Octagon Bar

I visited the Octagon Bar n 2003 on a touristy trip to Dublin and other places in Ireland. WE knew that Bono owned it — but he was not there the night we went.
Bono or not — this is a small, up-​scale bar and good fun and great drinks.
No issues at all. Loved it!

I had great craic at the Octagon Bar and the staff were great — super friendly and accommodating to us two high maintenance birds who were critically assessing their cocktail menu and stock of booze. But, if you are going to sell a bar as a high end cocktail bar then you can’t skimp on the booze you have behind the bar. While there was one or two really good bottles there, there was an awful lot of cheap crap too. I mean what kind of bar doesn’t have bacardi?!
If you want to compete with places like Capital for 5 euro cocktails that might be fine, but I’m guessing that’s not the market share that Octagon is going for, nor is it reflected in their prices.
Speaking of prices, I don’t know what happened but my mental additions of what I spent was not reflected in our bill at the end — in a good way — not the usual way where you go ‘I didn’t drink all that… oh wait I did’, but the rather more unusual ‘I must owe someone twenty quid’ kind of way.
To sum up, the bar staff were great — gave the place a great buzz and started my night off with a great laugh, but the missing part of the equation was the proper booze.

«I’ll have a Sazerac please.»
«A what?»
I’m not a snob and I am definitely still in the learner mixology stage but if you promote yourself as a cocktail spot I expect that you at least have a knowledge of the classics.
Nice young bartenders that were eager to learn and excited to be asked how to make an «exotic» cocktail.
The layout of the bar needs work. The octagon bar is obviously the focal point but I think it’s a bad idea to not have high chairs and tables continue through the bar. At the walls there are couches and it feels like two different concepts in one.
Lighting is bad, too bright. Great potential for a great cocktail bar, just revise the interior and maybe the cocktail menu.

CALL ME A CAB… PLEASE!
Before I get to that I must get the u2 part out of the way. It is only fair to say a simple thanks for the music, lyric and passion that found it’s way into the thrift store headphones of a young boy while he listen to the first albums alone in the dark night after night in the early 80’s. The punks of ireland encouraging a so cal punk to continue no matter what year after year. A simple thanks!
Traveling life w/​the u2 soundtrack for the last 30years turned things to technicolor
Traveling ireland for the last 2 weeks brought the passion into focus one more click
Sure we hit up a few u2 places … how else do you get lost and run into a safe thrown out of a window above you OR a man who shares w/​you his views of life, pints and that he might be the only man in ireland who doesn’t like the music OR well this could be the best part… yes Cian this is where you come in… how else do you find the best in all of ireland’s bangers/​mash and bar personalities.
You have to see the less touristy spots to get this. as we popped in for a quick pint at the clarence hotel via the octagon bar we were met by young Cian (a man that I would have to hide my daughters from— he is a gentlemen but I am not sure many young girls could fight the inertia of attraction that might overtake them. it is probably the expensive haircut…(satchel …I heard that))
Make your way to Cian for all the details of satchel
our maden voyage to the octagon was for a simple pint and to hit a u2 landmark. you never know you just might be able to say thanks in person sometimes
I have high standards when it comes to food and young Cian placed his reputation on the line by stating the banger/​mash were the best in the city. he was a little nervous when I told him I would Unilocal my findings but stood firm with the challenge. I explained to him the criteria I sought and we proceeded. Cian was a great sport and very fun to enjoy a pint and yes the best bangers/​mash in the city!
I know … so where does the cab come in. our last night in dublin we decided to end our night after the literary pub crawl w/​our good man Cian. since he built up so much trust with his food reputation I left my bar selections in his capable hands. the drink he made me was called «call me a cab» and it was delicious but sort of like the long island iced tea effect so be very careful!
Oh and we got kicked out because bono and ali were celebrating her birthday and apparently wanted the octagon bar so they could also call a cab.
It had to end that way becasue if it ended with them at the bar w/​us singing irish show tunes it would have been incredibly cliché … and nobody would have believed it anyway!
enjoy the octagon bar — it is the best in every way!

Cocktails are a bit of a treat in Dublin. Thankfully, there are ‘cocktail bars’ where you can expect an excellent drink menu and house-​made recipes worth trying. The Octagon Bar is one of those places.
Cozy, cozy, cozy little space; perfect for a nice chat with my friends from the restaurant. Most impressive is the octagonal in shape of the room and the bar – how very apropos.
We made a point of ordering various drinks and sharing sips so I’ve tried the sweet bramble, long island (good + strong), daiquiri, margarita, flirtini, dry martini, and the manhattan. I can honestly say they were all top-​notch especially the long island and the margarita on the rocks. Best part is happy hour 5−8pm all cocktails are € 7, which is half-​price in some cases!
I’d give five stars thanks to knowledgeable service but I waiver… as I was waiting for my friends to show up, a strange drunk man sat down at the table with me. I tried to be polite and blow him off but he didn’t get the hint. I had to wait until my friend showed up and then we politely asked him to leave so we could catch up. He refused to move and began to insult my friend. I got up and we prepared to walk out.
We told a staff member why we were leaving. Instead of allowing us to go, he showed us into another room and said he’d take care of the man. Perfectly handled. EXCEPT the drunk guy returned.
Because he was staying at the hotel and/​or dropping tons of cash at the bar, they didn’t escort him from the bar and let him walk around harassing us again. We were essentially held captive in the back room for hours. Thankfully we had a lot of catching up to do. I dont fault the Octagon for the guy’s bad manners but I would have liked to be treated preferentially over the drunk who harasses the customers – I dont care what kind of suit he is wearing.

This is a requisite stop for me every time I’m in Dublin, only because I’m a die-​hard U2 fan and it gives me tremendous pleasure to have a drink sitting very possibly in the very chair that Bono or The Edge had been sitting on a day earlier: D
Really cool atmosphere — it’s kinda small but very cozy… and not as crowded as you’d expect — I don’t think it’s a common stop on your average tourist itinerary — thank goodness :) And yes, it is octagonally shaped — what’d you expect???
Guinness of course tastes just like everywhere else in Dublin and totally different from everywhere else in the world including other cities in Ireland!!! I really find this to be quite amazing.
And oh yes, I do have beer coasters I have swiped from here — shhhhhh — nothing else, I promise ^_​^
Awesome cocktail menu though a bit pricey… a couple of drinks can set you back about € 30 or so but they do make an amazing martini. And the bartenders are top-​notch — they know their mixology and know how to stay unobtrusive but always just a glance away.
Food options seem good here but to be honest, I only stop here for a couple of drinks and to hum U2 songs, much to the amusement of the bartenders here ;)
~ 5 stars — at least 2 of these just because it makes me feel so good — even if it makes me sound like a groupie: D
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I went here when someone else was paying, which is really the only way to do cocktails at the Octagon. You pay a high price to sit in Bono’s living room — say about € 12 per fancy drink. If you do pop in for one, I recommend the Hazel Delight, which is basically a liquid, alcoholic version of a dessert. As you are drinking it, however, I believe that it is calorie free…

Octagon Bar is owned by by U2’s Bono and the Edge, it is located in the Clarence Hotel.
I went here for one of my friends birthdays for a cocktail reception and dining. What I found really fascinating about the bar is that when you look up it is in a shape of a octagonal dome.
I personally thought the cocktails and the food are fab in this bar. The place itself is very classy, it can get really busy at times, but that’s what makes the atmosphere great to be in. The staff service is indeed great and they are very polite too.
I would recommend you go there and enjoy a lovely night out here too.