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The Brazen Head

Address: 20 Lower Bridge St - Dublin, Ireland
Parking: In Canada!
Intersection: Lower Bridge Street & Merchant’s Quay

Last Reviewed: July 11th, 2019

Wingage Score: 90%

Judge	Score
BHON European Correspondent	90

Overall - July 2019:

Our first ever BHON International review - The Brazen Head Pub in Dublin Ireland!!!

When we first touched down in Dublin, one of my first goals was to find a pub and have a pint of Guinness. The fact that it happened to fall on a regularly scheduled BHON night made it even more significant. According to the tour bus driver, the city of Dublin is home to over 1000 pubs, so it shouldn’t have been a tough task, but finding one that had wings on the menu took a little Google research. This brought us to the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Ireland (established in 1198).

The place was about a 15 minute walk along the scenic river Liffey from our flat in Temple Bar, but it was worth the trip. The entrance was a narrow alley to an open-air courtyard packed with people. Surrounding the courtyard were a half dozen smaller rooms, each with a separate bar and seating areas, all interconnected in a crazy rabbit-warren of corridors and hallways. It kind of reminded me of the Rex in Welland. We had to wander around for awhile until a table opened up and soon grabbed a spot in the courtyard with a great overview of the whole area.

First up was a round of Guinness and a pound of their Buffalo style wings. The Guinness came cold and creamy with a velvet texture that was different from any we’ve experienced back home in Canada. The head coated the glass like a chocolate milkshake. Our expectations for the wings were relatively low, but we were pleasantly surprised. The wings were reasonably sized, cooked perfectly with a sauce that closely matched some of the best we’ve had back home. It’s almost as if they’d stolen their recipe from Bugsy’s (or maybe it was the other way around?).

Ok Ireland.....so far so good. You’ve suitably impressed this BHON member! And there’s something to be said about having a pint in an 800 year old pub that you just can’t replicate anywhere in North America.

Overall....we liked it so much we actually went back the following night for a last-call pint on our late evening walk and enjoyed some celtic music and dance.

Yeah....I think this BHON member could live here without a doubt.