Barfly: Lanigan's Plough, Lwr Abbey St., Dublin 1
Friday April 24 2009
Like a Tardis in reverse gear, Lanigan's Plough is far cosier and more charming than its rather faceless exterior suggests. Located across the road from the glowering beige bunker that is the Abbey Theatre, the two-storey bar feels like something out of a John B Keane play, all gnarled-wood adornments, sepia photographs on the walls and -- surely a nod to someone's grandmother -- suspended brass buckets.
Lately, the line between 'auld fella' boozer and cringe-inducing Oirish bar has grown worryingly blurred in Dublin publand -- but, here, the ambiance is comfortably the right side of schmaltzy. Lifesize Podge and Rodge dolls cast a leery eye over the lounge -- otherwise, however, the emphasis is on the traditional and the quaint.
Upstairs plays host to weekly trad sessions and, surreally, one of the country's largest and longest-running salsa nights. But Latin spice is in short supply in the back-bar area, where the lunchtime menu is dominated by a carvery counter that couldn't be more old fashioned were the chef to don a tweed flat-cap and start chugging a pipe.
Rustic charm is hard to pull off -- especially in a gritty part of central Dublin. And if Lanigan's doesn't quite succeed in banishing all thoughts of city life, you'll still want to give it full marks for effort.
- Ed Power
