Considering the hubbub that surrounded the announcement of the piss-head leviathan Wetherspoons throwing their grossly oversized and strikingly cheap hat into the ring on the Irish pub-scene, it seems strange to consider that Arthur Mayne’s is part of our very own homegrown chain. Under the same ownership as its rebel county namesake, a landmark chemist-turned-wine-bar, Arthur Mayne’s has set up shop in the heart of Donnybrook.
Despite its ‘real capital’ roots, Arthur Mayne’s has seamlessly accrued the hallmarks of not just a Dublin bar, but of a leafy suburb destination pub. Inside, middle-aged Donnybrook clean-shirts wrestle with gourmet steak sandwiches, a dork you half knew from college studiously avoids making eye contact across the bar, a contingent from the Silicon Docks descend after work for a team-building table quiz (‘What is the modern name for Constantinople?’).
Décor-wise the owners have gone for the same apothecary-chic that characterises their southern flagship premises. Bottles of varying sizes and hues line windows, and a wire cage by the bar is stuffed old Fujifilm boxes in a display of over-the-top affectation that would probably be worth pissing and moaning about if the top-knots hadn’t already won.
The Thursday we happened to stick our noses in the door coincidentally also happened to be one of the first nice days of the year. The combination of freckle cultivating conditions and the aforementioned quiz (‘What’s the longest river in Europe?’) meant the shadow-drenched surrounds of Mr. Mayne’s various nooks and crannies weren’t at their most appealing and my companion and I decided to imbibe our respective prescriptions at one of the few picnic tables scattered out front.
Philistine that I am, I opted to side step the winelist (which I’m independently assured is very respectable) in favour of a Corkonian IPA from Rising Sons Brewery which is very reasonable at €5.50. Meanwhile my considerably more glamorous cohort went for a Monkey 47 gin and elderflower tonic. Arthur Mayne’s is one of the few places to procure this potent elixir aside from Harvey Nicks, which partly explains its hefty €11.90 pricetag. Both went down easy in the way only sun-kissed tipples can.
On returning to the bar to resupply, things are heating up. A gaggle of tech-bros have installed themselves at the long double-sided bar, talking content over ’kens, natch. Arthur Mayne’s in general exudes an atmosphere that screams ‘work drinks’, but given that the staff were welcoming and the drinks themselves were without complaint, perhaps take this misgiving with a pinch of salt, seeing as they’re coming from the only guy in the place that was wearing a t-shirt.
Arthur Mayne’s
48 Donnybrook Road, Dublin 4
t: 01-2187869
Words: Danny Wilson
