The Green Room Bar beside the O2 is a perfect pre or post-concert venue, writes Priscilla Dinan.
There is something very tragic about not having plans on a bank holiday Saturday night. Akin to sitting in on New Years Eve, for whatever reason, it’s pathetic. In this case, it was supposed to be a deliberate act of financial self-constraint due to impending family gatherings that involve drink, travel and lots of spends. So after wolfing my way through an entire packet of Lincoln biscuits on this night, I finally came to my senses and reasoned with myself that diet sabotage should not take precedent over financial restraint, whatever the occasion.
Coupled with the above, I almost self-harmed following a glance at the TV schedule for the night. Just as I got to the cutlery drawer, help arrived in the form of an invitation from an old friend via text message. “Am at the Beyonce concert,” it said. “Fancy meeting for a drink afterwards?” Without a moment’s hesitation I responded in the affirmative and the Green Room Bar was chosen as our meeting place.
This particular bar prides itself on being the closest bar to the O2 Arena with its official address being 117-126 Upper Sheriff Street. Situated around the corner from the concert venue it has very much become a local for me out of necessity alone. On this night, the bar was filled with concert revellers intent on prolonging the experience. I still shudder when I think of the various renditions of ‘Halo’ that were being thrown about.
The Green Room Bar has everything going for it. It has a spacious smoking area and a cute little beer garden. The staff are friendly enough – on one occasion they offered to call us a cab before we headed on into town and I noticed that most punters avail of this service. However, only a month ago two friends of mine alerted the barman when they realised their jackets had been taken in error – OK, stolen – and when advising him of their misfortune they were met with a non-committal shrug. Had they not pursued it further, he would not have even taken their number to follow it up in the next few days. Tut. Tut.
If you book in advance, they can reserve a pre-concert parking space for you. I’m not sure if your parking ticket allows you drink discounts once inside but this certainly was the case last March around the time of Cirque du Soleil show. With regard to pricing, it’s most reasonable. I paid €5 for a bottle of Coors Light, which was cheap in comparison to say, Dicey Reilly’s on Harcourt Street, where I was charged €5.80 the next day for the same beer. The Green Room also offers its punters the possibility of buying wine in their off-licence and consuming it on the premises. Is this a first for Dublin?
If pub grub is your thing, the lunch and evening meal menu is all encompassing. In fact it’s probably a little too broad ranging – I’m sure they would do just as well with a scaled back menu. Mains range from €10.50 to €16.95, perhaps veering on the expensive side, considering you are dining in a pub.
The interior is slick – all marble tables and studded leather couches with a very minimalist feel. The tea light candles scattered throughout are a simple but effective touch.
A recent look at the website (www.thegreenroombar.ie) reveals that Phantom FM held a sound check party here, before and after the AC/DC concert, which is impressive considering they are the station of cool.
So having met my friend there on a Saturday night, he confessed that he felt the Green Room Bar was comparable to an airport lounge. I agreed in that it isn’t the type of pub that you’d want to stay in for the entire night – it’s just not cosy enough. Despite pulling out all the stops, I think it will very much remain a pre-concert destination/post-concert waiting place and for this purpose alone, it is absolutely perfect.
The Green Room Bar is located beside the O2 Arena, tel: +353 (0)1 8944888.
Discussion
No comments for “The Green Room Bar”
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.