I was there opening night too. Kinda had to- I was there when the original Avoca opened back in the 80s. At that time there was only 'old men' pubs in Blackrock and the Avoca was the haven for the local young people. It was the pub where I had my first taste of Budweiser (quickly followed by handing back to the barman saying 'what the hell is this crap') but thankfully they had Furstenberg.
The Avoca has gone through a few changes since then. At one stage it became The Ass and Cart before reverting back again. The snug got subsumed into the bottle shop/off license (sadly- many a great night was had in that snug).
Though I no longer live 2 doors away, when I heard that it was going to become the latest in The Cottage Bar group, I figured I'd check it out for old times sake.
Andy was there to give me a good welcome when I came in. And I was handed a loyalty card; buy 10 CB brews and get the next free- making a cost of a pint of CB ¢4.50 a pint.
Nothing really has been done to the layout since the last renovation. While there was a smell of fresh paint in the air (hmmmm. new bar smell) the only real difference I could see was that the lights had been turned down and there was candles on the tables. And a new row of shiny taps. The pool table's still there.
The new rebranded Galway Bay's are on tap, including a very nice Buried At Sea Chocolate Milk Stout. They had Dungarvan's Coffee and Oatmeal stout on cask- While nice, the bottle conditioned version is better in my opinion. Also on tap: Aspinals; Erdinger; MetalMan IPA; Trouble Brewing Or and Dark Arts; 5am Saint and Punk IPA; and Blue Moon.
It got really busy on opening night and there was a good crowd of craft brewers and importer holding up the bar.
And this happened to me in the toilets:
Ronan: "So did you hear- C&C bought us out!"
Thankfully he was kidding (I hope)
