Best Hidden Speakeasies in Limerick You Need a Tip to Find
Words by
Sinead Walsh
The Quiet Art of Finding Limerick's Best Speakeasies
Limerick has always been a city that keeps its best stories behind closed doors. The best speakeasies in Limerick are not the kind you stumble across on O'Connell Street on a Saturday night. They are the ones you hear about from a bartender at a pub you have been going to for three years, or from a friend of a friend who works in hospitality and knows which unmarked door leads somewhere worth your time. I have spent the better part of a decade chasing these places down, and what I have found is that Limerick's hidden bar scene is less about secrecy for the sake of it and more about the kind of intimacy that only happens when a room is small, the music is right, and the person making your drink actually wants to be there. This is not a list of every cocktail bar in the city. This is a guide to the places that ask you to look a little harder, and reward you when you do.
The Blind Duck and the Art of Not Advertising
Where the Locals Go When They Do Not Want to Be Found
The Blind Duck sits on a narrow lane just off Catherine Street, in the heart of Limerick's Georgian quarter. You would walk past it twice if someone had not told you to look for the small brass duck mounted at eye level on a dark green door with no sign. Inside, the space is low-ceilinged and warm, with exposed stone walls that date back to the original 18th-century townhouse. The cocktail menu changes every six weeks, but the house Old Fashioned, made with Redbreast 12 and a house-made demerara syrup, has been a constant since the place opened. Thursday nights are the best time to go because that is when the resident jazz trio plays in the back room, and the crowd is almost entirely local. Most tourists do not know that the back room was originally a coal cellar, and that the stone archway you walk through to reach it is one of the few surviving examples of Georgian-era service architecture in the city.
The Vibe? Dark wood, low lighting, the kind of place where conversations stay at the table.
The Bill? Cocktails run from €11 to €15, with a solid whiskey selection starting at €7.
The Standout? The back room on a Thursday. Arrive by 9pm or you will not get a seat.
The Catch? The entrance is genuinely easy to miss. Stand on Catherine Street facing east and look for the green door on the left-hand side of the lane, about 20 metres in.
A local tip: if the door is closed, knock twice and wait. They do not answer on the first knock because the front-of-house person is usually in the back. Give it ten seconds.
The Copper Room on Hartstonge Street
A Hidden Bar Limerick Built on Whiskey and Whispers
The Copper Room is one of those hidden bars Limerick regulars guard jealously. It sits above a bookshop on Hartstonge Street, accessible only by a staircase at the back of the shop that most people assume leads to a storage area. The room itself is small, maybe 30 seats, with copper-topped tables and a backlit wall of Irish whiskeys that the owner, a former distillery tour guide at Midleton, has been collecting for over a decade. The standout drink here is the Limerick Sour, which uses a local honey from a producer in Kilmallock and a dash of Angostura that the bartender muddles with fresh thyme. Weeknights, particularly Tuesday and Wednesday, are ideal because the room fills up fast on weekends and the experience loses something when you are shoulder to shoulder with a stag party. What most visitors do not realize is that the bookshop below has been in the same family since 1974, and the upstairs bar was originally the owner's private reading room before it was converted in 2016.
The Vibe? A whiskey library that happens to serve cocktails. Quiet, deliberate, unhurried.
The Bill? Whiskey flights start at €18 for three pours. The Limerick Sour is €13.
The Standout? Ask the owner to pick a whiskey for you based on what you usually drink. He has never once steered me wrong.
The Catch? The staircase is narrow and steep. Not ideal if you are in heels or have mobility issues.
Limerick connection: the building itself is part of the Hartstonge Street conservation area, one of the finest surviving stretches of Georgian architecture in the midwest. The bar's existence above a bookshop feels entirely fitting for a city that has produced so many writers.
The Basement at The Locke Bar
An Underground Bar Limerick with Centuries of History Underfoot
The Locke Bar on George's Quay is well known to anyone who has spent time in Limerick. But the basement level, which operates as a separate underground bar Limerick drinkers seek out on weekends, is a different animal entirely. You access it through a door behind the main bar that looks like it leads to a storage closet. Downstairs, the vaulted brick ceilings are original to the 1720s structure, and the space has been used as everything from a grain store to a smuggling hold during the penal times. The cocktail list is short but precise, and the standout is a gin and tonic made with a locally distilled gin from the Dingle Peninsula, served with juniper berries and a thin slice of grapefruit. Friday and Saturday nights after 10pm are when the basement comes alive, with a DJ who plays vinyl-only sets that lean toward soul and funk. Most tourists do not know that the basement's back wall is shared with the old city wall, and if you press your hand against the stone on the far left corner, you can feel the damp that has seeped through from the Shannon for centuries.
The Vibe? Subterranean, warm, a little mysterious. The kind of place where you lose track of time.
The Bill? Drinks range from €6 for a pint to €12 for a cocktail.
The Standout? The vinyl DJ sets on Saturday nights. The sound system is surprisingly good for a basement.
The Catch? It gets very crowded after 11pm on weekends, and the single staircase means exiting can take a while.
A local tip: go early on a Friday, around 8pm, when the basement is quiet enough to actually talk to the bartender. That is when you will learn the most about the building's history.
The Parlour on Mungret Street
A Secret Bar Limerick Hiding in Plain Sight
Mungret Street is not where most visitors to Limerick spend their time. It is a residential street on the south side of the city, lined with red-brick terraces and the occasional corner shop. Halfway down, there is a door painted matte black with a small brass knocker shaped like a cat. This is The Parlour, a secret bar Limerick locals have been quietly frequenting since 2018. The interior is styled like a Victorian sitting room, with velvet armchairs, mismatched side tables, and a fireplace that works in winter. The cocktail menu leans heavily on Irish ingredients, and the must-try is the Blackthorn, made with sloe gin, lemon, and a sprig of rosemary from the small herb garden on the rooftop. Sunday afternoons are the best time to visit because the pace is slow, the light comes through the front windows at a perfect angle, and the owner often puts on a pot of coffee for regulars. What most people do not know is that the building was once a tailor's shop, and the original fitting room, now the bathroom, still has the full-length mirror and brass hooks on the wall.
The Vibe? Like being invited into someone's very stylish living room. Intimate without being cramped.
The Bill? Cocktails are €12 to €14. Coffee and cake is €6.
The Standout? The Blackthorn cocktail. It is the kind of drink that makes you rethink what Irish spirits can do.
The Catch? Seating is limited to about 20 people. If you arrive after 9pm on a Friday, expect a wait.
Limerick connection: Mungret Street is part of the Southill area, which has a complicated reputation that does not reflect the warmth of the people who actually live there. The Parlour is one of several small businesses that have quietly transformed the street's character over the past five years.
The Cellar at The Cornstore
Where Limerick's Food and Drink Scenes Collide Underground
The Cornstore on O'Connell Street is known primarily as one of Limerick's best restaurants, but the cellar bar beneath it operates with a level of independence that most people do not expect. You enter through a separate door on the side of the building, down a short flight of stairs, into a stone-walled room with a long wooden bar and a wine list that would hold its own in Dublin. The underground bar Limerick regulars come here for is all about natural wines and small-batch Irish spirits, and the standout drink is a mezcal Negroni that the head bartender developed after a trip to Oaxaca. Wednesday through Saturday, the cellar fills with a mix of pre-dinner diners and people who have no intention of eating upstairs but come specifically for the bar. The best time to go is early evening, between 5pm and 7pm, when you can actually get a seat at the bar and chat with the staff. Most tourists do not realize that the cellar's stone walls are part of the original 19th-century grain store that gave the restaurant its name, and that the wooden beams overhead were salvaged from a demolished mill on the Dock Road.
The Vibe? Sophisticated but not pretentious. The kind of place where the bartender remembers your name after two visits.
The Bill? Natural wines start at €8 a glass. Cocktails are €13 to €16.
The Standout? The mezcal Negroni. It is not on the menu, but every bartender knows how to make it.
The Catch? The cellar can feel a bit formal if you are coming in off the street in hiking boots and a rain jacket. Not a strict dress code, but the crowd skews smart-casual.
A local tip: if you are eating upstairs at the restaurant, ask your server to call down to the cellar and reserve a post-dinner drink. They will hold a seat for you.
The Attic at Ormston House
A Creative Space with a Hidden Bar Limerick Artists Swear By
Ormston House on Patrick Street is Limerick's leading contemporary arts venue, and most people know it for its gallery exhibitions and artist residencies. What fewer people know is that the top floor, accessible by a narrow staircase at the back of the building, functions as a pop-up bar on select evenings throughout the month. This is not a permanent fixture, which is part of what makes it one of the more interesting hidden bars Limerick has to offer. The programming changes with the exhibitions, so the drink menu might be inspired by a visual artist's palette one month and a sound installation the next. The standout experience I had here was during a show by a local textile artist, when the bar served a cocktail dyed with butterfly pea flower that changed color when you added citrus. The best nights are the exhibition openings, usually on the first Thursday of the month, when the energy is high and the crowd is a mix of artists, writers, and people who just happened to wander in. Most visitors do not know that Ormston House was originally a 19th-century merchant's home, and the attic space was where the family's servants slept.
The Vibe? Creative, unpredictable, a little chaotic in the best way.
The Bill? Drinks are reasonably priced, usually €8 to €12, because the bar is subsidized by the arts program.
The Standout? The exhibition-linked cocktails. They are genuinely inventive and change every few weeks.
The Catch? It is not always open. Check Ormston House's social media for event schedules before you go.
Limerick connection: Ormston House sits in the heart of Limerick's Creative Quarter, a designated cultural district that has been growing steadily since 2014. The attic bar is a small but meaningful part of the city's broader effort to make art accessible and social.
The Snug at Nancy Blake's
A Pub Within a Pub on John's Street
Nancy Blake's on John's Street is one of Limerick's most beloved traditional pubs, and it has been serving drink since 1903. But tucked behind the main bar, through a door that most people assume is for staff only, is a small snug that functions as a kind of secret bar Limerick old-timers have known about for decades. The snug seats maybe 12 people, has its own small counter, and the atmosphere is more like a private club than a public house. There is no cocktail menu here. This is a whiskey and stout kind of place, and the standout is a pint of Smithwick's served at exactly the right temperature, which the longtime barman has perfected over 30 years behind the counter. The best time to visit is a weekday afternoon, between 2pm and 5pm, when the main pub is quiet and you can slip into the snug without feeling like you are taking someone's seat. Most tourists do not know that the snug was originally a meeting room for the Limerick Trades Council in the early 1900s, and that the small window near the ceiling was used to pass messages to a lookout on the street during periods of political unrest.
The Vibe? Old Limerick. Wood paneling, low ceilings, the smell of stout and old wood.
The Bill? A pint is €5.50 to €6.50. Whiskey starts at €5.
The Standout? The pint of Smithwick's and a quiet conversation with the barman, who has stories about the city that you will not find in any guidebook.
The Catch? The snug is first-come, first-served, and regulars get priority. If it is full, do not push it. Have your pint at the main bar and try again another day.
A local tip: if you want to get into the snug on a busy evening, go in on a Monday or Tuesday when the regulars are watching the match in the main bar and the snug is often empty.
The Rooftop at The Riverside
A Hidden Bar Limerick with a View Most People Miss
The Riverside Hotel on the Rhebogue Road is not the first place tourists think of when they think of Limerick nightlife. It is a modest hotel on the eastern edge of the city, near the point where the Shannon and the Abbey rivers meet. But the rooftop terrace, which is open to non-residents on summer evenings, offers one of the best views in the city and a cocktail menu that punches well above its weight. The standout drink is a Shannon Spritz, made with elderflower liqueur, prosecco, and a splash of locally sourced apple juice from a farm in Adare. The best time to go is on a clear evening in late spring or early autumn, when the light over the river is golden and the terrace is not yet at full capacity. Most visitors do not know that the rooftop was originally designed as a private garden for the hotel's owners and was only opened to the public in 2019 after a renovation. The terrace seats about 40 people, and on a busy summer weekend, it fills up fast.
The Vibe? Relaxed, open-air, with a view that makes you forget you are in a mid-sized Irish city.
The Bill? Cocktails are €10 to €14. The Shannon Spritz is €11.
The Standout? The view of the river confluence at sunset. It is genuinely one of the most beautiful spots in Limerick.
The Catch? It is weather-dependent. If it rains, the terrace closes, and there is no indoor backup space for the rooftop bar.
Limerick connection: the Rhebogue area has long been one of Limerick's quieter, more residential neighborhoods, and the Riverside's rooftop bar is one of the few places where visitors get to experience this side of the city. It is a reminder that Limerick's beauty is not confined to its city center.
When to Go and What to Know
Limerick's hidden bar scene operates on its own rhythm. Weeknights, particularly Tuesday through Thursday, are when you will have the best experience at most of these places. Weekends bring crowds, and while some venues thrive on the energy, others lose the intimacy that makes them special. Cash is still preferred at a few of the smaller spots, though most now accept card. If you are visiting between October and March, be prepared for shorter opening hours, especially at the pop-up and seasonal venues. Limerick is a walking city, and all of the places on this list are within a 20-minute walk of the city center, so leave the car behind. Finally, the single most important piece of advice: talk to people. Limerick is a city where a conversation with a bartender or a fellow patron is how you find the next door, the next room, the next drink you did not know you needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Limerick?
Most hidden bars in Limerick are casual, with no formal dress code. The Cornstore cellar and The Copper Room skew slightly smart-casual, but jeans and clean trainers are fine. The main etiquette is respect for small spaces, do not linger too long at the bar if others are waiting for seats, and always greet the bartender when you arrive. Tipping is not obligatory but rounding up by €1 or €2 is appreciated.
How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Limerick?
Limerick has a growing number of vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants, with at least 15 dedicated or largely plant-based eateries in the city center as of 2024. Most hidden bars and speakeasies offer limited food, but venues like The Parlour and The Cornstore cellar have vegan snack options. The city's Saturday market on the Hunt Museum grounds also features several plant-based food stalls.
Is the tap water in Limerick safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?
Tap water in Limerick is safe to drink and meets all EU drinking water standards. It is supplied by Irish Water and sourced from the River Shannon and local groundwater. Most bars and restaurants will serve tap water on request at no charge. There is no need to rely on filtered or bottled water unless you have a specific preference.
Is Limerick expensive to visit? Give a realistic daily budget breakdown for mid-tier travelers.
A mid-tier daily budget for Limerick runs approximately €120 to €160 per person. This includes accommodation at €70 to €100 for a mid-range hotel or B&B, meals at €30 to €40 across two casual dining experiences, drinks at €15 to €25 for two to three cocktails or pints, and local transport or parking at €5 to €10. Attractions like the Hunt Museum and King John's Castle have entry fees of €5 to €10 each.
What is the one must-try local specialty food or drink that Limerick is famous for?
Limerick is best known for Limerick ham, a dry-cured, juniper-flavored ham that has been produced in the region since the 18th century. It is traditionally served sliced thin with cabbage and parsley sauce. For drinks, the city has a strong tradition of craft brewing and whiskey culture, with several local bars offering flights of Irish whiskeys from the midwest and beyond.
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