Mulligan's — Restaurant in Dublin

Mulligans of Poolbeg Street is an iconic inner city Pub. The building itself has been a public house since the early nineteenth century. Then John Mulligan, originally a seller of grocery, wine and spirits in Thomas Street, became proprietor in 1853, moving his whole business to here. The pub was subsequently rebuilt in the 1880s, reopening in ‘87, and the current lounge was added, thus extending to its neighbouring building. The Cusacks, the current owners bought the pub in 1929 and are fast approaching their Centennial as custodians of this famous pub. Mulligans has, over its numerous decades, become a centre of true cultural significance, within Dublin. It has been the canvas for a scene in James Joyce’s short story ‘Counterpart’s’ which appears in his short story collection, Dubliners, published in 1914. Notable visitors include John F. Kennedy, who came to Ireland in 1945. Featured as the backdrop to scenes from the Oscar winning movie ‘My Left Foot’. Other regular frequent flyers included the cast and hands of the Theatre Royale prior to its closure in 1962, the collective press of the Irish Times and the former Irish Press. In the early 1900s it was a regular haunt of the port and docks workers and was where casual jobs were ‘bought’ with pints from the Stevedores as a normal part of life. The fantastic old shopfront is Victorian and the old, almost untouched, interiors are a fantastic step into the past with notable timber bars and associated bits. The lights in the rear lounge are the original gaslight fittings retrofit to electrical units. The heritage value and character of the building cannot be understated or underestimated. A must see in any...

We arrived as a group late on a Tuesday night and were refused service. Last orders had already been called which was understandable, but what we couldn’t understand was why we were made to feel so unwelcome. While most other pubs would inform their patrons that they were no longer serving, the staff in Mulligan’s took a different approach: the bald bartender (we didn’t get the names of any of the staff so physical descriptions must suffice) immediately barked at us to “get out” while the bartender with long hair tied up in a bun and the young bartender with a buzzcut (who I can only assume was trying to impress his older colleagues by copying them) goaded us when we simply asked if they could serve us a drink. It’s not too hard to be civil lads, and daresay that quality is expected of you if you work in hospitality. Maybe the bartenders had a particularly rough day or maybe there is just a prevailing atmosphere of misery in this pub (which might appeal to those with masochistic tendencies). The majority of our group were foreign and this was their first ‘pint’ in Ireland, and it took a lot of explaining to them on my behalf that this was not the benchmark for Irish hospitality; while a pub will always have its regulars that it caters for, it’s never a good look to blatantly and so rudely turn away those who are not Irish. While I’m sure there’s no shortage of patrons who have had a pleasant time in Mulligan’s, consider my own experience and if you would want to be made feel as small as my friends and I did. If not, pay a visit to one of the many other pubs in the vicinity where you won’t be berated and you can save a few €€€ on the price of your pint...

One of the worst experiences I’ve ever had, a good friend of mine was visiting home and in the festive spirit was wearing a Christmas jumper, and as soon as he stepped into the bar they got very aggressive and refused to serve him, I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and ask them why but they snatched the pint that was paid for out of his hand and declare no more context. It was a whole ordeal to get a refund and they seem to place the customer in the wrong to suit their needs. Unpleasant crowd to deal with especially when it came to a friends coming home. However the manager with the short brown hair was very level headed and was willing to talk to the customer and solve the issue so fair play to him. Unfortunately apart from him the staff were judgmental, unfair and provide absolutely no reasoning as to refusal of service to a friend just home from a far away land. Only saw a €5 refund for 3 pints fully paid for. Very very disappointing for a pub. Would...