Review Danny Doolans - Auckland Central

First time here today. It's nice and warm inside seating also has outside seating which is neat. Absolutely great food and really good meal selection too. The staff were welcoming and helpful. The place is really cool itself. Would recommend this place and I'll definitely be back in the near future to try more food etc.

What a night to unwind and enjoy with friends spent in this happy place. Love their cocktails s well as their live band with good choices of songs. We enjoyed the dance floor. Staff are all over the place to make sure peace and order is maintained. Will surely see you again.

First time in this pub, great atmosphere to go with friends. It is small, but conveniently located at the harbour. Beer was normal, but awesome price for a jug of tui beer for $20. It was not so crowded when I went there around 5.30. The spice chicken was delicious and made a good combination with squid rings.

Great selections of beer on the tap, but sometimes not available. Food was also not that expensive if you plan on ordering food to share with everyone in your table.

Fabulous atmosphere, wonderful friendly staff. Pub serves food too. Only had the beef croquettes which were just okay. Guinness most excellent.

Bloody good Irish bar. The front is quite small but the inside is surprisingly large. The live band each night are good and take requests and have a laugh with the crowd. The staff do their best and the food ain't too bad for pub grub. Give it a shot

Can’t recommend enough! Staff was so kind and the Sunday roast with a pint was a great deal. My partner loved it! Small front but huge inside.

First time customer! The Sunday roast with a pint for $25 is great value. The meal was fantastic and large, but sadly only 1 roast potato! Suggest less mash and more roasties. Service was first class.

It was our staff break up night out. It wasn't organized well as we were all stuffed in the corner. Was told that our function would be set up but it wasn't. Overall food and music was great and made up for our squashed corner..."nobody puts bb in the corner"🤣🤣

Good priced food for the area, bar atmosphere, music can be very loud so see if you’re into that.

What a great pleace they have live music its got a great atmosphere.

Food was super tasty, filling and relatively inexpensive considering it's located on the waterfront. Bartender is funny and welcoming and the drinks are reasonably priced. Theres a carpark close by but it's quite expensive during the week. Indoor and outdoor seating which is nice. I recommend the buffalo wings 👍

Enjoyed our meal and the place in general. The live band was good once the singer's voice warmed up. Staff were excellent.

Lovely traditional pub in the heart of Auckland. Live band and fire place were my favourite features!

Not a bad spot to have a drink and listen to live music. The place is like a magnet late at night, hard to stay away from with the music and atmosphere.

Love the 25 cent buffalo wings every Friday. Also the happy hour is great!

Had a quick drink here but loved the vibes here on a Friday night. Great old school music. Will definitely come again and stay longer next time.

Great place for a night out in the city, even on a chilly night, as there's plenty of heating inside. The staff can at times subtly hurry you with placing an order, but overall provide good service and a real lively atmosphere. Occasionally there may also be live music performances.

Excellent food and amazing staff, The waitress greeted us as we walked in the door and could not of been more helpful, the food was awesome and washed down with some tasty Irish whiskey which was recommended by the friendly Irish bartender. Best bar in town!!!

Most people think of Danny’s as the end of the night stop... everything else is shut and this is the only place left that doesn’t involve a taxi to the sky tower or a trip to the strippys.....<br/>WELL - have you ever tried their food?!<br/>I have, and oh-my-god! Their cheesy garlic bread is absolutely out of this world! It’s around $9 and I promise you, it’s the best $9 you’ve ever spent!<br/>I’m craving it now!<br/>So if you’re hungry (any time of day!) but particularly at night - forget Denny’s or Skycity - come down and enjoy (while the kitchens open) Danny’s extra cheesy cheese garlic bread.... 🤤

Always come here on Fridays for a pint and wings with the boys. The wing deal on friday is a peng one still. Food good, service good, my bank account also good raaahhh swing me my card fam let me get more wings :)<br/>Can't wait for next friday.

THE FOODOLOGIST RATING:-<br/><br/> FOOD:-3.5/5 (Kiwi fare , Well cooked , Can work more on flavor)<br/><br/>SERVICE:- 4.5/5 (Casual,friendly , Vibrant ,) <br/><br/>AMBIANCE:- 4/5 (Good Views , Electric ,Fun, Great On A Sunny Day)<br/><br/>CLEANLINESS:- 3.5/5 (Old Look, Clean, Some walls have cobwebs)<br/><br/>VALUE FOR MONEY :- 3.5/5(Lunch Special A Steal )<br/><br/>FOOD POCKET DAMAGE:-*****/*****(Cost For Two :- $50)<br/><br/>THE FOODOLOGIST REVIEW:-<br/><br/>FOOD ORDERED:-<br/>ONE KILO MUSSELS <br/>ROAST OF THE DAY <br/><br/>On a nice summer day after a swim my partner and myself were waking down the viaduct and the early-bird special got our attention . We already worked out a good appetite so we decided to give it a shot . I have been to this place on the weekend to drink as they have a bar perform so it was quiet a change to this place operating as a pub with food . We ordered some drinks and for the special i ordered the 1 kilo mussel and the roast of the day which was lamb . The food was served in moderate time the service was great the staff was friendly and had great chat . The food was served i liked the presentation of the mussels very rustic the mussels were drenched in a cream garlic white wine sauce . the roast of the day was with the lamb gravy roast veggies and Yorkshire pudding . The mussels were steamed right the sauce was great to dip the crusty bread and mussels in . One of the biggest drawbacks is when a mussel is not clean these mussels were clean and the beard removed .<br/><br/>The roast of the day the lamb was cooked well was moist and juicy many a times you would get it dry but not in this case . the gravy tasted good and the veggies were also good . The Yorkshire pudding was not doughy . I just had a bite of it but my partner surely enjoyed the roast with her red . And she is quite a foodie herself . We surely had a good evening out and the food and service matched up to it .

Had been here a few times and had always had a great time. Food was good as always, however the experience was let down by the Irish waitress who probably should have taken the night off - had one drink and food then left because of it.

Mmm have been here a few times have tried the roast and the sirloin steak both perfectly delicious consistently I always love comming here and the location is great!

Poor experience from the get go. Odd and confused door men trying to satisfy their egos by stopping staff members from entering even though they were not drunk. Once I got the manager out, suddenly they were allowed because they had a sip of water. <br/><br/>Poor patrons, drunk and bad behaved, being inappropriate with the female staff<br/><br/>The best part, $100 of drinks bought, which we never got a chance to drink.<br/><br/>Would have rated at 0 as we never got a chance to be in due to arrogant doormen and not so convincing manager <br/><br/>Not a place if you want to go out with a group for a good night out.<br/><br/>Worst experience ever

Nice little Irish bar located on the viaduct-another good place to grab a drink or two with your mates and also good if you are wanting somewhere to dance too as they have a live band. Its always super busy and the live music is pretty good as well. Standard drink prices and overall a cool, fun atmosphere.

The staff is super sweet. They are very polite and prompt. The food was great and their Friday offers make sure you don't have a place to sit when you get in. The Irish bar section is great too. The lighting was a little too dark for me but the fireplace more than made up for it.

Been here twice and I love this place! They charge $10 on entry but they have such a great bar and live music that its a wonderful place to catchup with friends for drinks and a dance. I usually stick to the vodka and red bull drink but their shots and cocktails are lovely too. Great place with nice staff.

This is a cool place to have a beer or two with your buddies.<br/>They have good food and large portions (large enough for me anyway). The beer options are good as well.<br/>They also had a live band when i visited.<br/>Not a place that will blow your mind but not too bad either.

Located near the viaduct, the bar is always packed with people, especially weekends, who enjoys the night life. We came here on a Sunday night to grab some rounds.<br/><br/>The atmosphere is exactly what you would expect in a bar - loud live music (a bit too loud and made it hard to hear others even when they’re right next to you), people dancing and singing along, and just people sitting at the tables. The place is pretty fit for its purpose and it’s a pretty famous bar in the Auckland CBD area.<br/><br/>The tap beers and shots are around $9 per one.

We were looking for a place to go to on a Tuesday night and decided to go to Danny’s. The band is great and the crowd is always lively. It’s a great option for drinks and some live music during the week. Margaret’s service was amazing! It was table service and we had to be careful but she was so attentive and provided such great service! Will always continue to be back for the best live music in Auckland! :)

<br/>On a friday night we were here for our company work do. it was just 30min after We've gone in, my mate got punched in the face twice by the band member.<br/>It was because my mate dropped his drink on the floor and this guy thought it was spilled all over his stuff but not at all, it was the other side of the fence. Than as soon as this guy hits my mates face he said that he has given him 3 warnings but not true, he wasn't warned at all.<br/>The bar staff was also pritty rude by threatening my other mate saying that 20staff would jump on him if he had made a move.<br/>So basically one of us got punched in the face and we wanted to talk this out but than we got threatened instead.<br/>But this isn't the first time I've seen violence against paying customer. the other night i witnessed bouncer punching customer real hard in the face but again i couldn't see why the bouncer was using brutal force instead of dragging him out, cause the bouncer was twice the size, and far as i can see he hasn't done much wrong he was just a bit drunk and hard to talk to.<br/><br/>a lot of staff from this dannys are angry and violent, I would not recommend this place at all, and certainly all 20 of our staff are never going back again.

Danny Doolans is the reason why I'm still in Auckland.one of the few places where they play cool live music and have a friendly - no attitude atmosphere.always bring my overseas friends here and they love it too!

Good bites, good live music, good apple ciders, good vibes. Love the location as well, especially if its a day time hangout that you're considering, this place offers a nice view of the yachts n boats parked out front :)

If Danny's aint going off, town will be dead. This is the live-music good-times central so if you're out for a good night and happy to get into it and likely meet others (as it gets quite packed and you naturally get talking to those around you - you walk in with some mates and leave knowing the whole bar.<br/><br/>Best covers band that really get the crowd going, plenty of banter and fun. Go earlish or wait in long ques.

Went for happy hour - nice big pitchers for $18, which was great, but the food is standard pub fare and leaves a lot to be desired. The beer and wine selections are pretty good. It's clear that it's more of a drinking atmosphere than a sit down restaurant; therefore it's great for pre-dinner drinks or as a pub stop for a night on the town. Menu options are pretty much meat and potato-based, very few veggo meals, and the bartenders are nice enough when it's not too busy. All in all it's great for a Viaduct bar and not too pretentious, and if I'm down in the Viaduct this is my first choice.

I love the ambiance of the place. I find there pitcher beer affordable but just for the time 4-9pm. We tried their calamari not so impressed but their American buffalo wings were superb! We had rump steak and their roast of the day. Both were delicious but since I'm not so fan of steak i wasn't able to finish mine. But still all worth it!

Decent place with reasonable prices but would have loved to have some selection of cocktails as well!<br/>The finger food we ordered was okay and the band was good and had fun time😀

It was my first visit. I must say after a bad lunch experience this was life saviour. We ordered the garlic bread with cheese and chicken wings. Really worth the money. I would recommend this place

Lively atmosphere and great for a night on the town. I went here with workmates as a welcome to the team sort of thing and we purchased a grabone voucher $20 for $40 worth of food. I was blown away by the quantities. We split a voucher two ways and some if the dishes went back to the kitchen untouched because the portions were that generous. <br/><br/>Totally recommend this place.

Visited this establishment for the first time on Saturday night. <br/><br/>Who knows, I may have really enjoyed it. However, I was not let in by the bouncer due to 'Dress-code' even though a number of my friends were able to get in before & also after me (I was actually dressed a bit better than them too, without sounding too pretentious).<br/><br/>When I asked specifically; <br/><br/>"What is wrong with what I am wearing" <br/><br/>the reply was;<br/><br/>"All of it" <br/><br/>Not a very specific response, and in the very unlikely case that I would return, I have no clue what I need to improve in order to be allowed entry.<br/><br/>Anyway to sum things up, this was a very isolating and disappointing experience. <br/>I was neither intoxicated, nor rude to the bouncer, yet I feel he had some sort of personal problem with me so 'chose' not to let me in specifically (this may not be the case, but is how the situation felt).<br/><br/>Sincerely;<br/><br/>A non-returning (could have potentially been a high spending) customer.

Thought the music was pretty good both the live music and the track. But the bar staff were rude and the bouncers completely unprofessional. My friends and I wont be back.

Such a fun place! Its a typical irish pub. Went here on a friday night. They had live music and just a very good vibe. The drinks are moderately priced with beers starting at $7 and a gin and tonic for $9.50. I'd definitely recommend  Danny Doolans for a fun night out.

I remember vividly this was my first bar when i arrived in Auckland. Beautiful setting coupled with heaters. Hahaha! They have rather attractive dinner sets. I had fish and chips with my usual go to- Monteith lager beer. Went back again on a Monday night and was surprised that there's still quite a crowd late at 10pm. Live band was great and beer selection is quite aplenty. Will definitely recommend!

Had lunch here today, food was delicious and atmosphere and staff were good too. The red lighting was a bit annoying but that's a minor complaint, chicken tenders and chips were lovely and from someone else who was with me they said the Doolan burger was very tasty. Would definitely eat here again.

Called in here for lunch on a Grab One deal in Oct 2010, had the Eye Fillet with onions, mushrooms and good old irish mash and a great Brandy and green peppercorn sauce and of course a great guinness.  Very authentic pub like surroundings - dark and dingge, but excellent irish customer service :).

Our whole dinning experience was excellent! We had great service and the food was beyond expectations! My eye fillet was perfectly cooked with an amazing sauce to enhance the flavor. Great job to the Chef!!! Totally recommended!!!

Great music, awesome staff, comfortable atmosphere, lovely food.<br/>Had a great night there, live music was fantastic, you got to love live yay

Enjoyed my fish n chips and the wedges were pretty good too which we were enjoying till we realized there's bacon in it which was not mentioned in the menu considering that due to religious purposes we do not eat that. We looked at the menu again just to see if we had misread it but it was not our fault because it was not mentioned in the menu it just said lunch menu and wedges served with sour cream. When we told one of the staff members she became rude about it implying that we should've just known that there was bacon in it, but we pointed out that how would we have known if it's not mentioned at all. She started saying that she's never had anyone else complain and that people know what's in it, after she had said all that she took it back and we told her to take it off our bill too. So overall the staff was rude and not understanding about the situation which put us off. Other than that, a nice and chill place. :)

This pub is good to meet people and drinking. But service is the worst. To top it off..these so called bouncers are rude touching my girlfriend in appropriately to talk with her outside about dining too much...3 beers mate! I even witnessed one them shoving an elderly lady to move past. Macho attitudes boys

So much fun in this place, is perfect. Not to big, good music, amazing atmosphere. The music always really good and live music is the best!

Ate here on a grabone one night. Good portions, we left full but not the healthiest of menus. We got quite a few fried style items such as the chicken tenders. Wouldn't go back for the food but it's a good Irish pub so would go back for the atmosphere.

We arrived early on a Friday night looking for a nice pint and a quick bite. Murphy's Red and Stout on tap which got a big tick straight up. We ordered the Spicy Chicken Salad, the Moroccan Lamb Salad and the American Buffalo Wings, all of which were delicious. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere was great. Looking forward to a return visit.

I go here on a regular basis.  My favourite meal is to have their American Buffalo Wings with a Cheesy Garlic Bread - I have never been disappointed. Today I took my sister there to celebreat her Birthday and we had the Eye Fillet with Brandy and Green Peppercorn Sauce, Steak Cut Chips and Onion Rings.  I really enjoyed the meal and the steak was very tender and cooked to perfection.The staff there are also really <br/>welcoming and friendly and the service is fabulous.

We actually went to the one in Botany Town Centre but this app seems to have not updated this. Anyway, in the botany pub, lovely day so we sat outside. The waiter was very friendly and accomodating and moved an umbrella for us. Took our orders and also kindly let us know that the entrées are quite big - which they were. My partner had the beef salad, he said it was nice, for him this means it was average. I had the chili garlic prawns with garlic bread, waaay too much bread for an entrée, there was no chilli flavour and the prawns were overdone. But it was still a good meal. Then went onto mains i had bangers and mash with yorkshire pudding. The york pud was overdone, and stone cold!! The only thing that was actually hot ony plate were the onions. The sausage was nice at first, but then i started to get a horrible after taste, like the herbs in them were off or something. The mash inside the york pud was also cold. The gravy portion was very poor when its such a huge meal. CocknBull do a similar meal and it is way better than this. My partner had the scotch fillet, he asked for medium rare, it came out medium, so was a bit disappointed. The mash with his meal was very good and had depth in flavour. The waiter was good and made the experience enjoyable. Shame about my meals though! !

Rather average would sum this place up. My club sandwich was neither toasted or fresh and came with a coleslaw swimming in mayo. The fish and chips did however look great and beers were cold and served with a smile.

There are better Irish bars in the viaduct. Keep walking. No outdoor seating to enjoy the sun and view. There was no bubbles by the glass as they had run out!? No soap in the ladies toilet. Service average. Food ok. To their credit it was a juicy homemade patty in the burger.

This American is very pleased! $1 buffalo wings!!! And they're delicious. Staff was very friendly as well! So glad we stopped in! A must try, you really can't beat $1 wings.

I loved the Marrocan Lamb Salad,  highly recommen... I also tried my partner Steak and it was so delicious... perfect!! very nice enviroment.

Great place  and the food is very good.... It is definitely my favourite pub in Auckland.......i like the eye fillet, it is always cooked how I want and very tender......the staff is very friendly......well recommended....

We went here for date night and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Although this was a little bit pricey ($72 for a beer, coke and two mains) it was worth it. <br/>I had the farmyard chicken which was a quarter chicken with mashed potatoes, peanut coleslaw and gravy. They happily swapped my gravy for caramelised onions but unfortunately I didn't like them very much. The mash was awesome and the chicken was really well cooked. The coleslaw was definitely interesting and Id have it again. <br/>My boyfriend had the sirloin steak in green pepper sauce with fries and onion rings. He really liked it. There was hardly any fat on the steak and the onion rings were really good, not greasy at all. <br/>The waitress was really friendly and the music selection was really good and upbeat. I enjoyed my night and Id go back again.

Bit disappointed that we couldn't use our entertainment voucher with the pint and a roast. Also no kids meals. Decent roast but nothing like the Paddington or the Northcote tavern who are much better and a better price.

We were lured in by the $19 roast displayed at the front, if it wasn't for this sign we wouldn't have even noticed this place. The décor was very old styled pub like with 80s music playing, this was right up our alley. <br/><br/>Our first visit was about 7pm on a Saturday night which must have been too early for good service. We managed to get the newbie who was much more interested in the woman drinking at the bar than serving us. <br/>This is were our experience turns to the better. The food was amazing! Huge servings and just full of flavour and was served very quickly. We left very happy and full and just in time, right as the live band began singing very badly.<br/><br/>Our second visit at 9pm on a Thursday was a little better, service was great from the beginning. We once again managed to leave right as the live band began singing badly.<br/><br/>Very happy with the menu, one of the only menus I've seen in recent years that has made it very hard to pick something as almost everything looks amazing. I highly recommend the warm lamb salad, the first salad I have ever ordered and have not had to remove ingredients, I solely want to return for this particular item. <br/><br/>Price is very decent considering the large portions. Atmosphere is lovely until the live band kicks in.

The food really lets this pub down. We ordered the Stout Stew, Chicken Salad and Roast of the Day (beef). All were well below average and the half dozen pieces of beef in the stew were tough and dry. <br/><br/>Rather unfortunate as we had prompt and attentive service from bubbly, friendly staff and the lively atmosphere is great.

Had a lovely lunch here today. we were 2 families of 5 - enjoying Father's day lunch.<br/>Great value. we booked so got a cool table.<br/>The food was scrummy and filling and we got served in good time so the three little people didn 't get too bored.<br/>Yum. Would definitely come again. Thanks<br/><br/>kathryn Gorton

Went to check out this place for lunch during the opening day of the Wynyard Quarters. Spent 10 minutes at our table waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. No greetings, no menus no nothing!! The waitresses walked around us and just tidied up the tables and didn't even make eye-contact. Appalling service.

Man, this place is a haven among the pretentious expensive bars that mostly inhabit the viaduct. My only criticism would be that the price of beer is up and the glass size is down. :-(, also what happened to the chicken wings? you guys do the best wings outside of North America and they have just doubled in price to a dollar each? What!?

A most worthy establishment of fine reputation...friendly atmosphere and delicious looking band members...there be no question about it!<br/>Errr, I mean great music...it is just a shame I can't dance.

What a place!...if the Handicap toilets are full you can always be assured a spot in the confessional for a quick hand shandy and be back dancin before your flys up...ta be suuuuuuure!

Amazing amazing place!<br/>Had the greatest time here! Live music was great and bar staff were OUTSTANDING!

Had a fantastic time last time I visited but you have to be fair with this voting sites to make the whole thing work. The place is perfect for drinks but it gets a little to crowded some nights if you want to eat. The service wasn`t very nice, maybe I just had bad luck, but none of the 3-4 people I ordered from were very nice or helpful. It has a great potencial, but I expected more. I will be back anyway for drinks.

Newmarket - Occasionally if there is a movie we want to see at Event or Rialto in Newmarket we will take advantage of the date night special at Danny's in Newmarket where it is $25 each for lunch (or dinner from the lunch menu) and a movie ticket. We usually end up ordering a burger each (which are delicious!) which are decent sized for dinner even though they are off the lunch menu. <br/><br/>CBD - I have frequented the Danny’s in Newmarket and been to the one in the CBD once a very long time ago. A friend came up to Auckland for the week so we went out for dinner on the weekend and for a flutter at the casino afterwards. I love that Danny’s is authentic in that all the staff are Irish! I ordered the blackened chicken which I must admit seemed pricey at $28, however when it came out I was blown away, I got what seemed like half a roast chicken – in reality it was most likely a quarter, but still a lot of protein. My muscles will be thanking me. I swapped the mash for fries because I am fussy like that and hardly ever get chips so they’re a nice treat. I wasn’t a huge fan of the peanut slaw that came with it as it was a bit too creamy for me and I knew it wasn’t good for me after one bite. I think most people would love it though. Overall a great meal in a cosy pub atmosphere, I’d definitely come back. <br/><br/>Don't forget to follow me to see other reviews and check out my blog if you are interested in longer reviews with more pictures as well as recipes and workout advice :)