South William Street: a hub for drinking, dining, shopping and in the last few years, and the punchline of more than it’s fare share of well meaning jabs. Since Dublin’s most widely-ridiculed culture and brunch fetishism website claimed to have essentially discovered this ground zero for the ‘hipster revolution’, merely invoking the road’s name has acted as convenient shorthand when referring to the brand of hipsterdom that involves drinking €15 cocktails and unapologetically *using* the word ‘hipster’. So, with that in mind, it’s fitting that The South William, in a move to play up to this focus-grouped cool, has back-peddled on in its Damson Diner re-brand in favour of returning to their original geographically focused moniker.
On arrival, you’d be hard pressed to discern any marked differences from the establishment’s previous incarnations, the stereo pipes in nameless Get Lucky impersonators, the menu boasts a cocktail called the Rum ‘n’ Bass, and the powers that be have failed to resist the incomprehensible urge to plaster the walls with ludicrous street art daubing imploring you not to ‘give up on your daydream’. My companion and I arrive on a relatively quiet Wednesday evening and set up shop in their covered smoking area out front.
Wednesday is, of course, prime Tinder-date temporal real estate, and nearly all of the other seats seem to be populated accordingly. A cursory scan of the room leaves little doubt that the vast majority of the other customers are meeting each other for the first time and doing their damndest to seem like the sort of the suitor that would be able to whisk you to the top of the queue at the White Friar Grill on rammed Sunday afternoon. But most pressingly, they are invariably struggling to exude these qualities while trying to eat bulbous, and pretty appealing looking burgers without making an utter show of themselves in front of stranger-cum-would-be-lover on the other side of the table.
As we watch these notionally happenin’ young things wrestle with a slab of meat between what look like two brioche knee-pads without getting trickles of run-off down the front of their new Shore Leave button up, we eventually leave our snark to one side to appraise the venue’s assets. And they are hard to ignore, though let it be said the €5.90 price point for a pint of Guinness does not rank among them. Over the course of our few drinks, we’re treated to no less than three stop-and-chats from friends pottering past, and that’s not even counting waves from bicycles. With too many good folks leaving us for a life in the sprawls either side of the water that surrounds our island home, it’s beneficial for the spirit to sometimes dwell on the assets of living in a city of this size. And if you’ve installed yourself out in front of The South William, in the shadow of Miss Fantastia’s, it’s as good place as any to watch the world go by. Sometimes there just isn’t any seats left outside Grogan’s, y’know? It feels a bit ridiculous, but sometimes the location of a bar alone is justification enough for praise. If these realities *hadn’t* crossed the mind of those running the show, they perhaps would have opted for a more imaginative name.
The South William
52 South William Street, Dublin 2
www.southwilliam.ie
01-6875822
Words: Danny Wilson
Photos: Killian Broderick
