Kilkenny

Situated on the first floor of the shop known simply as Kilkenny, with a view into the grounds of Trinity College if you are lucky (i.e. unless large buses are parked across the road), the Kilkenny Restaurant is a pleasant spot to have a casual bite to eat: ingredients are fresh and additive-free (as are all the products on sale in the shop's Food Hall) and everything has a home-cooked flavour.

Salads, quiches, casseroles, home-baked breads and cakes are the Kilkenny Restaurant specialities, and they are reliably good - and you will also find Irish craft beers and cider on the Cafe menu. A range of Kilkenny preserves and dressings - all made and labelled on the premises - is available in the shop.

This is a good place to come for breakfast, and offers great value: fresh orange juice to start and then variations combinations of the traditional fare for as little as €5 (toast and tea or coffee, plus a choice of four items from a list including thick cut bacon, Kilkenny artisan sausage, cherry tomatoes, scrambled egg, homemade potato cakes and more). Hard to beat for the quality.

[Kilkenny was the Dublin winner of our Irish Breakfast Awards in 2003.]