Dublin Crossing Irish Pub:
The Lisdoonvarna of Matchmaking Pubs
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
As customary each month after distribution of The Celtic Connection, Colleen and I will generally drop into one of our local Celtic establishments for some lunch and refreshment.
After the October issue, we dropped in to celebrate at the Dublin Crossing Irish Pub in Surrey. This establishment is fast becoming known as the Lisdoonvarna of matchmaking pubs in the area.
Matt Brear, the general manager told us that in the last six weeks his bartender Mark married Sonia one of the servers; bartender Rob married Jen, a girl that he met at the pub; and Laura Sharpe, the executive chef, married Dan Dawe the sous chef.
He also said that several patrons have met their partners at the pub and call to have the very table where they met booked for an evening.
Many have had their showers at the Crossing and wedding photos taken at the pub, celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries, and now to book their Christmas parties.
With Laura Sharpe, the award winning chef at the Dublin Crossing, you can always be sure of a great menu and wonderful food. Since the weather was a bit on the cool side, Colleen and I ordered a polar bear to warm up.
After careful study of the menu, Colleen ordered the Yorkies with mashed potatoes and I ordered the Sligo stir fry.
Colleen, who is fast becoming a connoisseur of Yorkies, said that the Yorkies were yummy and that she would have no trouble recommending them to anyone.
For dessert I ordered my favourite, the baked lemon tart, which has a full lemon flavour and comes with ice-cream...it’s delicious and yet surprisingly light.
The afternoon that we visited the pub they were doing a brisk business and we sat in one of the little snug areas, which is really quite nice and adds just that little bit of privacy.
I had a brief word with Laura Sharpe regarding the upcoming holiday season and plans at the pub.
She said they have a lot of Christmas parties booked already, including corporate parties, and people really like the live entertainment already at the pub for the parties and, of course, the pub is beautifully decorated for the festive season.
The Dublin Crossing have a set menu for the holiday parties. The menu is either a two-course at $18 or the three course menu is $24.95. There are still a few dates available for the Christmas parties.
There is a lovely area upstairs at the Dublin Crossing that is also available for private parties. Also, depending on the size of the party, some of the snug areas are quite large as well.
I also spoke with Matt Brear, the hospitable general manager, about some of the upcoming events booked at the Dublin Crossing.
He said that because of the economy last year their Christmas party bookings were down, but this year people are feeling more confident and they are almost fully booked.
For New Year’s Eve, the ever-popular Pat Chessell band starts at 9:30 PM, a toast will be held at midnight and all the party favours are provided.
“At 4 PM (midnight in the old country), we will be doing the countdown to celebrate the UK New Year’s Eve with Brian Flannagan and Michelle Carlisle entertaining,” said Brear.
“I also have all our bands booked for St. Patrick’s Day and right until the end of March.
“We do have some new programs planned for next year, which includes poker nights, called Big Slick Poker and that will be every Monday night in the upstairs area and the televison will also be in that area if people want to watch, Monday night football. This will not effect the downstairs area since we don’t have entertainment on Monday nights.
“On the last Sunday of every month, we will have a singer/songwriter series and Ted Tosoff from the Blue Voodoos will be the MC. He intends to bring different local acts into the pub, such as blues and acoustic guitar. He has a lot of connections with Juno nominated award artists.”
The Dublin Crossing will be three years old on January 16, 2010, and it seems they have grown up very fast in a short period of time. The pub has become known as the Fraser Valley’s live music headquarters.
And, as GM Matt Brear said, the Dublin Crossing has also become known as a great pub to possibly meet your future life partner.
As many people know nothing just happens without a lot of behind the scenes work. Matt and his staff are to be congratulated for their hard work in providing such a friendly and comfortable ambience at the Dublin Crossing Irish Pub.
The Dublin Crossing Irish Pub is located at 101-18789 Fraser Highway in Surrey, British Columbia. For more information, call (604) 575-5470, or visit: www.dublincrossing.com.
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