Weirdo Guide to Dublin Pubs: The Strand House

A mid-October 2024 update:
We returned* to The Strand House recently to give their recently-relaunched food menu a go (see, I said we’d get back to it!), and it turns out we have some good news to report on that front. The children’s menu is back and, I must admit, better than it was in the Galway Bay days. The Sunday roast options were all very tasty, but the real standouts for me were two rather unexpected starters – if you had told me in advance that I’d find something labeled as ‘crispy vegan wontons’ not only to my taste, but absolutely delicious, I’d never have believed it, but they were really lovely, as were the chorizo croquetas, but I would probably at least have tried those unbidden – so the nudge to sample the wontons was a wise one.

The one knock is still on the beer selection, with Ambush from Trouble being the only craft option, but I am happy to say that said Ambush continues to be fresh and well-kept; it’s clearly turning over with some regularity, which seems to be a good sign. It would be delightful if there were even just one more independent option, though at least Gaffney’s down the road does have Hope on tap. I will need to visit again soon, for science, to try the smashed bone marrow burger, which sounded intriguing…the pub does seem to be settling into its new identity, which is excellent news…and with Martin’s Off-License so close, a well-curated bottle or can list could be a nice extra feature…

Our original take from April, 2024:
After several weeks looking at Dublin city centre pubs, we’re heading back to the Northside, with a visit to The Strand House in Fairview. Locals will recall that this was most recently the BRÚ House Fairview, which was a BRÚ pub that became a Galway Bay pub retaining its BRÚ branding, but with the Galway Bay food menu and core beers. Clear? Great! However, just as The Beer Market (also a former Galway Bay/BRÚ joint) became The Christchurch Inn, so BRÚ House is now The Strand House.

Well, what’s changed?

First off, the frontage is red now, but the beer lineup is the biggest revision, and it’s quite a downgrade from my perspective. Whereas before there were the usual Galway Bay beers and some interesting guest taps, now it’s a standard Heineken/Diageo macro lineup, with a single independent option – the always-welcome Trouble Ambush. On the positive side, the Ambush was lovely and fresh, and hopefully it will remain that way, but it did mean that for me, there were not as many reasons to stop in and linger as there had been before. Indeed, while the interior looks welcoming, if not a huge change from the previous look and feel (the nice coat/bag hooks under the bar are certainly handy, and the darker colour scheme is pleasant), I’m not entirely sure it sets itself apart from Gaffney’s, just a few doors down now, whereas before, they were more distinctive – though the staff were all on top form, so also a big positive there.

We’ll do a separate entry on Gaffney’s at some point, but in brief, it is a very comfortable Old Man Pub, also with a few craft taps (from Hope, in their case). And, so far, The Strand House feels quite similar, albeit with more children running around. One of the things that made BRÚ House such a useful neighbourhood pub was the children’s menu – and with Fairview Park right across the road, we would stop in not infrequently after a playground session, or even in the middle of trick-or-treating on Halloween. That’s not to suggest it was overrun with small children, by any means, but it was a very chill, family-friendly spot at reasonable hours. And while the food menu won’t kick in for a bit, there were still quite a few kids around, no doubt as the parents living nearby were presuming they’d be able to get them fed as under the previous management – time will tell.

I plan to visit again once the food is back – trad sessions are also on the way – but at the moment, it’s less of a destination than it used to be, at least for me. Perhaps more independent taps will be added in the future, but without them, it’s no longer my go-to post-haircut spot, despite being just around the corner from said establishment. That said, it’s nice to have more than one neighbourhood pub, so it’s more likely to fill that niche.

And if it turns out the food menu is the real draw, all to the good…fingers crossed!

Where: The Strand House, 12 Fairview, Clontarf, Dublin 3, D03 C998
Access from the city centre: Buses 14, 15, 27; DART to Clontarf Road
Food: Pub grub, Sunday roasts
Sport: Seems even more sport-friendly now: football, horse racing, GAA…
TVs: In the main bar area and in the back seating areas
Music: General indie background music, with some live events from time to time
Family-friendliness: Once again welcoming to the kids (at the usual hours)
Pub-crawl-ability: Low, unless you prefer a walk up to The Yacht Bar in Clontarf, though Gaffney's is almost next door
Local sites of note: Fairview Park, Croke Park, Clontarf Promenade
Haunted: Not that I've heard…
Other notes: Very handy for Martin's Off-License, one of Dublin's best; in theory, the Battle of Clontarf may have happened not far away, but that could also be LIES
Socials: Instagram

*Full disclosure – we were invited for a family meal, and the family did eat everything!

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Your friendly neighbourhood guide to Dublin's best pubs, from a weirdo perspective - craft beer, food, family-friendliness & potential for ghosts.

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