Vintage Cocktail Club on Crown Alley in Temple Bar, a first-floor cocktail room behind an unmarked door, the city's most serious pre-Prohibition cocktail list.
Food program: Cheese boards and bar plates
Tip: Ring the bell, walk up the stairs. Bookings essential; the room is two seatings per night Thursday to Saturday.
Address: 15 Crown Alley, Dublin 2, D02 E229
The Long Hall on South Great George's Street in Dublin 2, a Victorian saloon since 1881 with original mahogany and mirror back-bar, the city's best Guinness pour.
Signature drink: Guinness
Food: Bar snacks and toasties only
Tip: The bar runs the length of the room; sit on a stool in the back snug to watch the bar staff work. Cash and card.
Grogan's on South William Street in Dublin 2, the artist's pub since the 1970s, the city's reference for a creamy Guinness and a toasted-cheese-and-ham.
Signature drink: Guinness with a ham and cheese toastie
Food: Toasted cheese and ham toasties only
Tip: Cash and card. The front lounge fills with regulars; the back room is the conversation room. Toasties stop at 18:00.
The Cobblestone on King Street North in Smithfield, Dublin 7, Tom Mulligan's family trad music pub, the city's reference for an unplugged session of traditional music.
Signature drink: Guinness
Food: No food, drinks only
Tip: Nightly trad sessions from 19:00, free entry. The back room is the dedicated session bar; arrive 18:00 for a seat.
Peruke and Periwig on Dawson Street in Dublin 2, a Victorian-cabinet cocktail bar on three floors, the city's reference for a Dealer's Choice and a Manhattan.
Signature drink: Dealers Choice cocktail
Food: Bar snacks only
Tip: Three floors; the basement is the speakeasy room. Bookings essential Friday and Saturday; the ground-floor bar takes walk-ins.
The Bar With No Name above L'Gueuleton on Fade Street in Dublin 2, a hidden-entrance cocktail bar marked by a wooden snail, mismatched decaying furniture, fairy lights and an open fireplace.
Signature drink: House Negroni
Food: Tapas-style snacks
Tip: Look for the wooden snail beside L'Gueuleton; the entrance is unmarked. Walk-in for cocktails.
P. Mac's on Lower Stephen Street in Dublin 2, a candlelit craft-beer bar with twenty Irish and US taps, the southside's reference for an Irish craft IPA.
Signature drink: Whiplash IPA on tap
Food: Bar snacks; food trucks outside
Tip: Twenty taps weekly rotation; ask the bar for the Whiplash, DOT or Trouble Brewing pour. Cash and card.
