4 Best Bars in Merrion Square and Around, Dublin

An 18th-century wine vault with bare brick walls and vaulted ceilings, this spot at the superstylish Merrion Hotel tends to draw a well-heeled crowd.

Famous for its collection of whiskeys from around the world, the 51 is also a quality sports bar with a beer garden that is always buzzing with activity in fine weather.

A Ballsbridge institution, the Horse Show House is a favorite of the boisterous but welcoming rugby and show-jumping set. A great spot to watch sports of any kind. They have a full à la carte menu.

Though billed as a Victorian bar, Toner's actually goes back 200 years, with an original flagstone floor to prove its antiquity, as well as wooden drawers running up to the ceiling—a relic of the days when bars doubled as grocery shops. Oliver St. John Gogarty, who was the model for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's Ulysses, accompanied W. B. Yeats here, in what was purportedly the latter's only visit to a pub.