While assignments pile up and lectures become optional, the sky is wet and grey and a damp cold breeze permeates your body. Rumor has it the best remedy for these Dublin blues is located at 15 Mary Street Little in Smithfield. The Hacienda Bar, a place to forgo your usual glass of wine for a classic pint, was once one of this city’s best kept secrets, but since recurring visits from big-shot celebrities such as Ed Sheeran, its infamous owner has begun to let in slightly less musically acclaimed people such as myself.
To begin, you must ring the bell to be assessed by the owner, Shay, who will decide whether or not to let you inside. Once you’ve made it past the ring of fire, you make your way into a dimly red and purple lit front room adorned with a couple of high-top tables and chairs. An average pint costing around €6.50, it’s a space perfectly fit to decompress on a Thursday night with good conversation. The bar is just to your left, past a shadowy black archway, leading to another room covered in selfies of Shay and the numerous celebrities that have popped by on their visits to Dublin. Stepping in a little further are two separate spaces, both inhabited by pool tables placed in the center. With chalkboards on the side walls for you to claim a spot in line, the clatter of colorful resin balls resonates in the rooms alongside harmonious chatter and cheers from skillfully placed shots. To note: the pool table in the left room needs coins, yet the one to the right does not, so pick your stomping ground wisely.
Woven throughout the bar is consistent nautical décor, mentally placing you at the helm of a vast schooner. The backlit clutter, working alongside scattered submarine helmets, entrances you to exist for the express purpose of beating a stranger in a pool. The smoking area, or closet, is the perfect excuse to cozy up to your friend or the stranger you might be trying to impress. Standing side by side near the gated window allows for intimate conversation to nestle itself into the breaks between drags. At first glance, it seems only to be able to fit a maximum of four people, but one would be surprised as to just how many can squeeze inside. Blending together the crowd, décor and games, is the artfully curated playlist that trades in contemporary for comfort, with classics from artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Chuck Berry and The Beatles. I often felt the overwhelming urge to drop my cue and pioneer my own dance floor.
A place to satisfy any sort of craving, social or alcoholic, Hacienda Bar provides late nights served alongside buoyant laughter. I highly recommend it as a spot to bring anyone regardless of their relation to you: friend, partner, or younger brother. If you’d like to switch up the GMB pool room for an actual social setting, or avoid that certain someone on Drury, cross the bridge over to Hacienda.
