Another Irish Pub,,,,,not in Ireland

Okay.  We were there so we have to do it.  In Moriara, a very beautiful town on the Costa Blanca there is an Irish themed pub called The Tower.  At first, the place looks perfect in fact we waited for half an hour until they opened because we were so interested.  There are two small but comfortable tables on the sidewalk in front of the pub and the exterior looks very, very Irish.  What could be more perfect?

The interior of the pub is finished in dark polished wood, there is a long bar filled with bottles and glasses, booths line one wall and there are barrels serving as tables in the open areas.  All of the signs, advertisements and knick-knacks are Irish style and sporting events are shown on the several flat screen televisions

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Our excitement evaporated when we were told, in Spanish by the Spanish bartender that they only had English ale on tap and while they did have Guinness, it came in a bottle.  For shame!  There was Irish whiskey but the menu was more English than Irish when it wasn’t Spanish.  Disappointing.

The place is really very nice and we highly recommend you stop in if you’re looking for this type of ambiance and speak Spanish and want to drink whiskey.  Skip it if you are thirsty for an Irish stout, cider or ale from the tap or hunkering for a bacon sandwich.

We have to give The Tower 3 points for ambience although the name could use a little work.  The Spanish bartender, while being helpful in a typically Spanish manner generates 0 points as does the lack of anything Irish on tap.  The menu was primarily Spanish and because the kitchen was not open we are unable to award any points in this area.  The entertainment consists of sporting events on the televisions and there were several so one can watch from any seat in the house.  Since they were the proper type of events we give The Tower 2 points here for a grand total of 5 points which places it in a tie for third with International Brewery Bringas in Madrid.  

Irish Pubs in Madrid

In our short three day stay in September 2013 we found and, more importantly, patronized two Irish pubs.  The first, disingenuously named International Brewery Bringas was just off the Plaza Mayor and did have Murphy’s Irish Red on tap and Magners cider although in a bottle.  Unfortunately, the bartenders were both native Spaniards and not Irish and, unbelievably, there wasn’t a Guinness to be found in the bar.

The menu was Spanish food, not Irish and the décor had a more wood-paneled western US, rocky mountain bar feeling than being Irish pub-like.   The bartenders were friendly enough when addressed in Spanish and the place was enjoyable enough for us to return to again.

So using our previously discussed rating system the International Brewery Bringas receives 1 point for ambience, 0 points for the bartenders’ non-Irishness, 1 point for having Murphy’s Irish Red on tap (although I’m tempted to give them a demerit for not having a Guinness in the house and for having Cruz Campo on the primary tap), we didn’t try the kitchen but people enjoyed their orders so we’ll give them 1 point for food quality and because the bartenders were friendly and there was the appropriate futbol match on the television we’ll give them and additional 2 points for entertainment. 

So the rundown is this:

Ambience                                 1 point

Bartenders                                0 points

Taps                                         1 point

Food                                        1 point

Entertainment                            2 points

Total for International Brewery Bringas is 5 points which puts them in a distant second behind Hannigans.  Congratulations to International Brewery Bringas for being the second Irish bar we have found in Spain.

In spite of the lower point total, if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood of Plaza Mayor in Madrid and in need of refreshment we would absolutely recommend this establishment as a quality option.

A short footnote: we found another, very Irish looking bar on our walk through Madrid from the Brazilian consulate.  We were very disappointed to find only Spanish beer available on tap, a Spanish bartender, a Spanish menu, a Spanish ambience inside and no entertainment (although it was during the day).  Because of this we took no photos, and cannot for the life of us remember exactly where it was located or the name of the place but if you find it, don’t hesitate to patronize the place because we enjoyed it. 

That does it for this edition of Irish Pubs Abroad by Marilyn and Mike.