{"id":38680,"date":"2026-05-16T16:31:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T16:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/38680\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T16:31:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T16:31:38","slug":"irish-hospitality-makes-inroads-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/38680\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish hospitality makes inroads in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

Irish hospitality businesses are experiencing a renewed surge across the UK, but is it because of \u2018stout culture\u2019 or a unique culinary creation?<\/p>\n

\"Guiness<\/a><\/p>\n

Photograph: Unsplash\/Rob Nohava<\/p>\n

The last two years have seen an increase in new Irish\u2011led and Irish\u2011inspired openings, compared with 2024, alongside growing cultural influence beyond the traditional pub.<\/p>\n

An analysis of recent openings shows that\u00a0the number of Irish hospitality venues launched in 2025 rose by more than 71% year on year, with a further nine venues already opened or in planning stages in 2026.<\/p>\n

Growth spans London, Manchester, and regional cities, with new and expanded venues including\u00a0Nancy Spains, Molly Mc\u2019s, Dirty O\u2019Sullivans, Fibber Magees, Katie O\u2019Brien\u2019s, Inis,\u00a0and the\u00a0Guinness Open Gate Brewery, pointing to sustained momentum rather than a short\u2011term spike.<\/p>\n

\u201cIrish hospitality is having a real moment, and the stats prove it,\u201d said Leighanne Bent, marketing manager at DesignMyNight<\/a>. The year\u2011on\u2011year rise in openings reflects how strongly Irish\u2011led venues are resonating with UK audiences, and not just for Guinness, but for the authenticity and the sense of community and participation these spaces offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that there\u2019s a soft spot for the Irish, but it feels like the essence of a really great pub and the culture of this small Island is going through a bit of a renaissance right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Murphy's<\/a><\/p>\n

The increase also reflects a diversification of Irish hospitality formats. Alongside classic pubs, rooted in live trad music, newer concepts include a\u00a0wine\u2011focused bar\u00a0from\u00a0Anna Haugh, Irish\u2011American restaurants, microbreweries,\u00a0and\u00a0food\u2011led venues\u00a0and\u00a0pop-ups.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0London Irish Centre, for instance, based in\u00a0Camden, is set to begin a multi-million-pound redevelopment in late 2026, turning it into a world-class space dedicated to community, the arts, and the Irish language. City-Lit college saw a 155% growth in Irish courses last year, making it the UK\u2019s second-fastest-growing language.<\/p>\n

One of the clearest indicators of this shift is the rise of the\u00a0spice\u00a0bag, Ireland\u2019s iconic Irish\u2011Chinese takeaway dish, commonly served with a thick curry sauce. Data from\u00a0DesignMyNight\u00a0shows\u00a0spice\u00a0bag\u00a0content generating more than\u00a04,248 page views in just 90 days, demonstrating sustained consumer interest. The dish (which averages \u00a310.72 in the capital) has now expanded beyond Irish venues into\u00a0sports bars, cocktail bars, independent eateries,\u00a0and\u00a0non\u2011Irish pubs.<\/p>\n

Stout culture continues to sit at the heart of this trend, with Guinness still dominating both menus and the wider media conversation. The opening of the\u00a0Guinness Open Gate Brewery\u00a0in\u00a0Covent Garden\u00a0in December 2025 has only amplified its presence, with DesignMyNight recording almost 32,000 page views for the stout over the past 12 months. <\/p>\n

Bottomless Guinness brunches are also beginning to enter the mainstream, as major chains such as\u00a0O\u2019Neill\u2019s\u00a0jump on the bandwagon. Alongside this,\u00a0Murphy\u2019s Irish Stout, brewed in\u00a0Cork, is gaining renewed visibility as drinkers seek authenticity and regional Irish heritage. Its reputation for a creamier, smoother serve has led several pubs to serve the stout on draught exclusively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile venue formats and menus evolve, the core appeal remains unchanged,\u201d said Bent. \u201cIrish hospitality continues to operate as\u00a0community\u2011led social spaces, offering genuine connection, music, and shared experience at a time when people are increasingly craving genuine social connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Keg<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Irish hospitality businesses are experiencing a renewed surge across the UK, but is it because of \u2018stout culture\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[4250,4142,19855,1812,1411,19856,1127,19857,5,6],"class_list":["post-38680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-bars","tag-beer","tag-designmynight","tag-food","tag-hospitality","tag-irish","tag-pubs","tag-stout","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116585213872650696","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}