Dublin’s food scene has changed beyond recognition over the past decade. While it’s not cheap (think London prices) standards have improved vastly.

Many top-end places are still French influenced but chefs such as Derry Clarke at L’Ecrivain and Ross Lewis at Chapter One are blazing an exciting trail in modern Irish food. London-style gastropubs have yet to arrive, but it is surely only a matter of time before Molly Malone’s city takes revenge for all those Oirish pubs now infesting the globe – by putting food first and booze second.

Restaurants

CHAPTER ONE

18/19 Parnell Square / 01 873 2266 / www.chapteronerestaurant.com

How Chapter One has managed to avoid getting a Michelin star is a mystery to the regulars who flock to this obscure location (in the Irish Writers’ Museum’s basement) for Ross Lewis’s modern Irish food with an occasional French twist. The pre-theatre menu (6-7.30pm) offers perhaps the best value in Dublin. Lunch and dinner Tue-Sat.

L’ECRIVAIN

109a Lower Baggot Street / 01 661 1919 / www.lecrivain.com 

Despite being a high-profile celebrity chef, Derry Clarke still maintains a steady presence in his Michelin-starred kitchen, one of the finest in the city. The food is inventive but never cheffy, with great emphasis on sourcing, while the wine list is very inside-track. Service is immensely professional but relaxed too. The piano in the bar is the only naff touch. Lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat.

EDEN

Meeting House Square / Temple Bar  / 01 670 3815 / www.edenrestaurant.ie 

Michael Durkan’s cooking in this bright and informal restaurant involves lots of gutsy flavours and deceptively simple modern cooking. There are also plenty of simple Eden favourites such as smokies (smoked haddock with cream, tomato, scallion, topped with breadcrumbs and baked) and organic beef steak. The wine list is not nearly as cool as the room but the service is excellent. Lunch & dinner daily.

ELY WINE BAR

22 Ely Place / 01 676 8986 

The organic pork sausages are excellent and the salads are good too in this clubby, relaxing temple to wine. The cheese is always in excellent condition and thanks to the smoking ban you can taste everything. The wine list, like the place itself, has recently been extended, making it one of the biggest and best in the country. Not a restaurant, as such, but you can eat quite well here. Lunch & dinner Mon-Sat.

FRANK’S

The Malting Tower / Grand Canal Quay  / 01 662 5870 / www.franksbarandrestaurant.com 

This subterannean (well, not quite: it’s under a railway arch) restaurant does the kind of food one imagines the better class of American diner might offer: keenly priced rock oysters and even more keenly priced flutes of prosecco, good hamburgers, lovely potted shrimps, very impressive salads and nice sticky things to finish. It’s informal, rather dark, fun, full of well-heeled people having a night off from the more expensive fleshpots and service is fine. Lunch & dinner daily.

L’GUEULETON

1 Fade Street / 01 675 3708

This informal (no bookings) and very bohemian French bistro is where Dublin food enthusiasts go to swap recipes and culinary gossip and the place is often full of chefs on their night off. Chef Troy Maguire cooks with simplicity and authority and the wine list, short and keenly priced, is just right for the food. Pithivier of snails and roquefort and ham hock terrine with sauce gribiche and cornichons are favourites. Lunch & dinner Mon-Sat.

RESTAURANT PATRICK GUILBAUD

21 Upper Merrion Street / 01 676 4192 

Dublin’s grandest and arguably greatest restaurant. Guilaume Lebrun’s modern French cooking with many Irish twists is always good and occasionally sublime, while Patrick Guilbaud and Stephane Robin conduct the dining room with consummate charm, humour and efficiency. The wine list is strong in Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone. Lunch is a smart choice, offering real value for a Michelin 2-star experience. Lunch & dinner Tue-Sat.

HO SEN

6 Cope Street / 01 671 8181 / www.hosen.ie 

Ethnic food may not yet scale dizzying heights in Dublin but Ho Sen’s Vietnamese food is the real thing. The dining room is bright and pleasant, prices are reasonable and service is charming. As an informal and relatively inexpensive place to enjoy the clear, clean tastes of Vietnamese cooking this is the best in Dublin. Stir-fried quail with pepper are very moreish.

MERMAID CAFÉ

69 Dame Street / 01 670 8236 

The Mermaid divides opinion somewhat but it remains a great favourite with the artistic and creative communities who like the stripped-down elegance of its high-windowed dining room overlooking one of the city’s busiest streets. Cooking is gutsy, flavours are strong and portions are often quite large for such a fashionable place. The wine list is decidedly off-beat with several unusual Italians and Californians. Lunch & dinner daily.

MINT

47 Ranelagh / 01 497 8655 / www.mintrestaurant.ie 

A ten minute walk from the city centre, Mint serves really good food elegantly and with a minimum of fuss. The mainly French wine list shows real effort to source good stuff from small producers. Mint is also conspicuously well priced by the standards currently prevailing in Ireland, especially for lunch and early dinner. Lunch & dinner Tue-Sat.

PEPLOE’S

16 St Stephen’s Green / 01 676 3144 / www.peploes.com 

Peploe’s, currently vying with Town Bar & Grill as the place in Dublin, provides good bistro-ish food with exceptional service. The central location and the creditable wine list combine to make this terrific value. Lunch & dinner daily.

LA STAMPA

35-36 Dawson Street / 01 677 4444  / www.lastampa.ie

Long renowned for its impressive, almost over-the-top dining room, La Stampa’s food was something of a joke until the kitchen was taken over in mid-2005 by Jean-Christophe Novelli and his team. Early indications suggest La Stampa now has cooking of a suitably high order to match the terrific space it occupies. Lunch & dinner Mon-Sat.

THORNTON’S

128 St Stephen’s Green / 01 478 7008 

Don’t be put off by the dowdy hotel dining room (overlooking leafy St Stephen’s Green), Thornton’s well deserves its two Michelin stars. Chef Kevin Thornton’s food is almost obsessively detailed while the first class front-of-house team ensures service is sublime. Over-formal perhaps and certainly pricey but the food more than makes up for this. Lunch & dinner Mon-Sat.

TOWN BAR & GRILL 

17 Kildare Street / 01 662 4724

This basement restaurant under Mitchell’s wine merchants could pass for an Italian in New York and that’s a good thing. A good antipasti plate and fresh sardines pique the tastebuds before mains that offer freshness and avoid stolidity, such as osso bucco Milanese with a pea and saffron risotto. Game, such as crown of pheasant, with a confit leg, polenta and shallots, is confidently handled.

Cafés

AVOCA CAFÉ 

Suffolk Street / 01 672 6019

Multi-level emporium for clothing, accessories, toys, furniture and interiors. The café/restuarant on the top floor flourishes, its signature dishes tried and tested by the nation (Avoca’s two cookbooks were bestsellers). The deli/emporium at basement level is great for picnic basket treats. Jazz brunch on Sundays.

DUNNE & CRESCENZI

14 & 16 St Frederick Street / 01 675 9692

For a creamy cappuccino created by a truly Italian hand, this is the place. Best mid-morning or afternoon, before Dublin’s chatterati swoop in for an evening of wine, olives and focaccia. Good place to spot eminent Irish politicians covertly poring over folios, or debating the latest controversy.

THE GALLIC KITCHEN       

49 Francis Street / 01 454 4912

Situated in an otherwise food-free zone, on Dublin’s “Antiques strip”. Delicious rough-hewn quiches and desserts, just like your granny would have made. Gallic Kitchen goodies are also available at The Temple Bar Food Market on Saturdays.

GRUEL

67 Dame Street / 01 670 7119

This spartan setting sells honest-to-goodness, heart-warming grub. The imaginative roast-meat sandwiches, soups, salads and home-made cakes together with the speedy service make it an ideal spot for a superior pit stop.

LA MAISON DES GOURMETS

15 Castle Market / 01 672 7258 

One of the best bakeries in the country, producing superb croissants, breads, fruit tarts and cakes. The handcrafted, pure baking of Penny Plunkett and her team is a joy. Serves simple lunches – such as tartines and salads – with a limited but very adequate selection of wines. Elegant and grown-up café food for those with a nose for really good food.

PANEM

21 Lower Ormond Quay  / 01 872 8510 

There’s seating for maybe ten people in this tiny riverside cafe. Owners Ann Murphy and Rafaele Cavallo are delightful people and their croissants are the best in Dublin. At lunchtime there’s great foccacia and hearty soups. Everything here is prepared with real care and first class ingredients. The coffee is superb too. No wonder it’s such a hit with the local lawyers. Open Mon-Sat.

QUEEN OF TARTS

Dame Street (opposite the gate to Dublin Castle) / 01 670 7499

Home-made scones and tarts are the star of the day in this tiny café. If you can’t get a table, grab your goodies to go, and munch while mooching through the eclectic Cow’s Lane (clothing) Market held just around the corner on Saturdays.

THE SILK ROAD CAFÉ AT THE CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARY       

The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle, Dame Street / 01 407 0750

Innovative ingredients from the Orient and some great pastries sweet and savoury make this charming, calming cafe worth visiting, and not just if you’re popping into the Chester Beatty Library museum for a curative culture fix.

Shopping Snacks / Provedores

MAGILL’S     

14 Clarendon Street / 01 671 3830

A tiny frontage conceals the cornucopia of cheeses, salamis and gourmet treats within. Ideal for foie gras for pairing later with artisan French breads from the nearby Maison des Gourmets.

SHERIDAN’S CHEESEMONGERS

11 South Anne Street / 01 679 3143

Devoted ‘Slowfoodie staff’ sell traditional Irish and  international cheeses, chutneys and complimentary treats. Great Gubeen sandwiches to go.

CLAUDIO’S WINES                    

Georges Street Arcade / 29 Drury Street / 01 671 5917

A cute corner where you can pick up an interesting bottle of new world wine, before night falls. Claudio will gladly provide counsel.