Simon's Place Dublin – Well-known meeting place

The eponymously named Simon's Place was established in 1997 after the owner set up on his own having spent 11 years in the nearby, but long gone, Marks Brothers. Marks Brothers was a teenage hang out of mine on Saturdays and even now Simon's remains reminiscent of those days. It is still a meeting place for an eclectic bunch of people including students, bicycle couriers and buskers.

The food is unashamedly simple with just four types of sandwiches served on their own homemade bread alongside a choice of two soups and some salad options. There's a fantastic, friendly atmosphere here but be warned there's often a queue out the door at lunchtimes. Outside of this time there are any number of old wooden chairs for you to pull up as you flick through a free Dublin event guide over your lunch.

The walls are plastered in posters advertising music and theatre events happening around the city. Just as they were all those years ago when this hapless student relied on them to find out what was going on around the city. And today I'd recommend it to anyone looking for the same.