“Bow Lane is an authentic late night cocktail bar that appeals to a cross section of Dublin society from the gritty underclass of sophisticates to creatives and the party set.”
Last month, the excellent Come Here To Me blog wrote about the transformation of 18 Aungier Street from a local’s pub, Delaney’s, which had affiliations with Aungier Celtic FC and the York Street flats into a cocktail bar run, Bow Lane, which has affiliations with the next door neighbours Whitefriar Grill. For CHTM, this change represented the demise of a certain kind of city centre local, to be replaced by another kind of bar purporting to authenticity.
Authenticity appears to be a key concept in the reviving economic fortunes of Dublin. Conscientious consumption replaces conspicuous consumption. Provenance and craftliness become important to patronage. The Sindo writes think-pieces about ‘Yuccies’ and puff pieces on how Gavin Lambe Murphy is so god-damn humble these days. It’s worth remember that during the Celtic Tiger days, on this pub-heavy stretch of the city centre from Portobello to Dame Street, there was once a bar called Nasdaq. Fucking Nasdaq.
If you were looking for a Dublin pub to describe as ‘authentic’, I’m sure Delaney’s would’ve made the cut. Used in that sense, the word becomes a euphemism for tradition and maybe a kind of toughness. Used to describe Bow Lane, it can only be a more literal use. In that sense, Bow Lane’s authenticity, to me at least, seems unquestionable. When I wrap my knuckle on the bar, it makes the sound of wood. When I talk to the bar staff, they answer in a friendly manner and serve me. It’s certainly not a solipsistic dream or the set from an RTÉ TV show but a real, actual, authentic bar.
“Bow Lane has areas that satisfy a want for exclusivity and other areas that create a space for typical Dublin social intercourse”
Pontification aside, the transformation that has happened within Bow Lane is striking, and they have done a classy job on it. The décor is hardly mould-breaking, but little details like the Art Deco-ish coat hooks at the bar are really nice touch. At every opportunity give us exposed brick and parquet floors over fake street art. You enter through the larger bar area, where there is seating at the bar, at tables or in a large continuous couch-booth at the rear. This, I assume, is where the “typical Dublin social intercourse” takes place. Looping around the bar, to the right is the restaurant serving small plates, brunch and exclusivity. The set up is low-lit, unostentatious and the arrangement makes a surprisingly large room feel cosy.
The draught selection is not large but does include two variants on Cute Hoor, Moretti and Hoegaarden on tap, beside more regular premium brands. The cocktail menu is where they have really hit the nail on the head, with a selection of idiosyncratic house recipes such as the Francis Aungier’s Legacy 1661 (€11) which was stunningly tasty, like drinking a chocolate liqueur. (Classic cocktail recipes are also catered for if you request them.)
Overall, you could easily lose sight of what a nice place this bar-cum-restaurant is if you focus on what Bow Lane represents in terms of Aungier Street’s (and Dublin’s) gentrification, or concentrate too much on the guff it purports about itself rather than what goes on behind its doors. But, damn it, that’s just what us gritty sophisticates like to do.
Bow Lane
18 Aungier Street, Dublin 2
www.bowlane.ie
Words: Ian Lamont
Photos: Killian Broderick
