95) Ryan's of Parkgate Street, D8

Large and circular Victorian pub with an increasing emphasis on food, and an intriguing 'ding-dong-bell' system to help sitters in the snug catch the attention of the overworked counter staff. There are two authentic snugs in fact, one either side of the bar which were used by ladies when it was ‘frowned upon for women to be seen in pubs.’ Ryan’s has a couple of interesting features that help make it one of the finest examples of a Victorian pub in Dublin. Beautifully ornate gas lamps glow at the bar whilst the oldest two-faced clock in all of Ireland has been ticking for over 130 years. When smokers were permitted they availed of the old metal cigarette match-strikers which can still be found dotted around the pub.

Freshly caught oysters, stinking of sea salt and Dublin Bay, can be obtained at the counter – perhaps with lemon juice or Tabasco sauce at a premium. This bar was a onetime favourite of author John Banville, who hyperbolically hails it as the city's finest pub in his picture book Time Pieces: A Dublin Memoir – we wouldn't go so far as that, but it is certainly decent, to say the least and slay the beast.

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