This is a must try in Dublin! Fun atmosphere. Live music every day of the week. The place gets packed but service is quick! Great whiskey selection! I ordered the bangers and mash and hands down 100/10. I wanted to mail some back to the USA it was so good! read more

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If I could give a lower rating I would. AVOID this place it's a tourist trap and they don't care about you. We ordered food and got our appetizer fast but then spent an hour waiting and asking staff where our main courses were. Although a waiter came to apologize and offer free dessert, he told us the owner was sitting nearby. We told the boss that the waiting an hour and watching people come in after us and leave before we even get our food is ridiculous. When we said we won't come back, he said he didn't blame us. As an owner you should be proud in what you do and own but it was clear that since they got our money they don't care. Unfortunately we paid first before the meal which was a mistake. They offered us free dessert and said it would be out soon, so we waiting half an hour. It never came and we decided to leave. It might look nice but I won't be caught dead here. read more

We were out exploring and happened to be in Temple Bar and this was in a quieter area so we popped in for lunch. It was a cool environment and the food was delightful. Since we were in Ireland I had to have a Guinness and got Bangers and Mash to eat. Staff was attentive, loved to vibe, and the food was legit. read more

Darkey Kellys - Bangers and mash - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

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Great food! Ambiance was great but there's very limited seating. We ended up outside but still great vibes. You could still hear the live music but wasn't too loud where you can't have a great conversation. Had to order at the bar so service was limited. read more

The atmosphere was quite warm and pleasant. It was exactly what you'd expect to be in a pub. The food was wonderful and large portions. Our server was polite, friendly, and very knowledgeable, he explained to my wife about all the different types of ale. I stuck with the Guinness and it was grand. Definitely worth a visit. read more

We spent 2 evenings here on our trip to Ireland. What a gem. Great music, friendly staff and good drinks. Such a great pub. read more

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Fun vibe with lovely live music. Fish & Chips and the Beef & Guinness Stew were fantastic!

Came here a few times because we really liked their wings. It was pretty good here. On top of that, there was live music every night from 6p - 9p. The service was different each time we came, though. The first time, it was fast and the server was friendly, quick and knowledgeable. He asked if we'd been there before, etc. The other time, the servers were slow, forgetful or just didn't see us because we were seated in the back? Who knows, really. Here's what we ordered (combining all the times we've been there): - Served with blue cheese dip, celery and pickled white radish - Tagliatelle Carbonara - Pasta tossed with bacon, mushroom, parmesan cream - Beef & Guinness Stew - Slow cooked beef in Guinness with carrots, celery, onion, mixed fresh herbs served with spring onion mash - Classic Burger - topped with jalepeno pepper relish, garlic mayo, bacon and melted Dubliner cheese, tomato, mixed leaves and chips The food is very good here. The love entertainment makes this place lively and fun. read more

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Guinness beef stew suggested and proved to be was very flavorful! Fish and chips were nothing special aside from fun presentation, served with mashed peas. Service was fine, 3 people helped us. Beware of asking for water and getting a bottle of mineral water. This is a sneaky upsell we did not ask for and fortunately did not have to pay for as we refused it. Bummer to feel that tourists might be purposefully taken advantage of. This was the only restaurant in Ireland that did this. One server brought tap water before the mineral water showed up at the table so it felt odd when this happened. Otherwise normal pub style location. read more

Favorite place we went. Ended up going back a couple times. Service, music, food far superior to surrounding pubs

If you want a true Irish Pub experience this is the place to come to. Live music and e food and wide variety of beers. We even met some fellow Texas Aggies while we were at the bar. It's always crowded so get there early or be prepared to wait. Our favorite pub in Ireland during our 15 day vacation !! Don't miss this Irish gem with loads of history dating to the 1700's. Jim and Janeen Kirby McKinney Texas read more

Darkey Kellys - Bar and senior bartender - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

Darkey Kellys was one of the spots I was most excited to stop by for their fish and chips after seeing some photos here on yelp. It did not disappoint. A monster of a whole fish basically with a portion of perfect chips in a container off to the side. The vibe of the pub was very relaxed and joyful. There was a brilliant band performing off to one side and everyone seemed to be really enjoying it. This is a must spot to visit when in town, I'll definitely be coming back next time I'm in town! read more

Darkey Kellys - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

Look, the place is bustling and the staff never stops moving. The food is fine, and the performing musicians solid. But if you stop and listen for a moment, you realize you are surrounded by tourists. There are NO Dubliners in this pub. It is a tourist site only. Not only that, but. They keep 3 grumpy Irish beer pullers behind the bar and then underpay non-Irish "employees" who run around and do all the heavy lifting and get paid nothing compared to the rest. PLEASE consider looking for a nice pub on a less busy corner with amazing music, Irish customers, and some solid food! read more

This was probably our favorite pub that we visited during our trip to Dublin! What initially attracted me to Darkey Kellys was their extensive whiskey and gin selection. They even offer several different whiskey flights. I believe they also have live music almost every night. We arrived right before 6, had our COVID certs checked and were seated immediately. The servers were so friendly, offering drink recommendations, asking where we were from, and even giving us suggestions on what we should do during our time in Dublin. I started off with the Dingle Gin and Tonic and it was quite refreshing. I love how Ireland serves gin and tonics in essentially extra-large wine glasses. For dinner, I ordered the fish and chips and it was fantastic! The batter on this fish was light, but super crispy and wasn't falling off at all. My boyfriend only had a bite of my fish and chips and still says Darkey Kellys was the best fish and chips we tried in Ireland, and we tried quite a few. Others at the table also got the Guinness stew and bangers and mash. Everyone said their food was delicious! My only regret is not coming back again before we left. read more

Darkey Kellys - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

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The best pub food we had in Dublin. Great live music as well. A good mix of Irish patrons and tourists. The staff is very friendly. Highly recommend. read more

Great pub centrally located in center Dublin. We visited on a Thursday night and the place was hopping. Live music, beers flowing, and people laughing. How could one not pull up a chair and get a pour? We each ordered different items: wings, burgers, Guinness stew, and seafood chowder. We all ordered Guinness, however. Service was excellent as was the food. Simply perfect. Fortunately, we stayed at the Harding Hotel in the same building which led to a happy way to end the day. Glad we gave 'em a whirl. Go here. read more

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Lamb shank - simply amazing. Get it in your mouth now! So tender, falling off the bone and the glaze and root vegetables - just a perfect compliment. read more

Technically, the third pub we patronized since arriving in Dublin for our vacation, Darkey Kellys is a peach of one. If you're looking for a spot that has bands/musicians playing traditional Irish music, Darkey Kelly's has what you need in spades. Finding a spot at the bar, ordering a Guinness, and turning around to listen to the tunes amongst a packed crowd of patrons, this is an experience to have. Located in one of the oldest areas of Dublin City Centre apparently in the Temple Bar district, Darkey Kelly's is known for a discovery of budies under the brothel that an actual woman named Darkey Kelly ran in the 18th Century -- and possibly Ireland's first recorded serial killer. This kind of history is alluring enough to pay the pub a visit. If you're visiting or living in the area, reaching Darkey Kelly's is easy. In fact, most of the known pubs in the area are approximately five minutes walking from each other on cobblestone streets. Walking into Darkey Kelly's, you're immediately welcomed by Irish music being played by musicians before making your way to a table or one of the bar areas for a drink. There's a warmth and comfort to visiting Darkey Kelly's for a pint between the bartenders behind counter and patrons who are there from all over. It's a place to return repeatedly, without question. read more

Darkey Kellys - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

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Nice place for some Irish music and food. It sure I'd call this authentic as most of the crowd were tourists, rather then locals, but we had a good time here, food was good. We went here twice cause at least we knew what we were getting. read more

Exceptional Irish pub. Staff is very service oriented and friendly. The Irish coffee is worth trying and the food is good. read more

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We went on a Saturday night looking to eat some Irish food. Little did we know, there was a bridal shower party and live music. There was good food, fantastic ambiance, and pretty good service for how full this place was. The place was packed and they are a walk in only pub. The veggie burger came with great "chips," The draught beer selection was varied, local and cold. The live band played endless tunes reminiscent of Brit and Irish rockers. All in all, we had a great time, ate well, drank even better! read more

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A must when you are in Dublin. Historic, friendly, 100's of wiskeys and the food was great.

The live traditional Irish music was a lot of fun. Food here isn't as good as others I've had during our Ireland holiday. The fish on the fish N chips had so much breading that I was unable to taste the fish underneath. The chips tasted stale and spuddy, like when I microwave fries the next day. The Guinness beef stew was fine but I wish the bowl had more stew and less mashed potato. Our bartender recommended the Rockshore cider, which was delicious. read more

Recommended by locals. Great vibes, food, and people watching. Put it on my Dublin guide.

Best fish and chips I've ever had!! Friendly service too. I recommend highly. The pasta tagliatelle was fantastic as well. read more

Darkey Kellys - Fish and chips - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

The fish and chips were really good! The ambiance was cool too!! The next time I'm in the area I will go back for a pint!

We drank Guinness We both had the Guinness stew. Very good with lots of thick stew and a big pile of mashed potatoes under it. Great traditional music on a Sunday dinner time. We sat with a local we meet at a pub and we joined two actors from the touring group of West Side Story. Everyone at our table liked their food. The place has separate rooms so you can hear the music and talk to people around you. Great fun that way. Service was slow. Maybe because it was very busy. We had to grab someone when we wanted anything. But still I can recommend this place. read more

Great place. Beef stew was simply outstanding. Staff and service is excellent. A true Irish pub just on the outskirts of the touristy Temple Bar area. Others are tourist traps -- not this one. Evening entertainment is top notch. This place checks all the bones. read more

Warned to arrive early. It's a Wednesday so we thought 6pm would work. Wrong. Fully seated and a one hour plus wait. We opted out but given the size of the crowd one thinks it's good. Would they again but need to get there earlier! read more

Great live music and amazing service! Must do on your visit to Dublin!! It's right across a tourist spot, the Christ Church Cathedral, our tour guide recommended it and he was spot on with his recommendation! read more

Excellent food Great drinks Service a bit off --- but did not deter ** yes, there are locals here !!! ( contrary to former reviews ) read more

We were visiting in Dublin and stumbled upon this little place. Great fun! The beef stew here is fabulous!

A must visit. Food, libation, or both, Darkey Kellys will take care of you. This place is busy. We were a group of 2 and at sat at the bar. Darker Kellys Gin is a must try. We also had seafood chowder and beef stew. Both were large portions and delicious. There may have been some Teeling whisky and a Guiness, too. We stayed just to hear the live music and moved on. Perfect time. read more

We went for the fish and chips and stayed for the live music. The place reminds me of an Irish pub you see in movies. The Irish music helps set the ambience too. It looks like they have live music daily at 8. The fish and chips were just what I expected. I Loved the breading texture on the fish. The chips (Fries) were not the best, but not the worst either. I did start with a tomato soup and it was delicious. It had small pieces of onion. Drinks are typical of a pub. The beer selection was good. Be aware that the staff is busy, so you will have to flag them down to pay. read more

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I came here on a weekday, while it was raining cats and dogs. To my surprise, the pub was still super crowded, and I had to stand a bit at the counter before finding a chair to sit for dinner. The live music was really good. I just loved the 3-person band, who used very uncommon acoustic instruments (not sure if the instruments were traditionally Irish). The servers at the bar were very nice and efficient. Seeing that I didn't have a chair, the older server actually went around asking for a chair for me to sit at the bar. Thanks a lot! I ordered a small dish of wings (5 EUR), but the portions were still generous. I also got a small bowl of soup and it was a big bowl too! Very generous in terms of foods! A Guiness to wash down the foods was just perfect for dinner. Before I left, the pub kept getting more crowded. So crowded that it was hard to watch the band from the back. Other than that, it was an awesome environment! read more

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The food and music are great! There is a small dance floor and I was lucky enough to see some young kids doing some Irish dancing

Had a great time the food was fabulous ambience is amazing loved it the service Was first class read more

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The most Irish bar in all of Dublin in my opinion, live music featuring local artists who are authentically Irish. Fine selection of spirits and beer, did not eat there but did have a few drinks. Loved it! read more

Had the lamb shank with root vegetables and mashed potatoes. Super good and flavorful!

Fantastic food. Great live music and a fun vibe. A little crazy when you walk in and sort of a free for all for seating but chill out and take it all in. A great place, for sure. read more