Strolled in after a bus tour to Belfast. Friendly staff. Took our order right off. Food presentation was lovely and the food delicious. Musicians appeared halfway through our meal so we moved to the bar to be entertained and had a great evening. read more

This review is based entirely on our experience with the bartender Shubham. He was very friendly, served us promptly and was helpful and engaging. We stopped in the next day to thank him for his recommendations for Indian restaurants in the area but he wasn't working that day and we had nowhere near the same experience with the new bartender who went missing for periods of time and spoke only broken English. The prices here are not bad for the touristy Temple Bar area (and even compared to the sister pub down the street) and the eye-watering prices in the Temple Bar Inn read more

Manager was extremely rude, food was bad and no wonder there's hardly anyone in there

Dropped in after a search for three other targeted bar/restaurants that either were over full or have stopped serving food (assuming recently give good Yelp reviews on food). Traditional Irish Stew was very good. I meant, we're in Ireland. Spouse had the Extra Large Pot of Mussels. Wow! It is an "extra large pot" and packed full of muscles. Probably 5x more mussels than she gets in US for the same price. She loved them. Would go back. read more

This place is a fun spot to go in Temple bar area, located in connection to Blooms hotel. The service was quick. The drinks were reasonably priced. There was great live music going on. It was worth a quick stop for a drink. read more

The VAT House might be a touristy place with higher than average prices but the quality of food and service surpasses a lot of other venues in the inner city of Dublin. We had a few meals at VAT House during our stay and we really enjoyed it. My personal favourite is the Beef and Guinness stew and compared to the same dish at the Duke they thoroughly kick some Duke ass. It is quite a large meal but it has a rich beefy flavour, plenty of vegetables and it is topped with a good chunk of mashed potatoes. My girlfriend tried both the fish and chips and the bangers and mash and just loved it. The selection of beer is quite extensive and the waiters are attentive and polite. I think the VAT House is a great place and I hope you will try it some day. Two thumbs up from us!! read more

See all

Outstanding food! The cottage pie special was delicious and the bacon and cabbage was amazing! Best cabbage l ever tasted read more

The Vathouse Bar - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

See all

I try to stay away from tourist traps because I'm a local and I should know better. However, last night I ended up going to a ridiculous pub because my friend was supposed to meet a girl there. Let me describe the scene in the Vat House on a Saturday night. Six women in theirs 20s were having a hen party. They were dressed in skintight pink dresses and spiky black heels. They danced to most of the songs (Sweet Home Alabama was playing at one point) and stumbled around the pub looking for partners. One older man obliged and proceeded to do what resembled the chicken dance. Of course, there were other customers in the pub, people who did not make a spectacle of themselves, but I hardly noticed them because of the embarrassing scene that was unfolding in front of me. The Vat House may be packed on the weekend, but I would avoid it all together. Not only was the company bad, but so was the service. It took around 15 minutes to get my drink order in despite there being three barmen. And in case you were wondering, the girl my friend was supposed to meet never showed. Go figure! read more

The Vathouse Bar - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

As an American in Ireland, I came here on my first day. The prices are actually much cheaper than most of the other places I was looking for dinner at. When you first arrive, you should seat yourself, as they do not seat you. The waiters were very friendly and very helpful in helping me understand the menu and suggesting good food. However, you have to wave them down, they don't wait on you. Drinks on the food menu only include alcohol, mostly beer and whiskey, so I had just a glass of water. I ordered the Chicken Goujons (in American read "Chicken tenders"). It was very filling, if you eat the salad, which was a third of the portion. The portion was a good size: 1/3 salad, 1/3 chicken tenders, 1/3 fat chips/fries. I couldn't finish it all after having the whole salad and half the chicken goujons. Unlike American places, "take out" doesn't really exist, so I had them wrap it up for me in foil. I went yesterday, on a Monday night in late August. The whole place was rather empty with a few people, probably mostly tourists. read more

The Vathouse Bar - Chicken Goujons with Garlic Mayo - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

Stopped by on a Tuesday night while staying a block away. I had heard good things about it but the only good experience we had was listening to the three gals that were playing that night My husband ordered drinks at the counter and they acted like he was inconveniencing them, I had an Irish coffee it was so bad I could hardly choke it down, it wasn't the whiskey cause I drink them .. I left it after trying to get thru it. You kind of expect that in Dublin they'd get two things right ... the proper pour of a Guinness and an Irish coffee. Both which were terrible resulting in awful drinks and wAsted money read more

Great location, food, drink selection & prices, and amazing staff. Located and attached to Blooms Hotel, this is a great place for a quick half-pint, dinner, or a night of entertainment and drink. Their pre-planned whiskie tastings are a great intro to Irish whiskies, they have 8 sets of four each tasting to try. I'd suggest the Irish Writers tasting. read more

See all

Located by the Blooms Hotel (where I was staying), the Vathouse was a nice place to stop in for a few drinks while hanging out one night in Dublin. The atmosphere was laid back during the day and much livelier once the sun went down. The staff was also very friendly and added to an already great locale. Definitely stop in here for a pint! read more

The Vathouse Bar - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

Excellent atmosphere/live music when I went there. Did not try the food, but service for drinks was decent. But again, best live music experience I had in dublin. read more

Went here a few times while on vacation (holiday). Great service and food. Jimmy is a great bartender and made us feel welcome. I'll have to come back if I'm ever in Dublin again. read more

F*cking terrible. Dinner on a Sunday night took over an hour to get out to us. Our first waiter brought drinks and then vanished. The other one looked to be too busy apologizing to other patrons to get anything out on time. Bartender was impossible to get ahold of for more drinks, and the fact we had to leave the table to go to the bar for more was ridiculous. Avoid. read more

We stayed there an afternoon, when we went too lazy to wander in the streets. So we spent like 3 hours talking at the bar. I first took a cider, which wasn't draft unfortunately, and then we decided to try the "draft vodka mojito" they have, which wasn't bad as well. We didn't ate there but some people were and it didn't looked bad, I would probably give it a try next time ! It wasn't crowded at all which feels good in this neighborhood, so if you're looking for a not-to-loud bar in temple bar, this is the place you should go ! read more

Decent food, off of the main temple bar so it's easier to get a table. They don't have enough live music to fill up either. The new cityscape tour has a free beer agreement with the vathouse before 6pm. Not a bad reason at all to stop in! read more

I must admit that the deco of the bar was very old-school and it's lovely to just sit in it and enjoy the sights. Food was somewhat a disappointment. Not that it was bad but it just wasn't great I guess. The fish & chips was only ok, the batter was not crispy and the fish was not that fresh. We also had the Irish Stew which was just ok. read more

The Vathouse Bar - Irish Stew (front) and Fish & Chips (back) - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

We are from the US and staying close by to this bar. We came in excited to try this local spot. Service is as super slow which was disappointing. We waited close to 15 mins before we were served. Also, we were seated near an entrance that staff constantly had to retrieve items from. read more

The Vat house is the hotel bar of Blooms Hotel Dublin. Probably not normally a bar myself and friends would frequent. But with a voucher for a free beverage we certainly were not going to say no. We went here for the second half of the euro finals and enjoyed the atmosphere and drinks. The kind barman even made me a good Americano at 1030pm! I was impressed at the menu and the food that was making its way to diners. However we didn't eat ourselves.. Sticking to the black stuff to cheer on portugal. Be back for an evenings pre- drinks no doubt. read more

The Vathouse Bar - Pubs Near Me - Dublin, D

See all

We didn't stay here very long, as we just missed dinner service, and still desperately needed to eat. We did stay for a pint or two, and caught a bit of the classic Irish folk troubadour dude that was playin across the bar. I'm not really in love with Irish music all the time. It's usually annoying and lame, and I really hate how everyone pretends it's their jammy jam jam since dropkick murphys stopped being oi! However (and I know this makes ME lame), sitting in a Temple Bar pub, having a legit Irish pint, it kinda felt right, and those old tunes I've come to hate sounded better than ever before. Then he played Always Look On the Bright Side of Life and I was sold!!! I know, even from our short experience here, why the reviews talk about bad service. We sat in the back of the bar, as far away from the speakers as possible, so we could chat and not be surrounded by the singer's captive audience. But just because we chose an isolated seat (but still sitting AT the bar), doesn't excuse the barkeep pissing off for 10-15min between stops. We could've SO EASILY dashed on our bill. read more

Took forever to get drinks and service despite the restaurant not being very busy. The burger was subpar and the fish and chips were bland. Would not recommend with so many great options around. read more

The food is decent. Only reason I gave one star is because the service is really bad. My server disappeared on us, then some guy came by and I asked for my check.... He said, okay... Then disappeared too! Then another man came up to me and asked if everything was okay? No, I'm waiting on my check which I've been waiting for about 10 minutes now. Unless you ONLY plan to get drinks don't waste your time! read more

My wife & I we're looking for a fun place to have dinner & drinks on a Friday night after being in a bus tour all day. We stopped here because they advertised authentic Irish music. We quickly realized the live music started later that night. We started off with some drinks. My wife had vodka on the rocks with lime. I had the Teeling tasting tray with 4 different whiskeys and an explanation of each. My wife had chicken Cesar salad for dinner. It was a large potion with tasty chicken. It also had cucumbers, peppers and olives...very unusual for a Cesar salad, and refreshingly welcome given our tourist-like eating habits. I had the salmon fillet. The fillet was served with the skin on, which surprised me. It was tasty without having an overpowering salmon flavor. We stuck around for the live music and I quaffed a few pints of beer. The duo played very well and got the crowd into a festive spirit. Even though we were not familiar with the songs, we were clapping and roasting along with others near our table. We had a very good time. read more

Stopped by for a drink and appetizers. Service was extremely slow. Ordered drinks and by the time they arrived the ice had melted and had an inch of water at the bottom of the glass. Didn't both with food as the place wasn't even busy and drinks took forever. read more

A nice pub right in Templebar. It's owned by the same group which owns many of the pubs there, and is geared more for tourists. This includes the pricey drinks. They have nice decor, very classic, a good layout, sports on during the day and live music at night, but I wouldn't be drinking here for too long as the prices will bleed you dry in a few hours sure. read more

strangely this place unlike other temple bar pubs around it is not packed to the rafters. i wonder why? maybe its the expensive hotel prices or the location? its quite expensive to drink in there and its part of blooms hotel and beside club M nightclub. Club M has lost much of its charm over the years and with the entrance on a darkened side street it's possible this has caused the clientele to not bother with the pub next door anymore? the night i was there the band started up about 10.15 and some of the tunes had us tapping our toes and almost i mean almost up doing the jig. but luckily for the people drinking there that we didn't embarrase them and we stayed put! the guy on guitar looked as if he has just gotten down off a builders ladder or else just out of bed and ran out of razers, he was so unkempt looking but he looked cute and played well so he is forgiven. read more

Horrible service. Had to find a waitress to get served and then that took forever. People walk-in and walk right back out. Music was great and beer was good, food was awful. Fish and chips were under cooked, vegetarian lasagna had nothing but cheese in it. read more

To get into the festival spirits on the eve of St Patrick's Day, it only seemed right that a venue with a Trad session was the place to be! It was packed to the rafters, some serious fun was been had that night by all the Tourists in the pub, however, been my first visit to this place wasn't sure if the prices are always this expensive or if they were raised to take as much money off the tourist as possible. Expensive prices for what was on offer but other than that, a good spot. read more

Definitely a spot for Tourists in Dublin. Hugely overpriced but a nice chilled atmosphere & often have ballad singers etc. not a place i would frequent too often but literally just because of the prices everything else is great! read more

It's a good enough pub really. They have some old barrels around for decoration. With the name of Vathouse I sort of thought they'd have a larger whiskey selection, which turns out is pretty average. The main reason I came in was because of the drink voucher from Blooms Hotel, and we got our drink and left. We didn't have the food, but it looked alright enough when the people next to us received theirs. The other patrons were friendly and talkative, and mostly tourists. It's not somewhere I'd seek out again as it feels very contrived. read more

Great local Irish pub situated downstairs of the Blooms Hotel and in the middle of Temple Bar. They have a selection of Irish whiskies to choose from and some nice snacks to order. read more

Service very slow. Food came out 45 minutes later - soup and appetizers ..???also requested a 'hop house - lager and received a Budweiser??

The Vat House is a pub, part of Blooms Hotel in Temple Bar. It is a great bar with lots of atmosphere, and among other things a little snug that used to be a lift shaft, with some funny old signs on the wall. They have live music that's mostly traditional Irish and ballads, but can include a whole mixture. They serve lovely food :) read more

Friendly staff and delicious food. We got some garlic bread, a burger and the salmon. They are very generous is servings (food and drinks). They also had several whisky taste tests so we will surely come back when were back in Dublin again. read more

This place really deserved zero stars. They are truly lucky yelp makes a minimum one star. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place. Nearly empty when we went and couldn't get service despite multiple attempts for prolonged periods of time and they had THREE bartenders. Owner- Fire your staff and start over. The band was pretty decent- so I guess that deserves one star. read more

Good pub for a chat ...nice and clean well presented they serve food as well ,the clientele is more twenty five plus with a few tourists ,business men and the likes all mixed in together ...they do show the football but with no sound on in the background also play trad music when there's a live band and radio when there's not... read more

me and the wife had just been for a meal and thought we,d have a drink but every where was jammers , thn we passed the vat house and wer suprised to see it was less than half full so went in nice looking bar the music was good service was good so why half empty , then found out a pint of carlsberg n a bottle of coors 11.60 top end of temple bar prices, still the music was good so had another,then at bang on 11pm orderd another big mistake the price went up by 30cent a drink so had that and left.pity the poor tourists being robbed like that and it is robbery,so shame on the owners there is no excuse for those disgusting prices the goverment should cap bar prices.as for us we,ii stay with our local bars read more