No doubt about Dubliner
The Auld Dubliner, a West Coast pub staple, has made its way to Bolingbrook amid an increasingly crowded pub scene.
With so many other pub choices out there, can Auld Dubliner successfully make the trip to our suburbs and retain an authentic pub experience?
Motif: Well, it's a pub. The building is composed of three distinct areas: one main seating area near the entrance and another beer-drinkers' realm by the bar with tables, stools, bar seating and televisions showing rugby. The last area has a scholarly touch, featuring a rather confined study room with green walls and bookshelves. The building that Auld Dubliner now occupies feels fairly new, though management does its best to re-create the old pub atmosphere. They state that all of the pieces of the bar -- probably including the wood booths, tables, chairs, bar and other decorations -- were imported from local artisans in Dublin and reassembled on location.
One of the oddest things about Auld Dubliner is the fact that you almost feel like you are on the set of a television show that takes place in a pub. Yellowish walls covered with old photographs, advertisements and Guinness memorabilia don't actually reach the ceiling. They stop about 10 feet shy in favor of black-painted dividers with exposed-black vents on the ceiling.
Auld Dubliner probably didn't have a choice, not that pub devotees will notice this anyway. Oh, and for the clock lover in us all, there seems to be a lot of alarm clocks scattered about.
Crowd: Good mix of young and old, out and about enjoying themselves for a drink and the company of others. The large booths and tables encourage big groups of friends to sit down, converse and stay a while.
Sounds: Though music piped through the sound system was barely audible earlier in the evening, come 10 p.m. the raucous sounds of the night's featured cover band took precedence over conversations. Bands typically play on the stage/seating area next to the entrance on Friday and Saturday nights. Check out Auld Dubliner's MySpace page for its band schedule.
Service: Great service. The black shirt-clad servers were extremely attentive and helpful.
Liquid consumption: Herein lies my main gripe with Auld Dubliner. For those who stop by an Irish pub, there's a good chance they want to sip a pint of Guinness. No worries, because Auld Dubliner has Guinness, and might I add they do a great job of pouring the beer. But here's my problem: Guinness is the most expensive beer, available at $6. This wouldn't seem as shifty if it were not the lone $6 beer. In all seriousness, a glass of champagne is $6 as well. Group in Guinness at $5 with most other on-tap beers and you won't hear me complaining -- not that I'm getting all squirmy about a buck or anything.
Food: Typical Irish fair (or fayre as they say) as well as sandwiches, wraps and burgers ($8.95 to $11.95), soups ($4.50 to $6.50), appetizers ($6.95 to $13.95), steak ($24.95 to $25.95), chicken ($13.95 and $15.95) and fish ($17.95). They also have some other Irish dishes like shepherd's pie ($12.95), Irish beef stew ($12.95) and boxty ($10.05 to $13.95), a traditional Irish potato pancake with stuffing.
Parking: Don't bother trying to find a spot on the street as a large lot sits nearby.
Overall: Auld Dubliner does its best to be as authentic of a pub as you can find in the newly bustling area of Bolingbrook. Though the bar can feel like a set piece, Auld Dubliner ranks among the best of them as a thoroughly enjoyable pub experience in the suburbs. Auld Dubliner is more than authentic among a sea of near imposters.
Auld Dubliner
619 E. Boughton Road, Bolingbrook
Hours: 11-2 a.m. daily Web: www.aulddubliner.com www.myspace.com/aulddubliner
Phone: (630) 783-1600