TheCity

Tag: Pint

  • Eating out(side)

    Eating out(side)

    Our takeaway habits have transformed in the past year, becoming one of the only simple pleasures we have to get out and about.

    With the current lockdown dragging on since late December, indoor dining remains on hold, ushering in a revised-look takeaway and outdoor dining culture as we bid to fill our social void and allow some businesses to stay open to a degree.

    “It’s good to get out of the house, you can’t be cooped up in there or you’ll go mad” – Anne (last name unknown). Tang Cafe on Dawson Street. Photo by James Molloy
    Waiting patiently for their orders. It has become a common sight seeing groups congregating outside their favourite eateries throughout the city. Photo by James Molloy

    Getting a takeaway coffee used to be something we took for granted – a ‘grab it and go’ type of affair. Now, however, the run-of-the-mill takeaway coffee has been transformed into a means of getting out of the house; offering a chance to savour your time outside – almost becoming a symbol of freedom in our restricted reality.

    We were used to going into a place, sitting down at a table, reading a menu and being served our food or drink; taking our time. Queuing, finding a suitably socially-distant location and the weather have now taken over, as we move from the indoor dining experience to the great outdoors.

    Battle of the coffee shops – advertising is the name of the game. Coffeeshops and restaurants across the city are competing and operating at a restricted level, resulting in more advertisement boards cropping up to showcasing their products to prospective punters. Photo by James Molloy
    The city has evolved into our new dining room. Benches, steps, fountains – if you can sit there then you can eat there. St.Stephens Green. Photo by James Molloy
    Food Trucks are capitalising on the need for outdoor dining. The Sambo Ambo is dishing out lifesaving sandwiches and coffee. The Sambo Ambo, Iveagh Markets, St.Francis Street. Photo by James Molloy

    That being said, meeting with a friend for a socially distant bite to eat and a coffee in the park has become so important in recent times for the sake of our sanity – it gives us a chance to leave the confines of our homes and interact with someone other than our family members.

    Benches have become the new table. Sit, relax and take in the sights. St.Patricks Cathedral. Photo by James Molloy

    Delivery riders and drivers have seen business boom during the pandemic, so much so that you can’t go five minutes without seeing a delivery rider zipping past on their bicycle. People can’t go to their favourite restaurants so they use convenient delivery apps such as Deliveroo or Just-Eat to bring their best-loved dishes to them.

    Not all heroes wear capes, nowadays they wear thermal bags. Deliveroo riders have been on the go non-stop to bring you what you crave. Photo by James Molloy
    Pubs are opening across the city offering takeaway drinks, in a bid to raise some much needed funds as the hospitality industry is on its knees. Photo by James Molloy

    Takeaway offerings don’t only offer a respite from lockdown. They also help to keep cafes, pubs, and restaurants afloat, allowing them to earn some much needed capital and to keep customers happy during these testing times.

    “I wish the pubs were back” – Maeve McEnroe. South William Street. Photo by James Molloy
    The humble pint ─ no longer cradled in a glass, now it finds itself in a flimsy plastic vessel. But it’s better than no pint. Photo by James Molloy
  • A visit to St. James Gate: the home of Guinness!

    A visit to St. James Gate: the home of Guinness!

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    Lynne Swan

    Guinness is one of the first things non-natives associate with Ireland. Despite this, numerous Dubliners have yet to visit the famous storehouse (it’s Ireland’s number 1 visitor attraction!) and walk through it’s historic gates. The City team were amongst those who had yet to check it out, so, we took a trip to St. James’ Gate to see what all the fuss was all about!

    The self-led tour (there is an option to have a guide talk you through the tour if you’re part of a group of people, however, we opted for the self-led tour so that we could take it all in in our own pace) is a very interactive one and visitors are shown the entire Guinness making process (minus the secret ingredient, of course!). The tour begins at the bottom of the ‘world’s largest pint glass structure’ which visitors are informed can hold a mighty 14.3 million pints of Guinness!

    Master brewer, Fergal Murray, guides you along the way via short yet very informative videos which let the viewer know just how the hops, barley, water and yeast are made into the famous ‘black stuff’. Visitors are advised that the tour can take up to an hour and a half or more depending on the pace at which you take it all in. Not long into the tour, visitors are given the opportunity to stop for a drink break and do a ‘taste-test’ of Arthur Guinness world-renowned drink.

    The ticket you’re given upon entering the storehouse can be redeemed for a pint in the Gravity bar on the 5th floor or else used to learn how to pull the ‘Perfect pint’ in the Guinness academy on the 4th floor. The ‘Perfect pint’ option is a real-treat as participants even get a certificate to show that they have ‘perfected the perfect pint of Guinness’! The views of Dublin city from the Gravity bar really are something else and there really is nothing like enjoying a cold drink whilst over-looking Dublin city.

    The store house is open 7 days a week from 9.30am-5pm and is located on Market street, Dublin 8.