71 Victoria Street West,
Auckland Central
Auckland,
(09) 379 0111
The ViewAuckland Review
Irish Bars: Seen one, seen ‘em all; or at least a version thereof.
Fiddler Irish Bar in central Auckland is festooned with the usual Irish bar paraphernalia—brick walls, money pinned to the walls, Irish road signs… you get the picture.
An evening’s entertainment often includes live music and behind the bar a girl from foreign part serves the drinks.
The only things missing are the usual stash of dusty antique memorabilia and a few flags, but that’s probably because the bar is compact. Otherwise Fiddler Irish Bar is exactly the homage to Ireland’s watering holes you would expect outside of the Emerald Isle: so far, so predictable.
However, Fiddler’s does have a couple of points of difference. For one thing, it doesn’t offer the usual fat-laden nosh. Pie and pud for $8.50 and a toastie for about $5 is about it.
And upstairs is an afterthought of a room full of metal kegs but boasting a large balcony you can retire to and watch the crowds pour in on a Thursday or Friday night.
The bar seems to be a popular local haunt and the punters come in happy, familiar groups.
They’re not the corporate warrior you might expect given this bar is in the central city; early evening Fiddler folk tend to be sunny and sweaty and often sleeveless.
Pretty soon the outside tables were full, the balcony was full and the tables near the open windows were packed.
It was a hot evening and my friend—who had just decided to chuck in her job—wanted fresh air, so we opted to stay outside rather than retire to a dark corner at the back of the bar.
We drank up and left the crowd of young and old loyal retainers to the comfort of a familiar and obviously loved bar.
The Fiddler Irish Bar has been reviewed by 9 users