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“What a Find”
Review of 1520

1520
Ranked #91 of 489 Restaurants in Galway
Certificate of Excellence
Price range: US$4 - US$31
Description: 1520 embraces all that is best about Galway, with a warm welcome to visiting guests and locals. Consistently offering an excellent experience for our customers, our guests are immersed in another world of warmth, conversation, laughter and fun. Savour home-cooked, rustic bar food, from 10.30am – 8pm , Monday to Saturday and from 12.30pm on Sunday. Sip your favourite classic cocktails with a modern twist or take in some tunes. Legendary nightly live music – from traditional music sessions, daily from 6pm to house musicians and some of Ireland’s top DJ’s playing until late every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. The welcoming interiors include plenty of corners and well-worn upholstery with an eclectic mix of portraits, posters and paraphernalia dotted throughout.
Restaurant details
Description: 1520 embraces all that is best about Galway, with a warm welcome to visiting guests and locals. Consistently offering an excellent experience for our customers, our guests are immersed in another world of warmth, conversation, laughter and fun. Savour home-cooked, rustic bar food, from 10.30am – 8pm , Monday to Saturday and from 12.30pm on Sunday. Sip your favourite classic cocktails with a modern twist or take in some tunes. Legendary nightly live music – from traditional music sessions, daily from 6pm to house musicians and some of Ireland’s top DJ’s playing until late every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. The welcoming interiors include plenty of corners and well-worn upholstery with an eclectic mix of portraits, posters and paraphernalia dotted throughout.
Reviewed 23 August 2019

We were looking for someplace to eat in the entertainment district of Galway. We asked a couple of people sitting out side the bar and they highly recommended it. We went in and were immediately impressed by the atmosphere. They had live music, which was very good. The staff were helpful, patient and fun. The food was great - our group had a variety, irish stew, penny bar sliders, the hooker beer battered sole and the chicken salad. A highly recommended spot.

Date of visit: March 2019
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
1  Thank James G
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
james1520bar, General Manager at 1520, responded to this reviewResponded 27 August 2019

Hi James,

Thank you very much for your kind review. We offer live music twice a day, seven days a week, with some of the best local artists Galway has to offer. We locally source all our ingredients for our food menu, glad your group enjoyed it. We would be delighted to welcome you back next time your in the city :)

Kind Regards,
James O'Neill,
General Manager.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviews (310)
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130 - 134 of 310 reviews

Reviewed 18 August 2019

During a sunny noon, we decided to have a quick lunch outdoor at this pub.We picked a nice table and waited for the waitor to order. Although the waitor was out of the bar, doing just nothing, it took him about 15 minutes to come and take the order. As far as beers are concerned, we had to go to the inside bar and buy them byourselves. So my 19th years old daughter did so. After another 15 minutes had passed we tried to call the waitor who stand out of the bar doing nothing again and ask about our order, but he did not pay any attention to us. Finally, a waitress noticed us and went to check about our order. After about 10 minutes our food was served at our table. We ordered chowder and nacchos.The chowder was not bad, but unfortunately there were bones in the fish. As we asked for the bill, the water who paid no attention to us, thought that my 19th years old daughter was too young to drink beer and asked for an ID, which we gave him. Just think; she had already bought her beer, drunk most of it and then HE rememberd to ask for an ID!! And all that time he was doing nothing for us (no serving- no fetching the bill), but smilling!! In the end we got the bill from the waitress.
The worst service I had in Ireland !!!

Date of visit: August 2019
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
1  Thank kpapai
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
james1520bar, General Manager at 1520, responded to this reviewResponded 19 August 2019

Hi kpapai,

I am very sorry about your recent experience at our bar. As you will see from our other reviews we have a high standard of service and regularly receive extremely positive comments on our staff and service. I would like to apologise on behalf of the bar if you felt the service wasn't up to our regular standard. I would like to review this matter further so if you could contact me on james@1520bar.ie that would be great. I wish to welcome you and your family back the next time ye are in Galway and we can make it up to you.

Kind regards,
James O'Neill,
General Manager.

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Reviewed 15 August 2019

We stopped in for a quick bite and were rewarded with lovely meal. The soup and Quay club were packed with flavor and quality. There is a wall from 1520 that encloses one end of the restaurant (really neat).

Date of visit: August 2019
2  Thank JFK49
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
james1520bar, General Manager at 1520, responded to this reviewResponded 19 August 2019

Hi JFK49,

Thank you for your positive review, we pride ourselves on our locally sourced food and are delighted you enjoyed your meal, looking forward to welcoming you back next time your in town.

Kind regards,
James O'Neill,
General Manager.

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Reviewed 14 August 2019 via mobile

Spent an hour or so in here and really enjoyed it.
There was a really good lively atmosphere and it was busy but you still got served very easily. The highlight was the live music. A guy on his own except for his guitar, playing modern and classic tunes. He was superb and it made a refreshing change from the traditional Irish music. Definitely worth a visit

Date of visit: August 2019
1  Thank Mark F
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
james1520bar, General Manager at 1520, responded to this reviewResponded 19 August 2019

Hi Mark F,

Thanks for your review of our bar, we are proud to have some of Galway's finest musicians play for us here in 1520. We have live music twice a day, seven days a week, so we would love to see you come back and enjoy the atmosphere next time your around.

Kind regards,
James O'Neill,
General Manager.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 11 August 2019

I spent the evening listening to Irish tunes and drinking beer at the bar. I enjoyed the music. There were a lot of people here and while I enjoyed the music, no-one spoke to me all night. I found this unusual as most bars I have visited, someone will strike up a conversation, or I will. There was no one who sat near me so this was not possible. I did enjoy watching the videos about the various cocktails they specialise in. I couldn't believe the prices of beers here though - Ireland is expensive in pubs - but I guess so is Australia.

Date of visit: August 2019
2  Thank Sheryl H
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
james1520bar, General Manager at 1520, responded to this reviewResponded 19 August 2019

Hi Sheryl H,

Thank you for your review of 1520 Bar, we are glad you enjoyed the music and atmosphere in the bar, we have live music twice a day, seven days a week. Sorry to hear that no-one spoke to you, as you said the bar had a lot of people in it so that would suggest our bar staff would have been busy at the time you were there, and unfortunately it is out of our hands if other guests in our bar don't strike up a conversation with other guests. In terms of our prices we are on par with with all the other bars on Quay street but we do also offer great weekly drinks deals. We look forward to welcoming you back if you decide to visit again.

James O'Neill,
General Manager.

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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