A Dublin pub is getting a second roll of the dice as it reopens next month with new ownership and name.
he keys of the former Dice Bar in Smithfield have been handed over to the owners of the Big Romance and Whiplash Brewery who will reopen the pub under the new name Fidelity.
“Dice was one of our favourite bars in Dublin and so it was always kind of a dream site for us,” said David Parle, co-owner of Big Romance.
“We needed to do quite a bit of work to the place, it’s an old building. A lot of the infrastructure was rotting. But we definitely want to keep a nod to what was there and to keep the feel for that.
“We are leaving the front fairly untouched. I think it’s a magnificat building with the entrance and the big windows.
“It’s all improvements but the essence of the space won’t be changed,” he said.
The bar owners said it was important to keep the character of the historic building as they revamp the space.
“It means so much to Dublin and the city. All of these spaces have their own story and I really think it pays off to try and work with the space rather than knocking it down and starting again,” said David.
The pub will continue the cocktail experience it offers in Big Romance, while also stocking Whiplash beers and “independent breweries that we love,” said David.
A unique aspect of the space includes the draft system, which is a custom made system to control the temperature of each line.
“For any beer we are pouring we can pour it at the correct temperature,” said David.
“That also means we can batch make cocktails and pour them at zero degrees or we can pour red wine up to 18 degrees.”
The Dice Bar originally closed down during the Covid pandemic and has been vacant since.
While renovations are still underway, the bar has yet to announce an official opening date but are hoping to aim for early December.
“We are afraid to put a date on it,” said David.