The Dice Bar – Smithfield meets New Yoik

For several years virtually unchallenged as the coolest bar in Dublin, my once-beloved Dice Bar has started to show its age and get a bit stale around the edges. This is reflected in the clientele – too many middle-aged blokes in rugby jerseys.

The music has become increasingly mainstream, repetitive and dull, with the same old crowd-pleasing sets week after week. Nevertheless, the Dice Bar is still a million times better than the average music bar you will find in the city centre; and the dark, vaguely gothic interior still looks and feels like no other bar in Dublin – a little slice of the East Village in the middle of Smithfield.

Furthermore, there are times when some raucous leaping about to rock ‘n roll and indie classics is just what the doctor ordered. And there’s still the legendary Tiny James (big bloke with big hair, you can’t miss him). If there’s a cooler doorman/bouncer/whatever in the world, I want to meet him.