The Brazen Head — Attraction in Dublin

My worst Irish experience was visiting The Brazen Head bar. During our 6-day stay in Dublin, every place we visited had a pleasant atmosphere, friendly staff, and delicious food. On the last day of our trip, we decided to visit the oldest bar in Ireland as the cherry on top. That day, it unexpectedly snowed, the weather was cold and rainy, and we ran to the bar completely drenched. As soon as we entered, we felt the unfriendly and unwelcoming attitude of the staff. I can't even say who was the worst among the team of waiters: the waitress who grumpily nodded and muttered that we could sit here for drinks, or the bartender who, seeing water dripping from us and us being the only customers in the bar at that moment, answered sharply and unfriendly that there is nowhere to dry clothes, or the palm of priority goes to the waitress who served the order to the table without a single comment or smile, as if she had eaten a lemon. We wanted to warm up with hot Irish coffee. Irish coffee was listed on the menu at 7 euros each, but we were charged 21 euros for two. When we asked why the very impolite waitress rudely pointed at the menu and said grumpily that alcohol prices were not displayed as they are constantly increasing, and the number 7 next to Irish coffee actually indicated an allergy warning (lol). This seemed like a scam to us! There were no apologies or explanations given. We ended up paying 40 euros for two completely inedible desserts and two very mediocre Irish coffees. The staff was extremely  unfriendly, simply rude. The ambiance was unwelcoming. Later, our guide Jerry said it was a pity we went there, as the locals try to stay away from that place as much as possible. They really manipulate prices, and at a certain time of day, the cost of a pint of beer can be 15 euros, they will charge whatever they want, as there are indeed no alcohol prices listed in the menu, something they will conveniently "forget" to inform you about when placing an order. If you want to completely ruin your impression of Ireland, receive the rudest and unfriendliest service, and experience food and drinks of terrible quality, then Brazen Head is the right place to visit. My rating - 0 out of 10, I do not recommend this...

Nice place, good service & very pleasant atmosphere 👍

While the quality of the food was good, the range of options, especially of Irish cuisine is extremely limited & lacking imagination.

The Irish stew was made with beef, rather than the more traditional & authentic lamb. My fellow guests still enjoyed it, but it was disappointing that there wasn’t even a lamb option on offer.

The chowder was alright, but only contained very small pieces of fish & no seafood that I could see. While it tasted fine, it lacked any punch - too much liquid & not enough substance.

There was a question mark over whether or not bread would be provided with the chowder, with the staff explaining that as other dishes had been ordered that bread could be provided at no extra charge. This seemed very strange, but I just accepted it.

When the bread came it was adequate, but pretty average & I was glad I hadn’t paid extra for it.

C’mon Brazen Head - you can do better than this. I don’t mind paying extra for bread if it’s freshly baked & enhances the meal.

Compliments to the kitchen as good quality dishes were served with the ingredients available, but being a local I’m not sure I’d bring guests from another country there again, unless the range of dishes available improves and more thought goes into the quality & choice of ingredients used, possibly as part of a revamp of the food menu.

There was a lot more variety in the drinks menu & we were all very satisfied with the range of options available.

In all other aspects we were very pleased, the queue was well managed, we did not wait long. The service was very, very pleasant - lots of smiles made us feel very welcome, the food arrived quickly. The staff were always available & a supervisor was also close by ensuring that everything ran smoothly &...

Given the marketing about being Ireland’s Oldest Pub, established 1198, I really didn’t know whether to expect a tourist trap or a legitimate pub that has earned the honor of being Ireland’s oldest pub. I was pleased to discover that it is the latter. This place is just cool as can be. Small storefront overall, but it really goes deep with multiple smaller rooms and outside spaces. By having lots of smaller spaces it keeps its pub feel and level of intimacy. We were there at 2:00 in the afternoon and it was still packed with what looked like a combination of tourists and locals. We ended up inside near one of the bars. Our server was excellent, immediately getting our drink orders – local beer of course. We were just watching the crowd and went to take some pictures as our server returned with our beers and she offered to take our photos from a couple of angles. We then ordered our food which also came at the right pace. My wife had a goat cheese salad with grilled chicken. It was quite good size, fresh and had excellent flavor. I had Fish and Chips. The piece of fish was the largest piece of fried fish I have ever been served. And yet, it was crispy on the outside and done perfectly on the inside all the way through. The chips were typical. Of course there was malt vinegar on the table to season with. The check came at the right time and as with every restaurant on our 15-day trip, the payment was made on a handheld tableside. I continuously ask why in America the server still takes the credit card away to a central payment station at virtually every restaurant. Come on US restaurants, lets modernize and catch up to what European restaurants have been doing for at least 20 years. Final evaluation of The Brazen Head – I see no reason why it can’t be around for...