Doyles

Doyle’s is perfect for those who want to go out but don’t necessarily fancy a sweaty night in Dtwo or Dicey’s. Its proximity to Trinity usually gives it a younger, energetic crowd. A kind of pub/​club hybrid (it gets really busy on Friday nights but is otherwise pretty low-​key), it’s a perfect place to go for a drink and a chat (again, unless it’s Friday) or for some dancing on the upper level. Drink prices are fairly good considering its location, and it’s definitely a more budget-​friendly choice than the pubs in nearby Temple Bar.

Super loud but great atmosphere!

My quest to find the best pint of Guinness in Dublin led me here, but it turned out to be rather uneventful. A great pour nonetheless but the environment was lacking. It turned out to be one of the quieter bars of my visit.

Pros:
— A lot of space to chill in booths, drink at the bar, or groove on the dance floor
— Solid location next to food spots on westmoreland
— Interesting mix of college crowd and 20 somethings
Cons:
— DJ Friday night had a mixed bag playlist that needed to better paced to keep the dance floor moving
— Get ready to lose your voice because it gets quite loud

Went here for a few «quiet» drinks with my college pals after lectures were cancelled one day. Doyles is a grand little spot… like its comfy and cosy and the staff are nice and helpful (even came out at one stage with a bowl of sausages and chips (probably because we needed some soakage) but I thought it was a nice gesture. Good spot for a quiet pint :)

Nice pub, lots of students and good service. Quite crwoded and loud, but what do you expect from a pub right next to TCD.

Great place to meet for a drink. The Bar is shaped as a horse shoe with booths out to the sides. This gives a great ambience whent he place fills up and allows for maximum bar space in case next round is on you.

A good middle of the road, starting point for a night out or quiet spot for a pint. Doyle’s seems to just be exactly in the middle of everything, I neither love nor hate it, I can’t figure out if that’s a good thing though…
If you’re a Trinity student this place is pretty much on the syllabus, so if you don’t like some Ross O’Carroll-Kelly types throwing around more money than students have any business possessing and doing ‘shawts’ near you; stick to the quieter downstairs bar.

As the street name would suggest, the primary clientele of this establishment are college students. Particularly Trinity students. It’s always very busy in here on the weekend. Upstairs, there is dancing (awkward at best) and places to sit too. Not that you’ll find one on a busy night. The music can be quite good but it is ridiculously loud upstairs. You have no hope of ever conducting more than a loud conversation with one other person. The whole place looks dingy but it serves its purpose as a watering hole for college students.
The last time I was in here, I went into the ladies’ bathroom downstairs and there was a very drunk man pestering the bathroom attendant. She looked really unhappy and I tried unsuccessfully to shoo him out. Unfortunately, I’m not very fierce looking or sounding. I hope she was okay. Doyle’s; not my favourite place.

«Scampi» from the Italian. First appears in English in 1928 under the Russell and Yonge imprint _​Seas_​which notes it «plentiful in the Adriatic», it is «(A dish of) these prawns eaten as a delicacy, usu. coated with breadcrumbs and fried in oil, or boiled and served with (garlic) sauce.» Synonyms, ironically, include «Dublin Prawn».*
Ordered scampi and chips and I do not know what manner of sea beast lurked within that burnt breading but man alive I swear before G_​d and man alike that it was unlike any crustacean I have ever supped upon, both in form and flavor. Foul, foul, foul!
Without that deep fried assault on a platter this place gets a ³⁄₅. The beer was OK and it was warm inside and no one tried to steal my jacket.
*OED on-​line, 2011.

Most of the reviews talk about the weekend so I’d like to say: still a nice place during the week for a quiet pint!

There are conflicting reports regarding the bathroom attendant.
I can report, based on my undercover investigation about a week ago, that the bathroom attendant is still present.
It was perilous but when I entered the site – the bathroom – I saw the attendant patiently sitting with a roll of toilet paper and soap dispenser. Maybe I imagined it all but it was awkward. I need to be relaxed when I relieve myself. As I stood there in front of my stall with my back to the attendant, a million thoughts raced through my mind. Was I symbolically reinforcing my privileged, socioeconomic status through my stance? Was this a statement of the struggles that immigrants face when entering Ireland? Was I being presumptuous, or elitist, by assuming that such a job should be pitied?
After I hastily finished my micturition, the attendant cheerfully squirted the soap into my hands. As I solemnly washed my hands in the sink, I noticed a sad, wet, and sagging trash bag on the floor filled with toilet paper. Not a proper trashcan was in sight. Nasty. And as I left, I wondered, should I tip the guy? He beamed a smile at me. But, hiding in that smile, I saw the glimmer of a fragile soul wishing to break from the toilets of oppression. So I left a tip. Then I thought, do I need to tip again if I take another trip to the bathroom? Too much stress.
The pub itself is nice, and the drinks were good. The bartenders were friendly and it didn’t take long to flag them down for an order.
But, yeah, the bathrooms.

This place used to be my regular spot after work for a pint with my coworkers. It’s usually bustling with a college crowd, and the warmth is welcoming when you enter from a cold rainy night. I have had great bartenders and then one in particular who just scowled when I asked for a drink.
That is not the reason why I am giving it such a low rating. My friends and I popped in there one Saturday night, the place was packed — no problem with that. We stand at the bar and order our drinks whilst I pop down to the loo.
They have a bathroom attendant, my absolute pet hate. I think it is the most humiliating thing for someone to do unless of the more professional variety when they are paid well, and wear a uniform. Not like there. She was sitting on a stool offering sweets and towels. I always end up not washing my hands when that happens. Also what type of image is that to visitors of the city? It paint’s us as imperialists.
I was mad when I got back and told my crew the story, as one mate said,
‘It’s really sad to think that the majority of people here today are young students that are the future and they don’t see a problem with this.‘
We didn’t finish our pints and left. Until they stop that practise we won’t be back.

I haven’t been here for a night out in years, its one of those pubs that i would only go to in passing really although i have spent a few nights in here, don’t ask me how i ended up in this place!
Its not teeming with gorgeous décor, its the total opposite.
The toilets are not nice at all, just don’t go there, hold it till you get home!
The barmen are really friendly though and the music has been good the times i have been there and i love how there is a space that is practically dedicated to a dance floor upstairs.
Downstairs is a bit cramped and old and the chairs are not comfortable.
the pub has character though and it isn’t a bad spot. it just needs a bit of freshening up!

I had my first ever college night out start in Doyle’s and it has taken it’s place as the stuff of legend since that time. I’ve been back a good few times since that fateful night and what starts as a few quiet pints with the lads has turned into a wild rager more than once.
A great spot to start nights with messy endings. Even if it is a bit of a dive and crawling with Trinity students.

A great pub close to the college. We were there on a rainy day, but after a few pints and some actually decent pub fare, we were warming up nicely.
It is surprisingly clean inside and the décor is rather beautiful. All in all, a great place to grab a meal and a pint (or two… or four…)

Doyle’s resident DJ plays nearly the same set every Friday, and has done for as long as I’ve been going there (¾ years?). So in a sense, it’s just as conservative as any other pub/​club in Dublin. The main difference being that his set is just chune after chune, and I do feel for him, who are we to cut Jungle Boogie out of any DJ set? No-​funky-​body, that’s who.
Also, you can expect the place to look like a Converse convention as all the Trinity art students announce their indie credentials, through footwear. Again, not necessarily a bad thing. I’m more of a bright white runners man myself but whatever you’re into.
And the place throbs like a proper sweat box club. Sweat boxes are uncomfortable, but it is a good way to gauge how many people are dancing, in short-​everyone. Which is never a bad thing.
Pricewise, pints hurt. My advice is to get your juice somewhere else and come here for the dancefloor, only grabbing the odd drink to keep yourself going if it’s needed.
Still, a great pub. And I haven’t even mentioned the ground floor or basement.

Doyle’s may be known as an after-​lecture hangout spot for Trinity students, particularly arty folk, but you don’t have to be a thespian to drink and be merry there. It has a friendly, casual feel and locals mix easily with students, after-​workers and those out for a night on the razzle (which often includes all of the above).
The main pub area hosts a bar in the centre with tables dotted around and plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in. Like most Dublin pubs, it gets jammed at the weekend so when the clock strikes 12, you may notice mass exodus upstairs to the dance floor. It is a good spot for a boogie at the end of the night and the music tends to be innovative, funky and ‘dance-​able’.
While some pubs are dead on mid-​week winter nights, Doyle’s student clientele often add some flavour with a fundraising table-​quiz in the downstairs area or an impromptu session by the trad music society.

Doyle’s is another of type of out-​for-​the-​night pubs, one of those pubs where you might go in lieu of a nightclub.
Back in the days when you could drink a couple of cans in your own private residence without Brian f***ing Lenihen on your back, Doyle’s used to still sell takeaway long after last orders, but at the slightly outrageous price of € 2.50. Probably can’t sell after ten now, but who knows, maybe they do. Chance your arm.
Downstairs is a pretty standard pub, so similar to the other pubs in that area that you might forget which one you’re in and start looking for non-​existent staircases that lead to the bathroom (but don’t, obviously, ‘cos they’re not actually there).
Upstairs, there is a music and a dancefloor or sorts, which is sure to be jammers every Friday and Saturday night. They play rock music, and there is often a slightly moper-​ish element to the crowd. These are always outnumbered by Trinity students.
It’s a bit like a giant 21^st there every weekend: lots of pretty girls in party dresses and clean-​cut young fellas dancing around to 21sr-​esque music in a pub.
Doyles’s is a good spot, though for some reason I’ve gone completely off it recently and will not go there, come hell or high water.
It is good though; that’s just me.
Two things though: the staircases in that place are really confusing, and impossible to navigate after a few pints (you always end up opening the alarmed fire escape door by mistake).
And upstairs gets really packed, people throng the dancefloor, the stairs. One time I went outside to smoke a bean and the bouncer claimed that he had never seen me upstairs, that I knew that that was so and why was I even bothering to argue with him? Too drunk for this intellectual battle of wills, I gave up and just went in downstairs.
Watch out for the philosophical arguments with the door staff.

Doyles is a favourite haunt of many an out-​of-​work actor… head there if you want to spot the rich and famous before they are rich and famous.
The pints don’t come cheap though…

Ein cooles Studentenpub, mit verschiedenen Ebenen. Immer gut für einen lustigen Abend. Allerdings schmeckt das Guinness hier nicht ganz so gut (wer schon mehrere von meinen Beiträgen gelesen hat wird merken, dass dies ein wichtiges Kriterium für mich ist: o)). Musik-​mässig ist hier so ziemlich alles vertreten.