After a longggggggg day driving we were starving and in need of something warming and hearty. Oh hello Irish stew. It was gone 9pm when we got into Cruises and we were a tad worried they would have stopped serving food but the lovely waitress informed us that they we all good to go and quickly took our order of two Irish stews, a Guinness and a wine. The food came out quickly and pipping hot! It was everything we wanted it to be - plenty of meat, veg and 2 different types of potato! YES. My only negative would be that it needed a bit more juice to it. I ended up asking for some extra gravy but my gosh, I'm glad I did. Possibly the best gravy I've ever had. It was a rich, and thick red wine gravy. It was amazing and when mixed in with the stew, I was in true Irish heaven. Pass me the bread it's time to mop this up! Alex then fancied a dessert and opted for the crumble. I had a spoonful or two and I must say it was very nice. Not usually my kind of dessert but it was sweet and the ice cream creamy. Very nice. The pub itself is very traditional Irish, they had live music playing and the atmosphere and decor was warming with the dark woods and warming fire. Lovely. Overall we had a lovely evening and the bill came to just €35. Bargain. read more

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My favorite pub in ennis when I go home to ennis. Surprised to see wesley's review below calling it a "hotel bar" its not the hotel is next door and every time I've been in there the locals outnumber the tourists. Well known as a trad pub with great live music at the weekends. Last time I was in there saw a band called araby do a version of florence and the machines cosmic love and honestly thought it was a cd. Great atmosphere especially at weekends and it stays open late. Along with knoxs it would probably be the most consistently busy pub in ennis. Also the crowd is slightly older as most of the young ones head into the nightclub. Well worth a visit when in ennis read more

Always enjoy Cruise's for a few pints usually have a good live band on weekends. Its also open late I think till about 2am. read more

I stayed at the hotel next door, and walked into a bunch of random folks playing traditional Irish music. It was a Monday night, and the place was packed until pretty late. Didn't order any food, but had a few pints listening to one song morph into another. Pretty cool. read more

Cruises Pub & Restaurant - Stayed at the hotel next to Cruise's on a Monday night, and this was going on inside. - Pubs Near Me - Ennis, CE

When you first visit Cruise's you might think it's a good pub. After a few visits you will find it quickly loses it's appeal. This is a classic tourist trap. It is good for a visit or two, but it will never be your local, as no matter how it is decorated, it is a hotel bar. Every time you visit it is filled with visitors from the hotel. The music, when they do have it, is geared towards Americans on holiday. If you find yourself on hols in Ennis then it might be worth it to drop in for a pint, but beware - the prices of pints here are much higher than you will pay at many of the other pubs around Ennis with none of the same atmosphere. read more

Cruises Pub & Restaurant - Porterbreak @ Cruises - Pubs Near Me - Ennis, CE

I was looking for a place that still served food but started the trad session early (8:30), and this fit the bill. I had a lamb shank that was not bad and a goat cheese salad that was very good, but what stood out most to me--in addition to the excellent music--was the service. I almost did *not* go because of the name ('Cruises' connotes 'love boat' to me more than 'old Irish') but I'm glad I got over that. While I have had better meals, this was solid and more importantly at that time it checked all my boxes. read more

Great fish and chips, and a tasty beef & Guinness pie. The goat cheese salad featured a surprisingly large hunk of delicious cheese. At $4 a pint for Guinness, this pub actually had the lowest price we've found of the four pubs we've visited in Ennis and Galway. Great, cheerful service and live music every night starting at 8:30-9ish. read more

Cruises is one of the best Live Music Pubs in Ennis. They have trad early in the evening & louder more quirky bands later at night. Late Bar at the weekends. Its where all the locals end up late at night. read more

Stopped in on a late weekday night. Very empty not too crowded and very cozy. Food was great, I had the guinness pie, and my friend had the Irish stew, both were great dishes. The Irish stew had good flavor and my Guinness pie had the flaky pastry crust with nice chunks of beef underneath. Generous portions, and after a day at the cliffs of Moher a welcome treat. Our waiter Sean was fantastic. Great service and great tips on how to drink my Guinness as well as helping my friend drink hers with a bit of red currant juice. Not sure how touristy the place was, I know that a hotel was connected next to it, but the food and service was great. Lucked out a bit because it wasn't a game night or holiday. Will surely like to come back Bathrooms were the most modern and cleanest bathrooms I used during my entire stay in Ireland (amongst restaurants and pubs, excluding hotels). read more

Live music, good food, cold beer, what more could you ask for! I arrived before the music started so it was not very busy. The waiter chose a table ideal for seeing the band later in the evening. The pub was cozy with close seating arrangements in the back area and spread out seating in the front bar area. Our waiter was very attentive, provided excellent recommendations for food selection, and as a bonus gave us tourist maps and circled locations for us to check out, super humble. For dinner I went with the fish and chips, wow what a potion! The piece of beer battered cod was huge, crispy, and cooked perfectly on the inside. The chips were more that one could handle, and there was a nice salad that came with it. Needless to say I could not finish this meal. The beer selection was pretty typical for what I've seen so far, but you can't go wrong with a Guinness. The live Irish music was great, around 8pm a band showed up including a fiddle, flute, banjo, guitar, concertina, drum and pipes. This really made the Ennis experience great! read more

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Great Fish and Chips! Best we had during our week in Ireland. Another one of our group had the Guinness stew which was also very good.

Arrived in Ireland 7am, busy first day. Just need a bit. What a wonderful fine. From the friendly waitstaff who offered us suggestions even after the kitchen was supposed to close to the buttery soft Irish Stew to a mouth watering Roasted Chicken. And wonderful local band. And prices are very reasonable. If all our diners are this good it will be temarkable. Don't miss it read more

Major disappointment! This place was recommended by someone from our hotel for food, drinks, and nightlife... Not so much. The pros: waitress and bartender were very polite and professional, the food however was horrible. Granted, I ordered a "juicy Lucy" burger (look it up, its normally awesome) and had there seafood chowder. The chowder was more broth than chowder and the burger was 1) prepared improperly and 2) very overcooked (posting a pic) and tasteless. I'd recommend sticking to the more traditional dishes if you chose to go here. read more

The music and staff were amazing, great selection of beers, the music was mesmerizing. Musicians kept joining the group and at one point there were more musicians than customers. There is not a bad seat in this place, unfortunately there was a mishap with kitchen so they were not serving food the night. We just grabbed dinner before went there for the music...we may go back tomorrow night. read more

Cliff was an excellent bartender. He even gave us a personal lesson on how to properly pour a Guinness. The service, food and traditional music was excellent. I would recommend to anyone looking for a great pub. read more

We tried this place based on other yelp reviews. The restaurant is small. If you are dining you are seated in the back (away from the bar and live music), but you can still hear it so it is not a problem. The service was fabulous. Friendly and attentive. This is a pub with great food and live music, but based on this one evening, totally appropriate for a family with children. The bar was not rowdy and crazy. The music was really good but different groups every night. I had the Guinness pie and it was as you might expect...very rich, beefy, flaky crust, hearty, etc. i wish i had my leftovers now. It was delish and everything i hoped for. The sides of mashed potatoes, veggies and cabbage were nice too. My husband had slow roasted chicken with mushroom gravy and the same sides. Very good...but not something i would have chosen at an irish pub. Lovely place with solid food and good service. Nice blend of locals and tourists which i like. If locals are there, it must be good! read more

Absolutely loved the lamb stew and soda bread. Even tried hard cider which was tasty. The server offered me a taste first to make sure I liked it. Highly recommended. read more