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Diep Le Shaker
Diep le Shaker is a modern, light-filled space that is tucked down an alley off prestigious Pembroke St. It is popular with the local business crowd, establishment movers and shakers, and people generally consumed by their own self-importance. It's the ugly side of the Celtic Tiger. The predominantly Thai grub is inventive and excellent, but you get the impression you're paying for the company and it ain't worth it.
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Dobbins
This old stalwart, opposite a row of council houses, was where the privileged came for lunch before the Celtic Tiger brought privilege to half the city. Its traditional French fare, homely setting and old-fashioned hospitality have served it well over the last quarter of a century, and it's still a favourite with politicians, journalists and spin doctors (often at the same table).
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Dunne & Crescenzi
This exceptional Italian eatery delights its regulars with a basic menu of rustic pleasures, such as panini , a single pasta dish and a superb plate of mixed antipasto drizzled in olive oil. It's always full, the tables are just that little bit too close to one another but the coffee is perfect and the desserts are sinfully good.
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Eden
The epitome of Temple Bar chic, Eden's minimalist look - designed to look something like the interior of an empty swimming pool - and contemporary European menu has earned plenty of kudos over the last decade. The menu, which offers dishes as diverse as braised lamb shank with Moroccan spices and organic beef and Guinness stew, is generally excellent, but we enjoy it best at brunch on the much-sought-after ground-floor terrace.
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El Bahia
Dark and sultry, Ireland's only Moroccan restaurant looks a little like how we imagine a desert harem might be. Or maybe we just got carried away with the Moroccan sounds and smells. There are some rather fetching geometric designs on the ceilings and walls, and the gimme-gimme food includes the likes of tasty tajines (stews), couscous and bastile (pastry stuffed with chicken), while the sweet-and-spicy Moroccan coffee is an unusual treat.
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Ely
Wines from around Europe are what this sophisticated little joint does best - the wine list includes 70 wines by the glass. There's also some very decent rustic cooking to be savoured, like homemade burgers, bangers and mash, and pasta dishes, all of which are prepared with free-range produce from the owner's organic family farm in County Clare.
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Ely CHQ
The IFSC finally has a decent restaurant to cater to the throngs of blackberry-addicted power-diners who need sustenance to fuel their busy lives - and this gorgeous tobacco warehouse conversion is the perfect spot to take a break. Ironically, the only criticism of the place is that the service is a little bit slow, although that doesn't matter too much in the evening, when there are fewer suits in a hurry.
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Fallon & Byrne
Dublin's very own Dean and Deluca-style upmarket food hall, wine cellar and restaurant has been an absolute smash hit since it opened in 2006. The queues for the delicious deli counter are constant (which is partly due to the often inefficient staff), while the chic buzzy brasserie upstairs - with long red banquettes, a diverse menu of creamy fish pie, beef carpaccio or roast turbot and excellent service - hasn't failed to impress either.
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French Paradox
This bright and airy wine bar, over an excellent wine shop of the same name, serves fine authentic French dishes such as cassoulet, a variety of pâté de foie gras, cheese and charcuterie plates, and large green salads. All are there to complement the main attraction: a dazzling array of fine wines, mostly French unsurprisingly, sold by the bottle, glass or even 6.25cL taste!
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Gallic Kitchen
'Our food is so fucking good you won't believe it' advises the sign on the front wall of this little bakery shop. Standing at a bench, devouring a goat's-cheese brioche, salmon roulade, smoked haddock quiche and chocolate pecan tart, we - wait for it - tend to agree.
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Good World
A hands-down winner of our best-Chinese-restaurant competition, the Good World has two menus, but to really get the most of this terrific spot, steer well clear of the Western menu and its unimaginative dishes. With listings in two languages, the Chinese menu is literally packed with dishes and delicacies that keep us coming back for more.
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Gruel
Noisy, cosy and beloved by its ever-lengthening list of devotees, Gruel is one of the best dishes in town, a deli-cum-rustic trattoria that has them queuing out the door. They come for the super-filling, taste-defying, lunchtime roast-in-a-roll - a rotating list of slow roast organic meats stuffed into a bap and flavoured with home-made relishes - and the exceptional evening menu, where pasta, fish and chicken are given the exotic once-over. It doesn't accept bookings, so just go, queue and share elbow space with the table behind you; it's worth every effort.
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Halo
Housed in this superslick hotel, the visually stunning Halo has soaring ceilings, a wall of mirrors and striking artwork, but don't let this distract you from the Ireland-meets-continental Europe fusion fare that includes the likes of fillet of sea bream and Carlow lamb rump. Its critics complain that the menu competes with the staff to see who can be more stuffy, but in truth it's the moneyed clientele that win hands down.
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Honest To Goodness
A devastating fire kept this wonderful cafe under wraps for much of 2007, but it finally reopened and went back to the business of dispensing wholesome sandwiches, imaginative breakfasts and homemade soups and smoothies. Add to that delicious home-baked goodies and fair-trade coffee, all at rock bottom prices? Niiice.
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Il Baccaro
Want a free Italian lesson? Drop into this fabulous trattoria and eavesdrop in this rustic piece of the Old Boot, where the food is exuberantly authentic, and includes bruschetta, homemade pasta, Italian sausage, cannelini beans and the like. The Italian wines are buonissimi .
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Imperial Chinese Restaurant
This long-established restaurant is a favourite with the Chinese community and is noted for its lunchtime dim sum and its we-don't-smile-but-we're-efficient service. If you're looking for some genuine Chinese dishes in an authentic atmosphere, there's no better time to go than Sunday, when the Imperial serves brunch Chinese-style in what is known as yum cha, or 'drink tea', the traditional accompaniment to dim sum.
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Jacob's Ladder
Looking over the playing fields of Trinity College - which counts as a view in Dublin - this fashionably formal restaurant is spread over two floors and is renowned for its exquisite and innovative Irish cuisine, which flirts with modern European influences. The food is a winner, with entrées like grilled goat's cheese and mains such as mackerel and potato terrine guaranteed to impress.
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Jaipur
A stylish and contemporary room sets the scene for some of the best Indian cuisine in town. Critics rave about the subtle and varied flavours produced by Jaipur's kitchen, which is down to its refusal to skimp on even the smallest dash of spice; what you get here is as close to the real deal as you'll get anywhere outside India.
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Jo'burger
A playful, kids-in-the-70s theme (the menus are pasted into children's almanacs), DJs playing great music loud enough to hear but not too loud to be annoying, and a sensational burger menu make this the coolest, hippest, best burger joint in the city. The organic burgers come in a variety of options, all with funky names. The zondi comes with green thai curry mayo, coriander and chilli.
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Johnnie Fox's
Ireland's highest-altitude pub is about 45 minutes from Dublin in the Wicklow Mountains. Some people find it kitsch and overdone, but it's actually an authentic old place full of bric-a-brac, gnarled benches, sawdust floors and crackling open fires. The fabulous (but pricey) seafood and nightly Irish music are another draw.
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Juice
Lighten up, folks, it's just food! If the staff at this trendy, self-conscious vegetarian restaurant lost some attitude and smiled occasionally, we might actually forget the cool-out and focus on the terrific Pacific Rim-style cuisine, as well as tasty stir-fries, soups, wraps, soya desserts, organic wines and, of course, delicious fresh juices and smoothies. Isn't yoga supposed to be relaxing ?
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L'Ecrivain
A firm favourite with the bulk of the city's foodies, L'Ecrivain trundles along with just one Michelin star to its name, but the plaudits just keep coming. Head chef Derry Clarke is considered a gourmet god for the exquisite simplicity of his creations, which put the emphasis on flavour and the use of the best local ingredients - all given the French once over and turned into something approaching divine dining.
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L'gueuleton
Dubliners have a devil of a time pronouncing the name (which means 'a gluttonous feast' in French) and have had their patience tested with the no-reservations policy, but they just can't get enough of this restaurant's robust take on French rustic cuisine. The Toulouse sausages with choucroute and Lyonnaise potatoes are a reminder that when it comes to the pleasures of the palate, the French really know what they're doing.
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La Maison Des Gourmets
This thoroughly Francophile cafe changed hands in 2006 and suffered a dip in form, but it remains a wonderful spot to enjoy a tartine , salad specials or a plate of charcuterie. It also has a fine range of pastries, baked goodies and herbal teas. We prefer sitting on the street outside, where you can watch the world go by on Castle Market; the upstairs room is just that little bit too lacking in atmosphere.
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La Taverna Di Bacco
Football-mad developer Mick Wallace has managed to single-handedly create a thriving new Italian quarter with cafés and eateries popping up all over Quartier Bloom, the new lane from Ormond Quay to Great Strand St. La Taverna and Enoteca Delle Langhe (tel: 888 0834), a few doors up, serve simple pastas, antipasti and Italian cheeses along with the delicious produce of Wallace's own vineyard and others in Piemonte.
