Therese McKenna (1980)

Owned by the people that run Against The Grain (check the article), The Black Sheep offers a similar concept – 23 craft beers and a hearty but healthy food menu. It seems more cosy and calm, though – and it’s better looking too. A welcome addition in this part of town, it definitely fills a key gap in the area’s watering-hole line-up. The end of Capel Street nearer the quays has places for partying and proper karaoke all-nighters; now this at the Bolton Street end offers something that for a while had been quite absent: somewhere more easy-going, but with a fairly cool, youthful crowd.

The snacks are great – the hummus and the pumpkin and chilli dip go well with a cool bottled Augustiner Helles or maybe a pint of Belfast Lager, and the desserts look mighty tempting.

The staff are friendly, helpful and expert at making recommendations – a relief for me personally, faced with my own ignorance, vast choices and hard-to-pronounce offerings.

There’s a bit of a cultured, European, Berlin-ish atmosphere to the venue – no blaring televisions or music turned two notches too high; and a decent selection of games such as Scrabble, chess and Jenga. All in all, perfect for a sociable Sunday night on the northside.

Dublin, sunshine, and free time – give me the three in combination and I’m thrice delighted, elated and excited. Because this city is a thousand places – and however long I live here, the possibilities never seem to shrink.

Here’s just one walk to save for a day when you’d like to see the Dublin that’s vast, refreshing and soft to lie back in.

Take the DART from Connolly Station out along the south of the bay to Killiney and let the beach wait for you as you take a walk up Killiney Hill. It’s a pleasant ascent along any of the paths, (get the caffeine in en route at the little cafe by the Victoria Gate) and it doesn’t take long to reach the top.

The views are an absolute knockout – and draw comparisons with the Bay of Naples. You can see Howth Head in the north of the bay, Wicklow’s Sugar Loaf mountain to the south, and you may just make out the Mourne mountains, which sit 170km north. There’s an arresting obelisk marking the highest point at 170m above sea-level – but you really want to drink in the view from the gorse-thick cliffside. I could sit here all day.

Juniors is a fantastic bet for lazy, late brunch of a misspent weekend. It’s cosied in on a corner of Bath Avenue at Beggar’s Bush – behind Slattery’s pub and just below the National Print Museum. This is a grand old leafy part of town to poke around if you like to peer through posh windows. And if you’re a rugby fan, you’re in throwing distance of the hallowed ground of Lansdowne Road (Or the Aviva Stadium as our corporate overlords now insist we call it.)

Brunch stretches languidly from 11:30 to 15:00 on Saturdays and Sundays at Juniors, with a menu that covers all bases from traditional fry (‘The Breakfast Of Champions), to healthy granola with zesty berries, to the unexpected Pint O’ Prawns (a most gratifying challenge, I find). Inside the restaurant is petite, warm and inviting; with glistening tiles, humming conversation and a counter laden with treats.

But it’s the covered terrace out front that’s the greatest novelty at Junior’s. Diners here can be happily distracted by the world going by, as they sit at picnic tables in their own mini garden enclosure beneath the bright red canopy. Some very effective overhead heaters keep out the chill – and there are colourful blankets for extra comfort if you’re feeling tender!The cafe also opens for weekday breakfast, lunch and dinner; and there’s a Saturday dinner slot too.

It’s another fancy foodie, crafty pub. It’s an enterprise of the folk behind Mulligan’s in Stoneybatter (one is never enough these days) – and it’s very promising. WJ Kavanagh’s sits inconspicuously on a part of the road that’s known for nothing much. In fact, it’s a stretch that I’d previously have taken almost at a march, with my head down. It’s not dangerous so much as dim. But hopefully this new venture will become somewhere that locals like myself can come out to play.

It’s certainly got plenty of space, lots of interesting drinks and an inventive, extensive menu. With all the stylistic flourishes we’ve come to prize in Mulligan’s, it certainly seems a pub to be prized in an under-appreciated area.

The coffee – at present – is nothing to write home about though: top marks for presentation on its smooth chopping-board, but I was disappointed with the price (€ 3) and the fact that it was a slightly bitter filtered brew. However, perhaps the hot drinks are a little beside the point in a bar packed to the rafters with unusual beers and whiskeys…

The latest venture from the Mulligans/Kavanaghs crew is a house beer brand – the Brown Paper Bag Project – which sees the beer buffs collaborating with diverse brewers to produce stylish and innovative new drinks. At the end of November they debuted their first creation, Dr Rudi – a 7.4% Belgian style ale brewed in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork and available bottled or on tap at the bar.

Regeneration has come quick, quick and grindingly slow to Smithfield, the area just west of the Four Courts along the Red Luas line on Dublin’s north side. With a shock of apartments shot up in the mid-2000s and a sleek square half-finished with monster lights lining its hushed perimeter, the Celtic Tiger’s hurried rise and demise was painted on the paving stones. Projects unfinished and promises unkept have been the latest stories here – although there have been signs of renewal in recent days.

A while back the Light House cinema reopened its doors (a dispute about impossible rent had closed the art-house venue for a time before – now it seems to be going from strength to strength); while Third Space, a new community cafe, swung open its doors a little after that (a cavernous space but a warm atmosphere, expert staff, super coffee, a library and child-friendly activities). There’s a scattering of artist-run spaces dotted around the square, out of which exciting events occasionally spill. And, surely, there will always be the Cobblestone.

Looking a delightfully dingy class apart from the new-builds in the area, this is a proper lively traditional bar; filled up with wandering minstrels, thirsty locals and sparkle-eyed visitors. Masterful session musicians muster a reverential hush at some time of most nights, while the back room is host to touring bands. It’s a friendly, relaxed place – I’d recommend the outdoors (smoking) area at the back for impromptu music and unexpected conversation.