The Dark Horse Kitchen - Athlone

Nice vibe and friendly atmosphere, big portions of food. Staff are very friendly had a great chat with 2 of them! Recommended

Few friends went for a drink over the weekend. There was a nice crowed, great beers and a super live band. The staff are very friendly and helpful. Definitely a good place for beers and a chat.

Thoroughly enjoyed a pint of local Carrig brewery 'Hop Bomb ' with fab beef brisket sandwich while watching the World Cup final in a lively and yet relaxed atmosphere. Staff were really friendly and accommodating. Interior is cool, funky and modern with pool tables upstairs where you can relax and enjoy a pint. A great spot for lovers of beer and good food, well worth checking out!!!

Thankfully Athlone has embraced the Craft Beer Revolution and quite a few pubs are now offering more than the usual staples and catering for all tastes. Longer established Bars such as the Malt House on the main street through town (Near the Prince of Wales Hotel) and Maguire’s on Connaught street across the bridge have been serving a good selection of Craft Beers on draught and in bottles for years, while others have kept to the limited options available from the big brewery’s. The junction is perhaps the first bar in Athlone (that I know off) to reverse the natural order of this by marketing themselves are a craft Beer pub supported by the more regular beers. With at least half a dozen craft beers on draught they boats a decent selection and for the more traditional tastes, Guinness, Coors Light, Cider etc, so while the focus is on the Craft, they do enough to keep everyone happy. Those familiar with Athlone would remember the premises on lower Sean Costello street in its previous incarnations of “Raynar’s” “Suede”, and from memory Rayners was possible the longer running and more successful of the two. To be honest I don’t know the circumstances for either of the closures, so whether it was a problem with footfall of they fell prey to the demon of spiralling rent costs, but either way the building had remained vacant for some years. Aptly renamed as the junction, as it sits below the Sean Costello Street, Old Dublin Road junction, its gone through a significant makeover. The new holders of the building is none other than the Carrick Brewing Company, who have developed similar brewery/Gastro pubs in Tullamore and in Dublin. I recently had a quick chat by email with the company MD and was delighted with a strong customer focus on customer interaction.I have to say they have done some fine work on the internal décor and have combined a modern sleekness with a some great rustic overtones, combined with some really classy lighting and fixtures the place really looks the part. It sings craft beer. Opening the catch phrase of being a Beer Wings house they offered a limited but tasty and ideal finger food type menu of Wings, tenders, chips, wedges and some desserts etc. The menu has since been expanded to include burgers and ribs and the dessert menu has been rejigged. The addition of a pool table is for me personally not the best of moves as from experience pool tables can if not managed properly can become a focal point for patrons who are not necessary reflective of the clientele you are aiming to attract or similarly become a draft for an age group that is not reflective or ideal from the line of business you are in. I can understand its appeal, plenty of people will like a pint and a game of pool, it’s when have of the people are either not drinking or old enough to drink, that’s when you have a problem. I have found that the competitive nature of some people enhanced by a few beers can create quite a boisterous atmosphere when doesn’t always lend to the appeal for a person interested in working their way through the craft beer selection. Anyway its just a thing you either like a pool table or you don’t. The staff here I have always found very pleasant and helpful, and more than willing to give you a little taste of the craft beers you’re not sure of, or what on the rotational tap when you visit. The food I have always found tasty and the portions are pretty good. Its great pub food, salty, greasy and full of flavour, takes like more and helps the pints go down easy too! Just one thing which has been a occasional disappointment is that on one day I visited three of the 1st drinks I asked for where not available, so I had to go with my 4th pick, not really a major problem as I still had a 5th and 6th pick if I needed it, but at the same time I would of thought that if this is the niche you’re going for its better to have the taps on rather than not. If you’re looking for a recommendation I’d suggest the Shepard’s Delight IPA (if available) it has been on for my last few visits. It’s a very decent and drinkable India Pale Ale in the American Style, don’t let the colour put you off its quite red for an IPA so you might easily confuse it with something else. The Poachers pale ale is pretty decent to, but a definite second to the shepherds Delight. It’s probably a bit more ordinary when it comes to the IPA style, but still with a lot of American influence with Cascade and Chinook hops, it’s not dissimilar to something like Sierra Nevada and is very drinkable. Its lower ABV makes it a bit more suitable if you sitting for a while with it, but still higher than a session IPA. Anyway long story, slightly shortened this Venus is well worth a visit, the food menu is limited so if you go, do so armed with that knowledge. It a beer drinkers bar, and those appreciative of the craft beer trends will enjoy it.

We have had several events here in the last few months and each one has been handled perfectly. The staff are extremely accommodating and the selection of beers is great. I cannot recommend thos place highly enough.