Listen, I don’t know much about starting your own business, much less about running a pub. But, what I have managed to glean from the articles about “creating your own brand”, that my career-savvy friends keep sending me, is that simplicity is key. Find one niche and stick to it. Barber’s Bar has not one, not two but rather five or six niches all happening at once in a very small space. It is a place for dogs, moustaches, Karen haters, curry lovers, craft beer connoisseurs, diehard north Dubliners and trendy TUD college kids. Barber’s has all the ironic swagger of Blackbird in Rathmines and Cassidy’s on Westmoreland Street, but the unpretentiousness of Bolton Street’s The Kings Inn and The Lord Edward of Christchurch Place.
Most importantly, are the pints any good? Barber’s is the only pub I’ve visited so far that has Kinnegar’s answer to Hollows and Fenitmans’ very popular ginger beer. It’s called Jackrabbit and it’s delicious. Two pints will set you back about fifteen quid but it will be well poured and there’s worse value for money in the nearby area (yes, I’m talking about The Cobblestone). They have Beamish on tap as well as two Kinneager’s, Ambush and Veltins (a lovely pilsner from Germany) as well as the usual Guinness and Heineken variety.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in the saloon-style doors of this old man pub/student spot, was the canine considerations on offer. It would be an injustice to call this place merely dog friendly — they are dog crazy! An entire central wall of the pub is taken up with the Doggie Wall of Fame, the website has an entirely separate portal just for their four-legged patrons, and by God do dogs come in droves. Little dogs, big dogs, fluffy dogs, friendly dogs… in my short visit to the pub, I was met with every kind of dog imaginable, giving me the sense that this was a dog’s pub and the rest of us just visit it.
But being the Times Square for doggies who drink is not the only unusual thing about Barber’s. From what I can tell, the building Barber’s occupies was never an actual barbershop. One of the owners of the pub, Ronan Flood, was friends with a barber and was inspired by the aesthetic. In fact, up until 2020, as well as making friends with a pooch, you could also get your haircut at the pub.
However, where the barbers in Barber’s used to be is now the fantastic Japanese pop-up restaurant Tokyo Kitchen. It was a bold move to go for gyozas instead of toasties, a tapas and pints deal (which is, incredibly, under 12 euro) instead of a pizza and pint deal, but I guess they rightly assumed that their mainly student clientele would be adventurous enough to try a new flavour profile to pair with their great selection of craft beer.
It was a bold move but it paid off because Tokyo Kitchen makes the best Tofu Steak Don I’ve had in the city. The tofu was wonderfully crispy on the outside and lusciously smooth on the inside. The rice was sticky, the vegetables were seasoned perfectly with rice wine vinegar, sesame seeds, scallions and teriyaki sauce. For €13.95, it’s an absolute bargain especially considering the generous portion sizes. For the same price, they also offer a pork or chicken ramen with broth that takes eight hours to make. You can choose whether you want the original, spicy or garlic black oil version and I have it on good authority that there’s no wrong choices with this one. I also sampled the tofu curry which was less unique than the tofu steak but it was a simple curry made well and that’s always going to be better than a failed attempt to reinvent the wheel.
Besides, Barber’s is certainly unique in every other aspect. Between handlebar moustache door knobs, a “ring for Karen” button and a playlist that includes everything from Thin Lizzy to Thundercat, Barber’s is a visual feast and Tokyo Kitchen is more than capable of taking care of the actual feast. In 2019, The Journal ran an article on the pub and Flood told the interviewer that everyone told them to make their themes subtle. I am so glad they ignored this advice. In a city full of fantastic pubs, it can be hard to stand out but Barber’s isn’t just wacky decor and over-priced IPA, it’s weirdness feels authentic. The clientele itself resembles a rag-tag circus crew of locals and art students, all nodding their heads to 90s hip-hop and munching on spring rolls (which are €7.95, by the way). Overall, Barber’s is the perfect spot for a relaxed pint or two with a group of good friends. It’s lack of good snugs means that it’s not ideal for a date, the size of the pub means you shouldn’t expect to start dancing with a large group (or at all) on a given evening, and finally, there is no heated smoking area for my rollie-loving readers so consider yourself warned. But if you like good food, well-poured pints, cute dogs and great music, you’re going to love Barber’s.
