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Button Factory
Categories: Nightlife Nightclubs Arts & Entertainment Concert Halls & Music Bars Nightlife Concert Halls & Music Bars Nightclubs, Concert Halls & Music Bars [Edit]
Curved StTemple Bar
Dublin 2
(01) 6709202
- Price Range:
-
€
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Children:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- DJ, Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- Yes
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Button Factory
18 reviews in English
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Review from Clive B.
9/2/2012
I've only been to the button factory once but it was an excellent night out. The size of the venue means it can get some great smaller bands. My favourite kind of venue.
The night in question we saw CW Stoneking playing and it was brilliant. The sound quality is great, there's a number of sofas and cars and there's a nice bar as well.
Overall another great venue in Dublin for small/medium gigs.Listed in: DUBLIN GIG VENUES
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Review from Cristin L.
Dublin
31/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
Nice looking venue on the inside.
We just missed out on one of the few tables inside the main part, so took a table inside the bar area. We then watched the gig from there through a handy gap in the wall.
Bar staff were good too, on the ball.
But as is the tradition with gig venues, I counted three cubicles in the ladies with no toilet seats. These places make enough money to buy a few new cheap toilet seats when they need to or should do. -
Review from Sharon C.
Dublin
5/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Was here for the first time about a month ago for a Gemma Hayes gig - it was great! We were a few minutes late coming in, so by the time we got in, all the tables were gone, but after some shuffling and tripping over bags, we ended up sharing a table right at centrestage with an American student, a Finnish tourist, and an Estonian man up for the day from Kildare, none of whom knew each other....!
Hilarious...
The gig was great - super voice on Gemma and great band.
But the venue itself really added to the evening, with its casual way of people sitting on the floor in groups, and the intimacy of the venue made people comfortable enough to strike up conversation with complete strangers...
Cant wait to hear about a good gig coming up, as an excuse to go back! -
Review from Ruth G.
26/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
A great venue for a mixture of music. I was there for the Zombie walk after party and my experience wasnt great.. it was full of kids which made me buying a drink difficult as *I* needed to present ID!!! I may not look 30, but I certainly dont look under 18!!!
I think I will need to go back with the grown ups next time. -
Review from Alex D.
7/5/2011
Went to a gig here the other night and was a little bit disappointed...
The band and the layout of the place was great, but unfortunately the sound and lights were more school nativity play than the major music venue it tries to be. Everything just seemed a bit lazy...I swear a couple of the tech team were falling asleep.
Can't complain too much though as the ticket price was only a tenner, but I don't think I'd pay any more than that for the venue.
It's been years since I've been on a night out here...I think they do decent enough drinks deals on student nights etc, but not a great selection of drink - just the boring dublin usual.
Most of the club is carpeted too (!)...bet the cleaning staff love that. -
Review from Daniel D.
3/12/2011
The door staff are rude. I went their for a gig recently, at 7:30 PM when the doors opened they told us to go inside only to ask us to leave 2 minutes later where we waited outside for an additional 20 minutes. Most of the bar staff were too bus talking to one another to serve us and the only person actually working was the Chinese lad they had clearing tables. They need to buy a dictionary and look up "Customer Service".
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Review from Annie L.
20/2/2010 1 Check-in Here
I do love a good dance. I am an electronica nut, so this place makes me very happy...
What doesn't make me happy is the amount of times I'm approached by people when I dance saying,
'Hey where did you get the E from?'
or
'Hey, could you sell me some E?'
No joke.
As bizarre as this sounds to them, I just really enjoy the music and I guess I have a crazed drug induced look about me, nice.
They get a great mix of djs, and I'm nearly sure Sundays are still reggae & drum & bass night.
Last time I went there with my mate we went to Vitalic and tore the floor up. Then went exploring & managed to get into the bar upstairs that was locked, poured ourselves a pint and sat in the viewing gallery watching the masses dance up a storm... Good times.
I have to go here soon. -
Review from Rónán C.
Dublin
6/7/2009 1 photo
Bangin'dancehall night on Sundays, and big band on Mondays, and students on Wednesdays and then there's Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays-fuck, you could spend the whole week here.
Well, not really, you can get unlucky. I recently showed up to find about ten people there, the place is huge, and nobody on the dancefloor. Of course, me being the high chief of deadly, I stomped onto the floor regardless and had a great night.
So yes, it is fun most of the time, but when it's empty it can be really empty.
PS: in the business info section there's a box you tick for parking. I ticked 'street parking' which is the truth. But, if you park your car in Temple Bar at night, especially Friday or Saturday, you are a moron. Simple as. -
Review from Lina G.
Dublin
21/4/2010
The Button Factory has the potential to be a great venue, but doesn't quite live up to it for some reason. The venue itself was made over and is far nicer since it was the Temple Bar Music Center. Quality of patrons has deteriorated, though.
Generally, it's too big for a lot of the acts they put on, so the place can feel empty. Other nights, they manage to fill the place by letting in a lot of 18 year olds in glittery tops and excessive eyeliner who end up covering themselves and their friends in vomit in the ladies.
Heavily measured pours and expensive drinks don't help. I could love this place if they had a more stringent door policy and limited entry to sound people only. -
Review from andy m.
Dublin
16/1/2011
Brilliant venue, it has a kick ass sound system in the great gig area and the layout in general is great, (couches as you go in, roomy, upstairs balcony area, smoking area). Was there on Saturday for a great gig in aid of Amnesty, 4 bands played without a hitch, Thoroughly recommended.
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Review from Alexandra M.
Dublin
29/6/2009 1 photo
The Button Factory puts on some interesting shows like the one I went to a couple of weeks ago where everyone was wearing their underwear. Let me explain: I didn't go out of my way to attend this soiree. I was meeting a friend after work and she was in the Button Factory dressed in her bra and panties because she's extroverted and she wanted to do something unusual for a change. There were a lot of sexy costumes that night. I saw men wearing the outfits from Clockwork Orange and woman dressed as Wonder-woman. (And in case, you were wondering: no I did not partake in the nakedness.)
Seriously though, this club has other events that aren't so risque. For instance, they do salsa nights where you can learn the moves from professional dancers. They also host tribute shows and artists appreciation nights.
Overall, it 's nice to have the option to do something different than going to a traditional pub. -
Review from Brónagh M.
Dublin
30/1/2010
What a venue, its so small, so intimate, so the best place to see a band you really love.
we went to see a beatles tribute band in here a while back and i couldnt believe how amazing it was to be able to stand up so close to the stage yet be able to dance around at will. no one was in a rush to the front, everyone was just out to have a good time.
there are seats around the walls and the floor is left open for people to stand at. the bar is at the back of the bar facing the stage. the whole place really is laid out so well.
if you ever see an artist you would like to see and they are playing here jsut dotn miss, it will make you love the artist even more! -
Review from Jo M.
17/7/2009 1 photo
Pretty cool venue, and its mid-Temple Bar location makes it very easy to get to. I'd always known about the Button Factory as the 'place with the fairy lights outside' - it has some lovely naked bulbs dangling overhead, which lends a romantic firefly atmosphere to a walk through this part of Temple Bar.
I went there last night for a Johnny Cash appreciation show (review to follow!) and it was a pretty decent venue for that. Nice to see them trying a few different things and branching out to appeal to a wide audience demographic. The drinks aren't too badly priced either, for Temple Bar. Pretty cheap, considering...
Coming up they have U2 and Akka Dakka tribute shows, and they also have themed nights which include 80s, reggae and the like. Good place to go to put a different spin on your evening, although Ronan is right, that dance floor sure is scary when empty ;-) -
Review from Cathal C.
Dublin
20/7/2009
The charmingly titled Button Factory hasn't changed a huge amount since it changed it's title from the utilitarian "Temple Bar Music Centre" (there used to be an actual button factory on the site, so that's where they got that from).
When it's not being a nightclub, the Button Factory is being a top-notch live music venue. Not a huge venue, mind - it isn't that big, even compared to Whelans or the Academy - but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in intimate ambiance and bitching acoustics.
When it is being a nightclub, it is advised that you do your research before heading in for the night, because the Button Factory host a bewildering array of different nights.
My personal favourite would have to be dancehall Sundays - bitta Lady Saw, don't mind if I do.
Chat to mi back!! -
Review from Rob M.
Dublin
2/10/2009
The Button Factory is one of my favourite venues in Dublin. I've been to many a great gig here, with fantastic sound quality and I've great memories of having a pint with Against Me! here.
Aside from the gig end, The Button Factory also does some of Dublin's best club nights on weekends. Transmission on Saturdays is a great indie/electro night, and
the late Tetric night was absolutely bangin, before it died a premature death.
Definitely worth a go if you want to go on a mad one. -
Review from Laura C.
Dublin
29/6/2009 1 photo
The Button Factory is actually quite a cool venue. It's located in the heart of Temple Bar and is in what used to be Temple Bar Music Centre, so there's still a big stage (don't try and dance on it, it never ends well) and bar area, as well as a nice-sized dance floor. Watch out for cover charge...usually it gets more expensive after 11, so pop in, get a stamp before that if the purse strings are tight.
Thursday nights means student night, with Trinity providing a good portion of the patrons. This can be good if you're in the mood for recapturing the freedom of your college days, but bad if you're trying to avoid that guy you kissed the other night...by Murphy's law he WILL be there, with all of his friends, assiduously avoiding eye contact. Bring your own posse and wow him with your coolness!
Sundays bring one of the best reggae/dancehall nights in Dublin (which are sadly few and far between). A resident DJ plays some really decent tunes, and the crowd is as multicultural you can get in Dublin, which can be a nice change...one minute you can be debating South African politics with a Soweto expat, and next chatting about tapas with a Spaniard, with good tunes to boot!
Button Factory also maintains the dedication to live music of its predecessor, so check out the website for listings, there's often some real quality acts hiding out and keepin' it real in 'intimate' settings! -
Review from Dani B.
Dublin
15/1/2010
I really like the name: Button Factory. It's cute. And I like the venue as well, it's nice, small and comfortable just what you'd want in a music venue. I most vividly remember the Sia gig, which was amazing. The sound quality was great, the act was fantastic and the staff managed the masses of people queueing at the bar quite well.
It's more of a place for indie music though, which is really not my cup of tea. If I remember correctly, there are student nights and events on here as well with good deals. -
Review from Sheri N.
28/7/2009
we came here on a weekday night, and the queue was around the block. it's a pretty big space, and the bartenders pour the drinks fairly quick to help move the lines of the thirsty patrons.
