Temple Bar, Dublin

Nice area with plenty of shops, pubs and restaurants but definitely aimed at tourists & hence pretty expensive. Go & see it but if you want souvenirs, food or drink there's plenty of other places to choose from!!!

Fun Alternatives: The side streets between Grafton Street and George's Street offer main smaller shops and restaurants without the crowds of Temple Bar and normally for more reasonable prices.

These are good pubs to go if you want to meet 40 year old english tarts on a hen night. No Irish people go here. I made the mistake of going here one night of a monday, a night when prices are usually cheaper around dublin. It was 8 euro for a pint, which is very expensive, even for dublin. If you are young, however, I can recommend two pubs near here, both are brilliant. The first is the mezz (eustace street, temple bar), usually has the best live cover bands you will see in dublin (especially of a tuesday) until about 1am, then a dj after until about three. Cool bar. Cool people. The other is Doyles. This is a major haunt for university students, the city's major university is across the street from it. Sun-Wed not much happens, but the weekends, especially friday and saturady cant be missed, free in, cheap booze and dancing.

Unique Suggestions: Theres not much you can do. Do not go through the lanes of temple bar late at night or you WILL be violently mugged.

Fun Alternatives: these are good pubs to go if you want to meet 40 year old english tarts on a hen night. No Irish people go here. I made the mistake of going here one night of a monday, a night when prices are usually cheaper around dublin. It was 8 euro for a pint, which is very expensive, even for dublin. If you are young, however, I can recommend two pubs near here, both are brilliant. The first is the mezz (eustace street, temple bar), usually has the best live cover bands you will see in dublin (especially of a tuesday) until about 1am, then a dj after until about three. Cool bar. Cool people. The other is Doyles. This is a major haunt for university students, the city's major university is across the street from it. Sun-Wed not much happens, but the weekends, especially friday and saturady cant be missed, free in, cheap booze and dancing.

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The Temple Bar area is home to a plethora of tourist oriented bars and restaurants, upon seeing the Oliver St John Gogarty Pub, festooned in flags of the world, I knew I was deeply entrenched in tourist heaven or hell depending on your definition of a good time. I didn't spend a lot of time here although I did have lunch at Gallagher's Boxty House and while the food was good, the prices were definitely tourist prices.

Unique Suggestions: I wouldn't say that you should avoid the area altogether, have a nice walk through the area during the day but understand if you stop that you might be gouged on prices and/or quality.

Fun Alternatives: Dublin has lots and lots of other restaurants and bars, try one of those instead and you might actually meet a local or two!

Temple Bar is home of some of the most expensive and false pubs in Dublin and the whole of Ireland. It's sole purpose is to fleece tourists - only stupid Dubliners go there.
Drink prices go up by the hour especially in the greatest rip-off of them all: The Oliver St.John Gogarty.

Unique Suggestions: Make sure and buy any drink at 10 minutes before the hour to avoid sudden price hikes.

Fun Alternatives: Go no further than The Palace!
Go to Camden Street instead.

The Temple bar area of Dublin is nice to stroll around, but we found the bars rammed to the brim with tourists getting 'rat-arsed' and the prices were astounding!

You can pay 15 Euros for a sandwich in this part of town and we went way over our intended budget in Dublin. Maybe they up the prices in August.

Beware, in Temple Bar, Beer is dear!

Unique Suggestions: Read up on other bars north of the Liffey, but be careful where you wander, there were some parts you may be advised to have your witts about you.

We also ate a meal in an 'Italian' restaurant in the center of town...The food was awful and very overpriced.

Best deal we had all night, was a visit to an off licence where there was (rather fantastically) free Irish Whiskey tasting. he he (We were going in there to have a drink in our hotel room, as we were getting through so much dosh) - What a gas in the offy, tasting all the whiskeys which came in all sizes including teeny weeny handbag size, much to my delight. We emerged some time later, rather rosy -cheeked clutching our Bushmills

But really, the prices of drinks in the Temple Bar area are just a killer on the wallet and you can hardly get a seat in most of them.
They look cool from the outside, but the reality doesn't live up to the image. I don't know how Dubliners afford to go out so much!
(On asking a friend who lives in the City, he siad 'well, no-one pays any tax')!

Fun Alternatives: We found a pub on the north side, off O Connell St, which had traditional music and few tourists (I'll try to remember the name and include it here).
KB and I, had a great time there amid some highly amusing Dublin personalities.

Temple Bar is a hub for creative a wacky people during the day time but it turns into a ASBO converer belt as the night progresses.

Unique Suggestions: Keep it for lunch and shopping, or Hen / Stag nights only! x

Fun Alternatives: Go to South William street / Camden st area instead, much more laid back and genuinely DUBLIN

This is where it's at if you are going to Dublin for a crazy drinking weekend. It's always packed and there's always something going on. But keep in mind that it's a rip off for tourists. Drinks and food are very expensive, you will find vomiting on the floor and it's way too crowded. There are better places to go, I think it's awful. It's still got a good pub or two though, but that's about it.

I was quite reluctant to go to the Temple Bar after reading so many opinions on tourists throwing up on the streets and so many violent episodes of thiefs and stuff like that. I have to say I loved the Temple Bar. Maybe because I was there during mid-week and not on a weekend night but I didn't see anybody throwing up on the streets, no students, many tourists and also many dubliners too. So many restaurants to choose from and sooo many pubs and bars. We went to a couple of restaurants there (the bad ass and fritzers, the first one incredible and not that expensive (try the hamburgers), the second very good too (try the fish n chips) but more expensive than the 1st one) and also to a couple of pubs. They both had live irish music and waiters were so friendly; they were full of people and we had a great time there. It's a must see in Dublin, definetely.

Just because the guidebook says you should go there, take it from someone who lives here: TEMPLE BAR IS A CRAPHOLE.

Unlike what the guidebooks tell you, it is NOT the centre of Dublin nightlife, no self-respecting Dub with any sense of cool or taste will go there. Tourists outnumber the locals in TB. It is so overrated.

The pubs in Temple Bar delight in ripping off tourists with watered-down and _very_ expensive beer, you're looking at least €5 for a pint.

Temple Bar is soooo overrated. There is so much more to Dublin nightlife than this!

Temple Bar is flashy, gaudy, the streets are lined with vomit and litter - it is NOT the real Dublin!!!

Unique Suggestions: The Farmer's Market on Saturdays is good, I enjoy going to that. Also the Irish Film Institute shows arthouse films.

Fun Alternatives: If you are thinking of going to Temple Bar for a stag or hen party - think again.
Literally no pub in Temple Bar will let you in. (And if you dont believe me, there are signs posted up in pubs saying "No Stags or Hen parties").

Actually, now that I think of it, this extends across most good bars in Dublin too. The crappy sleazy places like Break for the Border or Copper Face Jacks will let them in, but to us locals, they're like the equivalent of a dodgy burger at 3am - a great idea at the time and then the next time you wonder what on earth possessed you.

These days, English stags and hen parties are not really encouraged to come to Dublin unless they're gonna behave and don't barf or whatever.

Follow the locals and check out the bars & restaurants along the Dawson & Grafton street areas, South William, Georges and Wexford streets.

In fact, I would go as far to say that you should consider going to another Irish city like Cork or Galway for your stag/hen.

It's very hard to avoid Temple Bar, if you're staying in Downtown Dublin. At night it is mostly non-distinct dance clubs full of sharky men and drunk tourists. If you're looking for a low-key place to drink a pint and listen to some good music, try your luck outside of the Temple Bar District.

Unique Suggestions: If you cannot avoid Temple Bar, at least go in the daytime. It is a much more interesting mix of bookshops, boutiques and cafes. Toward the end of March, there was a great open air market with the most delicious, fresh goat cheese ever.