connell’s (Portobello)
Don’t Agree?
I’m sure some of you out there think we’ve gotten things totally wrong here, given that this is the internet. Do feel free to give out to us in the comments and offer your recommendations for great Guinness in Dublin City Centre.
John Clarkes, ringsend
Must recommend The Clonliffe House in Balkybough €5 a great pint of Guinness
I’ve been drinking Guinness for 40 years. I’ve just came across a bar on the crumlin road.its called the gate bar. Guinness is top notch, the best pint ive ever drank in my years.
Nice! Must try a few of these places next time I’m in the lovely city of Dublin.
Mulligans and the gravediggers a great pint
Lark Inn meath street €4:90 lovely pint of Guinness
I dint know how Mulligans on poolbeg Street and the mighty Bowes on Fleet Street didn’t make the cut … absolutely insane pints of Guinness
Mulligans,Poolbeg St just the most perfect Guinness all summer and always 11/10
Harkins bar beside Guiness Storehouse.
And only 4:90 a pint.
Couldn’t disagree with your choice of any of those pubs, especially cleary’s, always have a few pint when I go to croke Park.
Check out Delaneys of North King St in Smithfield – a great pint is always guaranteed!
How about a great pint in Reilly’s of Sandymount with Noele from Tralee. Great pint and great crack.
2 pubs..Annesley House North Strand €4.80 Guinness and Confession Box on Marlborough Street.
The Long Hall : end of!
As a Dublin Walking I’ve been in most. The pub I love is Chaplins on Hawkins Street, gorgeous pint in a great pub, €5.20
Worst I’ve ever had. I kid u not!!. Neighbour Mulligans Poolbeg St best pint in the country!!
Great pint in the confession box Marlborough Street, should have made the cut.
Your all forgetting the Beggars Bush
Haddington Road
By far the best pint of the black stuff in Dublin
5 star and €4.75 for OAP all days
Absolutely love that pub. Used to work close by it and miss not doing so anymore. Great pint too. But just about outside the Canals, relative to this post being about pubs inside them.
You missed out a trick by not putting Bowes in your Top 5. An epic, creamy, meal of a pint.
The hut phibsboro
Followed closely by Downey’s in cabra at 4.50 a pint.hard to beat that in dublin
Jacobs saggart
The LONGHALL , always and will always be the best, even Philo drank there.
Duggans on parkgate street a lovely pint
Eh The Blue Light Barnaculla …. Epic!
Bowes best pint in the city centre
Leonards Corner Cafe Bar , consistently the best pint of Guinness for 20 years
I haven’t been to The Pipers, but when it was Sean O’Caseys, it serves a mighty pint. As did the Sackville Lounge and the Flowing Tide. 3 of my favourite pubs in Dublin. Sadly all gone… they had top Guinness and fair prices. I have sampled Guinness all over Dublin (and am lot of Ireland) and in my opinion Cusacks in North Strand still serves the greatest pints of Guinness Ive ever had anywhere on this Island. Definitely worth a visit.
The Windjammer on Townsend Street has a smashing pint. Kegs are only 10′ below the taps which I believe makes a difference. The same also applies to the Ha’penny Bridge Inn.
Pipers Cornet was my favorite pint during my trip last weekend!