Leading global travel guide publisher The Lonely Planet has declared a bar in Bray, County Wicklow, the best pub on the planet.
As well as the gong for ‘World’s Best Bar’ The Harbour Bar also came in first in the ‘Off the Beaten Track’ category in this year’s Lonely Planet ‘Great Bars of the World’ competition.
Over the last century, the Harbour Bar has been home to a who’s who of international and national writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians. According to Discover Ireland, the likes of Brendan Behan, James Joyce (who once lived across the road), Peter O’Toole, Neil Jordan, Lawrence Oliver, Katherine Hepburn, U2, Sinead O’Conner, Def Leopard, Shane MacGowan, Brendan Gleeson, Beverly D’Angelo, Cillian Murphy, Jim Sheridan and Colin Farrell are among its regulars.
Located right on Dublin’s Doorstep, the bar is full of original antiques and interesting bric-a-brac, accumulated over 80 years, by three generations of the O’Toole family. The Harbour Bar offers a truly authentic Irish pub experience as an antidote to the sterile atmosphere of some modern pubs.
Over the years many movies scenes, T.V. series and advertisements have been filmed in the bar. Most recently Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto and the acclaimed cult hit Zonad (from the writer/director team of the film Once) filmed major scenes in the bar.
With the Bray Train and DART station a five minute walk away, the bar has proved a popular location for punters day-tripping from Dublin.
The Lonely Planet Guide survey can be found here.
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