Dublin is a paradise for foodies –  well, those with lots of ready cash. For everybody else, it can be hard to find something affordable. But you can get a good lunch of salad or soup for less than €8 at the Avoca Café (11-13 Suffolk Street, 672 6019, www.avoca.ie) inside the Avoca shop. For veggie food, try Nude (21 Suffolk Street, 672 5577) or, for the opposite (hearty meat pies), head to the Porterhouse pub (16-18 Parliament Street, 671 5715, www.porterhousebrewco.com).

For trendy nosh, visit Mermaid Café (68-70 Dame Street, 670 8236, www.mermaid.ie) and hope they’re serving the delectable Atlantic seafood casserole that night. For something little, delicious and diet-destroying, the Queen of Tarts teashop (4 Corkhill, Dame Street, 670 7499) is your stop.

Thirsty? Try Grafton Street and surrounds: McDaid’s (3 Harry Street, 679 4395), Neary’s (1 Chatham Street, 677 8596) or Kehoe’s (9 South Anne Street, 677 8312). The Market Bar (14 Fade Street, 613 9094) is a vast, stylish ‘superpub’, while the Octagon Bar (Clarence Hotel, see below) is good star-spotting territory.

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