Very much as the title describes, a former garage that now functions as an overpriced bar that attracts the trendies in their teens. Located directly opposite the New Theatre and undoubtedly has made many an actor happy in between performances. Silent screens on the walls play 80s classics like Back To The Future and The Karate Kid ad infinitum ad nauseum, by way of screensaver salvo to appease jaded customers. The unisex toilets are interesting, as is the spat upon sawdust scattered on the floor. But the whole place is marred fatally by a smart-ass and virtue-signaling white knight of a young barman who aggressively prefaces one's every order with: 'Had a few already, have we?' - even when one HASN'T. Fire him, and the place will automatically be exponentially more acceptable. 

Coll and Stephens once ran into actress Sara Agha & Co. after coming off the back of a massive alcohol crawl (for the sake of the research) encompassing Chapelizod, the Quays and environs. Coll miraculously managed to soldier on whilst Stephens bowed out but not before slurring enough words to sound like a perfect catatonic outpatient. A black and white photograph exists from this chance meeting. It pictures Agha and Stephens in a warm embrace and the drunkard appears totally sober proving that black and white really is ‘make-up for men.’ 

Update as of June 2020: The Garage Bar is now ‘Anne’s,’ the new sister bar of ‘Mary’s’ on Wicklow Street. Like her sister, Anne’s is also a Hardware but it lacks any of her charm. It’s the squeaky clean version for the sake of Temple Bar tourists and has already received negative feedback online. With which of the two sisters should one play? With Mary’s of Wicklow Street - the weatherbeaten flagship.

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