Do you have a bar that you can always go to when you’re struggling to decide on a spot? One that you know it’ll be a safe bet and you always have a good time? Well, this is mine.
Street 66 on Parliament Street is hands down my favourite quirky spot in Dublin.
As a gay man, I obviously love heading to LGBTQ+ bars. But Street 66 is probably the most unique of them all.
I’ve been going here regularly for about a year. Sometimes I’ll stop off after shopping or I’ll plan to spend a whole night there and any birthday or event that I have coming up, I’ll most likely be booking a table in Street 66. Complete with rainbow flags and Andy Warhol quotes on the walls, it’s a good vibe.
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So, why do I love this spot so much? Well, it’s a gay bar with a twist.
On the weekends, you’d be bopping out to LGBTQ+ anthems from queens like Madonna or Kylie as the fabulous Dublin drag queen Pixie Woo is on the decks.
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And during the week, you can expect to be sipping on a stunning G&T while playing board games and listening to anything from country to swing music.
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And if you’re a gin lover, you’ll be in heaven. They have an unreal selection of gins for you to make your way through. My personal favourite is the Whitely Neill raspberry gin. As you can imagine, it’s stun.
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The cocktail list is fairly stunning as well. Personally, I would recommend the Street 66 Old Fashioned cocktail. I had it a while ago and it was simply divine.
Almost every time I’m in this bar, I either get talking to the staff or to strangers, which I love. A little while ago, a friend and I headed along for a drink after having dinner, and the table beside us invited us to play board games with them for the whole night. Personally, this is what I look for in a bar, and in gay bars in particular. When I go to a bar, I prefer a sense of inclusivity rather than exclusivity. Give me a quirky bar where I feel welcomed over a fancy exclusive bar any day.
Also, I can’t talk about why I love this bar without mentioning the fact that they’re dog-friendly.
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Now, I live too far away from the city centre to bring my dog, but I still love the fact that I’ll be sipping on a G&T and a dog will come through the door.
They also occasionally hold markets during the day, so you can pop in and find a few quirky bits.
To find out more about Street 66, you can check them out here.
