The Bridge Bar, Tourist Pub of the Year 2007
Traditional Irish Music and Dance, Great
Food and Great Craic at Ireland's Best Tourist Pub
Our pub, The Bridge Bar, is the perfect place to experience true village life.
Great food, great atmosphere and great service has made it the winner of the 2007 Tourist Pub of the Year at the Licensing World Awards and Overall
Winner of the 2005 Irish Pubs of Distinction Pub of the Year Award.
The bar's award-winning
food complements the standards of excellence
we have set for ourselves in the Moorings
Restaurant next door, serving the best bar food in the locality to hungry visitors
up to 9 p.m. every evening.
Traditional Irish music is at the heart of the craic
in the pub. We have traditional Irish music and set dancing every Friday and
Sunday night with dancers arriving from far and near. We have a dedicated group of local set dancers who would
dance every night of the week if they could. This commitment comes from
growing up in an area where the set dance still thrives.
The sets are
local but we have also incorporated some of the more popular
polka sets from Clare, Galway and elsewhere.
And, in July and August, we have an 'Irish Night' every
Tuesday night. A mixture
of all things Irish, the night showcases local musical and
dancing talent. Gerard is the Master of Ceremonies, being
a guitar player and singer of some note himself. If you want to know what exactly is meant by the term the
craic, then you'll have to show up Tuesday night.
The bar is also one of the main venues for the increasingly famous annual May Bank
Holiday Irish Set Dancing Workshop Weekend held in Portmagee for well over a decade now.
Overall Winner - 2005 Irish Pubs of Distinction Award & Finalist 2005 Tourist Pub of the Year Award
In November of 2005, we were delighted to become the national winner of the Irish Pub of Distinction Award for 2005. This award is based largely on nominations from visitors to pubs all over Ireland so we're especially grateful to the kind words of all of those who took the time and trouble to nominate us. Again, in 2006, we were runners up for the award.
In July of last year, we we were also delighted to find we were one of only four finalists in the Irish Tourist Pub of the Year award. That award went to the famous Johnny Fox's pub in Dublin, who, if you're in the Dublin area, are well worth a visit.
Award-Winning Bar Food
The experience, quality of service and attention to detail
that has made our Moorings restaurant such a favourite with
visitors and locals alike has been brought to bear on the
food we serve in our bar. We have made a conscious effort to
not compromise our commitment to great food.
With a busy fishing port outside our door, seafood features
strongly on the menu. Our commitment to great seafood was recognised when The Bridge Bar was made a member of the BIM Seafood
Circle Pub Lunch. An award which recognises the diversity
of our seafood menu, the knowledge of the waiting staff
and, of course, the skill of the preparation. There are currently only 20 members in Ireland so we're
naturally delighted to have had our efforts recognised in
this way.
Do you know the way to San Jose?
The wonderful Guinness Quality Team ad about the pub in the "back a beyonds", featuring "Do you know the way to San Jose" in the soundtrack was actually shot in Portmagee, Valentia Island and Derrynane. The house shown in the ad is not actually a real pub and the final view is shot from the viewing point in Filehammeron, where you can also look out to Skelligs.
You can watch the Guinness San Jose ad here on Guiness's site.