Irish in Bergen

I sometimes get e-mails about my blog posts. One of my readers told me recently that I should visit his favourite pub in Bergen, Scruffy Murphy's. He told me that it is a pub with a great atmosphere, a fine draught beer selection and good live music now and then.

I took the challenge and entered Scruffy Murphy's. Scruffy Murphy's is an Irish themed pub, and it looks like hundreds of other Irish pubs all over the world. The pub is stretched out over two floors, and I decided to sit down upstairs enjoying a great view over Bergen's harbour and fish market.

There was no live music the Saturday I visited, but there was English Premier League soccer on the TV screens. The dozen or so visitors on the first floor seemed to have a nice afternoon. I had fun watching a typical rainy day in Bergen.

To go with the pub visit, I decided to have a draught beer. Scruffy Murphy's offers Hansa pale lager, Kilkenny, Newcastle Brown Ale and two Irish stouts on tap - both Guinness and Murphy's. I decided to take a stout and chose Murphy's. The waiter served it to me in a Guinness glass. I wonder what an Irishman would say about that in his local pub in Dublin. Anyway, Murphy's is a good stout, and I was served a beer with very little carbonation but with a solid, creamy head. The beer had nice tones from coffee, and I enjoyed it. The price was 91 NOK for a pint. That is nearly 10 GBP.

Scruffy Murphy's is a good example of an Irish pub outside Ireland. The draught beer selection is half decent, but an extra tap tower with a Norwegian craft beer or a rotating keg would be an asset for this pub.