The Bull & Castle

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

3.75/5  rDev -10.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Visited here a couple of times while in Dublin for a few days in September 2007...

This place is made up to look like a German beer hall with lots of wooden tables and benches and is split in two with the downstairs being a gastropub and the upstairs being the beer hall...

Good selection of Irish craft brews on offer including Blarney Blonde and Galway hooker on tap... i also had a couple of bottles from the Árainn Mhór Brewing Company. The rest of the menu is made up from various Belgian, German and other European offerings along with one or two US brews (Goose Island, Sierra Nevada)..

My only issue with the beers was that they were served way too cold for my liking..

Had a plate of antipasto as well which was pretty tasty...

Overall this is a great addition to the pub scene in Dublin and is up there with the Porterhouse as a must visit...

01-14-2008 15:23:55 | More by mdagnew

JohnfromDublin

Ireland

4.22/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

This place has become a haven for real beer drinkers in Dublin in its first year (2007). It was formerly The Castle Inn, but was purchased by FXBs who converted the downstairs part to a gastropub (combining beers with food), and converting the upstairs part into a large Beerhall. The beerhall is based on Bavarian beerhallen with solid wooden tables and bench seating.
They generally have interesting brews on tap, including Irish microbrews (from Franciscan Well, Galway Hooker, Carlow etc.), and balanced with imported brews. The beer from the tap is served in kleine (330 ml), helba (500ml), and stein (1L) sizes although O'Haras stout is served in pint glasses. They generally try to have the correct glasses for the bottled selection.

The extensive bottled beer menu lists many imports from UK/USA/Belgium/Germany such as Goose Island IPA, Sierra Nevada brews, Trappist ales, Black Sheep Ale etc.

They also offer a beer tasting for groups serving a half kleine of four different style beers on tap (Kolsch, Weizen, Pilsner, Pale Ale) at a reasonable price, to encourage people to experiment a little in a marketplace dominated by macro brews.

If you visit Dublin, then you must visit this place, even if it is just for a hour to try Blarney Blonde and Galway Hooker.

01-07-2008 11:57:10 | More by JohnfromDublin