Yesterday evening, while killing time before a meal reservation at the Lord Edward, I decided to have a drink in the Bull and Castle pub across the road from Christchurch as it was close by and had been there once before. Though it turns out that things have changed somewhat since I was last there...
The decor and layout is as I remember; lovely pale wood in a darkish setting, with low roof, split floors, and a general British tavern feel to it. But it is now an exciting gastropub with what is perhaps Dublins first 'beerhall' stocking a large selection of domestic and foreign beers!!
The beer hall on the second floor is in the style of a German beer garden, with wooden benches sitting 8/10 a piece. Beer on draft is available in 30cl, 50cl and 1l jugs and includes Blarney Blonde and Rebel Large from the Franciscan Well Brewery. At the far wall is the bars coolroom, glass-panelled so you can see the sanky kegs hooked to the pipes and the rows of neated arranged bottled beers. At the moment its only opened at the weekend but it is hoped that with the punters it will be open throughout the week. I can see a real session up there sometime soon!!
There are maybe 60 beers available in bottles, and the Cork brewery amoung other pub regulars on draught. There is also an impressive range of whiskeys including Edradour from the smallest distillary in Scotland. It's not cheap though! Sierra Nevada IPA 33cl is €6.30 approx and the Boon Gueze is a whopping €7!!
The menu looks very interesting too. The main courses are prepared with beer that is also availble behind the bar, and as a result are suggested to accompany the meal. I didn't order anything but from what I saw it all looked good enough to eat!
Table service (if required!) is good, and the beers are presented in appropriate glasses, and in own brand glassware if available.
It seems the Porterhouse has finally some competition...
