Photo courtesy of Mickey Finn's Pub, Used with permission
Editorial Review
Mickey Finn's Gastro Pub
The Atmosphere
“A country pub at Redcross with its own brewery attached, open fires room to room, and food that has won the national food-pub award.”
Redcross is a village of almost nothing in the middle of south Wicklow, and Mickey Finn's is why anyone drives to it. The pub runs room to room with open fires and stoves in each, the Wicklow Brewery is on the premises, and the kitchen has taken the Vintners' Federation award for the best food pub in Ireland. Music is a genuine part of the week rather than a Thursday gimmick. It is the archetype of the thing Americans hope to find and usually do not: an unbeautiful crossroads pub that turns out to be the best evening of the week.
The long version
A crossroads pub at Redcross with its own brewery attached, a fire in every room, and the national best-food-pub award.
Redcross is a village of almost nothing in south Wicklow, and Mickey Finn's is the reason anyone drives to it. The pub runs room to room, each with an open fire or a stove, and the Wicklow Brewery is on the same premises, which means the pint in front of you was made about thirty feet away.
It has taken the Vintners' Federation award for the best food pub in Ireland, and it is the archetype of the thing American visitors hope to find and mostly do not: an unremarkable country pub that turns out to be the best evening of the week.
Food and beer
The kitchen does substantial pub cooking done properly rather than gastropub cooking done ambitiously, and the brewery next door supplies the range. Ask what is on that week; the seasonal brews do not travel further than this building.
It is good value in a county where dinner can be expensive, and it feeds a mixed party of ages without difficulty.
Music and the room
Traditional music is a genuine part of the week rather than a scheduled attraction, and the layout, all small connected rooms, means you can be near it or away from it as you prefer.
The fires are the reason to come in winter. On a wet Wicklow night this is the warmest room in the county.
Where it works from
It is a short drive from Brooklodge at Macreddin, from Woodenbridge and from the Avoca valley, and around forty minutes from Glendalough. That makes it the flexible dinner in a county of dark lanes and early kitchens.
Take a taxi if you intend to drink the brewery's output, and book at weekends: the car park fills.
The reason we keep sending people here rather than to a smarter Wicklow dining room is that it solves the county's real problem. Wicklow closes early, its lanes are dark and unlit, and a great many of its best kitchens sit inside hotels that guests are already tired of. A pub with its own brewery, a fire in every room and food good enough to win a national award is the flexible evening that a week here needs.
Go midweek in winter if you can. The fires are lit, the rooms are half full of people who live within five miles, and the brewery's seasonal beer is poured by someone who watched it being made. In August the same building works hard and shows it. Both versions are worth an evening, but only one of them is the reason the place has the reputation it has.
What we would not pretend
It is a country pub, so it is loud when it is busy and quiet to the point of empty at odd hours midweek. There is no view and no ceremony.
How we would use it
The second Wicklow evening, driven or taxied from Brooklodge or Woodenbridge, chosen when we want a fire and a pint rather than a menu.
The Expat Perspective
Redcross is a crossroads with almost nothing at it, which is exactly why we send people. Fires room to room, a brewery through the wall, music that is part of the week rather than a Thursday performance. This is the pub Americans hope to find and usually drive past, because it does not look like the postcard.
Before you book the table
Book the food side and check the music listings first, because a night with a session in the back room is a different evening from a quiet Tuesday.
Where it is
- Address
- Main Street, Redcross, County Wicklow, A67 H799
- Telephone
- +353 404 41661
Details read from the restaurant's own website and checked on 2026-09-17. Hours change with the season, so confirm when you book.
Insider Intelligence
How we would book Mickey Finn's Gastro Pub
The table to ask for
It is a relaxed pub lunch. Book at weekends, walk in midweek.
Paste this into the booking request
We would like a weekend lunch table and are interested in what the brewery is pouring.
Book direct with the restaurantGround truths
- The brewery is part of the reason to come. Ask what is pouring.
- It is village pub food. Order simply and enjoy the room.
- Pair it with the Vale of Avoca rather than a Dublin return.
Public guest perspective
What guests consistently notice
Guests value open fires, house-brewed beer, live atmosphere, and food that comfortably exceeds ordinary pub expectations.
The honest caveat
Music nights can be loud and busy, while quieter diners may find the room more animated than expected.
Guests return for
- Wicklow Brewery beers
- Generous pub cooking
- A sociable country room
How to order
Pair the current brewery pour with the day's hearty special rather than overcomplicating the order.
Before you book
Check the music schedule and arrange a driver or taxi if tasting the beers.
Rooms Worth Requesting
What it actually feels like.
Ask what is on from the brewery next door and check the music listings before you fix the night.
Why we recommend it
A space that justifies the journey.
It is within a short drive of Brooklodge, Woodenbridge and Glendalough, which makes it the flexible answer to dinner in a county with long dark lanes.