The Playwright

Love the protein salad and witch's brew beer for a delicious lunch when ever I am in Kilkenny.read more

The ambiance was very neat as the architecture and history within the building is like nothing I…read morehave ever seen. From the moment you walk in the doors, you have to walk up steps and are greeted right at the bar. The atmosphere is cozy and the waiters are all pretty fun with the typical Irish sarcasm we have learned to smile at and join in with. The food was just okay. We had the burger and the lasagne. It was nothing epic, was edible, but nothing wowed us. I would have loved to try the Kytler's whisky and beers, but they were interestingly not offered so we stuck with the Guiness.

Live music

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Pints of Kilkenny

The Hole In The Wall

4.6(50 reviews)

0.2 km

•€

Fantastic little bar that you would miss if you didn't know it was there. The owner was there…read moreserving pints and chatting with customers. The bar holds about ten people, cash only. There is a small garden area outback. We were lucky and got to sit in on a trad session upstairs one night. We came here several times during our week stay. Nice people and friendly atmosphere.

Our first visit was 2023 and we had a wonderful time chatting with the amazing owner. We are in…read moreKilkenny for 2 night and went back both nights. There is a lovely group of people from Canada, US, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland in attendance. There are various instruments in the pub for anyone to pick up and play which we witness which added to the charm. We will be back. If you are in Kilkenny at night seek this place out down the Alley.

Bathroom

Small outside sitting area.

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Part of the bar.

Matt The Millers Bar & Restaurant

4.4(149 reviews)

A fun pub that was super busy for supper and died down a little bit when the live music was…read moreplaying. We had seafood chowder and ribs. The portion sizes are great and the food is delicious. The wait staff are friendly and helpful. The music during supper from 6:30 - 9:30 added a truly Irish experience that we had only read about until experiencing it for ourselves. It was a fun night and would recommend you check it out if ever in Kilkenny

Located in downtown Kilkenny with parking near the library. My husband and I were the first ones in…read morethe pub around 4:30pm. Shortly after multiple people showed up. We got in and snagged a table in the perfect location. We started off with food. The fish and chips were amazing. The fish wasn't too breaded or oily. The piece of fish was huge! The fresh green onions and homemade tater sauce elevated the dish. We stayed at the pub until Irish music started, which was so good! Hearing the tin whistle, guitar, and beautiful Irish singing was such a treat. We enjoyed a handful of cocktails and Guinness! Very enjoyable night!

One of the bars

Crispy Brie Parcel

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Views from the bar

The World's End

4.2(5 reviews)

0.5 km

Service - 5 Value - 5…read moreAtmosphere - Dive Bar 5 People - 5 This is a great bar to people watch and do some heavy drinking... Don't worry, you won't be "That Person", because there's always someone else. The bathrooms are ok after a lot of drinks. They are not the best, but they work... The beer is fairly priced and the locals are very friendly and hospitable. We spent the morning with the local women's Hurling Team... Great people who needed to blow off some steam after a hard game. I look forward to going back and spending some time with some great people.

I SURVIVED THE WORLD'S END…read more I deserve a bumper sticker with that slogan written on it. Or something. Allow me to explain... The World's End is a very authentic Irish Pub, in the very authentic Irish town of Kilkenny, with a cast of VERY colorful regulars. Think Cheers, but SOAKED in at least 10x more alcohol. The front entrance has a little diner feel to it, but all the action happens in the back bar through another set of doors. We walked in at 3 in the afternoon with full intentions of 1 drink and a quick bite...but that all changed when the bartender and locals heard our accent. Clearly not Irish. Before long, everybody was chatting us up, asking where we're from, our plans in Ireland, offering us drinks, pouring us drinks, offering us more drinks. I'm pretty sure we're now Facebook friends with a few of them. One of the locals, fascinated that we're from California, stuffed a bunch of change in the jukebox and selected every song about or with the word California in it. We stayed for at least two hours, half of it listening to the likes of California Girls, Hotel California, California Love, & It Never Rains in Southern California. Good times.

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Lanigans Bar

3.9(25 reviews)

Our group of 6 had a terrific evening at Lanigan's Bar. The…read moreIrish dishes we ordered (Cottage Pie, Beef Stew) were tasty. The live band played high quality traditional Irish Music that made us feel like singing along. And the service was friendly. Recommended!

Rather disappointing experience, stopped in for lunch on our first day in Kilkenny and ordered a…read morepint and club sandwich. Sandwich was pretty generic, piece of ham and some small chunks of chicken and bacon with tomato on white bread though soup that came with it was good. Then sat at table for quite some time with an empty plate and glass and couldn't get anyone to come over even though they were barely occupied. I finally went up to the bar and ordered another pint and they were nice enough to deliver it to the table. Don't even get me started on trying to get the check to close out our bill so we could move along!

Cottage Pie

Live band playing Traditional Irish Music

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The Field Bar & Restaurant Fao Sally Ann Phelan

4.4(29 reviews)

A warm and welcoming pub in central Kilkenny, catty corner to the castle. Local pub vibe. Ordered 2…read moreGuinness pints, a ham & cheese toastie with a cup of their seafood chowder, hubby ordered goat cheese crostini and seafood chowder. Amazing chowder, chunky fish bites, creamy deliciousness! Felt like a warm hug on this cold day.

Such a fun pub! Great atmosphere friendly and welcoming locals and the live music was great. Highly…read morerecommended!

The Field Bar & Restaurant Fao Sally Ann Phelan - Bar

Bar

The Field Bar & Restaurant Fao Sally Ann Phelan - Pub

Pub

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Found some friends here.

Cleere's

4.8(14 reviews)

0.1 km

Favorite pub in Kilkenny- cozy vibes, real fireplace going, and friendly service with good food to…read morematch. We got the chicken caesar wrap, the lamb stew, and the toastie with the carrot ginger soup (special of the day)- food portions were large so I shared a little bit of everyones food. The chicken caesar wrap was very American style and tasted like home- a good sauce ratio as well. The lamb stew was nice, with the lamb being not too gamey. The sandwich was tasty along with their soup- some of my favorite pub food all trip. Great irish coffee and great Guinness near the fire.

If you want a locals spot with amazing beer and food, then this is your place!! Low key, amicable…read moreservice with a relaxed vibes makes sense why local love this place and recommend it.. even the crew at Smithwicks brewery down the street have been known to roll kegs over, put them on tap and drink them through the entirety of the day post shift throughout the years being neighbors!! Don't skip this gem!!. A hot bowl of Irish stew and a couple cold ones will fix you up proper!!

Local only pours

Make sure you say SMITH WICK :)

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Left Bank

4.3(70 reviews)

Stopped by this pub which was once an old bank (hence the name) on a day trip & just had to have a…read moreSmithwicks which apparently is from this small town! Didn't order any food, just popped in for a beer but the vibes were so cool!

Of all the restaurants/pubs that Gayle and I visited during our recent trip to Ireland, our Lunch…read moreat this Left Bank had the best burger and Craic (fun, good times, enjoyable conversation, and the social atmosphere of a lively gathering). It also brought back fond memories of one of our early dates at a Left Bank in Pleasant Hill CA, when Gayle put me to the test. :) p.s. - I'm still around after 20 years. Our tour had just arrived in Kilkenny and as we walked down through the Food Festival (it was also a Bank Holiday), we needed to find a bank to replenish our cash reserve for tips and such. As we were Downtown, that was easy to accomplish. After that, I asked Gayle if she wanted to eat at the food festival or sit down somewhere. She opted for the latter, and Left Bank was right there! The place was packed and with great happy Bank Holiday energy, but the nice guy greeting us suggested we walk around and see if we could find an empty table. After about 5 minutes of searching, we spied a couple just leaving at a table by the window and we grabbed it. We were served quickly by an observant wait person, and before we knew it, my Chicken BLT and Gayle's Burger were right there. My choice was very good, and Gayle's burger was amazing. My adult beverage of choice was a Smithwicks, while Gayle stuck to her go-to Chardonnay choice (but with a burger?). Then as we're enjoying our Lunch, we look out the window and there's our friends Don and Fern walking down the food festival street! Gayle quickly left to chase them down, and with enough room at the table, the more the merrier! If we weren't on the tour clock, I would have gone another round. But alas, all good things....and doing a mitzvah by leading another couple looking for table to ours as we left.

Smithwicks

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An Poc Fada

5.0(3 reviews)

A Irish Pub with an awesome atmosphere. The staff are all excellent and excel in providing superb…read morecustomer service. We happened to be there on a night with a live music and what great fun it was listening to the duo play Irish folk songs and many other lovely tunes! If you're in Kilkenny go to the An Poc Fada pub, you truly won't regret it!!!

My husband and I were searching for a place to watch American football and all the games were on…read more The service was great the food (fish and chips) was excellent. Highly recommend for pub food and music.