There are dead giveaways you can’t miss when drinking a tourist-trap pint.
Irish beer has a well-established reputation. Those who aren’t drawn to the scenery of the wild Irish landscapes are often tempted by the prospect of a cold pint in a traditional pub.
These tourist-trap bars are well aware of this and sometimes take advantage to inflate their prices. Here are the five signs you might be drinking an overpriced tourist-trap pint.
5. Aggressive greeters – if they’re begging you to come in, walk away
Often located near famous landmarks, you will find a range of bars that rely on tourists’ ignorance to lure them inside their establishments.
The challenge for them is to bring tourists in before neighbouring bars do. That’s why you might be greeted in a rather pushy manner by one of the staff. If that’s the case, walk the other way.
While this doesn’t automatically mean poor quality, it can be a sign the bar relies heavily on tourist turnover rather than regular clientele. You will find that a more authentic Irish pub tends to rely on reputation and atmosphere and doesn’t need much advertising to be popular.
4. The overcrowded laminated menus – a menu built for tourists, not for quality
Once you’ve stepped into the bar, another sign that should set alarm bells ringing is the ‘fancy’ laminated menus with flags. They might as well rename this section of the menu ‘tourist-trap’.
Although a translated menu can be tempting, it is often designed to cater to a wide audience and can end up specialising in nothing.
These laminated menus often offer a wide selection of beers, and in our opinion, you don’t need a thousand options to enjoy a good pint.
3. No creamy head – why a pint with no head is an absolute sin
Once you’ve been served, bear in mind that if the stout arrives without a good head, you’ve definitely been ripped off.
By ‘good head’, we mean that a creamy pint of Guinness (and other stouts for that matter) should be served with a head that is clearly distinct from the drink itself. This reflects both the quality of the stout and the pouring technique.
Don’t forget that in this country, pouring the perfect pint of Guinness is an art form, and if there’s no head, you’ll unfortunately end up with a poor-quality pint.
2. The ‘plastic paddy’ paradox – if you see shamrocks, you will likely pay an overpriced stout
The paradox of the Irish pub is that the more symbols typically associated with Ireland it displays, the less authentic it might be.
While these symbols are part of Irish cultural symbolism, their heavy use can sometimes signal a venue designed primarily with tourists in mind.
If you see shamrocks everywhere on the menu, or a leprechaun on the sign and green décor all around, there’s a chance you will be served a tourist-trap pint. Instead, there are other signs you need to look out for if you want to get your Guinness fix in Ireland.
1. Tourist Tax – you finally realise you’ve been robbed once you tap your card
Finally, if you were unable to see all those signs before sipping what you thought was a decent pint, you might change your mind when it comes to paying the bill.
All these facilities are promoted to attract tourists and sell them pints, using what is known as the tourist tax, inflating the price of a regular pint from about € 6–€7 in a local regional pub to €9–€10 in pubs around the Temple Bar district, known as the biggest tourist trap.
Don’t be too hard on yourself if you realise too late you’ve just had a tourist-trap pint. We’ve all been there. Next time, you’ll be able to spot the tell-tale signs that will help you avoid it and find a proper local pub with good pints instead.
