Coming Up for Air The Green Room
4TEPPIN° 6P
Words Derek Owens
A walk through the massive, sparselypopulated towers of the Northside Docklands throws up a few strange sights – there’s something incongruous, for example, about security guards whizzing around largely empty apartment blocks on Segways. Add the Green Room to this catalogue of oddities. Sitting on the corner of a virtually abandoned shopping centre, and with little traffic going past, it’s easy to conceive of it as the bar-and-restaurant at the end of the universe. As refuges go, it’s ideal. The people behind The Green Room have made a real effort to create a comfortable piano bar: furnishings are a mix of dark wood and leather, with the odd marble table, some bright feature walls, inoffensive art and what looks like a baby grand in the corner to add interest. The mix of tasteful faux-traditional and modern, though, is nearly undone by a drab, industrial-grey ceiling. Keep your eyes fairly low, though, and the place looks great. The ‘Red Room’ upstairs, which also takes private bookings, is decorated in a similar style, and benefits from soft lighting and a lustrous red overhead. When I drop in on a Tuesday evening, the bar is shared by a middle-aged tourist couple, two twenty-somethings from Eastern Europe, and a valiantly cheerful barman named Darren. Things are going to get busy later, he assures me – the grand final of a poker league will be kicking off tonight, and €1,000 is in the pot. Things get worse before they get better, though: the middle-aged couple retire to their hotel room, and the twenty-somethings make plans to meet friends on Parnell Street. “Is there a smell on me?” Darren asks, halfjokingly as they get up to leave. There isn’t, of course, unless one counts the general smell of death about the place.
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The Green Room does good business when events fill the O2 around the corner, but it’s hard to imagine that this makes up for the evenings when they don’t. True, we’re visiting on a rotten February night, and there’s a tasty football match on later. However, there simply aren’t enough locals with a few extra quid every week, or passers-by, to make a success of the place. It’s a shame because, aside from its location, there’s very little wrong with this bar. The range of beers is fairly standard, but they do a decent pint. Prices are about city centre levels – a Smithwicks costs €4.50, while you’ll pay €6.50 for a gin and tonic – which makes sense. The food, meanwhile, is at the upper end of pub-grub fare: you’d find a better deal on a fillet steak sandwich (€12.95) if you shopped around, but there isn’t much competition in this part of the city. Maybe it will, somehow, all come good. But even as the finalists for the poker tournament start to file in, it seems that at least two of them have some professional connection with the bar itself. The other player, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses despite the dark and rotten weather, seems pleasant but as odd as a tree full of sheep. The trio tease Darren goodnaturedly about his rotten poker playing (presumably, he gets roped in on quiet nights) before retiring to kick off their game. I slip off into the night, wishing the place the best but, realistically, expecting the worst. The Green Room is ideal if you like having the place to yourself, and busy enough to be interesting when there’s a gig on – enjoy it while it lasts.
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11/08/2010
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Dance House, Foley Street, D1 Contact alan@danceclub.ie or 085-8434071 for more details
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Cornucopia
Wholefood & Vegetarian
Cornucopia Restaurant 19/20 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2. Live Music Thursday to Sunday: 7.30-9.30pm Tel: +353 1 677 7583 Fax: +353 1 671 9449 Email: info@cornucopia.ie - OPENING TIMES Monday to Wednesday: 8.30 – 9.00 Thursday to Saturday: 8.30 – 10.30 Sunday: 12.00 – 8.30
The Green Room Bar 117, Lower Sheriff Street Dublin 1 t: 01 836 4645
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