The Irish Village

The Irish pub – found in every city from Lima to Vilnius to Ho Chi Minh – is the jovial, inebriated, shamrock-clad mascot of gastro-imperialism 16 Reviews

Meal Deal

The Irish Village’s barbecue

Choose from a range of meats – from chicken to steak – and get a free hop or short beverage with each order. Dhs50 (includes one drink) Timings: Noon-4pm (Friday, Saturday)

© ITP Images

The Irish pub – found in every city from Lima to Vilnius to Ho Chi Minh – is the jovial, inebriated, shamrock-clad mascot of gastro-imperialism. But how many of these countless cliché-riddled, Bono-vocalised counterfeits can claim to be etched into the outside walls of a tennis stadium? While the Village scores on its novelty location, and reasonably authentic décor, the food was unfortunately disappointing on our visit.

We appreciate how important time-efficient service is to profit margins, but this bordered on the ridiculous. Our meals arrived only three minutes after the orders were placed. The resulting fast food tasted like it had been hastily reheated – not what you want from a pub meal.

We shared an unimpressive starter, a seafood cocktail with prawns, salmon and white fish, which was something of a damp squid. My companion’s Irish stew was bland, mushy and drably lukewarm. My boiled bacon with mashed potato was equally dreary; the meat and accompanying vegetables were tough and pretty tasteless. We were particularly disappointed with our meal because we know from many previous visits that the Village is capable of fine pub fare.

The waiting staff, nearly all genuine Irish imports, were as exceptionally friendly as ever, and this remains a fine place for a pint.

By Matthew Lee

• Previous reviews
  • 21 March,2012- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 11 August,2011- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 17 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 30 April,2006- reviewed by Time Out Dubai
  • 01 May,2002- reviewed by Carolyn Robb
  • 01 January,2002- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff

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Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.

User reviews:

Posted by: James Molloy on 12 Dec ' 12 at 20:36

Hello Jason,
after so many years. I lmost your postcard, concerning
my Franco Irish Group "Tumbleweed". We are a five man group.
Four French musicians, fiddle, two guitars and drums and myself,
Singer yodler, from Dublin.
Our repertoire is Country, Hank Williams, Johnnie Cash, Willie Nelson, John Denver, American Folk Tom Paxton, Irish Ballads,
Dubliners, Whisky In The Jar, Wild Rover, Galway Races etc And
some original compositions, instrumental. I present my concert with
explainations of every song, not too boringly long. We are 13 years
performing and promise and deliver our very best
Sincerely,
James Molloy

Posted by: Mick.C. on 13 Oct ' 12 at 05:15

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Last time I went,2wks ago with a friend over from UK.Went inside and 3 staff in one corner of the bar folding napkins,and chatting.We stood at the other end of the bar, only 3 other people inside and waited for about 2-3 mins to be served.After this time it was obvious that we were invisible to the staff and decided to leave.As we walked out my friend who was behind me was approached by one of the staff, with the comment DID YOU WANT SOMETHING.Never again.

Posted by: diego mateo santos on 07 Oct ' 12 at 21:09

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Brunch served
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: aswin on 29 Mar ' 12 at 05:23

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Posted by: momto2 on 02 Nov ' 10 at 05:39

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Went to this bar last night with a group of friends. The waitress was smiley but rude. I'm ok with waiters being down to earth and not too formal but I just felt she was rude and sarcastic (was annoying).

She botched our drinks orders at least 4 times.

The food was overpriced, as were the drinks.

Posted by: russo on 20 Oct ' 10 at 07:20

OverallService

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Changing the entance fee policiy @ the last minute, uncool service

Posted by: LK on 20 Oct ' 10 at 05:38

OverallDecorService

AmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Before going to the Hopfest/Oktoberfest, we called several times to confirm that there was no cover charge. We were told there was not.

To our surprise and dismay, upon arrival at Irish Village (with a large group of people), we were told there was in fact a cover charge. The staff was quite rude about this.

Furthermore, Irish Village pulled this same stunt last year.

If you like being lied to, then sure, come here.

If not, I suggest you find elsewhere to spend your money.

Posted by: sanjay on 07 Mar ' 10 at 13:50

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Brunch served
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

reading one review here certainly made me laugh! i have been to pubs all over the world including irish and never have i experienced such indifferent service anywhere else. some of the staff at IV seem unhappy and stressed out. the ones behind the bar counter especially seem hard of hearing and blind at the same time...and selectively so. i actually love everything else about the place and sorry, the staff are not going to prevent me from enjoying some hard earned food, drink and fresh air.

Posted by: sinead on 26 Oct ' 09 at 10:27

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Reading the reviews I had to laugh. You wont get American style service with the Irish. If you actually talk to the waiters you will find them very friendly and hospitable. The Irish perfer to converse with the guests. So next time try that and I think you will get a better response from them. I actually think it adds to the charm of the place.

I have been a regular here since I came to Dubai and I really enjoy the place. The food I agree is not the best and the selection of lower calorie lighter meals is poor. Not everyone wants to eat heavy carbohydrated filled food so a better selection would be well received. Also a better selection of smaller dishes so you could share among groups. chips and dips is quite a sad selection.

The Irish village is part of the whole century village and Cellar so its quite disapointing that the wine list is so poor.
So upgrade choices for food and wine and you have yourself a great bar.
Prices are higher than most pubs and they could lower them as the place is always full, but I suppose you pay for the setting..

Posted by: andrew on 25 Oct ' 09 at 17:06

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Brunch served
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Its a pity the staff at Irish village are rude and couldn't care less attitude. Not sure is they are "trained"to be this way?

Posted by: Karen on 25 Oct ' 09 at 07:29

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Service was terrible....the Waitress, both who came to my table were very rude ...Irish Village better get some customer friendly waiters and waitresses..else they are going to lose a lot of customers!!

Posted by: Hani on 23 Mar ' 09 at 15:41

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

The staff are rude, the food is bad... I just hate it!!

Posted by: Anil Khurana on 18 Mar ' 09 at 04:04

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: Paul Gall on 17 Mar ' 09 at 20:58

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

You know exactly what you will get decent pub grub all the usuals from burgers to fish and chips, its not flash or upmarket just good traditional pub fayre, lovely setting and usually a good live music playing which you can sit outside and enjoy.

Posted by: Rolf Laws on 17 Mar ' 09 at 05:09

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Having been a visitor to the Irish Village for nearly 10 years I have noticed that the overall standard of service and quality of food has declined to a point that I no longer use the venue as a place of choice with regard to food. As a place to meet, converse, enjoy the entertainment and have a beverage or two excellent but that is as far as it goes.

Posted by: Paddy Murphy on 16 Mar ' 09 at 08:28

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

"The kitchen serves all the Irish favourites, like fish and chips and weekend fry-ups"

When exactly was fish and chips an Irish favourite?