Restaurant in Dublin, Ireland
Stoneybatter's pub with genuine character.
L. Mulligan Grocer in Stoneybatter is one of Dublin's most dependable late-night options for serious whiskey, craft beer, and food that goes beyond pub standard. Walk-ins are realistic mid-week; weekends warrant a call ahead. The right choice if you want to eat and drink well in Dublin 7 after 9 PM without heading to a hotel bar.
If you want a late drink with real character in Dublin's Stoneybatter, L. Mulligan Grocer is the address. It is not trying to be a cocktail bar, and it is not a restaurant in the formal sense — it is a grocer-turned-pub that has built a serious reputation for Irish whiskey, craft beer, and food that punches above what the neighbourhood expects. For a late-night option in Dublin 7, the alternatives thin out quickly. Against somewhere like the broader Dublin bar scene, Mulligan Grocer holds its own through specificity: a focused drinks list with genuine depth, rather than a menu designed to please everyone.
Stoneybatter is one of Dublin's older working-class neighbourhoods, and L. Mulligan Grocer fits the area without performing it. The pub occupies a converted Victorian grocer's shop — the bones of the building do the heavy lifting on atmosphere. The whiskey selection is taken seriously here, with Irish expressions given the kind of range you would normally expect from a specialist bar. The food programme, run later into the evening than many Dublin kitchens, leans into local sourcing and changes regularly. If you are coming primarily for food and want a full sit-down dinner earlier in the evening, Bastible on Leonard's Corner is the stronger call for Modern Irish cooking in the same general pocket of the city. But if you want somewhere to eat and drink well after 9 PM without moving to a hotel bar or a tourist strip, Mulligan Grocer is one of the few places in Dublin that genuinely delivers on both.
The timing that works leading here is a weekday evening, when the room is quieter and the bar is easier to work. Weekend nights draw a younger crowd and the noise level rises accordingly , still manageable, but less suited to conversation or working through a whiskey list methodically. If you are visiting from outside Dublin and building an itinerary, Stoneybatter is walkable from Smithfield and the Luas Red Line puts you close to the city centre without a long journey. For broader planning, our full Dublin restaurants guide covers the wider picture, and our Dublin hotels guide can help you position accommodation sensibly relative to the neighbourhood.
Booking is direct , this is not a venue with a months-long waitlist. Walk-ins are realistic, especially mid-week, though calling ahead for a table on weekend evenings is sensible. The format suits a food-focused explorer who wants context and craft in the glass rather than a polished tasting menu experience. For that, look to Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen or Patrick Guilbaud. L. Mulligan Grocer is a different proposition: a pub that earns its reputation through consistency and specificity, not ceremony.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| L. Mulligan Grocer | — | |
| Patrick Guilbaud | €€€€ | — |
| Bastible | €€€€ | — |
| Host | €€ | — |
| mae | €€€ | — |
| Matsukawa | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Come as you are. L. Mulligan Grocer is a Stoneybatter neighbourhood pub, not a restaurant with a dress code. Jeans and a jacket are entirely appropriate, and anything more formal would feel out of place with the setting.
Go in knowing this is a pub that takes its craft seriously without announcing it. It sits at 18 Stoneybatter in Dublin 7, and the draw is the atmosphere and the quality of the drinks rather than a long menu or theatrical service. Arrive without expectations of a cocktail bar and you will leave satisfied.
The pub format at L. Mulligan Grocer makes bar seating the natural way to experience it. If food is on offer, the bar is a fine place to have it — this is not a venue where counter dining feels like a compromise.
Small groups of two to four work well here. Larger parties should check the venue's official channels in advance, as a compact pub in a converted premises has real limits on space. For a group night out with flexible logistics, a bigger Dublin venue would be easier to manage.
For a casual weeknight drink, booking is unlikely to be essential. Weekends in Stoneybatter draw a neighbourhood crowd, so if you have a specific time in mind, contacting the pub ahead is sensible — particularly for groups of more than four.
Contact the pub directly at 18 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7, to ask about specific dietary needs before visiting. Pub kitchens in Dublin vary in how much flexibility they offer, and confirming in advance is the practical approach rather than assuming on arrival.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
