Oliver St. John Gogartys

This is a review for the pub only! Did not stay in the hotel. Went in for drinks only as the exterior of the building and the pub was very nice and inviting. We had a few beers and a cheese board. Drinks were a bit on the pricey side but I still enjoyed staying there. The acoustic music, whilst okay, it was a bit of a drag as we got to listen to wannabe Ed Sheeran doing not so great covers of popular songs instead of a good traditional Irish music. Not sure if this is a normal setting as it was the 1st of January.

Shocking. It's meant to be Dublin's top bar, and the expectations are set so high, yet it delivers so little. Let me break down my experience with this bar. Atmosphere: Terrible. It's like being put in a cage with gorillas, and hell lets loose. You'll bump into middle-aged creepy men standing in the corners, watching over the bar like a creep in the corner, and drunk divorced women acting like clowns. You will not find anyone interesting here and definitely won't find a potential partner. And ESPECIALLY avoid the place if you're under the age of, I'd say, 40. The people inside are rude, self-entitled, and think they're the center of attention when in reality, they're just some sad, low-life middle-aged person spending their last paycheck on a drink just to realize they'll be out of money tomorrow because the food and drinks are so expensive here, and they don't make enough money. Music: Repetitive, obnoxiously loud. Most other bars and entertainment places have the music at a perfect level, but here it's like they want to test at what volume your eardrums will explode at. And the musician? A cocky old man with a high ego who's career should've ended a long time ago. He is making fun of the audience (fair enough because they ARE terrible), but it just ruins the mood. The musician said to one of the guys in the bar along the lines of "If my daughter brought you home, I'd be shocked." The guy let out an awkward laugh, and probably left he bar rigth away. After almost every song, the musician advertises his overpriced CD that no one wants, and it's super annoying. Cleanliness/Safety: The cleanliness in here should be a safety hazard. The floor is so sticky it's absolutely disgusting walking around the place. I leaned against the wall, and I still can't get rid of the stain from my jacket after numerous washes. You honestly need a hazmat suit going in there. Safety-wise, you see so many dangerous-looking people in there, and I heard that knives have been found on numerous people before. I've also HEARD that the workers find cocaine and other drugs in the bathrooms laying around. Just an absolute circus of a place. Pricing: It should be a CRIME asking for that much money for food/drinks. I saw an article that this pub charges the most out of any pub in Dublin for certain food/drinks, and Dublin is already an expensive city. I'd honestly rather flush my money down the toilet than waste it in there. Location/Aesthetics: It is in an excellent location, and the actual building from the outside looks nice. The bar also has very thoughtful festive decorations inside, especially for Christmas. But these reasons just aren't enough to make my rating go from a one-star to any higher. There are so many other bars in Dublin where the atmosphere is better, where you'll meet actually interesting people and where the pricing is a lot better. While this place is just a tourist trap. Please go and find somewhere else to go. I promise you you'll have a better time.