Rody Bolands

This is another top class bar from my drinking days. Great location at the start of Rathmines. So many dates here. This was my «date» bar. One that springs to mind is a super posh young lady who I later learned arrived an hour late and insisted on shorts between pints but surprisingly bought all the drink!
I hope she’s somewhere happy now as she was a lovely lass and I dumped her. #Damn
There was also my bestie with extras and we went to Rody Bolands hundreds of nites. It was an unspoken rule that we would start the night there and then separate in coppers on missions. The next night we would be in the back of Rody Bolands for feedback and fun.
Very large bar and weekend jammed but in a good way.
There is an excellent upstairs bar too.
Good bar service.
Lots of screens for sport and a great spot for Cheltenham each March,
I’d recommend everyone goes here on «date nights» and any other nights.

Tourist review here:
We were just looking for a fairly authentic pub to eat some food and hear some music. Rody Boland’s was perfect: a good crowd of mostly locals and not tourists, well-​poured pints and seriously the best fish and chips I have ever had, ever, anyplace (including much more famous places in Dublin). And, weirdly, gorgeously plated fish cakes and other food – almost fine dining. (Though, caesar salad had tomatoes and bacon, that was odd…)
Only downside was that the music started about an hour later than they claimed it would, so be prepared for that. Otherwise, a great place for a quiet, non-​touristy drink, even in high tourist season… and a great place to hear music with a lively crowd as well. Worth the bus ride (take the 140!)
Bonus: semi-​outdoor garden smoking section, for those so inclined.

And so it ewas decided that cooking or making a lazy lunch was for another day and on Easter Sunday, we wrapped up and strolled up the road. I’d never realised how much of a shutdown there was for Easter Sunday, mostly because where we lived the last 6 years wasn’t a hive of activity at weekends anyway.
But with the cold chilling us to our bones, we decided to head to Rody’s to sit in the vicinity of an open fire. And when we walked in, there it was… the holy grail. Seats were taken, drinks were ordered and menus delivered. Hot and spicy chicken wings for her to start. I went with the potato and leek soup. The chicken wings were certainly hot and spicy but also tasty. My soup was tasty but it was less hot than I’d hope for so it was a bit of a let down.
However, we opted for the steak baguette (for her) and the fish and chips (for me). The cod was a beautiful piece of fish. Nice and plump and tasty as hell. Not dry, which can happen sometimes. The chips were just how I like them.
Steak sandwiches/​baguettes can be a bit of a lottery, based on my experiences. Sometimes there’s less effort into cooking the steak than if you were having the steak on its own — a cardinal sin. This one was one of the tastiest I’ve sampled. The baguette was fresh too, another plus.
All in all, I’ve upgraded Rody’s to a 4 based on the food on Sunday. I’ve come to like this place!

Very very nice pub.
Went along on Sunday for a quiet few. (So proud to announce it really was a quiet few. I bucked years of experience saying the contrary, and managed only to have three. Literally!)
It’s just a really lovely homely cosy place. The entrance way /​smoking area really does it for me, even though I don’t even smoke (isn’t that where the most craic is always anyway?!!) It’s like an inside room, outside. A big fire, lots of tables, and a vaulted roof, open at the top.
Inside, it’s all wood and cosy little areas to put your gang without intrusion from anyone else.
I believe it gets rammed here on a Friday /​Saturday night, so I’ve avoided it at those times, but it’s definitely a great Sunday spot. They also have loads of screens for sports fans (uggghhh!), nice food, and super enthusiastic and lovely staff, as well as trad nights, quiz nights, and all the rest. Love it.

This place is way bigger than it looks from the outside, though it’s still got that homely feel with its fireplace and loosely sports themed deco. The genuine old sports team photos are a nice touch, as is the selection of old rugby balls and various other equipment. The staff are mega friendly and knowledgable when it comes to the various beers and the selection is fairly generous. Wifi is free and fast. Just a solid pub that I will certainly be frequenting.

Just back home from Rodys and it does seem to be going through a bit of a purple patch, apart from the sports and weekend crowd you can often see the tumble weeds blowing through there.
But reading the previous reviews you all seem to miss the reason it is such a culchie pub, the history is on the link above and its the reason it has a large Tipp and Munster following and a certain rough character and charm.
You can also book a parties /​event in there these days and you get entered into a draw for a trip to Paris… probably a good chance of winning it too, as i doubt there will be many in the draw.
The only other thing to add is that the food portions are getting smaller while the prices are getting bigger… you can call it gourmet all you like but i would rather larger meal with my pint of Guinness.

I bumped this place up from two to three because it is actually a pretty cool mellow place to hang out during the week. The bar staff are super nice and let me and my date hangout and finish our drinks while they shit the bar down and cleaned the place up.
Plus they have really cool vintage booze and drink posters, which it is hard to notice during meet-​market weekends.

This bar is so deceptively big inside. From the outside it looks like it would just be a little old pub — not the case.
As you enter there is a pretty outside/​smoking area. The bar area downstairs has plenty of booths and beautifully maintained wood finished floors. Beyond that level again is another larger dining area and the sporting memorabilia in glass cases are a lovely touch.
The stain glassed that is at the top of the stairs really is the focal piece to me, again there is more space upstairs.
On the weekends it would get a younger crowd and chart music etc is played. I prefer it during the week for a quiet drink and they have a very impressive bar menu.

I always see the same faces when I go here. The same group of women laughing over after-​work drinks, the same old men reading the paper while downing a Guinness and the same friendly barmen chatting with the regulars.
It’s quite understandable why people come here again and again. If I’m by myself, and want to sit down with a glass of wine while reading my book I prefer a place where I can do that in peace and quiet and smoke at will. For that, Bolands is perfect.
When I need my alone-​time outside the house, I grab my book from the nightstand, head over to Bolands and hide away in the smoking area, which as Brian has mentioned, is amazing. The outdoor area is basically indoors, a room filled with character and plenty of seats. If it’s raining heavily outside, you might get a drip or two on your head, but that’s a tiny price to pay for such a smokers luxury.

Rody Bolands is a nice enough pub, but every time I come here it seems to be pretty much empty. And not just during the week either. Having said that, the pub is nice and cozy, despite being pretty big. The staff are nice and the pints are pretty decent as well. It’s pretty much a standard local and you tend to see the same faces in here. The atmosphere is nice and relaxed and with a good crowd of friends you can probably have a good night here. Personally I would rather go to one of the pubs around the corner in Ranelagh.

Rody Bolands is where people who are from the country and who live in Rathmines go! OK, that’s a bit of a sweeping statement, but in fairness it is known as a bit of a culchie pub. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s a bit like the Coppers or Flannery’s for the suburbs! I’ve been here a few times and always enjoyed myself but now that I’m well into my 30s I’d consider myself a little too old for all that pushing and shoving and general carry on. Although it’s a nice spot to sit in during the afternoon.

The best thing about Rody Bolands is the amazing smoking area. It’s an atrium between the outside wall and the inside wall. It used to have a large glass skylight at the top of the second floor height roof but when the ban came in the simply removed the glass making it like a wet room for smoking in. The area is decorated with old fashioned iron bicycles and under the remaining, tiny slither of roof there are coffee tables. I think the whole idea is very chic altogether.
Inside, the two storey pub is traditional, comfortable and spacious. This pub would make a great local if you’re situated nearby and if you’re in the area on the day of a big game also a fun spot to hang out at.

Food: — so-​n-​so, wasn’t all that great. To make it worse, i had one weird old man seating next to me and telling how he would to kill a chicken and make a fresh chicken pot pie… and i was eating chicken pot pie…
Service: Very good. Fast and friendly. I come here least once every time i visit dublin. Good envrionment!
THursday night is good time to go. Friday is also good too!

Rody Bolands would be a mite too far into upper Rathmines for me to be a regular attendee. I know that Rathmines is close to town, but it is also deceptively long, so the upper part is a bit of a trek.
I was there for a 21^st before, and it’s a pretty nice place. The function was on upstairs, but I took the odd wander downstairs as well. It was kinda empty, and this was on a Friday or Saturday. Their policy was over-​25s at the time, and they seemed fairly strict about it: we only got in when we mentioned that we were going to the function upstairs.
Not the worst pub in the world, but you won’t find me queuing up the day before I turn 25 or anything, either.

Lively is one word that perfectly describes Rody Bolands, its pretty much Flannerys in Rathmines. It gets a big country crowd and seems to be always busy. Expect lots of county jerseys in here and it’ll be wedged on pretty much any day a big GAA match is on.
Its also manges to play fast and lose with the smoking ban, having its smoking area inside, kinda, its just inside the main door. Its a bit different anyway.
Split over two levels and also does a lunchtime carvery, or soakage as we like to call in here. To soak up all the drink from the night before of course. Good times and country accents a plenty to be had in Rody’s.

Cheesetastic on a Friday night with pop, 80s and all sorts of nonsense, this is a nice enough wee pub. Music and djs at the weekend. It’s cheesy yes, but it’s the kind of place to bring a non-​Irish visitor as it can seem authentic with all the bicycles, tin buckets and Guinness signs on the wall.
Where this place really succeeds though is the amazing smoking area at the front, which actually just looks like part of the pub. It’s warm, ventilated (so the non smokers can enjoy it too) and it has plenty of space.

Rody’s is an institution in Dublin — a traditional pub which is popular with country people. The atmosphere is great on a gaelic match day (although it will be packed so get there early or you’ll be disappointed). The music tends to be old favourites and as far as I could tell the DJ’s set list doesn’t change much from week to week. The dress code is pretty casual — football jerseys are more normal than party dresses! I would recommend it for watching football rather than a big Saturday night out. Rody’s also serves food including a lunchtime carvery but I wouldn’t really recommend it for the food (other than to soak up the alcohol when watching a match). You would be far better off having food in one of the other restaurants in Rathmines then coming here for drinks.

This is classed as a «Country Pub».ie. a place for all the country girls and boys to get down and enjoy a night out with people from all over the country that are living and working in Dublin and miss their home town… with firm favourites being played like Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, and «Country Road, Take me Home to the Place I belong», .this is a country pub and with lots of nice looking country boys frequenting hte joint, this is a country girls heaven !!. I love this place and am here far too often !! It’s usually very busy and lively and I would say I enjoy my nights in here… dress code is casual but you can dress up if yoiu want… usually though, it’s jeans and shirt, t shirt for guys and jeans and top will do for a girl. Thumbs up!