Long time I didn’t have time to write on the blog, due to many reasons, but the most important is to continue writing and try to keep with the purpose of this blog. I’ve been in many places since the last article, but I decided that I would dedicate my return to a newly opened place, the pub Dubliner.
I can already imagine some comments. Yes, this is again about a pub, yes it is Irish, and it seems that beyond all the places I’ve been, the so called “British” pubs are still the most reliable ones when it comes to drink and eat.
Located at Suur-Karja 8, it is relatively easy to find the place as it is just next Vabaduse Väljak, on the way to the old town, even if from distance you might not see any big flashy panel showing the entrance. This is in my opinion still a mystery in Tallinn, but let’s go straight to the point.
Dubliner IS a nice place. The inside is not without remembering some places like Scotland Yard with its dark wooden furniture and empty tables during the week or outside drinking hours (is there a real hour for this ?), but the common points stop there. Even if when you enter the place it doesn’t look like the most appealing place, even if the waiters and waitresses will look at you at first like if you were obviously disturbing them (or maybe is it just me), once you come to order your drinks or food, everything becomes more interesting.
I’ve been in this place now enough times to be positively realistic about the food and the service (the drinks I’m not so picky, I just need some Guinness). First, at least two waitresses are able to recognize me, and smile ! Yes, I saw it for sure, it was not just an illusion or because I gave a very generous tip, it was a normal smile, the one you expect to see when you’re polite and not yelling all over completely drunk. Some might say that we, latin people are always waiting for too much stuff from the service. But I’ve been working as a waiter in France and in England, too different cultures, but I always tried my best to smile at customers. Not because I was happy, but more because you don’t make people come back with a “I don’t care about you” glance, which is really often an issue in many places here.
But I must admit that Dubliner surprised me this time. A bit like Drink Bar, you don’t feel like disturbing them if you stay courteous and give a smile from time to time. The fact that most of them understand English in a good way is definitely helping. But more than this, It is not only about service. Very positive point for me, they always have good music, which is to say good rock or some pop rock classics. I’m sitting right now there, listening to some Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication, after hearing “Light My Fire”, what can I ask more?
Now about the food.
I have no real negative points. I tried lots of snacks, from Chicken wings to French Fries, as well as meals and even hamburgers or Päevapraed, and never I’ve been disappointed or badly surprised same with the prices, more than reasonable: 35eek for a soup, 59eek for the hamburger, and between 40 and 50eek for a pint of beer. Plates are big, and filled with vegetables, potatoes or French fries if you ask before. Service is fast if the pub is not too crowded, and they serve food until late.
I didn’t really feel the need to specify it as it sounds logical, but of course there is free Wifi and some plugs to load your laptops’ batteries. In the evenings, you might see a lot more people than during the day, but you can still hear the people around you speaking, which is not the case everywhere. All together, a very nice place to eat, drink alone (sounds like I’m alcoholic, but I don’t care
) or with your friends. I will give a 7/10 for Dubliner, and the probabilities to see me there are quite high also.


9 Comments
Nice review, thank you. Just stop apologizing for not writing long time, cause now every your review starts with apologies:) We understand that you are a busy working person and as yours truly readers will be patiently waiting for new reviews without getting angry or annoyed:)
Hi Julia !
Thank you for this support mail
I might indeed spend too much time apologizing. I will try to change it in the next future. Hopefully all the readers are not annoyed neither
The main question about any Irish bar saying it is connected to Dublin: Do they have Beamish available? If not, could we really call it as Dubliner?
After Hennessy etc. took over those breweries brewing Beamish, they stopped exporting this world’s best stout outside of Ireland. What a pity!
So: Beamish or not???
Hi Matti,
Excellent question. However, i didn’t check all the beverages on the menu. But will be my next task as soon as I go back there.
Hi Matthieu,
Imagine a French gastropub opens in Raekoja plats – we’ll call it Chez Piaf… As a French man, who also likes to review Tallinn’s eateries, you’re almost buzzing with anticipation as you enter for the first time…
On the wall there are framed photos of famous French people, Edith Piaf of course, is among them. Then you spot a photo of the American actor Matt LeBlanc!
You call one of the 17 year-old Estonian waitresses over and inform her that Matt LeBlanc is not French. The waitress shrugs and says, “Well, he sounds French.” before walking away.
A crushing realisation dawns on you: oh, there might be a few photos on the wall and a bottle of Pernod behind the bar but there is nothing French bout Chez Piaf.
In fact it’s a parody of all things French. The glossy menu is full of food that French people distain, like ‘gourmet’ burgers and ‘goujons’ of chicken. You dare not eat this rubbish but you do stay a while out of some morbid fascination – then you get your coat and quietly leave.
I’m from Dublin – this is how I felt when I visited The Dubliner recently. The people behind this venture are not Irish… I’ll tell you what they are; they are vampires who have no qualms about leeching off the perceived good nature of the Irish people in order to attract business.
The Dubliner is a deep insult to Irish people and all things Irish. A fake pub full of false sentiment with such a lack of atmosphere that ‘The Moon’ would be a far more appropriate name…
Hi,
What kind of place would Tallinn be without free speech? Oh yes! A considerable number of people from this city remember life under the Soviet yoke and would never wish for those times to return. Plus you, my friend, would not be able to post weblogs…
Censorship is wrong – I was expressing my opinion and I did raise some valid points.
So do me a favour and re-post my reply or at least have the decency to tell me why you took it down…
Hi fellow reader,
I will try to be concrete as your comment was quite long compared to what we have on this blog usually.
Your comment was not removed or under any kind of censorship, but as many people over there, I have other activities and I don’t spend the whole day in front of the blog, checking all the comments and replying instantly. I got the point about your frustration, but there was no need to underline your appetite for speech freedom as I obviously didn’t even read your comment. Patience is also a virtue my Irish Friend !
Now about Dubliner. You just pointed out a very interesting fact : Dubliner is not Irish. On the contrary of Drinks for example, which is owned by a fantastic english person, or in some ways, Molly Malones, Dubliner is the perfect example of many places in Tallinn….Lots have french, english (or Irish), Indian or Italian names, and that’s it. They are far from being what they pretend to be as you said. Recipies are 100% Estonian way, trying to make it look like foreign food, while trying not to scare customers by keeping it “local”
On the other hand, I’m sorry to say that even i might consider places like “Väike Paris” or “Déjà Vu” as insults to french pubs or café, I also have to be honest by saying that many places in France are also insults to french gastronomy because they simply suck !
And i have no doubt that it is more or less the same in Ireland. Instead of criticizing these facts, i preferred to rate Dubliner considering the Tallinn standards, and not the international ones. Thought the owners are not Irish, they are just using more or less a marketing effect to make people believe that Irish pubs actually look like this (which is i agree completely false), and as long as it works, I cannot blame them. Even if lately, the quality and the service were not as good as it used to be when they opened.
Cheers,
M
Hi Matthieu,
Thanks for getting back to me so soon, and yes, I did assume that my reply was removed because of its contents. I’m sorry if it seemed that I jumped the gun regarding my references to censorship.
I don’t really want to get in to the culinary preferences of the indigenous population of of Tallinn. Furthermore, I’m not qualified to talk about the pseudo-Franco-Italiano establishments which are littered about the old town…
I have to strongly disagree with your implication that The Dubliner ‘brand’ is a clever marketing ploy designed to bring customers in the door.
There’s nothing clever about stealing the national and cultural identify of another country in order to make a profit – it’s cynicism at its foulest.
So, with all due respect, lets not describe The Dubliner as an Irish pub -because it’s not! What it is, in fact, is a sorry symbol of the McDonaldization of the Irish pub – there are somethings you just cannot package…
sincerely,
Gearoid
Instead of negative feedback it would be much apprechiated if someone irish like yourself could give some progressive ideas to improve the quality of the service and overall experience of The Dubliner. I would personally forward these ideas to the administration of the pub.