Reykjavik is a small city with a long bar-hopping reputation, and The Dubliner is where most match days in the capital begin. It has been the city's original Irish pub since 1995, and it still owns the downtown sports crowd.
The pub sits at Hafnarstraeti 4, in the tight grid of Midborg that holds most of the city's nightlife within a few blocks. The Dubliner trades on longevity. It opened in 1995 and has run as a refuge for locals and travellers ever since, pouring Guinness and a deep list of Irish whiskeys in a room that feels lived-in rather than themed. In a city where venues turn over fast, three decades in the same spot is its own credential.
The sports billing is specific. The venue runs a dedicated sports bar with five large screens, and its own listing promises every game across football, basketball, golf, handball, and whatever else the calendar throws up. Handball matters here in a way it does not in most cities, given Iceland's national obsession, so the screens carry the kind of fixtures a visiting fan would struggle to find elsewhere. On a big football weekend the ground floor fills and the noise follows.
What to order starts with the obvious. A pint of Guinness is the house default and the reason many regulars walk in, and the back bar carries the finest selection of Irish whiskeys in the room for anyone settling in. The real local knowledge is the timing: The Dubliner runs a happy hour from noon to 9pm, an unusually long window in a famously expensive city, which makes an afternoon of sport here far easier on the wallet than Reykjavik prices usually allow.
Who is it for? This is the room for the travelling supporter, the handball or football fan who wants a guaranteed screen, and anyone starting a Reykjavik night out who would rather begin with a match than a queue. Upstairs, the second floor runs darts, which turns a quiet afternoon into a session for a group. For a broader plan, our best sports bars in Reykjavik guide maps the alternatives, and it holds a place on the global sports bars shortlist as the most reliable live-sport room in the city.
The long opening hours do real work. Open from noon and late into the weekend, The Dubliner covers an early kickoff, an afternoon of happy-hour pints, and the slide into a downtown night without ever asking you to move on. That flexibility is why it functions as a base rather than a single stop.
Best time to go is dictated by the fixture and the happy hour. For a marquee match, arrive thirty minutes early to claim a screen-facing table, because the ground floor is not large and the regulars know the drill. For value, land between noon and 9pm and let the discounted pints carry the afternoon. Either way, the central Reykjavik location keeps the rest of the night within a short walk.
The darts room upstairs earns its own mention. The second floor turns a quiet afternoon into a session, and on a slow weekday it is the part of the building that fills first with locals and visiting groups. Paired with the noon-to-nine happy hour, it makes The Dubliner one of the better-value ways to spend an afternoon in a city not known for cheap rounds.
The setting closes it out. Hafnarstraeti puts Austurvollur square, the old harbour, and a dense run of downtown bars within minutes, which makes The Dubliner the natural opening move on a Reykjavik night and an easy return when the next game starts.
