I found Dublin Square just by searching for restaurant websites in the Lansing area. Good find. We pulled up to Dublin Square and almost drove by it. The building is beautiful. Too nice for a bar in that area. The building is 70 years old and started its days as the East Lansing Post Office. A few years ago, the new owners decided to do something different and brought in Irish carpenters to give the place an authentic Irish feel. The interior of the pub as well as the bar was built in Dublin out of mahogany then shipped to East Lansing. Everything was put together back here in the states by the same craftsmen who built it in Ireland.
We were met at the door by a hostess who showed us to a table in the main dining room next to where the stage is at night. A waiter came over and brought us water as we were looking over the menu. It’s not necissarily the sign of a great restaurant, but it is the sign of a restaurant going the extra mile when the include a lemon slice with the water.
The menu is interesting. I couldn’t decide as there were so many things I wanted to try. I settled on the Irish Bacon BBQ burger. The 1/2 lb. Angus burger came with two slices of “Irish Bacon” (strips of ham grilled on the flat top) and cheddar cheese then it was drenched in a green apple bbq sauce. Lettuce, tomato, onion, and a pickle spear served on the side next to a cup of green apple cole slaw. Fries were a dollar more. The burger was delicious. It took up half the platter it was served on. There was a lot of bbq sauce. Somehow, I managed to let enough drip off then set the burger in it, so everytime I picked up the burger, I was grabbing the sauce. It was pretty messy, but it was really good. The green apple bbq sauce was different and the Irish bacon was much better than traditional bacon. The fries were not very good. They were steak fries that were not very crispy and actually kind of soggy. The burger was delicious though and very much worth the price.
My girlfriend got the Smoked Turkey Rueben. Two slices of pumpernickel were stacked with smoked turkey, swiss cheese and the green apple slaw. Sauerkraut could have been added for no extra cost, but she’s not a fan, so it was left off. The smoked turkey was incredible. She was expecting the sandwich to be mostly slaw with a few slices of turkey, but it turned out to be just the opposite. There was quite a bit of turkey on there. So much she took a few slices off and tossed them on my plate. It really tasted like something I would make at home on the grill. It was really good. Her meal also came with a side of the green apple slaw which she devoured. She didn’t like the soggy fries at all and only ate a couple. The sandwich was more than enough to fill her up though as neither of us left hungry.
Dublin Square is a beautiful bar and a great dinner spot. There’s also a huge patio outside and if it hadn’t been so windy, would have been a beautiful spot for dinner. They have a great menu that goes beyond bar food and beyond traditional Irish food (yes, they do have Bangers and Mash). The space looks and feels great. I don’t know if they allow smoking or not, but I know where we were at seemed to be free of smoke. The atmosphere is great and the food matches the atmosphere.
We got the Sugar Rush deal. Six cookies and six brownies for $13. Our ordered included three chocolate chunk cookies, one sugar cookie, and two peanut butter chunk cookies. We got pretty much one of each of their brownie choices.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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