"Aobaba, Northside. Aobaba serves up oodles of noodly goodness submerged in the finest stocks known to humanity. Sit in with Dublin's Vietnamese community or take away and do your own thing. Bubble tea also available for fans of eccentric oriental beverages."

"Brother Hubbard, Northside. Strong coffee and fresh pastry to see you through the morning and a hearty, ever-changing lunch menu to set you up for the afternoon. Their pulled pork is the stuff of legend and their brunch is famous around town. Plus, their brownie is to die for! Make sure to get there early at the weekend and ask for a seat in the garden."

"Love Is Art, Northside. Love is art atelier is a charming little cafe located at the end of Great Strand Street, just a stone's throw away from Capel Street. The cafe is beautifully decorated with handmade trinkets, fresh flowers and not the mention the super comfortable green vintage leather sofa. If you're looking for a quiet spot with a great atmosphere be sure to check this place out. I forgot to mention the coffee is great too!"

"The Model Shop, Northside. A one stop shop for model enthusiasts. This tightly packed model shop is haven for those who love to build model airplanes or recreate miniature battleships. You’ll find everything from miniature sports cars, WW2 Soldiers and figurine aeroplanes. Check out the impressive working model train on display."

"The Fresh Market, Northside. Located just off Capel street, this quirky little food market stocks a wide selection of beautiful fresh produce from quality Irish vegetables to tropical and exotic fruits. Inside you’ll find a great selection of health foods, spices and tasty snacks. This place is a health food lovers paradise."

"Pantibar, Northside. PantiBar serves as both one of the most relaxed and welcoming gay bars you’ll come across as well as HQ to drag queen extraordinaire Panti Bliss. Panti is one of Ireland's national treasures, at the forefront of big hair, glitter and Ireland’s marriage equality campaign and historic victory. You can experience everything from chilled out early evening drinks to lush and hilarious drag / stand up nights here, along with Panti’s locally brewed Pale Ale if it takes your fancy."

"Camerino, Northside. The folks who run this small cafe & bakery are beyond friendly and supply the freshest sandwiches and baked lovelies for you to take away or have in house if there’s room at one of the small counters. Their sandwich breads are freshly baked daily and even though his place was recommended to me for the yummy rotisserie chicken sandwich, their marinated kale sandwich also deserves a special mention - these people make kale taste so good it’s not even funny. Look out for the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie too - yes, cheesecake brownie...and yes - you need it."

"Yamamori Sushi, Northside. Yamamori on Ormond Quay is home to some of Dublin's best Sushi and Japanese style dining. Housed in beautifully renovated Georgian townhouse, Yamamori is just a couple minutes walk from the Red luas line. They have some great value lunch options on offer and rotate the specials daily."

"Nine Crows, Northside. Step back in time to Nine Crows, a cool little vintage boutique located on Ormond Quay just off of Capel Street. The store offers a handpicked collection of vintage and reworked pieces. If you're looking for real vintage items in great condition then Nine Crows is the real deal. Be sure to check out their great selection of cowboy boots."

"The Sackville Lounge, Northside. A quiet secret drinking spot known only to Dubliners who value quality Guinness and no nonsense welcoming service. This is a ‘real’ pub, non of your hipster messing goes on here, just quality drinking and friendly banter. Sackville Lounge is located just off O’Connell Street and is fantastic spot to watch the GAA Championship matches in August and September."

"The Winding Stair Bookshop & Café, Northside. THE Winding Stair Bookshop & Café is named after the Yeats poem, and in honour of its winding staircase, it is perfectly located, overlooking the river Liffey, with an iconic view of the Ha’penny bridge. As a popular meeting place for writers, musicians and artists, it was a well known hub for debate and creativity with many poems written, novels penned and movies shot within its walls. The food is good, old-fashioned home cooking, with produce sourced from artisans within the island. The beer list focuses on local and international micro breweries with an emphasis on good, food-matched beers and ales. The wine list is extensive and also aims to showcase some of the new and emerging stellar boutique wine makers from the new and old worlds."

"The Dice Bar, Northside. Deep black with splashes of red The Dice Bar is a unique drinking establishment on the Dublin pub scene. Way back Huey from The Fun Lovin’ Criminals was an original investor in this pub and it certainly offers a gritty hybrid of NYC bar culture and hip Dublin down-to-earth vibes. A great beer menu with some fine local ales from nearby micro breweries too."

"Mish Mash, Northside. Right at the end of Capel Street in a quite part of town and near the famous Black Sheep Pub this cute cafe is well worth a visit. Made with love is the best way to describe it, the menu is limited but their cakes and tea are worth the trip alone. It’s run and owned by two sisters Natlia and Karolina and is fantastic addition to the food options on Capel St"

"Musashi, Northside. Laid back setting and probably the best fresh sushi in Dublin, always made to order and totally focused on freshness, quality and taste. It’s fairly small so make sure to book in advance if you can, they also let you BYO and the service is super friendly. Honestly, make it your business to visit Musashi, great for take out too!"

"Oxmantown, Northside. Opened in the summer of 2013, Oxmantown is a fantastic independent sandwich and coffee shop run by Chef Conor Higgins and his partner Amie Costello. Their coffee is roasted and supplied by Cloud Picker, Dublin’s first and only micro roastery, based on Sheriff Street. Their bread is baked and delivered daily by Arun Bakery, also based in Dublin 7. You have to taste their Ham & Pickle toasted sandwich!"

"The Library Project, Southside. One of the only places to pick up the newest, contemporary, high quality art books and periodicals. Originally dedicated to photography, it’s collection now spans the gamut of architecture, design and critical theory. Stocking everything from the latest Sternberg Press releases to architectural journals like Candide you’re sure to find something of interest. A valuable addition to the Dublin creative community."

"Ulysses Books, Southside. We cannot speak highly enough of this wonderful place. To summarise, it is an excellent antiquarian book shop that specialises in 20th century Irish literature and books on Irish topography and history, but spend some time working through its shelves of first editions and the selection of maps in its basement and an image of the landscape of Irish design through the decades starts to appear. A true treasure trove."

"Grogans, Southside. Quite possibly the best located pub in the city. If you wander by on a sunny day, there isn’t a better decision you can make than to stop and have a seat outside and watch people stroll by. Boasting a rich literary history with customers that included Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O’Brien, Grogan’s somehow keeps a hold of that creative sensibility to this day. They don’t make a bad cheese toastie either."

"Bison Bar, Southside. Look past the slightly unnecessary theme and the ridiculously awkward saddle seating and there is a dependable bar and bbq that is well worth a visit. Boasting probably the finest slow roasted meats in Dublin at a more than reasonable price, we find ourselves ending up here more times than we would like to admit. The selection of whiskeys isn’t half bad either."

"The Secret Book and Record Store, Southside. Hidden away down a passageway off Wicklow St, the Secret Book and Record Store is an absolute gem. With an eclectic mix of stock in both music and literature its difficult to leave without something new for your collection. It is the home of perennial Dublin favourite Freebird Records, a constant fixture in Dublin’s music scene since 1978. Staffed by genuine music enthusiasts, Freebird is well worth your time and all of your money."

"Irish Film Institute, Southside. Our second favourite cinema in the city (the first being the Lighthouse on the Northside), the IFI provides an excellent collection of high quality independent films from Irish and international cinema. One of the best aspects of the Institute is the excellent events they coordinate, ranging from horrorthons to documentary festivals, they consistently provide opportunities for audiences to engage with incredible films that may have eluded them. The in-house cafe bar has an amazing menu with genuinely delicious food and the shop stocks everything from books to classic film posters."

"Kaph, Southside. A lovely, little coffee shop that has maintained strong ties with the creative community of Dublin city. Regularly happy to put up with full-scale meetings in their gorgeous upstairs space, they serve delicious coffee and remarkable food. The music is always excellent making it the perfect place to get a little work done when you are on the move."

"Bunsen, Southside. Beautifully simple American style burger joint that boasts arguably the best burger in the city. It has a stark menu with only a few items, leaving not much room to get it wrong. The hand cut fries are delicious and the milkshakes are pretty great too, definitely don’t come here if you aren’t that hungry."

"Zakura, Southside. In our modest opinion this is the best Japanese restaurant in the city. Amazing sushi and an extensive menu means that it is impossible not to leave happy, the yasai tempura in particular is tops. The fact that you can bring your own bottle for a small corkage fee makes it a no-brainer."

"Royal Hibernian Academy, Southside. Another great addition to the Dublin art scene, the RHA was originally set up by a collection of artists who were interested in developing, affirming and challenging the public’s perception of the visual arts. Providing workshops, lectures and exhibitions on a regular basis they continue to uphold this aim. Coppa Cafe is situated just inside the RHA’s front door and serves up delectable food and coffee."

"Hodges Figgis, Southside. Colossal book shop that caters to every need. Another of Dublin’s constant fixtures, it even appears in passing in Ulysses. Asking a member of the friendly staff a question inevitably leads to a full blown conversation and a list of recommended authors for even the most esoteric preferences. Go."

"Stock Design, Southside. Labyrinthian shop that sells homewares, cooking equipment, gadgets and other paraphernalia. The staff are the nicest people on this planet. Can’t go wrong really, definitely worth a look."

"Decor, Southside. Strange and eclectic furniture store that is a curiosity shop of Indonesian artefacts, handcrafted Balinese furniture and bits and pieces of art. Wandering around the stacked shelves, you are bound to find something that brings a smile to your face."

"Books Upstairs, Southside. Lesser known book store that stocks a great range of books and literary magazines. In the basement you will find shelves of literary criticism, women’s studies and sociology while up the stairs hides a quaint little cafe with a great view down to the street below."

"The R.A.G.E., Southside. Looking for something like A Link to the Past or maybe another copy Final Fantasy VII? This place is heaven for anyone with an interest in video games. Absolutely amazing inventory and staff that are knowledgable and enthusiastic, happy to rummage around to find that RPG you never got to play on the Game Boy Advance. There’s also a lovely little record store in the basement that has a great selection. It’s actually hard not to be effusive when it comes to the R.A.G.E., we’re just happy it exists."

"Crackbird, Southside. A repurposed Chinese restaurant that now almost exclusively serves delicious chicken of many varieties, this mainstay is the perfect place for lunch or dinner. Wandering among clichés like lemonade in jam jars, the quality of food, in particular the range of sauces, means that its easy to look past its shortcomings. Highly recommended."