If you go onto Conor McGregor’s Instagram page these days he appears to be in his own pub, The Black Forge Inn, every second night of the week.
So when we arrive at The Black Forge Inn on the Long Mile Road in Crumlin, Dublin 12, on a Wednesday evening and see a flash Bentley parked right outside the front door we can’t help thinking, is he actually in there tonight?
Inside, the signs of McGregor are everywhere; his tiger tattoo stencilled on the brick wall of the smoking area, bottles of his Proper No. 12 Whiskey line cubby holes in the walls, and all the bar staff wearing sharp waistcoats as if McGregor has styled them out of his own wardrobe.
But the Notorious himself is nowhere to be seen.
If Instagram is to be believed I missed him by hours, maybe minutes, where he had been sitting in Christy’s snug right behind us eating a steak and flashing €50k worth of cash on the table.
Behind a railing in the back corner of the bar, Christy’s snug seems to be McGregor’s own reserved spot, named after his grandfather, Christy ‘Jakes’ Moore, and comes complete with a throne-like black armchair at one end of the table.
The rest of the place is a classically-styled gastropub with a slick modern finish, plush comfortable seats and a glossy interior, all the benefits of a recent €2 million makeover before it opened last July.
The tables are mostly filled and it had a relaxed atmosphere but it was only 6.30pm on a school night. The other customers are made up of families and couples eating out as well as groups of young women in heels and short dresses ready for a good time.
While many obviously come here for a boozy night, the focus is on food too with a bright open kitchen looking out onto the restaurant where diners can see the chefs preparing their grub.
We ordered two cocktails to begin, €12 for a Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri. Typical Dublin prices but it was delicious. A perfect blend of rum and sweet syrup and the black seeds inside show it has been laced with fresh strawberries - I’m impressed.
The menu has so many varied options we have a hard time deciding what to eat. It's a meat-heavy menu. There’s the signature dish, "Steak on a stone", the Ribs and Wings, the Steak Sambo or the Irish Angus Beef Burger all catching my eye with most main dishes pricing at or under €20 apart from the steak, an 8oz or 10oz costing between €30 and €32.
I had a peek at their Instagram page in advance for food inspiration which in the end steered me towards choosing the Goats Cheese starter, whipped goats cheese on a pear and walnut tart for €8 and my friend went for the Crab and Chilli Croquettes for €10.
As soon as the plates arrive you get a feel for what The Black Forge Inn is all about - they care about how it looks. The presentation of each dish is delicately arranged with piped swirls on the plate and miniature flowers placed on top. Definitely not your ordinary pub grub.
The flavours in my Goats Cheese starter were complementary with the surprising addition of figs and blackberries but I couldn’t quite make out what the doughy base was. It was more like a stodgy pizza base than the flakey tart I had been expecting.
My friend's white crab croquettes on the other end of the table however, gave me food envy. The croquettes were coated in crispy panko breadcrumbs and paired beautifully with the swirls of lime créme fraiche on the plate. The only let down of the dish was we were expecting it to have a bit of a chilli kick but it was not in the least bit spicy.
For my main I ordered the Ribs and Wings, smokey back ribs slathered in Proper 12 and chipotle bbq sauce, hot & sticky chicken wings with a blue cheese dip, served with a red cabbage slaw, char-grilled corn and cajun fries, all coming in at €20.
My friend ordered the Hake for €22 which came out on top of a wholesome and filling cassoulet, a slow-cooked casserole made with white beans and mussels. Both our mains came in such generous portion sizes we struggled to finish them.
The background music for the first part of the meal was unobtrusive, playing songs like Kiss Me from the Cranberries but half way through our main course the DJ set up on the decks behind us and started playing loud beats.
Conor McGregor once described the sound system in the pub as one that would “blow your nickers (sic) off” and he’s not far wrong. But it was still only 7.30pm.
Every hour it seemed to get louder but this is clearly a local boozer with a particular night out in mind. Young people start filling up the tables when the families go home and I admit, it’s hard not to loosen up when you’re onto dessert and Dua Lipa starts blasting.
The dessert list included the ‘award winning’ house special Cheesecake with honeycomb, salted caramel and chocolate so naturally I knew what I was going to order. My friend ordered the Black Forge Mess, a stacked strawberry ripple meringue with a cherry sorbet served in a dark chocolate mould.
Both desserts cost €7.50 and again came out with all the trimmings; sugar wafers, flowers and fruit. Even still, my cheesecake looked slightly less fancy and than the gold one advertised on their website but it was light after a big meal and still had enough flavour in the chocolate honeycomb bites scattered on top to satisfy my chocolate craving.
Overall it was very good pub grub and the staff were friendly. My main regret is that we clearly missed out by not ordering the steak which you see coming out of the kitchen every few minutes on a sizzling stone with smoke rising up.
Of course, I couldn’t leave without trying the famous house stout, the Black Forged Stout, which is only available at The Black Forge Inn and is described as having "subtly aromatic roasted aromas with mild flavours of coffee and chocolate". At €4.70 it is the cheapest pint on the menu and 30c cheaper than its main competitor, Guinness.
It comes out strong and black, hard not to compare it to Guinness as it's a stout. The body is lighter than Guinness but still has a deliciously creamy head. Certainly worth a try!
On this occasion at least, I was not brave enough to take on the combo: A pint of Black Forged Stout washed down with a glass of Proper No. 12 Whiskey.
The total cost of the meal was €114.20 for two starters, two main courses with an extra side of veg and two desserts as well as two cocktails (one virgin), one gin and tonic, one Black Forge Stout and two coffees. The food alone cost €79 but was so filling we could have easily skipped either starter or dessert.
Speaking to the waiter as we paid she told me they get a lot of Americans in and I can see the international draw.
The cooking is butch and meaty and the presentation is flashy but what more can you expect from a pub that screams McGregor from every corner.
Rating: 4/5
