Best Pubs in Dublin: Seven Worth Your Pint

The best pubs in Dublin are the ones that match your night, and this list sorts seven of them by what each does well. It also covers what a pint costs and when a guide is worth having.

Best pubs in Dublin: how to pick one

Choose by the kind of night you want. If you want music, pick a pub with a daily session. If you want a quiet pint, pick one with an old interior and small rooms. If you want the busiest area, go to Temple Bar and expect crowds. The district has its own guide to the Dublin bar Temple Bar streets, with more on what is where.

Prices matter too. A pint in a Dublin city-centre pub cost from €6.90 to €9.20 in the published prices collected for the 2026 Dublin Travel Cost Study. None of the pubs below publishes its own pint price, so treat that range as a guide only. No average pint price is published for Dublin, so the range is the plain answer: published pints ran between those two prices.

Children: Citizens Information says under-18s may be on licensed premises only until 9pm (10pm from May to September) and only with a parent. None of these pubs publishes its own child policy, so call ahead. Closing time: the Courts Service lists standard pub hours of 10:30am to 11:30pm Monday to Thursday, 10:30am to 12:30am Friday and Saturday, and 12:30pm to 11pm Sunday, plus 30 minutes to drink up. Some pubs publish later hours. Under-18s must be out by 9pm (10pm May to September), so a late closing time does not apply to children. Opening times are published for only some: the Brazen Head opens 12pm to late every day, and the Temple Bar pub closes at 1:30am or 2:30am, as its entry below says. Kehoe's, the Long Hall, O'Donoghue's and Toners publish no general hours.

Do it yourself if you know your pub, because none of these needs a ticket. Take a tour if you want a set route and a guide, since the walks start at about €27.50 per person and the crawl at €14.

Key Takeaway Pick the pub by the night you want, and treat the study's pint range as a guide, because none of these seven pubs publishes its own price.

In Things to Do in Dublin's count of GetYourGuide listings on 25 October 2026, 20 listings have "pub" in their title, from €12 to €212 per person. Most of those are tours, not tables, so a guided option is easy to find if you want one.

1. The Brazen Head: for the oldest-pub claim

The Brazen Head is the pub to pick if you want history with your pint. Its own site says it was "established in 1198" and calls it the oldest pub in Ireland, so read that as the pub's claim. It is at 20 Lower Bridge Street, and its website says it opens 12pm to late, seven days a week.

The pub serves food until 9pm from Sunday to Thursday and until 9:30pm on Friday and Saturday. It lists live music seven nights a week from 9pm, plus a Sunday session from 3pm to 6pm. Check the page for the current season. Groups under eight do not need a booking, and the pub says it will fit you in. The page sets out no other house rules.

2. The Cobblestone: for traditional music

The Cobblestone is the pub to pick if the music matters more than the food. It is at 77 King Street North in Smithfield and is a family-owned pub, according to its website. The pub says it has been in the family for 35 years.

The Cobblestone publishes no weekday closing time and no age rule. It serves no food and takes no table reservations. Its summer hours run from 2pm on Monday to Thursday and from 1pm on Friday and Saturday, with late closings at the weekend. Traditional music sessions run most days. The pub's page lists two different timetables, so check it before you go.

Smithfield is also where a guided walk through four traditional pubs begins. The Traditional Pubs Walking Tour with a local guide starts at the Utah Teapot in Smithfield, runs for 3 hours and is run by Walking Food Tours - Dublin. It costs from €27.50 per person and has free cancellation. You pay for your own drinks, and its page puts the average spend at about €25. It is not suitable for anyone under 18.

3. O'Donoghue's: for music every night

O'Donoghue's is the pub to pick for live Irish music on any night of the week. Its site puts the address at 15 Merrion Row and says the pub "dates back to 1789". It lists music from 8pm until midnight on Monday to Thursday, from 6:30pm on Friday and from 5:30pm on Saturday. On Sunday, music runs all day.

The page lists no general opening hours and does not mention food. Come for a drink and the session, and eat elsewhere.

4. Kehoe's: for snugs and a quiet pint

Kehoe's is the pub to pick when you want a small, wood-panelled room. Fáilte Ireland's Visit Dublin page puts it at 9 South Anne Street, just off Grafton Street. It describes stained glass, mahogany doors and old Irish snugs, and says the current building dates from the end of the 19th century. Writers such as James Joyce and Brendan Behan are named as past regulars.

Kehoe's page lists no opening hours and does not mention food. A snug is a small enclosed booth with its own door, built for a private drink. They are first come, first served, so arrive early on a weekend.

5. The Long Hall: for Victorian woodwork

The Long Hall is the pub to pick for old carved wood and a Victorian feel. Fáilte Ireland's Discover Ireland page gives the address as 51 South Great George's Street. It describes a Victorian atmosphere, a woodwork interior and art nouveau glass panels over the entrance to the toilets.

Sources disagree on when the pub opened, so this guide gives no date. The page lists no hours, so call +353 1 475 1590 or check before you go. The pub backs onto Dublin Castle, which is closed to the public until January 2027, but the pub is not affected.

Pro Tip Go to Kehoe's or the Long Hall on a weekday afternoon. Both are small, so the quiet hours are the best hours.

6. Toners: for a pint and a beer garden

Toners is the pub to pick for a classic pint and an outdoor space. Discover Ireland's Toners page gives the address as 139 Lower Baggot Street and the date as 1818. It lists a flagged floor, old stock drawers behind the bar and a large beer garden with heaters, so it works in winter too. The page says Kavanagh and Yeats were regulars.

Toners has no opening hours on its listing, so call +353 1 676 3090 to check before you go.

A good pub is judged by its welcome before its pint.

7. The Temple Bar pub: for a first night in the centre

The Temple Bar pub is the pub to pick for an easy first night in the centre of the city. It is at 47-48 Temple Bar and its website lists the hours as 10:30am to 1:30am from Monday to Wednesday and 10:30am to 2:30am from Thursday to Saturday. On Sunday it opens at 12:30pm and closes at 2:30am. Live music runs through those hours. The kitchen closes at 8pm Monday to Thursday and at 7pm on Friday and Saturday. The pub takes no bookings.

No official source gives the pint price here, so ask before you order. The area is busy, and a guided night out can make it easier. The Generation Pub Crawl lasts 5 hours and is run by Generation Pubcrawl. It costs from €14 per person, is rated 4.5 from 3,821 reviews, and has free cancellation. It meets at 4 Dame Lane, no group size is listed, and you must be 19 or over. It is not suitable for wheelchair users, and hotel pick-up is not included. Its price includes one Guinness, free shots and fast-track entry. Its page says it is a pub crawl, not a guided history tour. For other ways to book a night like this, see the options for a pub crawl Dublin visitors can book ahead.

Whiskey after the pints: Teeling Whiskey Distillery

If you would rather have a whiskey than a pint, the Teeling Whiskey Distillery is the swap. Teeling's own page lists a tasting tour for €22 per person that lasts 50 minutes. The Teeling Whiskey Distillery tour and tasting on GetYourGuide is a one-hour guided tour of a working distillery with a tasting, from €22 per person. It is rated 4.6 from 1,317 reviews and has free cancellation, and you must be over 18 to take the tasting. The distillery sits in the Liberties. For more distillery choices, see Teeling Whiskey Distillery and the other whiskey tours.

How to choose between these pubs

Match the pub to the night, using the table below. For a Guinness, no source ranks the pour in these pubs, so choose by the night. The Yellow Umbrella walk includes a half-pint of Guinness, and the Generation Pub Crawl includes one free Guinness.

One limit applies to this list. It names seven pubs, not every good one, and it only states what the pubs and Fáilte Ireland publish. Opening hours and music nights change, so confirm them on the day.

If you want a pint with a view rather than a pub, the Guinness Storehouse is the other choice. Its ticket includes one drink in the Gravity Bar, and its FAQ says the Gravity Bar can only be entered with a tour ticket.

Two tours suit a first night if you would rather not choose. The traditional pub walking tour is run by Yellow Umbrella Tours Ltd, lasts 4 hours and meets at the Spire on O'Connell Street. It costs from €42 per person, is rated 4.6 from 577 reviews, and has free cancellation. It includes three craft beer samples, a half-pint of Guinness, whiskey and gin samples, and a traditional music session. Groups are up to 25 people.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.