Wine bars are hard to find in Dublin suburbs. The hallmark of your local is the quality of its black stuff and thus, the proliferation of Dublin’s wine offerings is mostly confined to the city centre, with a few outcrops in the wealthier suburbs (Ranelagh, for example) where reliable wine-quaffing clientele can be guaranteed. In a realm of craft-beer hocking establishments, the arrival of Green Man Wines on Terenure Road North is a welcome addition.
The place is comprised of a wine shop at the front, wine bar at the back, and as evidence that the bar element of the shop is obviously flying, we were sat at one of the more recently laid out tables at the front of the shop. Segregated from the buzz of the back room, sure, but we had the best seat in the house to witness the unusual and noteworthy wine selection procedure at Green Man. As well as the regularly changing wines by the glass, they will also happily open any bottle on the shelf for €8 corkage, which essentially transforms the shop into a big, interactive wine list. One by one, we watched customers saunter down to the shelves, expertly guided by whoever was to hand, with suggestions, tasting notes, and extra info on the wines that brought the bottles to life. Now, I’m not claiming this approach to the menu is a new one by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s something about the way in which the process happens in this smallish shop that makes it very impressive.
However, we were short on time and keen to have a bit of variety, so we went with a few wines by the glass, which were all remarkably reasonable, the majority ranging from €5.75 to €7.75. The highlight of the group was an orange wine which, while not to everyone’s taste, was definitely the pick of the bunch for the more adventurous drinker. That reasonability continued into the bottle prices, and when it came to recommendations the staff seemed to go on the individual merits of the wines, often recommending the cheapest on the shelves as opposed to appealing to blind opulence. What’s more, they serve a fine selection of small dishes, complimenting rather than out-shadowing the main act.
At the core of it there seems to just be a group of people that love what they do, and manage to put that across without it being pompous or self-affected. If you’re in Terenure or realistically anywhere remotely close, you’d do well to give this place a try.
Green Man Wines
3 Terenure Road North, Dublin 6,
t: 01 559 4234
@greenmanwines1
Words: Harold Wu
Photos: Evan Buggle
