The Dubliner

I went a couple months ago and maybe it was the wrong time (6 – 7 pm on Saturday). There were a couple people in there and a bartender who sat in the corner reading a book. I had never been to a boring Irish pub before. Had 1 beer and went across the street.

I typically don’t hang out on Washington, but a recent outing led me to the Dubliner’s front door. The place was pretty empty, which I thought to be strange around ten on a Friday, but it was air conditioned and had beer, two requirements I had.
The prices were decent, the beer was cold, and there was a cool lounge-​like atmosphere in the back of the bar, leading to the patio. I didn’t check out the patio, but they have an outdoor area.
It seemed much more relaxed and less… um…douchy than other bars on Washington, which is a plus. If the bar was located anywhere else, I probably would rank it higher in my book.

Only bar on WA I will go to.
Prices are same as Sherlocks, bartenders were awesome, as in made us all shots plus the door guy, for free. Not crowded at all. Music was loud… oh well.

I’m not too big a fan of Washington, but anytime I’m dragged along I make sure we start our night at the dubliner. It’s one of my favorite Houston bars b/​c of the chill atmosphere and great service. Plus, they’ve got strongbow :)

After visiting Ireland last week, I can honestly say that The Dubliner captures some of the same appeal the pubs there have. I love having a Guinness there or a glass of scotch whilst being surrounded by rugby and football (soccer) jerseys. Can’t wait to go back there with my friends :)

So it’s a dive bar. The drinks are not cheap. Perhaps compared to other places in the area, but $ 6 for a import and $ 5 for a mixed drink is nothing to write home about. The atmosphere is meh, nothing to write home about. Nothing wrong with the place, but I couldn’t imagine having a desire to return.

I forgot to mentioned how cheap the drinks are, here basil hayden with a splash of club soda is under $ 6 at other places its $ 11. so yes cheap and chic…

To avoid the pit falls and sequin ravaged disaster zone that is West Washington St you should come over this way! To start. the further east you go on washington, the better. This place is never really jam packed because they have a max capacity of about 60 people. Its not about all the pseudo glits and bs you can find dragging up and down this street.
To start the bar tender is awesome. He is an Irish guy who refuses to serve you tequila shots with salt. Not really sure why, but im pretty sure he called us little girls or pansies whenever we asked for the salt. Really funny dude. The drinks werent too expensive and it was never difficult to get to the bar or restroom.
Like others said, the patio in the back is awesome. Id say this is quickly becoming one of my favorite bars.

Since the Harp on Richmond is pretty much my favorite Irish pub, I was pumped when I heard the same owners would be taking over the Chaise Lounge on Washington. It seemed to take a little while to come to fruition, but the Dubliner has planted the green, white, and orange on the Washington scene. There’s a smallish bar up front with plenty of whisky and stout, and a long seating area with a couple of couches at the back leads to a great little patio outside. It doesn’t even feel like you’re on Washington as you sit out in a little bier garten with vintage signage and only the old yellow house between the Dubliner and Walter’s visible from your seat. I felt like I could have been sharing a Guinness with Gabriel Conroy.

The Dubliner is a small quaint Irish bar on Washington Ave across from pearl bar. Most douchery stays away from here so it is one of my favorite bars. Great bartenders Keith and Cynthia are talkative, fast, and friendly and they always have my favorite beer waiting for me. They also have great specials everyday.

New name, same small place. If I’m going to go out and deal with all the mess that is the new washington I am definitely not coming to a place like this.
The last time I was out on Washington, yes I do get dragged out here every once in awhile, the credit card machines were down at Reign so no one could buy a drink. We were already out on washington so we decided to go bar hopping. This was one of the stops. There’s just no point to pay for drinks in a place like this. I’d rather just stay out in montrose or the village for the same effect.
So that’s exactly what we did. Left and went to boondocks. Not saying that place is any better but at least there you know what to expect and you don’t gotta worry about the rest of the dbs from the surrounding bars/​clubs.

Being a newcomer to the Washington scene after traveling the world, I became an addict of the dubliner. After visiting all the other bars I have found the dubliner to be the right fit if your trying to get away from the $ 30,000 Millionaire scene. Down to earth people with a great staff. One of the bartenders is from Ireland (Keith). Good mate who keeps the crowd going I was reading some of the other reviews and no it’s not a true Irish bar but a great getaway spot from the typical Washington. And by the way you don’t use a spoon to POUR a guinness! Only with half and half.

Ok, I’m a freaken sucker for a good Irish bar. The thought of drinking beer while singing No, Nay, Never gets me excited. We actually had bagpipes at our wedding. So when I noticed the Dubliner on Washington I thought to myself we have to check that out. There really isn’t an authentic Irish bar (with the exception on Kenneallys which is further away) in this part of town so I was really stoked.
After an incredible dinner one that I will review on Unilocal soon, we went to Dubliner to check it out. First we were greeted by the bar tender who is actually from Ireland. Great accent and made me think this could be a true Irish pub. They had at least two Irish beers on tap. I have actually been to Ireland and visited half of the pubs in Dublin including the Guinness plant. So I asked the Lad for a pint of Black and Tan. This is when it went downhill. Any good self respecting Irishman knows that when you poor Guinness its with a spoon to reduce the head and makes for a smooth poor. Well this lad did not do that so my Guinness mixed with Harp had lots of head plus he put in much more Harp than Guinness. This is a bloody huge fopaux!!!. In Ireland they will stone people with potatoes for less than this. I’ve no wish to fight ya!
I like the way everything is laid out comfortable seating — great patio as some of the other reviewers pointed out.
However, they have a bunch of Corona and Modelo signs up all over the place. WTF??? Mexican beer advertisement in an Irish bar? Is this supposed to be an Irish bar? What is your thinking? The Juke box is okay but they have no real opportunity to play Irish music in between Nirvana and Blink 182. I did play some Violent Fem-​mes Blister in the Sun. They have parking next door which is nice but really this place has so much potential if they would just make it a little more authentic.
Come on, sack up and poor my drinks right and put up some freaken Irish beer signs eat your cabbage soup and you will get a 5 from this crazy Mic!!!

For those of you familiar with Washington Ave. for more than a year, The Dubliner used to be Chaisse Lounge. Very little has changed except the flags and sign on the front of the building and they purchased some additional Irish Whisky to go with their theme. It doesn’t feel pub-​like. But, it’s a decent casual place during the week. Music from the juke box, so you are at the mercy of they type of crowd that’s there — which can vary greatly. It also drives me crazy that the smokers stand in the doorway and you have to walk through them to get in. They keep the front door open, so the smoke wafts in. Ugh.
The best part is patio in the back. It’s like a little oasis… nice to have outdoor seating that’s not right on Washington Avenue.
If you don’t want to deal with the crowds at Pearl and The Lot and have a great group of people that you want to spend time with, The Dubliner would be a good choice.

The husband and I made it over to The Dubliner for date night. To start, it has a convenient parking lot next door. There is an unobstructed view of your car if you went out the front door to have a cigarette. Inside, there are plenty of casual tables to sit and chat (although the music was a touch loud for my taste). There was a digital juke box and there appeared to be a war between groups of people. There was one dude who was playing a lot of Brit POP and another dude that was all about the WIllie, Jerry Jeff, etc…(the strange mix actually makes perfect sense if you read futher.) This made for a strange ambiance. All of the choices made by the customers were pretty good on their own, but blended, weird. Our bartender, Keith, was nice and helpful. He chatted us up a bit too while never neglecting any of his other customers. It appears that The Dubliner is a bit low on space, so visually one may find it strange that there is a beer cooler in the seating area and the ice machine is behind the bar. Don’t be put off by this. In NYC and European countries where space is very limited, this is not all that uncommon. For me going to The Dubliner was a lot like visiting a NYC neighborhood bar. I’ve never been to Ireland, but I imagine it’s not that far off the mark.
BEST PART: The back patio. It was fantastic. I loved that the music was being pumped outside. The tables were comfortably arranged. The décor was perfect. It actually looked much more like I was having a beer in a friends backyard maybe in Austin. It’s not hokey Texan though. Only patio issue was all the conduit outside, but I think the bar may still be under construction, so that may change.
All in all, really great addition to the Washington scene. Unpretentious, casual, real, and best of all. great service and great patio.