Chapelizod doesn’t feel like a haunted village. An idyllic spot less than 10 minutes drive from Heuston Station, it feels a world away from the dirty old town.
According to Joseph Sheridan La Fanu, however, it’s the perfect setting for a spooky tale and he chose it for his 1851 Ghost Stories of Chapelizod. The tome includes three stories, The Village Bully, The Sexton’s Adventure and The Spectre Lovers, all of which are published on-line at http://bit.ly/chapelizodghosts.
With this potential creepiness in mind, we made our way towards the Strawberry Beds on a chilly early autumn evening to see what spectres were lurking in Wright’s Anglers Rest. I mean, if ghosts were to drink anywhere it may as well be in a pub such as Anglers Rest – said to date back to Cromwellian times – whose walls have surely heard a secret or two in their time.
Sitting on the foot of Knockmaroon Hill, Anglers Rest has a beer garden perfect for the summer while a dark interior welcomes the winter. The bar is to the left of the entrance, and the restaurant occupies the half of the pub to the right. There’s a function room upstairs and the Wrights in front of the name denotes the provenance of the menu’s seafood.
The food is far better-than-average pub grub, and on tap are the usual suspects alongside the surprise draught of Peroni. Niall, myself and our friends Alan and Colette were there early on a Sunday evening, meaning we were still able to order from the Sunday lunch menu. The starters of Calamari (€7.95), Chicken Wings (€6.95), and Smoked Salmon (€8.95) were enjoyed by my dining companions, while my Seafood Chowder (€6.95) was disappointingly gloopy.
Colette and I went for the Fish and Chips (€14.95), which was as good as any fish and chips you’d find in a good pub. It wasn’t anything to write home about. That is, unless you were actually a tourist, in which case it’d be exactly the type of meal you would write home about. A good batter encased the fresh fish, while good home-cut chips and very, very yummy mushy peas sat happily on the side.
The fellows went for the Loin of Bacon (€14.25) and the Fish Pie (€14.95). The loin was of good quality but had been slightly dried out through over-cooking, while the accompanying cabbage went a way to compensating for that. The Fish Pie looked wonderful but was a sad disappointment, with a breadcrumbed-mash topping that left a sawdust-type taste in the mouth.
We ordered four spoons to go with an interesting Jasmine Tea créme brulée (€5.50) and an outstanding Strawberry Trifle (€5.50) for dessert. With six pints of beer, two soft drinks, and two coffees, our bill came to €141.10. We left a healthy enough tip for our three waiters. One had been good, one had been bad, while the third had been very young and shy. So they balanced themselves out.
Wright’s Angler’s Rest is an interesting mix of chic and cosy, leaning (just) on the right side of tourist trap. As we left, a session was kicking off in the bar, as it does between Wednesdays and Sunday at 7.30pm. No doubt it has enticed many a visiting diner to hang on for a few more drinks. Throughout our meal, the soundtrack in the restaurant made it feel like a bit of a Begorrah Boozer at times, with a mixture of Clannad, Luke Kelly, Enya…the works.
But that’s a huge part of their market. After all, their large carpark across the road is designed to fit in giant tour group buses. Yet the pub still manages to feel like a real pub. As a local, you don’t feel like a dork for drinking in it. It’s an admirable achievement to be able to cater for both markets.
Wrights Angler’s Rest
Strawberry Beds
Chapelizod
Dublin 20
01 820 4351
http://www.theanglersrest.ie/
