Ask a Dubliner for the best bars in Dublin and they will steer you away from Temple Bar before they name a single pub. The reason is the round. A pint in a normal city-centre pub runs about 6 to 8 euro, with the citywide average around 7 euro, while the same pint in Temple Bar climbs to 9 to 11.50 euro. The rooms worth your night sit on Camden Street, around George's Street and out in Smithfield, where the crowd is local.
What follows is a pub-by-pub steer organised by what you actually want, a quiet Victorian room, live trad, a proper cocktail or a rooftop, plus what the night costs and how to get home.
Pick the area first, then the pub
Dublin's drinking splits into a few clear zones. Temple Bar is the cobbled tourist quarter on the south bank, neon-fronted pubs with live trad every night, brilliant for a first evening and famously the most expensive corner of the city. Locals pass through it, they rarely settle in.
The Camden Street and Wexford Street strip is where Dubliners actually drink: trendier bars, craft beer, a younger crowd, and pints roughly 20 to 30 percent cheaper than the tourist quarter. Just north of it sits the Creative Quarter around South William Street and Drury Street, the cocktail-and-design end. West of the centre, Smithfield and Stoneybatter run quieter and more residential, home to the city's best trad pub.
A quick map of the zones:
| Area | Best for | Pint guide |
|---|---|---|
| Temple Bar | First night, live trad, big groups | 9 to 11.50 euro |
| Camden / Wexford St | Locals' night, craft beer, late bars | 6 to 8 euro |
| South William / Drury St | Cocktails, dates, pre-club | 6 to 8 euro |
| Smithfield / Stoneybatter | Trad sessions, a calmer pint | 6 to 7.50 euro |
The classic pubs worth the walk
These are the rooms Dubliners send visitors to, and they're free to walk into.
The Long Hall is a Victorian pub on South Great George's Street with an interior that has barely changed since 1881, all carved mahogany, antique mirrors and a famous old clock. No music, no telly, just conversation and a properly poured pint around 6.50 to 8 euro. Bruce Springsteen drinks here when he's in town.
The Stag's Head is a classic Victorian pub tucked down Dame Court off Dame Street, dating to 1780 and redesigned in 1895. Look for the mosaic stag set into the pavement that points the way in. Stained glass, more mahogany, the same sort of pint price.
Toners on Baggot Street Lower is a traditional Victorian pub with one of the best beer gardens in the city centre and the original 1818 grocery drawers still behind the bar. Grogan's, properly the Castle Lounge, sits off George's Street Arcade and is the literary and artists' pub, beloved for its toasted sandwiches and for the crowd that spills onto the street with pints in summer. Neither does music. Both do atmosphere.
Best bars for live trad and gigs
The Cobblestone is a traditional music pub in Smithfield, a one-minute walk from the Luas stop, running free trad sessions seven nights a week with no cover, no microphones and no tourist patter. Locals call it a drinking pub with a music problem. Sessions kick off in the late afternoon or early evening depending on the day and run to close, and pints sit around 6 to 7.50 euro. If you want the real thing rather than the Temple Bar version, this is it.
Whelan's on Wexford Street is the cornerstone live venue, open since 1989, 570 capacity over two floors, the kind of place where you catch a band before they get big. Gigs most evenings, a late bar and club nights at weekends. The Brazen Head on Bridge Street, which claims origins back to 1198 and so bills itself as Ireland's oldest pub, runs trad and ballad sessions nightly in a cobbled courtyard. It's touristy and pints push 7 to 8.50 euro, but it's worth one drink for the story.
If you'd rather have the music spots strung together for you, a traditional Irish musical pub crawl led by working musicians is the easy win, hopping the right pubs away from the Temple Bar markup. We round up the format and what to expect in our guide to a proper traditional Irish music pub crawl.
Cocktails and the cool end of town
The Creative Quarter is the cocktail heartland. Peruke & Periwig is an award-winning bar over two candlelit floors in a former wig-maker's on Dawson Street, with creative drinks around 14 to 18 euro and a booking strongly advised because it's small and fills fast. Vintage Cocktail Club hides behind an unmarked door on Crown Alley, on the edge of Temple Bar but a world away in feel, three floors of armchairs, fireplaces and old-school glamour. Book ahead.
For a view with your drink, Sophie's is a glasshouse rooftop atop The Dean Hotel on Harcourt Street, panoramic city views, weekend DJ and cocktails in the 14 to 18 euro range. The Marker Rooftop out in the Docklands trades on skyline views and award-winning cocktails, though both rooftops are weather-dependent, which in Dublin means call ahead. Pack a layer even in July.
What a night actually costs
Budget by the round, not the drink. Three pints in a normal pub is roughly 18 to 24 euro; the same three in Temple Bar can hit 30 to 34. Cocktails run 13 to 18 euro almost everywhere, a touch lower in a standard downtown bar. Buying rounds (a "shout") is a strong social norm here, so if you're in a group of five, expect to put a full round on the tab when it's your turn, and pace yourself accordingly.
Happy hours are legally restricted in Ireland and so basically don't exist. The real savings are structural: drink off the Camden Street strip rather than in Temple Bar, and time your visit for Dublin Cocktail Week in June, when 35-plus bars pour signature cocktails at 7 euro a go with a wristband. Free trad at The Cobblestone costs nothing but the pints.
Hours, getting home and the small print
Dublin closes earlier than visitors expect. Pubs run to about 11:30pm Sunday to Thursday and 12:30am Friday and Saturday; late bars and clubs push to roughly 2:30 to 3:30am, with last entry often around 1:30am. The long-promised 6am nightclub licence still had not passed as of mid-2026, so don't plan a sunrise. Bars peak between 9pm and 11:30pm, so arrive by then if you want a seat in the popular rooms.
Getting home is straightforward. Dublin Bus Nitelink runs Friday and Saturday from around midnight to 4am (fares about 2.40 euro with a Leap Card), several routes run 24 hours, and the Luas trams go until roughly 1:30am at weekends. There's no Uber or Bolt private car in Ireland, the apps only dispatch licensed taxis, so a street hail or a rank works fine; a short to medium city-centre taxi is usually 12 to 25 euro with a late premium after midnight. Drinking age is 18 and clubs ID anyone who looks under 25, so carry a passport, EU licence or Garda Age Card. Most pubs are casual, but late clubs like Copper Face Jacks enforce smart-casual: no tracksuits, jerseys or scruffy trainers, especially for groups of men.
One last steer. Use Temple Bar as a starter, not a base. Have your photo-and-trad drink early, then walk five minutes to George's Street or up to Camden Street, where the night gets cheaper, the rooms get better, and you're finally drinking where Dublin drinks. Planning where to dance after closing the pub? Our rundown of the best clubs and late nights in Dublin picks up from here.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best bar in Dublin?
There's no single winner, it depends on what you want. For a stunning old room and a quiet pint, The Long Hall on South Great George's Street is hard to beat. For live trad every night, go to The Cobblestone in Smithfield. For cocktails, Peruke & Periwig on Dawson Street is a long-running favourite. All three are away from the Temple Bar tourist crush.
Where do locals drink in Dublin?
Mostly on the Camden Street and Wexford Street strip, plus the South William Street and Drury Street area in the Creative Quarter. Pints there run roughly 6 to 8 euro, around 20 to 30 percent less than Temple Bar. Conversation pubs like Grogan's and The Long Hall and trad spots like The Cobblestone pull a real Dublin crowd rather than coach groups.
What is the oldest pub in Dublin?
The Brazen Head on Bridge Street claims origins from 1198, which would make it Ireland's oldest pub. It's touristy now, with nightly trad music and a cobbled courtyard, but worth one drink for the history. For an unchanged Victorian interior, The Long Hall (its rooms barely altered since 1881) and The Stag's Head (1780, redesigned 1895) are the atmospheric picks.
Are Temple Bar pubs worth it?
For one night, yes, the live trad music and the energy are genuinely fun. Just know what you're paying: pints in Temple Bar run roughly 9 to 11.50 euro, the dearest in the city. Have a couple, take the photos, then move on. Locals don't linger here, and a five-minute walk to George's Street or Camden Street cuts your round cost noticeably.
Which Dublin pubs have live music?
The Cobblestone in Smithfield runs free trad sessions seven nights a week and is the gold standard. The Brazen Head and Oliver St. John Gogarty in Temple Bar also do nightly music. For indie, rock and singer-songwriters, Whelan's on Wexford Street (open since 1989) is the cornerstone gig venue, with a late bar and club nights upstairs at weekends.
What is the most famous pub in Dublin?
It's a toss-up between The Brazen Head, which trades hard on being Ireland's oldest, and the Temple Bar pubs that fill every postcard. Among Dubliners, Grogan's (the Castle Lounge) off George's Street Arcade is the famous one, a literary and artists' pub known for toasted sandwiches and pints served on the street in summer.