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The Market Bar
Categories: Nightlife Bars Restaurants Tapas Bars Restaurants Modern European Bars, Tapas Bars, Modern European [Edit]
14 Fade StDublin 2
(01) 6139094
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 10:30 - 23:30
Fri-Sat 10:30 - 0:30
Sun 12:00 - 23:00
- Delivery:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking Garages:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Children:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
€€
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Best Nights:
- Wed, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
29 reviews for The Market Bar
Review Highlights
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"Market Bar gets the award for best patatas bravas in Dublin." In 4 reviews -
"Redbrick and tables of latticed wood, high ceilings." In 4 reviews -
"...on a date night, or with a big group of friends - it works..." In 4 reviews
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29 reviews in English
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Review from Annie L.
15/5/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Wonderful interior that is a cross between a Victorian era train enclosure and the film spot in Glasgow, I forget the name of it but it's a converted old world film area.
Tapas is the menu choice. You can decide to dine properly or just stay in the bar area and eat more casually. The divide between both is a case of white table clothes.
The artichokes and Spanish meats were so tasty and the right amount of saltiness and bitterness. Meatballs are another great option and excellent value.
Bar-staff are very friendly and they have Caledonia on tap, a new Scottish ale (new for Ireland) and the bartender happily gave me a sample before deciding to buy. It was really tasty and smooth.
Acoustics of the space can be very noisy as it fills up very quick which leads me to the next important point, get there early especially on the weekends. -
Review from Elle V.
Updated - 23/3/2012 1 photo
i ve had good & bad experiences here but things are generally going downhill.
good points :
- big portions
- good prices
bad points:
- my bf got food poisoning
- so did my friend, 3 mnths later
- the service is usually bad (try not to yell NACHOS!" and slam down the plate, waitress)
-they close at 11 on thurs but starting kicking us out at 10 . coming to the table 3 times in 5 mins to get the dessert order then asking 'anything else before i bring you the bill?" isnt good etiquette, either is clearing glasses off our tables while we're still sitting...either is having someone mop and stink the room up with cleaning liquids...either is flashing the lights...did i mention there were about 10 tables left in the place?
-not taking reservations for tables under 15ppl, saying 6 of us will have no problem getting in... then not having a table for us when we show up
-horrible sangria
i dunno about this place anymore.Listed in: Date night bites!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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26/3/2011
The best thing about this place is the decor and location followed closely by the delcious food!… Read more »
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Review from Alexandra M.
Dublin
7/5/2012
Good Guinness (I guess, friends got it) and good mixed drinks. Staff were helpful as well. Smoking area upstairs!
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Review from Emily M.
Dublin
8/8/2011 ROTD 2/9/2011
The Market Bar is a great place for a relaxed meal (tapas) and some decent wine or beer, particularly if you like to be able to hear your companions speaking. There's no music played so even though the ceilings are high and the floors are tiled all you get is a gentle buzz from the other patrons and the pleasure of a conversation with your mates.
The patas bravas are consistently good and so is the calamari with chilli mayonnaise.
The staff are nice and the prices are reasonable. Three small tapas plates and a bottle of red came to about €50 between two recently.
The display of shoes on the wall is an unusual touch. -
Review from Alex D.
23/6/2011 ROTD 8/5/2012
Basic, but tasty tapas in a great venue.
Had been a few times before for a drink or two (had always been a bit put off by the seemingly high food prices), but nipped in to try the early bird deal the other night (two tapas dishes and a glass of wine for 14e if you get in there before 7pm) and was pleasantly surprised.
Haven't found Dublin's tapas-scene to be too high-quality over the past few years i've been here, but I think Market Bar's offerings are at the top end of what the city has to offer.
Meatballs were brilliant with a tasty kick to them, patas bravas not too oily and came with incredibly moreish garlic sauce and the chicken and chorizo skewers were cooked perfectly. Got charged a couple of quid for a little basket of poor standard white bread, which I was a bit miffed about, and the wine (house wine...mysteriously not on the menu??) wasn't great but other than that we had no complaints. As for portion size - we got more than enough food for 14e each.
Market Bar is always buzzing it seems (it was rammed at 6pm on a tuesday evening), but because of the high vaulted ceilings and the lack of piped music it manages to maintain a good atmosphere - you can hear yourself think, which is a plus in my book.
Definitely recommend checking it out. -
Review from Arsheen Q.
17/7/2011
We went here after our picnic yesterday, and realised we were still a bit peckish so the six of us split a large portion of nachos which at €12 came to €2 a pop which ain't bad.
The nachos were delicious! Perfectly melted cheese, salsa, guacamole and loads of red beans. A bit expensive for the portion but perfect for a big group who's just had lunch.
Love the tapas here generally but it is a bit dear! -
Review from R G.
Dublin
23/3/2012
My experiences of The Market Bar are generally positive. But I do think it's gone downhill in the last few years- currently, they seem to be a bit understaffed, especially give the size of the place and how busy it often is. The last time I was there, the poor waitress seemed to be dealing with half of the floor on her own- no wonder the service was slow. Other reviewers have also mentioned food poisoning. I haven't experienced this myself, but my friend did spend a bad night throwing up the fish pie that she'd had for dinner there. I'd prefer to think she just had a tummy bug, but the fact that this has been mentioned a few times now gives cause for concern.
The food comes in two sizes- tiny and huge. It's best to order a 'tiny' each, and then have a 'huge' for the table. The patatas bravas are an excellent choice for that one. The crowd is generally young and fun, and people often book tables for birthdays etc. The acoustics of the place aren't great, it's loud and clattery but that's just a personal preference of mine. A decent covered and heated smoking area is a great plus point however. Again, another personal preference. The price of the food is fine- it's normally a great 'cheap and cheerful' experience. However, if I hear any more food poisoning reports, I'll be giving it a miss, which is sad because it used to be a favourite place to call in with friends. -
Review from lily b.
Dublin
12/12/2011
love this place so stylish
the bar men are very friendly. one american guy in particular, knows exactly how to charm the ladies :)Listed in: Best Happy Hour
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Review from Cristin L.
Dublin
25/4/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Its Holy Thursday and I've knocked off for the week, I meet my partner and we both are hungry for some good, fast nosh. He suggests the big bar with the tapas. The Market Bar I ask? I am surprised he's remembered the place. It was pub ten on the Twelve Pubs of Christmas we took part in, in 2009!
The place is spacious and airy. I really like the red brick walls and the wooden floors, which I think add some warmth to such a big venue. Also the atmosphere is buzzing a long quietly too, with the first of the evenings revelers trickling in.
We go for the early bird deal. Two small tapas and a glass of house wine for 14EUR. We order the patatas bravas, the nachos, the meatballs, the chicken + chorizo skewers and a glass each of the house white.
The portions are small, but generous. The four small tapas were plenty for us two. Three were served very quickly, while the skewer took a little longer, which was fine and explained to us when ordering. All were great.
The service was good too.
We stayed for two more drinks, which were a bit pricey. But we saved on the food, right?Listed in: Dinner and nom noms, Dublin Bars, It's pronounced TAY-PAS!
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Review from Dane K.
Dublin
19/8/2011
We were 5 people and enjoyed 4 large tapas, nachos and wine. No complaints there.
Nothing to add to existing reviews, but have to warn about noise level. Though the room and staff is lovely you almost have to shout across a bigger table. I'm 30-something with ordinary hearing, really. Thankfully there was no generic cafe music droning in the background. How can service staff handle a work environment like that, night after night....? Well I'm glad they can - and astonished. -
Review from Will M.
4/10/2010
Their dishes come in two sizes Big or Small. Big would do most people to keep them going for a few hours (like any dinner) or , if your are in before 7, two smalls would get you well stuffed until lunchtime tomorrow.
Currently, before 7 you can get 2 smalls and a glass of wine (or half pint) for €14. Now tell me where you will get that sort of deal in Dublin?
Plan to get there before 7 and be there until 9:30 as you and your party pick from each others bowls enjoying all the different tastes.
+1 to Conall with his suggestion on Patatas Brava - that should be one of your smalls.
Staff are helpful and friendly. Good selection of beers and wines.
Only negative is the 12.5% added on if you have more than 6 in your group at any time during the evening. This can sting if you order wine and beers off the waiter.
If you are thinking of going for a few drinks on a Sat night (9pm onwards).... be prepared to fight for a seat and a table. To say it was 'jammers' is possibly an understatement. They even had the upstairs open for the restaurant. -
Review from Nicolas C.
Dublin
29/9/2011
Great place. It has been about 6 years that I go on a regular basis to the Market Bar for tapas. I would recommend this place if you are looking for a good meal at a resonable price. And if you really want to enjoy your meal there go during lunch time as dinner can get quite noisy (high ceilings in a big room).
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Review from Conall O.
Greystones, Co. Wicklow
Part of the original building which houses the George's St Arcade, the Market Bar is a wonderfully large redbrick building consisting of many barrel vaulted roofs. The large open plan is quite different to most bars in Dublin and the decor is minimal yet quirky - check out the wooden clogs and shoes displayed on a wall at the end of the bar!
Part of the ground floor is a tapas restaurant with exceptionally good tapas. Get the patatas brava - No seriously do. Other items on the menu worth trying are their freshly baked break selection (the tapenades are wonderful), the deep fried calamari and the meatballs.
From about 21:00 onwards, the dinner crowds will fade away and the bar is hopping for the night. Unfortunately the open plan means the sound of the crowd travels across the entire bar, so once it gets busy it can be hard to hear your companions.
The bar is well stocked and I'm fairly sure they have a small cocktail menu, as well as the usual selection of beers on tap, and a few weisse beers such as Erdinger and Hoegaarden.
It's worth getting their early for dinner and a few quiet drinks, if you're interested in avoiding the noise of the large crowds. -
Review from Erin M.
Dublin
19/10/2010
Was in the Market Bar recently on a Sunday night with a big group for dinner and it was excellent....we got one of those big long tables where you can literally sink back into the benches and just sort of lounge. The tapas style went big with everyone and the service was efficient and polite. Try the potatoes and meatballs as sort of the "base" for your tapas selection and build from there...
If you are just heading here to get a bite to eat - go on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday night when it is generally calm and quiet (you can actually hear your neighbors talking to you without much of an effort).
It can get packed and very loud on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays when the place is much more of a drinking hang-out. (But a great one at that!)
Certainly one of the more unique gathering spots in Dublin. -
Review from Shane K.
Dublin
19/8/2010
Trust me to be the one led here by an American tourist who had never set foot in the city before. He was dead smug about it too. It was OK though because he was a friend of mine and - armed with his little Lonely Planet guide - set out to show me the hidden gems of my own damn city.
This place was one of them. Great location just off the Georges St Arcade and has a nice airy feel to it when you walk in. The high ceilinged hall it's housed in lets in plenty of light and is never too hot or cold. Food was great and very reasonable for four people.
The staff were friendly and even put up with my tactless American friend and his slightly sexist comments which makes them a certain kind of hero.Listed in: Dublin Essentials
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Review from Selene A.
Kildare
20/10/2010
It's been a long time since I was in The Market Bar and unfortunately it didn't live up to what I had remembered.
Compared with The Port House which I absolutely adored, the tapas here left a lot of room for improvement. I had the goats cheese crostini .... which was far from crostini, more like reheated and soggyini! Also had the chicken skewers with the yoghurt, as did my friend, neither of us touched them because they looked pretty undercooked.
My only positive ............ the side order of olives we got was neverending, and I'm never one to let a good olive go to waste but there were just too many to attend to :)
Won't be heading back in a hurry! -
Review from Maire B.
13/2/2010
I've been here loads of times in the evening, but yesterday was the first time I went here for lunch... when I say lunch I think it was 3pm, but you know what I mean. It came as a bit of a surprise because I kind of associate this place with the sweaty, over-crowded, can't get to the bar, drunken haze that occurs at around 1am on a weekend night. It was a bit of a revelation to be here in the afternoon. A friend pointed out that there was always people here with babies whenever she was in during the day, and I can see why - it's light and airy and has plenty of room for buggies beside tables.
Anyway we had lunch and the four of us ordered 3 large tapas and some drinks and set down to some serious inter-bridal-shopping scoffing. And it was good! A nice quiet place for us to chat and prepare for our next shopping visit, accompanied with delicious tapas. mmmmm -
Review from John S.
Dublin
23/6/2009 2 photos
The market bar or Morket Bor,depending on how posh you are, is a relatively recent addition to the Dublin pub scene. One of its features is a lack of any background music. At first it seemed weird but works really well.
The pub is a huge redbrick man room with a mezzanine bar above, food-wise its mostly tapas, which are tasty and well prepared. The restaurant part of the bar is down at the back of the main room and has slightly different hours.
Theres also a mezzanine bar upstairs which is probably better for eating and can be booked for groups and events. One of its best features is a huge outdoor smoking area with heaters.
A bit like the Odeon, the market bar can feel a bit empty if its not busy but the place is frequently packed and one of Dublin's better places for a night out. -
Review from Trang N.
25/5/2010
Hmmmmmm it's like Octuplets Mom Nadya Suleman: Angelina Jolie Wannab meeting NYC Sophistication.
Yah, good attempt but no cigars.
Just so you know 2-3 small tapas plates is enough to feed her whole family. -
Review from Cathal C.
Dublin
3/7/2009
Aesthetically speaking, The Market Bar is probably the best restaurant in Dublin. Redbrick and tables of latticed wood, high ceilings... Wonderful interior. But that's not your overriding concern when visiting a restaurant, so enough of that.
The food at The Market Bar is good. Tapas are their specialty, and those few that I have tried were mainly very good, and quite reasonably priced. The calamari was nice, and so were the little diced potatoes, patata or something, but the meatballs carry a warning: if you don't like cumin (and i personally detest cumin), you're not going to like them. Even the people that I was with who liked cumin found the flavour a little overbearing.
The Market Bar isn't a bad spot to start your night out in, either. Due to the sheer scale of the place, there is usually at least one big table free if you're in a group.
So yeah, The Market Bar is basically pretty top-notch. -
Review from Kate M.
Dublin
5/8/2009 1 photo
The Market Bar is one of my favourite places to eat in Dublin - the tapas are the best you will find around.
I love coming here on a date night, or with a big group of friends - it works particularly well in a group setting as they do large dishes and small dishes of each of their yummy tapas. You absolutely have to have the patatas bravas - they're the staple of any tapas menu - and I love their meatballs, calamari and chicken salad. Oh and the nachos too! I pretty much love all their menu!
The large dishes are around €12 and the small ones about €8 - for a group of 4/6 people you'd need maybe 2 big ones and maybe 3 small. Which works out nice and cheap! -
Review from Joanne S.
6/7/2011
Love the vibe in this place - casual chic, high ceilings, a little too loud, and a kind of motley yuppie crew. We over-ordered on the potatoes (yay Ireland. yay potatoes. but yes, you can have too many potatoes).
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Review from Jo M.
16/7/2009 3 photos
'Doesn't this place just feel like a market to you? Can't you just see the horses?'
Ok, so I have some strange friends. But when Brian introduced me to the Market Bar, he was very eager to set the scene for me. Stopping just short of making the obligatory neighing sounds, he instructed me to shut my eyes and proceeded to embark upon a detailed description of the possible earlier uses of this airy (and yes Brian) very market-like restaurant/bar space.
I must say I was quite impressed with the cavernous ceilings and spatial arrangements of the enormous building that comprises the Market Bar. It is a very cool place to pop into for a drink or a round of tapas.
If you're there on a Summer evening the lighting is deliberately low, allowing the late sunsets and long evenings to cast a glow over the main part of the bar. I applaud the Market Bar for designing the space to make the most of the natural light - looks great, and is even better for the environment :-)
The service is brisk and brusque, but that's not why people frequent this establishment. Definitely recommended for a drink or two (or for the entire evening if you wish.) Just keep an eye out for the horses... -
Review from Alexandra M.
Dublin
Updated - 5/8/2009 2 photos
After having patatas bravas in a famous Irish pub near Pheonix Park (you know which one I'm talking about), I have to give kudos to the Market Bar for doing it right. It's such a simple recipe, but apparently some pubs get it wrong.
Market Bar gets the award for best patatas bravas in Dublin. Congratulations, you merit an extra star for that.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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18/7/2009
The Market Bar is a great place to go for tapas but not a great place to go for atmosphere. There's… Read more »
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Review from Aoife O.
Dublin
9/7/2009
The high ceilings and open plan design of the Market Bar lend it a feeling of airy spaciousness. Perhaps this is why it is such an attraction to so many Dublin 9-5ers who have been cooped up in offices all day.
It is a good place to take a big group and if are planning on eating, you can reserve a table in advance. There is a seating area designated specifically for the restaurant but diners can also park themselves at any vacant table in the bar. The tapas menu is perfect for a diverse group out on the razzle dazzle because you can eat as little or as much as you want and the food is light. I recommend the patatas bravas and the nachos to kick your night off with some latin fire!
Unfortunately, my last visit there left a sour taste. My friend handed over a fifty but got change of a twenty. He is a reasonable guy but there was no reasoning with the barman. I know what you're thinking but it was his first drink! -
Review from James A.
Dublin
If you're looking for an all-rounder with a bit of atmosphere, head to The Market Bar. The building used to be a shoe factory and some of the old lasts line the northern wall. It's a cavernous space that easily swallows big groups. The wooden floorboards look great, but can be echoey - when it's full of people this place buzzes - a lot of my friends say it's too loud. There's tapas or more traditional meal style plates, passable cocktails, and a wine list that has been put together by somebody that drinks wine. Service is sharpish, prices less so.
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Review from Brian C.
Dublin
24/10/2010
A good solid beers and tapas in town.
Nice atmosphere.
Yes please! -
Review from M M.
Dublin
18/7/2009
I really like this place as it does make me feel like I am in some market in Barcelona or other trendy European destination! I love the noise, the buzz, the chatter, the furniture and lay out and decor! It is all so atmospheric and the tapas are great. The food is really fresh and authentic and tasty, just like being in Spain, without the sun, sunburn and greasy waiters!
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Review from Karina C.
Dublin
29/10/2009 2 photos
I go to The Market Bar a lot. It's big and roomy with comfy seats, although I prefer it earlier in the night as oppose to later as it can get very packed and very, very noisy. It's a good spot both to drink and to eat and drink. The menu carries a good range of starters and main courses and there's plenty to choose from if you just want to nibble. The nachos are nice and tasty, without being show stopping, but steer clear of the olives if you don't feel like being disappointed. You would think that it's hard to go wrong with something as simple as olives, but The Market Bar's offering is definitely not its best. The last time I was there I had a really delicious chorizo and goat's cheese salad that I enjoyed so much I've since tried to re-create it at home - to no avail though! I guess that's what eating out is for! The Market Bar's service is more often than not spot on although the ladies' loos are not always as well kept as they should be. And speaking of ladies - girls, if you are in high heels, proceed with caution! The grate-like panels on the floor are a bit of a deathtrap for anyone wearing stilettos!
