Darkey Kellys

Came here on a whim! great local place.
Live music for the perfect Irish feel.
Had a hard time telling if we were supposed to be waited on or not. After about 15mins i went to the packed bar to place my order, only to find out when i got back, that a waitress took my friends order. *slightly irritating which is why the place gets 1 star deducted*
I ordered the vegetarian Mediterranean Sandwich. SOOOOO GOOD!!! Im not sure if they put crack in there or not, but i wake up still thinking about how none of my sandwiches are ever going to taste as good as that one. SERIOUSLY. One day i will come back to Ireland and they will get tired of me cause ill be there for lunch and dinner everyday. The whole thing fell apart in my mouth (in the BEST way possible).

Love this place. We stopped in one night after dinner for drinks and enjoyed the traditional Irish music. Came back a few nights later for dinner in the pub. The fish and chips were fresh and it was a large portion. Also had the Irish stew it was thick and dark made with Guinness. Yum.

Spent my last night in Dublin here, had a live band that played Irish music, wanted as last night fish and chips. All were excellent. Talked with a friend of the owner, made me felt like I was welcomed, from County Kerry.
Good music, good pints, lovely women, good food, good company. Is there any more? Yea, don’t think so.

Darkey Kellys is a hopping bar! This place gets outta control on Thursdays when they have BBQ night out in the beer garden. We were curious and went one Thursday night, but we didn’t opt for the BBQ spread. Instead, we had our own ideas of fun that night.
What you need to do to have a memorable experience at Darkey Kellys
1) Go on a quiet night when nothing is going on
2) Sit at the bar and get to know your bar steward. Ask about pouring a proper Guinness, or that 6 Euro deal for a taste of the 12 year old Jameson
3) Be open minded for conversation — we learned a lot of how to savor, sip, and enjoy
4) Ask to try the Keogh’s Shamrock potato chips — they are ADDICTING!!!
5) Get their chicken wings — this is a MUST
The End
This bar really meant a lot to us, and we really enjoyed the mellow Irish classics that was performed live while we ate. The bar itself inside is pretty standard — wooden bar stool at the bar, and lovely nook tables for some intimate conversations. I loved the bar itself with their variety of taps and just watching these guys work.
At the top of the menu, make sure to read the legend of Darkey Kelly — pretty awesome indeed!

Awesome spot for food and drink! The staff was very friendly. The entertainment is awesome. Definitely a must if your in Dublin.

Went for dinner with my husband and 3 kids (9, 8 and 6). While not «kid friendly» ie no kiddie menu, my 3 kids were not the only kids in the place (we went early), and the vibe didn’t make me uncomfortable with my kids (ie no «mommy what are they doing over there?»). The food was excellent, they had the rugby match on, and there was good live music. We had wings (good) and chips, pasta carbonara (surprisingly good — didn’t expect much from Italian food at an Irish pub, but my son was in the mood for pasta and I was really glad I didn’t talk him out of it), bangers and mash (excellent), cottage pie (MINE — so good I didn’t share with anyone) and a steak sandwich (husband seemed happy enough — I didn’t try that). Prices were very reasonable, so much so we didn’t miss the kiddie menu. Beer selection was extensive. And the place is very comfortable. We were at a high bar table, and it was still really comfortable!

If you are looking for a decent place to stay in Dublin that is central and inexpensive, you may find yourself at the Harding hotel (located directly across from Christ Church) — you’d be lucky to end up here. Just a stone’s throw from temple bar The Harding is in a part of town is much less rowdy, yet still lively enough (and central enough) to draw a crowd; it also happens to host one of the more fun local bars in central Dublin, Darkey Kellys.
Darkey’s was our first stop on many a night for food, and for a comfortable place to have a few beers without feeling like we were overpaying (all the pubs in Temple Bar charge a fortune for drinks, beers here were 1 – 2 euro less than pubs that were nearby). It certainly didn’t hurt that we were staying in the hotel and could eat and drink without having to start a tab, or, if we felt like it bring dinner right back to the comfort of our room. Because Darkey’s is the house bar they will happily charge anything you’d like to your room, which was actually really nice on the nights we were beat from walking all day, or just felt like taking food to go (especially if we didn’t have cash on us, and couldn’t be bothered opening ANOTHER debit card tab). The ambiance was what you would expect of a pub in Dublin; it had a large bar that looked like it had seen its share of people over the years, was dimly light even during the day, and offered live music nightly — exactly what you would want from a proper Irish establishment. They did have a yard in the back that they called a «beer garden», but it was really just a place to drink your pint outside; not knocking it at all, the space was lovely and full of locals ranging from old timers to students from Trinity (Darkey’s was always full with a diverse crowd), I just wouldn’t call it a beer garden (beer yard maybe?). The alley behind the beer yard and hotel (leading to a beat up looking hostel), was an old Viking trail (not useful to you, but interesting none the less) — Quick tip, if you do end up coming here/​staying in the hotel, this alley leads to a dead end that is a bit creepy, avoid it at night.
The tap lineup was extensive and covered a nice range of beers from imports like Franziskaner (German Weiss beer 5.0%abv) and Tennents (classic Scottish beer, 4.0%abv), to local favorites like Five Lamps Porter (red, rich porter 4.8%abv) and Franciscan Well Friar Weisse (my personal local fav, 4.7%abv, a must try if you’re in Ireland); just make sure to read the beer menu, as either side of the bar has different taps and you’ll undoubtedly miss half of them if you aren’t careful. The food was simple but very tasty, we ended up splitting the house burger almost daily for lunch as it was big enough for two (ask for the garlic mayo on the side, it makes baller dipping sauce for the fries). Like most pubs in Ireland, this place seems much more concerned about what’s in your glass than what’s on your plate; while the food was good (especially compared to other pubs we visited in Ireland), you got the feeling this place cared way more about the beer selection than food options — interesting considering how decent the food actually was.
Great place to grab a reasonably priced pint in an awesome part of town, this place is perfect for starting your night or for taking a breather from the mayhem that can be (and most often is) Temple Bar, highly recommended.

I go here every thursday for the English Language Meetup (yes, even though I speak English). You meet loads of people from all over the world, including ireland. You speak english and have a great craic. Pitchers 10 € tennants, 12 € bulmers. Plus free bbq which is actually really nice! They also play irish music later on. The outdoor smoking area is also good. Staff are really friendly. Definitely recommend going here on a thursday

I spent a week outside of Dublin taking the tram into town in the evenings. We had a great overall experience at Darkey Kelly’s. It was recommended by a doorman at our hotel (always skip the concierge and ask a «local»). The bartender was very friendly and highly entertaining, the music (live trio) was nothing short of spectacular (music and stories), and for a pub the food was remarkable. After a few pints we had the Irish Stew which was top notch and the portion size was perfect. Followed by dessert, the Guinness chocolate mousse was very unique and delicious. Darkey Kelly’s was a great place to take a break from walking about Dublin before starting an evening of pub hopping.

The biggest plus for Darkey Kelley’s was that it was downstairs from my hotel (The Harding). The space is fairly large, yet cozy and comfortable — but lacks the authenticity you find at other Dublin pubs. I never ate, but they had a great selection of beers on draft. The service was friendly, yet a little distant, even on a night where it was rather quiet.
I did like Darkey Kelleys but its difficult to compare it more favorably when so many of the other Dublin Pubs I visited were overflowing with life and character. It is a great place to grab a drink, before you head out and explore what else Dublin has in store for you.

The first and best place I ate while in Dublin! The best steak sandwich I have ever had! Love this place and would gladly go back to Dublin just for another bite! Low key place with a great vibe, good music, and great people.

Admittedly, I’m quite partial to anything that shares a name with me. I mean if it’s a Kelly it has to be good … now unfortunately for me Darkey Kelly is in fact a good olé lady of the night who used to frequent the area.
The ladies of the night are long gone (well I guess this point is debatable, but Darkey Kelly is definitely gone) and now a pub stands in its place. Nowadays the main draw is the trad music that you can find here on many nights. If you’re a fan of the olé diddle aye then it’s definitely worth a stop off.

From its illustrious beginnings as an 18^th Century brothel to its current function as a trad Irish pub, Darkey Kellys has always promised an interesting evening.
Mine was quite interesting, that’s for sure. There were no prostitutes to be seen (thankfully, not really my scene right there) but there were certainly some interesting conversations floating around (aka absolute disaster of a first date!)
Probably not the best place to go on a date, Darkey Kellys is more a pub to head to if you have a nice group of friends with you or want to chat to some old guy at the bar, but them’s the breaks. The bartenders will remember your drink of choice, so the service is great in that respect.
The outside area is quite interestingly situated between a hostel on one side and the hotel on the other. It would be a pleasant place for a sunny Sunday arvo bevvie. They have some great trad music here, so if you can pull up a seat inside you’ll be grand for an evening.
But I really must reiterate a piece of advice I picked up from my experience here — don’t take a potential partner on a date to a brothel, or anywhere that has ever been a brothel. It doesn’t bode well for the future of that relationship! And that’s all I’ll say about that.