Doolan Brothers

Good casual environment, but just average tasting food. If you’re just looking for a snack/​bar food, I’d recommend it. But if it’s for a special event/​meal where you’d want good food, then this probably isn’t the place to come. The portion sizes were good, but the taste was a bit of a let down on the day we went… food was quite sad looking… not hot enough, a bit salty and a bit too oily.

Bitch and bingo what more can I say. Bingo has connotations back home in the UK as a granny’s highlight of the week. I was apprehensive for my first bingo expedition at this establishment however my expectations were blown out of the water. The host is utterly fabulous and had us laughing from the get go. Each round had prizes including a $ 100 bar tab, a bottle of hooch and a meat pack. Will definitely go again and highly recommend it for a fun bubbly Thursday night.

We dined in on what was a very cold night. There were a few fellow diners who also braved the cold too.
It was out first time there under the Doolan Brothers banner. We opted for the $ 20 special for a roast beer and a pint. The barman did offer a pint of soft drink for the non drinker instead. Our meals arrived after a short wait. We all commented that it was very good for the price charged. Sufficient portions of meat and vegetables. We were too full to attempt dessert.
For one of our diners it was the second consecutive night of having this special, he still enjoyed it.
The décor is a typical English themed style pub !

You may remember this place as the Cock and Bull? But for now it goes under the name Doolan Brother’s, owned by the Danny Doolan’s chain. You can’t miss them they’re the new BRIGHT RED bar and eateries popping up everywhere.
At Doolan’s they have a very inviting yet pub feel about them. It’s quite casual, its an Irish pub! With TV’s in the background playing the most recent sporting events, live music every Friday and Saturday nights, also playing host for their biggest bash of the year… St Paddy’s Day!
The last time I was here I came with a bunch of work friends. We sat out on the patios which allowed us to not only have the privacy to socialise, but we also had direct access to a TV with the rugby on, also a perfect view of outside to do some people watching. These outdoor areas are Singaporean inspired. If you look up you’ll see two large rows of fans swaying, trying to keep their customers nice and refreshed (I personally found them a distraction as they seemed so out of place in an Irish pub).We ended up ordering some nachos and wedges with cheese and bacon to share. Both dishes were incredibly large, sensational value for money, and extremely tasty! If you have a large group and you’re wanting snacky food, I would recommend this two dishes.
I also like that Doolan’s are promoting responsible drinking, offering free overnight parking to anyone who spends over $ 25! Great job Doolan’s! We need more bars like you to advertise this!

This place is actually called Danny Doolan’s now, the bright red paint versus the more traditional Irish green was what bought my attention to the name change. Still however it remains inside pretty much the same. I have been here twice at the suggestion of others, I am not a pub person. Thankfully both time were in the middle of the week in the middle of the day, not exactly prime drinking time.
This place is rather large, it would be excellent for birthdays, work drinks and so on, small alcoves and other seating areas separated from the main floor, that was what I liked about it, these separate spaces. It was quiet and relaxed, a good place to hang out even if it is on a Wednesday afternoon.

Nothing particularly stands out about this place, but not in a bad way. The food was good (I had pizza and chips), the service was fine, and overall the place has a nice feel to it. I think the only thing holding me back from frequenting the place more often is that it’s in Newmarket which I find an annoying place to park and prices seem to be higher too. Or normal, if you usually hang out in Newmarket. But the meal portion size was good, and it was generally a pleasant place to be. Can’t go wrong with that.

I always wonder what Irish people think of the ‘Irish’ pubs you find in every other country in the world. Does this place bear any relation to the pubs you actually find in Ireland? I wonder.
Either way, it will certainly be familiar to anyone who’s been to an Irish pub in Auckland. wooden furnishings, beer on tap, sport on TV, chips on the side of your meals. The food here is pretty good (although you you’re paying closer to Newmarket prices than pub prices). We shared a pizza and some chips between two of us, and that was a good amount of food. Our friend had the soup, and although soup never appeals to me when I see it on a menu, when his arrived it did look rather tasty. The beers on tap are the usual range you’d find anywhere, but I can’t really fault them for that. Overall a pleasant enough experience, given that it’s a Newmarket pub experience.

Formerly the Cock and Bull, this place recently got the Doolan treatment (as in it became part of the Danny Doolan’s chain of Irish pubs in the city). Not all that much has changed apart from a slick of red paint and the outdoor area that you can now enter and exit from.
The biggest draw for me about the place is their vast selection of tap beers, including Guiness, Oranjeboom, Speights and Lion Red. At $ 8.50 a pint, the prices are pretty average too. The service I received was great, it’s so nice when bar staff ask how your day is going and actually appear interested in the answer!
I’d definitely like to go back and sample the food menu (the pies in particular looked delicious) as I only went in for one drink before going across the road for dinner. However, I feel that’s the thing about the place: the kind of pub you go to as a first stop on your night out. It’s very much an in and out kind of pub, not somewhere you’d want to spend all night.