Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ venues, listening bars and late-night dives in Dublin.
Dance clubs, live music, rooftop bars, speakeasies, LGBTQ+ nightlife, listening bars and late-night dives across Dublin, with where to go and what is worth the late night.
Index Dublin moved into the former Opium Rooms on Middle Abbey Street and is now the city's serious techno and house room with Glitterbox residencies.
TipDoors hard close around 01:00 on the busy nights, get there before midnight or queue the rest of the set out on Abbey Street.
The Workman's Club on Wellington Quay in Dublin runs the 1888 working men's hall as a live music room with the Vintage Room basement programming club nights.
TipBuy your gig ticket and you stay in for the late club room, do not waste the cover by leaving at 23:00 like the tourists do.
Bow Lane on Aungier Street in Dublin is the late cocktail bar and dance room with a DJ programme that runs disco and house until well after 02:00 most nights.
TipThe bottomless brunch crowd peaks at 15:00, walk in then for a table or after 21:00 once the dance floor takes over.
Lost Lane opened in 2019 off Grafton Street in Dublin with a 320 capacity live music room and a Friday and Saturday club programme anchored by the Mother residency.
TipUse the Adam Court alley entrance off Grafton Street, not the Porterhouse door. Friday club nights pre-sell, do not chance a cold walk-in.
Whelan's on Wexford Street is the canonical Dublin live music room, three venues across the building running seven nights, with Hozier and Glen Hansard alumni.
TipThe main venue is the upstairs room, not the front bar, ask at the door if you have a ticket. Sundays are the trad night and the bar pours till 01:00.
Vicar Street on Thomas Street in Dublin opened in 1998 and has hosted Bob Dylan, Adele and Ed Sheeran in a 1,500-standing Liberties room that touring artists prize.
TipThe cabaret-table seated layout is the best one in the room, book direct on vicarstreet.com and pick the bottom tier for sightlines.
The Cobblestone in Smithfield Dublin is the Mulligan family trad pub The Guardian called Ireland's most famous traditional music room. Free nightly sessions.
TipThe front bar session is free and starts at 19:00, you sit where the regulars say you sit. The Balcony TV gigs are in the back room and ticketed.
Devitt's on Camden Street Lower is the south side Dublin trad institution, with live Irish music sessions seven nights a week and a regular musician's audience.
TipThe Wednesday session is the longest-running, get there by 21:00 for a seat near the players. Order at the bar, food is decent and not the point.
The International Bar on Wicklow Street in Dublin hosts Ireland's oldest comedy club upstairs and a basement that runs blues and singer-songwriter nights cheaply.
TipThe Comedy Cellar Tuesday and Thursday nights are the originals, pay at the door and bring cash, the upstairs has no card machine.
Drury Buildings on Drury Street in Dublin runs four floors of bar and restaurant with a retractable-roof terrace, the Creative Quarter's regular outdoor cocktail room.
TipAsk for the upper terrace when you book, not the ground floor garden, the retractable roof closes when the rain starts and the view goes with it.
The Rooftop Bar at Anantara The Marker on Grand Canal Square in Dublin runs the city's only 360-degree terrace, from the Dublin Mountains to the Irish Sea.
TipSunset slot 19:00-21:00 is the booking, the bar closes the terrace in wind or rain so call ahead in winter.
Sophie's at The Dean is the all-glass rooftop above Harcourt Street in Dublin, a 360-degree south-side view and a terrace bar running breakfast through cocktails.
TipBook direct on sophies.ie; the rooftop runs through all weathers under its glasshouse. The corner two-tops by the south-facing glass are the prize.
The Vintage Cocktail Club on Crown Alley in Temple Bar Dublin sits behind an unmarked black door, three floors of speakeasy rooms and a 1600s-rooted cocktail list.
TipRing the bell, the door staff are looking for a booking name. The roof terrace is the prize on a dry night, request it on the reservation form.
Peruke & Periwig on Dawson Street in Dublin runs three floors of theatrical cocktail rooms, the Teased & Twirled menu downstairs and Velvet Tresses upstairs.
TipThe first-floor Velvet Tresses room is the bookable cocktail experience, request the corner booth. The ground floor takes walk-ins for the standard menu.
Bonsai Bar on South Great George's Street in Dublin is Dylan McGrath's tiny Japanese-leaning cocktail room, with a tasting menu of bespoke drinks paired to sushi.
TipBookings only, the room holds 24 and the kitchen pairs sushi to the cocktails, ask for the eight-seat counter for the bartender's commentary.
The Black Door on Harcourt Street in Dublin is the Georgian basement lounge that runs over-25s only, with DJs Friday and Saturday and a no-sportswear door policy.
TipStrictly over 25s and the dress code is enforced, no trainers and no sportswear, book the bottle-service booth if you want a guaranteed table.
The George on South Great George's Street is Dublin's oldest gay bar, opened May 1985 eight years before decriminalisation. The central LGBTQ nightlife address.
TipSunday Shirley Temple Bar Bingo at 21:30 is the institution, get there by 20:00 for a seat. The back nightclub kicks in from 23:00 Thursday to Sunday.
Pantibar on Capel Street in Dublin is drag queen Panti Bliss's flamboyant bar, central to the queer scene since 2007 for drag, cabaret and a community pint.
TipFriday early evening is when Panti tends to drop in unannounced, Sundays do the long lazy drag brunch downstairs.
Mother is Dublin's central queer club night, running every Saturday at Lost Lane off Grafton Street since 2019 with a disco and electro programme built on guest DJs.
TipPre-buy tickets, the door cuts off around 00:30 once capacity hits. Bank Holiday Sundays are the bigger nights, book early.
Street 66 on Parliament Street in Dublin opened December 2016 in the former Front Lounge as the queer venue between Temple Bar and Dublin Castle. Late licences.
TipThe late licence runs to 02:30 Friday and Saturday, hold the courtyard tables outside in summer, the inside basement gets dense after midnight.
The Big Romance on Parnell Street opened in 2018 as Dublin's first dedicated audiophile bar, with a custom vinyl-only system and a bartenders-as-selectors policy.
TipSit at the bar in front of the speakers, the booths at the back are for conversation rather than listening. Bartenders take vinyl requests if you bring records.
Fidelity Bar & Studio in Smithfield Dublin is the 2024 audiophile listening room from The Big Romance and Whiplash, with custom speakers and Sister7 small plates.
TipProgramming shifts from balearic and jazz early to house and disco late, book the booth in Fidelity Studio for a semi-private listening table.
Grogan's Castle Lounge on South William Street has been Dublin's literary refuge since the 1970s when Paddy Kavanagh and Flann O'Brien drank here. No music, no TV.
TipOrder the cheese toastie, it is the entire kitchen and it is excellent. The art on the walls is for sale, ask the bar staff if you spot one.
The Long Hall on South Great George's Street in Dublin is the Victorian-refurbished 1881 pub backing onto Dublin Castle, with carved partitions and a long snug.
TipOrder a Guinness at the front bar, the back room with the chandeliers is the photograph everyone takes. No food, no music, no nonsense.
Doheny & Nesbitt on Baggot Street Lower in Dublin has been the Leinster House crowd's pub since 1828, Victorian partitions and the Doheny Snug at the front.
TipThe Doheny Snug at the front is the original confessional-style booth, ask the bar staff if it is free, it is the room you want for two.
Kehoe's on South Anne Street in Dublin has been pulling pints since 1803, with stained-glass doors, mahogany snugs and a 19th-century interior kept like a museum.
TipThe upstairs lounge is the old proprietor's living room kept as a bar, ask the staff if it is open, it is the prize seat.
Mulligan's on Poolbeg Street has poured pints in the same Dublin building since 1854, drank in by James Joyce and John F. Kennedy, an unspoiled Trinity-side dive.
TipOrder a stout at the back bar, the Joyce Room snug holds two at a push and is named for the Counterparts arm-wrestle scene set there.
The Stag's Head on Dame Court in Dublin is the 1895 A.J. McLoughlin Victorian pub James Joyce drank at, with stag-themed stained glass and carved wood snugs.
TipWalk down the alley off Dame Lane, the back entrance avoids the front pavement crowd. The upstairs cabaret hall hosts comedy most nights.
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