Dublin Restaurants

  1. Avoca

    This airy 1st-floor cafe was one of Dublin's best-kept secrets (because of an absence of any obvious signs) until discovered by the Ladies Who Lunch. If you can battle your way past the designer shopping bags to a table, you'll relish the simply delicious, rustic delights of organic shepherd's pie, roast lamb with couscous, or sumptuous salads from the Avoca kitchen. There's also a take-away salad bar and hot counter in the basement.

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  2. Cobalt Café & Gallery

    A splendid little cafe just opposite the James Joyce Centre, the Cobalt occupies the ground floor of an elegant Georgian building and serves honest-to-goodness sandwiches stuffed with lots of lovely fillings. The big fireplace is the spot to warm those winter toes.

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  3. Panem

    Pasta, focaccia and salads are the standard fare at this diminutive quay-side cafe, but the specialities are wickedly sweet and savoury pastries, which are all made on-site. The croissants and brioche - filled with Belgian chocolate, almond cream or hazelnut amaretti - are the perfect snack for a holiday stroll along the Liffey Boardwalk. Lunchtimes are chaotic.

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  4. Simon's Place

    Hogging a prime corner spot off the very groovy George's St Arcade , Simon's Place is a bustling cafe that serves up big, chunky sandwiches, nutritious, rich soups and decent pastries. The coffee is only satisfactory, but the cute European staff are more than all right. Avoid the downstairs part, which is dark and dingy.

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