I'm a bit jealous of a friend of mine who lives in Dublin 8 near many of Dublin's great spots. 57 The Headline is actually her local and having visited a few times I can definitely say that I like it.
It's a pub and a restaurant located on Clanbrassil Street Lower which used to be a smelly old man pub but was transformed in 2013 into an Irish craft beer pub.
No hipster fanciness there, it looks very much like a regular pub, spacious with plenty of tables and a cosiness that make you want to stay.
They have a great selection of craft beer with 24 taps dedicated to Irish and international craft beer. They also do craft beer and whiskey tasting trays. There is restaurant on the upper floor called Upstairs @57 with a menu that seems interesting and reasonably priced but on my latest visit I was looking for some good pub grub so we went for their bar menu.
The pub menu features the obligatory chicken wings (theirs are glazed with lemon, honey, black pepper and thyme), beef burger (topped with smoked Gubbeen cheese, red pepper salsa, rocket leaves, crispy shallots) but also includes some dishes you wouldn't expect in a pub. The pork belly banh mi, their interpretation of the Vietnamese sandwich sounded very appealing but on this occasion Mr. FFID and I went for one of the specials: the lamb kofta burger with mint yogurt sauce, red onion, pickled peppers, aubergine caviar and rocket and spinach leaves (€13).
It was a very decent burger with a lovely onion bun which wasn't out of a pack, it was good proper bread. The burger was perfectly seasoned, could have been a little spicier but had great flavours.
Now I have to say the chips were some of the best I've ever had, chunky, golden and just perfectly crisp outside and slightly fluffy inside.
This lovely grub was all washed down with a a pint of Metalman Pale Ale for himself while I had a little glass of Rascal's Big Hop Red.
I let Mr. FFID choose my drink but they also have craft beer pairing suggestions on their food menu which I think is a great idea.
With its warm atmosphere and friendly staff 57 The Headline is a good spot for drinks and the food is well worth a try too.
57 The Headline
57 Clanbrassil Street Lower
Dublin 8
Website
This is an independent review, I paid for my meal.
