Durty Nelly’s calls itself an authentic Irish pub, and it does feature the requisite decor: a dark wood bar, leather stools and lights that look as if they could be gas lit. If you’re a Caesar aficionado, this is a must-stop shop: on the weekends it transforms itself into a “Caesar bar.” You can build your own or the friendly bartender will prepare one for you. Whichever you choose, complement your drink with grub from the classic pub menu.
If raucous and Irish is more to your liking, you can’t get much dirtier than Durty Nelly’s. During popular happy hours, the dark-wood interior and authentic Irish setting is bombastically filled, while the waitresses are sliding through to deliver $6 pints of anything Irish and $4 bottles of domestic beer. If you’re feeling peckish, it also offers 25 per cent off appetizers every weeknight between 4 pm and 6 pm, so you can sample some true Irish grub along with your ales.
Durty Nelly's is not your typical quasi-Irish pub. In their quest for authenticity, its owners had the entire interior designed and built in Ireland, then shipped to Halifax for reconstruction in its space on Argyle Street. The whiskey menu here isn't the largest in the city, but it's well-balanced. You'll find all of the Scotch regions represented here, and the less-common Irish whiskies – Kilbeggan, Redbreast, 2 Gingers, Teeling Single Grain – are worth seeking out.